This Ain't No Disco: The Story of CBGB

by Roman Kozak, Ebet Roberts (photographer), Chris Frantz (foreword)

CBGB was the birthplace of punk and new wave in America in the 1970s. The Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and many other groundbreaking bands got their start in the rock club on New York’s Bowery. Years later, CBGB became the cauldron for New York hardcore.

Originally issued in 1988 and out of print for decades, This Ain't No Disco is a detailed warts-and-all history, with memories, stories and gossip from dozens of insiders who worked, played or just hung out at CBGB. Written long before the legend overtook the reality — while the club was open and most of the principals alive — this is the real story, told in gritty, outrageous and sometimes hilarious detail.

The text includes unguarded quotes from CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, Joey Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone (the Ramones), Clem Burke and Chris Stein (Blondie), David Byrne (Talking Heads), Jim Carroll, Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille), Annie Golden (Shirts), Richard Hell and Richard Lloyd (Television), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators), Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics) and many others.

This 2024 edition includes a new foreword by Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, a new selection of photographs by Ebet Roberts and historical reporting about the club's closing in 2006.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Punk

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1988

Reviews

[Nestor Rychtyckyj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Trouser Press for reprinting this lost gem from 1988 that I somehow missed when it was first published. As an avid reader of punk rock literature since 1977 it’s embarrassing that I’m finally reading Roman Kozak’s book 37 years later. The 2024 edition includes a forward by Chris Frantz and updated info from Ira Robbins. However, the ensuing years have been very kind to the book that was written when punk/new wave music had pretty much fallen off the radar. The author Roman Kozak (1948-1988) would not live the few more years that would see punk become a commercial success.

Reading through Roman Kozaks’s book today immediately triggered a sense of sadness that so many of the people that he interviewed are no longer with us including Hilly Kristal, all the original Ramones, Tom Verlaine, Stiv Bators and so many more. There was even a CBGB’s movie with Alan Rickman playing Hilly and those ubiquitous CBGB OMFUG T-shirts are seen more often now than when the bar was still open.

The author does a great job in blending the many interviews that bring the music scene of the 1970s back to life. The urban legend of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd of Television wandering through the Bowery and meeting Hilly is mostly true. The neighborhood was dangerous and rundown, but nobody was around to complain about late nights and loud music. This became the “de facto” standard for opening up punk bars across America and I’m happy to say that our beloved Bookie’s in Detroit perfectly followed that template. We all know the early CBGB story – soon Patti Smith, the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, the Dead Boys and others would follow. Within a couple of years CBGB was that mythical punk rock paradise that all of us who didn’t live in NYC all dreamed to visit. By that time of course most of those bands had signed record deals and were way beyond playing that tiny stage.

When I first visited in 1978 my awestruck eyes just stared at the stage where Johhny, Joey, DeeDee and Tommy had played so many times. Of course, my touristy persona and awe were quickly pushed aside and I started to feel at home watching the very cool Student Teachers play. The magic of CBGB wasn’t in the location or décor, but in the spirit of the place where so many talented people converged and changed the face of music.
The book and the story of CBGB did not end there – the bar was still open and doing well through 1987 when the book was written. New generations of bands had and were passing through (Sonic Youth is mentioned as a new band) and it was still a beacon for new bands. This part of the book probably drags a bit for those who didn’t live in NYC, but it shows how Hilly Kristal and his family kept original music in NYC going for over thirty years. This is really an excellent view of the birthplace of punk and it’s and it’s great that this book is now available again.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It made me kinda sad all the times they kept saying "and it's still there today doing good". Oh well otherwise this book is so inspiring or at least for me. It just makes me want to have my cafe like now.Can't even imagine what it would have been like to be there when everything was really going down but we'll see maybe one day something of a similiar taste.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

worth reading just for the cultural history aspect although it's mainly a collection of oral histories without much critical thought applied.

[Jordan Gannett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool collection of stories. Nothing crazy

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat interesting history of the famous CBGB club.

[Monica]

Have it but don't know if I'll be wasting my time bothering to read it.