December 19th, 2005
The Anti-Emo Empire! 3 hour X-Mas show

Tune in tonight from 8-11 PM on WNHU 88.7 FM to see if I can pull off three straight hours of hardcore/punk X-Mas songs... I think I can!


December 8th, 2005
New Deal Keeps N.Y. Punk Venue CBGB Open
By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - The legendary punk venue CBGB, known as the launching pad for influential bands such as the Ramones and Talking Heads, announced an agreement with its landlord Wednesday to keep the club's doors open through October 2006, when it must move.
CBGB's lease expired in August, with the landlord announcing it wanted the club out after a five-year fight. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office helped reach an agreement that avoided a court battle with the Bowery Residents Committee, a homeless advocacy group that owns the lease on the property.
"It's been little stipulations, back and forth — we agreed, we didn't agree," said Hilly Kristal, the grizzled owner who opened CBGB in 1973. "We finally got to a point where we agreed with each other."
BRC executive Muzzy Rosenblatt said the agreement would let his group "concentrate on helping the needy and homeless of New York City."
The BRC is a nonprofit that houses 250 people above the club, and CBGB is its lone commercial tenant.
The new agreement boosts the rent at the world-renowned rock club to a near-market price of $35,000 a month — up from the old deal's $19,000. It requires Kristal to leave the dingy space by Oct. 31, 2006.
Kristal said he's already looking for a new location in lower Manhattan and also is considering opening a branch in Las Vegas.
"Things are different all the time — look at the '70s, the '80s, the '90s," Kristal said. "The most important thing is we're keeping the integrity of CBGB's. It won't be exactly the same, but it will have the same ingredients."

Click here to see the actual article...
CBGB: http://www.cbgb.com/


October 20th, 2005
I just added two new DVD reviews... D.R.I. "Live at CBGB's 1984" and Posi Numbers Fest 2004! Be sure to check them out on the Reviews page...


October 18th, 2005
Leeway are back in 2006!!!!
They are going to be releasing a dvd entitled "Last Laugh" on January 24th, 2005 and then start playing shows again...The DVD will consist of two well captured shows of Leeway from the Wetlands on Easter Sunday in 1999, and their last New York gig at L'Amours in 2002. The DVD will also include mp3 format interviews with vocalist Eddie Sutton and guitarist A.J. Novello, as well as historical footage from other performances...
Check out their web site and Myspace page for more details and to view a preview from the upcoming dvd!


October 6th, 2005
The new film "New York Doll" is getting set to open in NY and LA on October 28th, with Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Salt Lake, etc. to follow...

You can find the theatres and times at www.newyorkdollmovie.com


October 4th, 2005
Pics from the CT Posi Fall Fest are up!

What an incredible show! Thanks again to Jim and Julie from Positive Youth Productions for making it all possible! Check out the pictures on the Pictures page...


September 30th, 2005
The show is now officially 3 hours!!!

You may have noticed that The Anti-Emo Empire! has been three hours long for the past few months and it's looking like it is going to be staying that way. Well atleast until January 26th, 2006. From here on out WNHU DJ's need to apply for their radio shows each college semester, so things may change come January 27th, but for now we are enjoying the three hour time slot!!
Monday nights from 8-11 PM


September 29th, 2005
Pics from California are up!

I was in CA from September 14th through the 24th. Up Front played a show in Corona, CA on Sept 18th and being that my wife Michelle had never been to CA and I had not been there since 1991, we decided to make a little vacation out of it.
I posted pictures of the Up Front show as well as pictures from the vacation... You can check them out on the Pictures page...


Saturday, September 03, 2005
Rest In Peace Al

this is jay, the eyes of hate drummer.
for those of you that heard whats up but dont know if its a sick joke or not, it's the real deal, it's true. . .

for those that have no clue whats going on, al of hate was found dead in a hotel room i think during the afternoon of friday the 3rd. i dont know enough about what happend so im not the one to ask but...

autopsy is happening soon to find out exacly what happened, but in my opinion it doesnt matter HOW he died, the man i felt was like a second father to me is gone an thats the bottom line.

now, i'd like to post wake/funeral info, but i dont know any of it right now. i'll be angry if i'm not informed but i'm confident i'll get it somehow and if i know the info i'll be there and if i GET the info i'll post it. i wouldn't NOT post it. IF I FIND OUT THE WAKE/FUNERAL INFO YOU WILL ALL KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THE BULLETON/BLOG WHEN I POST IT.

i know this news is going to break too many hearts, mine being one of them.

al was generious, always helped people out, never wanting anything in return. loved playing benefit shows, broke up fights at shows, paid for kids to get in to shows or snuck them in, just loved to do positive things for other people around him and bringing smiles to everyone. i just dont even know where to begin, but anyone who knew him knows what im talkin about and knew what the guy was all about .we lost an extremely special guy, that i will think about forever.

the remaining members of eyes of hate (tommy, antonio, myself,) do not know what we are going to do music-wise. i'm not making any decisions till all this fucking shit is over but you'll be posted on news if you check the bulletons/blogs.

Al Midnica 1960 - 2005


Al's Funeral Information

hey everyone, Jay here. i promised everyone i'd get the funeral info to you so heres the info straight from al's sister bonnie... also , for directions you can go to www.mapquest.com type in your address to the places address

Al's funeral will be held on Wednesday, September 7, 2005, at 11:15 A.M. It will be held in Parkside Memorial Chapels, 98-60 Queens Blvd., (corner of 66th
Avenue), Rego Park, NY 11374. Their phone number is (718) 896-9000.

Al is Jewish and for those of you who may be unfamiliar with our customs there is no "viewing" of the body. Our tradition also includes being buried in a plain pine box. My family decided together that he would have wanted to be buried with his Eyes of Hate shirt on and that is part of what he will be buried in.

Although I realize that most other religious backgrounds have flowers at funerals, Jews do not. As a result, I must ask you to respect our customs and not to send any flowers to the funeral home or to his family members.

If you are coming by train you need to take the R or G to 67th Avenue and walk one block West.

You may ask what it is that you can do. I really don't have any other answer but this. Take better care of yourselves, and do whatever it is that you personally have to do so that you may live a fullier, happier, and healthier and thus longer life. If you need to take high blood pressure medication, take it. If you need to lose weight, cut back on your eating, join Weight Watchers. If you need to exercise, start moving. If you need to clean up your act and stop using drugs or drinking (or both), go to a NA or AA meeting. Life is too short and needs to be treated preciously. Please start today.

Eyes Of Hate web site
Eyes Of Hate Myspace page


Thursday, September 1st, 2005
Landlord Won't Renew Lease for CBGB Club

NEW YORK - As hundreds of people joined guitarist Steven Van Zandt in a raucous rally of support for venerable punk club CBGB's, the club's landlord announced Wednesday that a decision had been made - its lease would expire at midnight and it would not be renewed.
The Bowery Residents' Committee, landlord of the building where the club opened its doors 32 years ago and gave the stage to the Ramones and Blondie, "believes it is in the best interest of our clients - the homeless and neediest New Yorkers - to sever this relationship," executive director Muzzy Rosenblatt said.
The statement from Rosenblatt called for CBGB's to "vacate the premises both voluntarily and expeditiously."
It was a scenario that appeared unlikely. Van Zandt and others promised a battle to the end on behalf of the bar that launched punk rock.
"We're not going without a fight," said Van Zandt, who was joined by "Sopranos" co-stars Tony Sirico and Joe Pantoliano. "If the eviction proceedings start tomorrow, which I hope it doesn't, we'll fight it in the courts."
The rally was aimed at putting public pressure on Rosenblatt. But while Gavin Rossdale was leading his new band, Institute, through a rollicking version of "Machinehead," the decision on booting the club had already been made.
Even the hardy CBGB supporters at the rally, where Public Enemy and Blondie also performed, seemed resigned to the club's demise.
"It doesn't look hopeful," said Lucky Pierre, 26, a New York University student. "But we'll keep the fires burning until the last minute."
An increasingly frustrated Van Zandt blasted Rosenblatt for the inability to reach a new agreement. The E Street Band guitarist, "Sopranos" star and radio show host entered the negotiations about six weeks ago.
The club's owner, Hilly Kristal, also wasn't backing down, and he had acts scheduled there throughout September.
"We intend to stay," he declared. "This is not a eulogy. There's no reason why we shouldn't come to an understanding."
It was Kristal who started the club in December 1973, creating a space that eventually spawned such acts as the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads. The club eventually gained an international reputation as the birthplace of punk.
Some of the club's supporters at the rally echoed '70s fashion statements, sporting green hair, safety pin earrings and black Ramones T-shirts.
Among them was 45-year-old Rochelle Goldman, who was wearing a "Save CBGB" T-shirt complemented by assorted CBGB's wristbands dangling from both arms. "People say it's a museum, but I'm still going there," she declared. "I'm an old punk."
Rosenblatt's group - an agency that aids the homeless - holds a 45-year lease on the building and houses 250 homeless people above the club. CBGB is its lone commercial tenant. Their rent feud dates back five years, when the committee went to court to collect more than $300,000 in back rent from the club.
The current rent is $19,000 a month, although that figure was expected to at least double under any new lease. The club's landlord-tenant woes were reminiscent of the fight over The Bottom Line, the vintage Greenwich Village club that closed in December 2003.
CBGB won a legal decision earlier this month when a Manhattan civil court judge ruled that the club couldn't be evicted for a bookkeeping mistake that left Kristal about $100,000 behind in his rent.
Not even the intervention of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who offered to mediate the dispute, could resolve the problem. Bloomberg said he hoped to find CBGB's a new location in the city.


August 31st, 2005
From Jason, Wet Floor Records...

Most of you know my best friend Gene from either The El 'n' Gee Club or The Bank Street Cafe. He has always gone out of his way to lend a hand to anyone or any band that needed help. It's your turn to pay back his hospitality! Sadly, hurricane katrina destroyed his family's home in New Orleans this week. his family is safe but he needs to go home for at least a month or longer. On Sunday, September 18 the Bank Street Cafe will be hosting a show with all money going to help Gene get home to take care of his family. We need to raise enough money so that Gene can take care of his rent and utilities for at least two months and have money for the trip. The bands will be anounced within the next day or two but regardless please attend. If you can't attend please make a donation via paypal to jason@wetfloorrecords.com, please put Gene in the comment box.
This is not a benifit show rather this is our way of paying back a guy who does nothing but good things for people. He's got enough good Karma to send him to heaven, we just need to send him to New Orleans. For the time being he knows nothing about this event. He will be bartending that night so pay to get in and tip him lots.
Jason
"My friends look out for me like family"


August 12th, 2005

Check out some artwork that a local CT fan/listener of the show created... His name is Marty Hejna




August 11th, 2005

Judge Says CBGB's Can't Be Evicted
By ELIZABETH LeSURE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - A civil court judge ruled Wednesday that the landmark punk club CBGB's can't be evicted from its Bowery location, saying it shouldn't be punished for not noticing it owed its landlord money.
The ruling was a victory for the club where groups like the Ramones and Blondie defined the punk scene in the 1970s, but CBGB's future is still uncertain.
Its lease with the Bowery Residents' Committee expires on Aug. 31, and a renewal remains up in the air.
The executive director of the Bowery Residents' Committee, Muzzy Rosenblatt, said he had not seen the ruling so he could not comment on it.
"All we're looking for is a responsible tenant," he said of his group, which provides shelter for homeless people in the building that houses the club.
The dispute involved about $100,000 in rent increases, interest and fees. The club says the increases went unpaid for four years because of a bookkeeping mix-up. CBGB's said it wasn't billed for the increases, but Rosenblatt said the increases were clearly stated in the lease. CBGB's rent is $19,000 a month.
In her ruling, Judge Joan Kenney praised the club's impact on the neighborhood, which she said was plagued by "destitution, degradation and substance abuse" when the club opened in 1973.
"CBGB has proven itself worthy of being recognized as a landmark _ a rare achievement for any commercial tenant in the ever diverse and competitive real estate market of New York City," she wrote in the ruling, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press by the Save CBGB's Coalition.
"It would be unconscionable for this court to allow petitioner to proceed with its intent to evict CBGB ... because it failed to notice that monies were outstanding for approximately four years," the judge wrote.
As part of its proposal for a new lease, CBGB's has said it would find a third-party guarantor and would raise money for the committee every year with benefit concerts.


August 1st, 2005

Starting tonight The Anti-Emo Empire! will be three hours for the entire month of August...so be sure to take advantage of the extra time that we got...Monday nights from 8-11 PM!


July 30th, 2005

Palehorse will have a special limited edition cover split 7"... the only songs John Tamas got to record with them. You can purchase yours at straydoghardcore.com. ALL proceeds from the 7" will go to John's mother to help her with every expense.

There is also a benefit show on Tuesday night and there will be more in the near future...Once again...ALL proceeds will go to John's mother to help her with every expense.

Tues Aug 2nd BENEFIT SHOW FOR JOHN OF PALEHORSE
w/ Hoods, Palehorse, Check Your Face, Skin Disorder, Signs Of Hope and On X Three
@ Hamden Elk's Lodge, 175 School St., Hamden, CT - 5:30 PM $10

http://palehorse1948.com/

www.myspace.com/palehorse


July 29th, 2005

Friends mourn WestConn student's death

John Tamas had promising future as rock musician, literary scholar

By Brian Saxton

THE NEWS-TIMES
John Tamas, 25, of Danbury, was a poet, scholar and rock musician.

DANBURY – A guitar, symbolic of his passion for hard-core heavy metal music, hung from the wall above his bed.

A copy of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables," a reflection of his literary ambitions, lay on his bedside table.

In a bedroom closet, the shelves weren't lined with shirts or sweaters but with the works of Keats, Milton, William Blake and T.S. Eliot.

At Western Connecticut State University, he was finishing his degree in English. Four months ago, he was helping to build homes for needy people in Romania.

John Tamas, far left, playing guitar with the hard-core rock band Palehorse, based in New Milford. Other members from left are Joe Longobardi, Vinny Calandra, Sean Brickley and David LePage.

Such was the amazingly varied world of 25-year-old John Tamas, poet, scholar and rock musician, who died unexpectedly Monday at his Danbury home two days after a car accident.

Although Tamas, who lived on South Street, suffered no physical injuries in the accident, family members said he later appeared to be "disoriented."

"The exact cause is still not known," Jan Aldrich, his aunt and godmother, said Thursday.

Tamas's death came just two months after he took part in graduation ceremonies at WestConn. Although he was not expected to graduate officially until later this year, the English major had enough credits to participate in May's commencement exercises.

"I was shocked and saddened by the news," said professor James Scrimgeour, resident poet laureate at WestConn and one of Tamas's teachers.

"John was an exceptional student," said Scrimgeour. "He showed great promise as a creative writer and could have, I believe, gained national recognition."

Peter Lyons, chairman of the English department at WestConn, remembered Tamas's "energy and intensity" as a poet.

A poem by John Tamas
Written in an hour at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal
“From out of nowhere, I saw a seagull sailing the sky above the sea.
I felt drizzlets of ocean land on my face shaken off his not quite angel like wings, two or three drops of infinity.
I think to a hermit crab scuttling along a sandy beach over and under the algae, every little ripple is a tidal wave.”

"I remember reading some of his poetry. It was very Whitmanesque and moved very quickly," said Lyons, referring to legendary 19th century American poet Walt Whitman. "I saw a literary future for him as either a writer or a college teacher. Probably both. I think he would have made a good teacher."

Tamas's mother, Gail Andersen, 53, said her son had already considered applying to Fordham University for his master's degree after graduating from WestConn.

"He loved school and he loved writing poetry," said Andersen. "He and a friend started a poetry club at WestConn and he was very active in student government."

Off campus, Tamas pursued another love. Hard rock music.

Growing up in New Milford, Tamas found school friends who like the same kind of music. For more than 10 years, Tamas and his friends played in various bands around neighboring towns.

Two years ago, two friends, Vinny Calandra, 26, and David LaPage, 27, formed a new band called Palehorse and Tamas, as second guitarist, jumped on board.

"He rounded out the sound, added a few blazing metal solos, and added to the live performance with his raw, boundless energy," said Calandra.

The group's two other members, both New Milford residents, are Sean Brickley, 25, and Joe Longobardi, 19.

Along with the weekend gigs they play locally, the band has traveled widely in New England and at the time of Tamas's death was planning a new tour that would have taken the group to Chicago, California and Texas.

Brickley said Thursday that the group was still hoping to go on tour. "There are no words to express the shock and despair we are all feeling right now," Brickley said in statement on behalf of the band. "John Tamas was part of the Connecticut hard-core scene for the past 12 years and has made a lasting impact on all of our lives."

Calandra said a special benefit concert is being planned for September and that all the proceeds from the show and from a record the group is making will be given to Tamas's family.

Earlier this year, Tamas found himself in yet another sharply contrasting environment.

As one of 18 students and adults from WestConn, Tamas traveled to Romania with the college Christian Ministry. The group went under the auspices of the International Habitat for Humanity.

Their leader, the Rev. Mark Horton, a pastor for the United Church of Christ, said the group went to the village of Beius to help build a four-unit group of homes for local people.
"We spent a week there sheetrocking the inside of the homes and doing work on the outside of the buildings," said Horton, now assigned to a church in the Ridgebury section of Ridgefield.

Tamas, like others in the group, lived with a local family.

"It was a great trip and a great experience for everyone," said Horton. "John had really wanted to go and was in his element. He loved working with the people. He had a ball."

Horton, who once taught Tamas at WestConn, remembered reading Tamas's poetry. "There was a lot of power in it," Horton said. "You could tell it was really coming from somewhere deep within him. He was a good poet and a man with many different gifts. His death was very tragic. I've had a sad week."

For Tamas's mother, Gail Andersen, the death of her only son has been a hard blow. "It was me and him," said Andersen, who works as a crisis clinician at Danbury Hospital.
Andersen remembers the challenging days 20 years ago after she was divorced.

With John in grade school, Andersen had to hold down a job as she put herself through school at WestConn to earn a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology.

Sometimes the days were so intense that John Tamas, then 5, would go to WestConn with his brother and sit in class. Andersen later earned a master's degree at Fordham University.

On Thursday, as she clutched some of her son's books to her chest, Andersen reflected on his memory.

"He loved me so much," said Andersen, "and he was my world."


Contact Brian Saxton
at bsaxton@newstimes.com
or at (203) 731-3332


July 27th, 2005

John Tamas, 25, of South Street, Danbury, beloved son of Gail Andersen, Danbury, passed away unexpectedly at his home on July 25, 2005.

John was. born in Danbury, Aug. 9, 1979. He walked at commencement exercises. this past May at Western Connecticut State University for his bachelors in English. John was an avid writer with a passion for poetry and English literature. He was a member of the International English Honor Society and a Senator in the Student Government Association. He served with the Habitat for Humanity in Romania and was an adventurous traveler. John also had a great love of music and was a guitarist with the band Pale Horse.

Besides his mother, he is survived by his father, John Tamas, stepmother, Margaret and half brother, Alex of New Fairfield; maternal grandmother, Roberta Gulick of Sandwich, Mass., paternal grandparents, Harry and Terri Andersen of Davenport, Fla., his two aunts: Kerrie Harkin of Jacksonville, Fla.; Jan Aldrich of Norfolk, Mass.; uncle, David Andersen of Danbury; great uncle, George Raphael of Bronx, N.Y. and his three young cousins who cherished him, Kyle and Cameron Aldrich of Norfolk, Mass. and Riley Harkin of Jacksonville, Fla.

Calling hours will be held at Green Funeral Home, 57 Main Street, Danbury, Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Edward the Confessor Church, New Fairfield, Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Cremation will take place at the direction of the family.

A trust is going to be established in his name for students of poetry attending Western Connecticut State University. Contributions can be made to the WCSU Foundation in memory of John Tamas, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810.

Taken from the News Times... http://news.newstimeslive.com/obits.php?id=10320


July 19th, 2005
(Taken from a CBGB Myspace bulletin posted on July 17th)
Our lease problem and the benefit shows.

As many of you may be aware, CBGB is currently in dispute with our landlord over a new lease. Our current lease ends at the end of August. To put all rumors to rest, the lease dispute is not over violations or unpaid rent. It is simple economics. The neighborhood is changing. Where there once were abandoned lots and supply warehouses, there are now high price condominiums and chic upscale boutiques. Neighborhoods in this city change. We understand that. Whether you want to call it gentrification or progress is a matter of opinion, and rather than turn this into a political diatribe, allow me to simply explain how this effects CBGB and we can save the political and class questions for another time.

Our landlord is the BRC (Bowery Resident's Committee) a not for profit charity that assists the homeless. They run and maintain various shelters and outreach programs. We support their cause and believe we can, not only have a good relationship as landlord and tennant, but we can also help each other.

Currently, our landlord wants us out. The reason is simple. The changes in the neighborhood (present and planned) have made the property value skyrocket. Whether they rent our space to a new tennant, use it for themselves, or have different plans all together, they believe they can make more money with us gone.

We are trying to negotiate a new lease with our landlord. Part of what we are doing is holding a series of benefit shows through the month of August. People have asked what the money is being used for. Let me explain. The money raised will be used to help cover our enormous legal expenses in our effort to obtain a new lease. If the lease dispute is resolved, these benefit shows will be a celebration and the money raised will be used to donate to the BRC to help them in their support of the homeless.

Many of the bands playing on these benefits are waiting to confirm dates... and some bands have asked not to be advertized yet.

These are the bands that have confirmed with dates confirmed as well. This list will be updated in upcoming bulletins.

8/2 RANA
8/5 BUSH TETRAS
8/9 APHASIA, SHORTIE
8/10 AGAINST ME, THE EXIT, WORLD INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
8/12 MISFITS
8/13 VANS WARPED TOUR AFTER PARTY
8/14 GORILLA BISCUITS, BLACK TRAIN JACK
8/15 RAW POWER
8/20 THE VANDALS
8/24 BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION/NIKKI SIXX & TRACII GUNS
8/26 DEAD BOYS, FLIPPER, PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES, ADRENALIN O.D. , FURIOUS GEORGE
8/27 DEAD BOYS, ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE, SFA, NIHILISTICS
8/28 SHAM 69, FLIPPER, CHEETAH CHROME & THE BLACK ANGELS
8/29 SHAM 69, THE RADICTS

Also confirmed to play are:
CONFLICT, VERBAL ABUSE, MDC, TODAY IS THE DAY, CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN, ADOLYNE, SICK OF IT ALL, FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, CIRCLE JERKS, ADOLESCENTS, D.I. , CHANNEL 3, ZERO BOYS, and DR. KNOW

Other bands are not yet completely confirmed and there may be a few surprises... so keep checking back.


July 18th, 2005
Weird Tales Of The Ramones CD
Release Date - 08/16/2005
The Ramones' sensational end-of-the-century juggernaut is chronicled as never before on this career-spanning collection. Johnny Ramone compiled Weird Tales, the first-ever Ramones box, before his death in 2004. Three audio discs gather 85 tracks, and an additional DVD presents an hour of rare footage and essential video clips. A full-color, 52-page book contains graphic novel liner notes and illustrations by 25 top comic artists, including Sergio Aragones (Mad magazine), Bill Stout (EC Comics), Bill Griffith (Zippy The Pinhead), Xaime Hernandez (Love And Rockets), and Carol Lay (WayLay). Must be seen to be believed!

http://www.rhino.com/store/ProductDetail.lasso?Number=74662


July 13th, 2005
BOLD launch a new web site!

Lots of great old photos to check out. The site is still in the works so be sure to check back from time to time...www.boldcrew.com


June 29th, 2005

CBGBs Announces Month Long Drive to Secure Lease

Dead Boys, Gorilla Biscuits, Living Color and Others to Play Benefit Shows in August

{New York, NY} CBGBs is working to build momentum and support for renewing their lease by hosting a month long series of benefit concerts for their “Save CBGB” campaign.

After 31 years of providing Rock and Roll in the heart of New York City, CBGB is struggling to get their landlord the Bowery Residence Committee, to renew their 12 year lease which expires august 31st 2005.

The Bowery Residence Committee, a not for profit homeless shelter organization that receives over 75% of its funding from New York sent a letter to CBGBs cutting off negotiations in May and has listed the property on the Real Estate MLS for anyone else who wishes to rent 313 and 315 Bowery.

The goal of these concerts is to help generate support and momentum for a quick and fair resolution for a renewed lease. All funds raised at these concerts will be used to Save CBGBs or donated to the BRC to keep fighting for the homeless upon CBGBs receiving a renewed lease.

“CBGBs supports the BRCs fight to help the homeless, we just want our lease renewed to keep this historic venue in its original place” stated Hilly Kristal, CBGBs creator and owner.

Punk and underground music of all genres will be coming together to generate support and funds.
These concerts will be a mix of old and new bands from many genres of the underground! Everything from reuniting 70’s punk legends the Dead Boys (last time ever) to modern punk bands Against Me, and Thursday will be lending their support to Save CBGBs. Other acts include: Living Color, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of it All, Adrenalin OD, The Liars, Channel 3, Today Is The Day, Circle of Dead Children, Rana, Circle Jerks, and music legend Warren Haynes with Government Mule. English punk bands Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Anti-Nowhere League, Sham 69 and Conflict will all be coming to the US just for these special benefits! More of your favorite bands from the past and present to be announced soon.

To learn more visit www.savecbgb.org website to take action, sign the official “Save CBGB petition, and updated news about this battle.
Donations to Save CBGB.org will be used to promote saving CBGBs staying at 315 Bowery. All money raised will be used in the effort to secure a new and fair lease.- once a lease has been secured all proceeds will be donated to help the homeless. Donations to Save CBGBs are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.


June 27th, 2005

RETCHING RED "GET YOUR RED WINGS" TOUR 2005!!


FRI. JULY 1st @ SABALAS MT. TABOR
4811 S.E Hawthorne Blvd., PORTLAND, OR 97215
SADO-NATION, RETCHING RED, TROUBLE MAKER, NO RED FLAGS!
21 and Over!!
www.sabalasmttabor.com
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SAT. JULY 2nd @ HELLS KITCHEN
3829 6th Ave., TACOMA, WA 98406
RETCHING RED, The Hollowpoints, Agent Apathy, The Untouchables
ALL AGES!! 5PM
www.hellskitchenonline.com
(253) 759-6003
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SUN. JULY 3 @ THE FUNHOUSE (ZAKS)
206 5th Ave N, SEATTLE, WA 98109
RETCHING RED, Infect, Bristle, Trouble Maker, The Heritix
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MON. JULY 4th @ MOLOTOV ROOM
3023 E. Diamond, SPOKANE, WA 99217
RETCHING RED, Born Losers, Shellshocked!!
ALL AGES!!
www.themolotovroom.com
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TUESDAY OFF TO DRIVE AND HAUL ASS!!
NO SPEED LIMIT IN MONTANA!?!
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WEDS. JULY 6 @ TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB
629 Cedar Ave, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55400
Retching Red, Menstrual Tramps, Cellar Door
21 + over!! 9pm!!
www.triplerocksocialclub.com
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THURS. JULY 7 @ THE STUDIO
7016 N Glenwood , CHICAGO, IL
RETCHING RED, Menstrual Tramps, Condenada, Youth Dekay!!
ALL AGES!! 7pm!! Inside Heartland Theatre
www.roseredproductions.com
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FRI. JULY 8 @ SUDSY MALONES
2626 Vine St., CINCINNATI, 45219
RETCHING RED, Third Rate Disaster, C.D.P and More!!
18+ w/ I.D.
www.sudsys.com
(513) 751 - 2300
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SAT. JULY 9 @ ALVINS
5756 Cass Ave, DETROIT, MI 48202
RETCHING RED, The Blood And The Beer, The Bill Bondsmen and more!
ALL AGES!!
www.alvinsdetroit.com
313-831-4577
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SUN. JULY 10 @ GROG SHOP
2785 Euclid Hts blvd, CLEVELAND, Ohio 44106
THE BRIGGS, LABOR FORCE, RETCHING RED, SEX CRIMES
ALL AGES! 7pm! $8
www.grogshop.gs
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MON. JULY 11 @ THE SMILING MOOSE
1306 E. Carson Street, PITTSBURGH, PA
SUBMACHINE, RETCHING RED
21 OVER!! FREE SHOW!!
www.smiling-moose.com
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TUES JULY 12 BLEEDING BITCH FUCK OFF!!
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WEDS. JULY 13 @ CASTAWAYS
413 Old Taughannock Blvd, ITHACA, NY
RETCHING RED, Black Labeled and more!!
www.castawaysithaca.com
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THURS. JULY 14 @ 242 Main
250 Main St., BURLINGTON, VT 12201
RETCHING RED, Buried Inside, Those Not on The List and others!
All Ages!!
www.242main.com
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FRI. JULY 15 @ O'BRIENS
3 Harvard Ave. ALLSTON, MA
Tommy & The Terrors, Confront, RETCHING RED, The Welch Boys!!
21 and Over!
www.obriens.purp.org
(617) 782-6245
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SAT. JULY 16 @ MATTY & HUTCH BASEMENT
BOSTON, MA!
THE PROFITS, RETCHING RED, DARKBUSTER, DRIVE LIKE JULY
All Ages!! STARTS AT 5PM!! KEGS!
www.bostonpunk.org
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SUN. JULY 17 @ CBGB'S
315 Bowery , NYC, NY 10009
IRA (Columbia) RETCHING RED, The Profits,
Two Man Advantage , Cranked Up, Rabia
All Ages! 6pm Show!
www.cbgb.com
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MON. JULY 18 @ WAREHOUSE NEXT DOOR
1017 7th Street NW, WASHINGTON, MD 21201
Retching Red, Cranked Up, The Goons, The Cult Classics and more!
www.warehousenextdoor.com
202 783 3933
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TUES. JULY 19 @ THE MILESTONE
3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. CHARLOTTE, NC, 28208
RETCHING RED, Dirty South Revolutionaries,
and More!
18 and Over!
www.solidgoldempire.com
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WEDS. JULY 20 @ SWAYZE'S VENUE
2543 Bells Ferry Rd. suite 650, MARIETTA (near ATLANTA), GA 30066
RETCHING RED, LOOSE SKREWS (ex-Stool Sample), Convix of Society, Social Awareness, Revolutionary Youth!!
All Ages!
www.swayzesvenue.com
770-590-0111
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THURS. JULY 21 @ HIHO LOUNGE
2239 St. Claude Ave., NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117
RETCHING RED, The AIDS Patients and MORE!
www.hiholounge.com

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FRI. JULY 22 @ THE SANCTUARY
1818 Main St., SAN ANTONIO, TX
POISON IDEA, VERBAL ABUSE, RETCHING RED, The Krumbums
The Sanctuary
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SAT. JULY 23 @ HOUSE OF ROCK
511 Starr St., CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
POISON IDEA, VERBAL ABUSE, RETCHING RED,
DRASTIC ACTIONS, BULLET FRENZY
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SUN. JULY 24 @ SURGES
4100 Montana, EL PASO, TX 79901
RETCHING RED, Med-X, Underclass Society, Enemy 13, National Disasters
All Ages!!!
www.myspace.com/medx
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TUES. JULY 26 - SUN. JULY 31 B.O.B. FEST OAKLAND!!
RETCHING RED BACK FROM TOUR!!
Strychnine, Motorama (Italy) I'Madman, Blown to Bits, Jesus Fucking Christ, Cruevo, Everything Must Go, Schifosi (Australia), Malnourished, Strung Up, Neoni Eagal, Fracas, Gunpowder, I will Kill You Fucker, Deathtoll, VERBAL ABUSE, RETCHING RED, ONE IN THE CHAMBER, DING DANG, INSTANT ASSHOLE, CREEPY, JEWDRIVER, America's Dirty 30's, 7 Crowns (UK), Fleas and Lice (Netherlands), Star Strangled Bastards, Nigel Peppercock, Shining Path, Death x Excess, and more!!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
IT''S NOT OVER YET!!
FRI. AUG. 5th @ THE POISON APPLE
8714 S. Vermont Blvd, SOUTH LOS ANGELES, CA
DR. KNOW, RETCHING RED, BLOODCUM, SMD
8pm!! All Ages!! $5
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
SAT. AUG. 6th @ KEN MILLER REC. CENTER
3330 Civic Center Dr. in N. Torrance, CA
THE DICKIES, MANIC HISPANIC, SMUT PEDDLERS, RETCHING RED, CIRCLE ONE, DINAH CANCER & THE GRAVE ROBBERS, DECRY AND MORE!!
N/A PUNK SHOW!! STARTS AT NOON!! ALL AGES!!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
FRI. AUG. 19 @ CLUB FREDS
1461 N. Van Ness, FRESNO, CA
RETCHING RED, AMERICAS DIRTY THIRTYS, L.R.A. AND MORE!!
21 + Over!!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
SAT. SEPT. 17 @ 924 GILMAN ST.
924 Gilman St, BERKELEY, CA
DR. KNOW, NAKED AGGRESSION, RETCHING RED
NEW EARTH CREEPS AND MORE!!
All Ages!! 8pm!!
www.924gilman.org
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
MON. OCT. 17 @ OAKLAND METRO
201 2nd St at Broadway in Downtown Oakland!
THE VIBRATORS (UK), CELL BLOCK 5, RETCHING RED, TROUBLE MAKER, DEKOIZ
All Ages!! 7pm!!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
MORE DATES, SHOWS AND INFO GO TO:
http://www.retchingred.com
http://myspace.com/retchingred
http://myspace.com/cycoloco

RETCHING RED is:
CINDER BLOCK (TILT) - Vocals
CYCO LOCO (Oppressed Logic) - Bass
JOE FUCKO (Strychnine / ex- Naked Aggression) - Guitar
CRASH DIAZ (Trouble Maker) - Drums----

RETCHING RED
4096 Piedmont Ave. #216
OAKLAND, CA. 94611-5221

info@retchingred.cominfo@retchingred.com

RETCHING RED "Get Your Red Wings!" CD OUT NOW!!


June 16th, 2005

If you support local CT bands/music, then CTLocal.com can use your help!

Become a CTLocal.com Sponsor and help the local music scene be heard, not only in and around Connecticut, but around the globe through CTLocal.com. In an effort to keep the voices of Local Connecticut Artists out there for all to hear, we at CTLocal.com are asking for your support. If you are interested in helping to keep the Local Connecticut Music Scene represented globally through the World Wide Web, and gather yourself a bit of exposure as well (and the local status that will accompany your good intentions), then check out the following Sponsorship Program offers from CTLocal.com

You may be asking yourself, "why should I support CTLocal.com"? Well, read this...it's taken from their About Us page...

"I regard music in the highest order, along side that of love. Without music there is no life. Everyone needs music in order to survive. Try to imagine a day with no music, that includes the singing of the birds, the idle of car engines, the whispering of the breeze, the murmur of far off conversations, the rhythm of your own breathing. All those sounds are in themselves music. Music is all-encompassing of sound. Sound equals music, music equals life".

"These feelings, these emotions that can be brought forth through an Artists musical vision, I have always striven to share with those around me. With the birth of the internet I have been able to realize this calling all the more so, to share this music/love/life with anyone who is willing to listen, with anyone who is willing to walk into the record store and buy something they've never heard before. I created IndepenDisc and CTLocal.com for anyone/everyone for this reason".

"IndepenDisc and CTLocal.com are the record stores that stock only the music you have never heard before".

If you are a Connecticut music fan who is fed up with the mediocrity that is the current state of Corporate Rock 'n' Radio. If you have an interest in local artistic bands, but do not have the time to search and find them on your own (i.e. go to the bars and street festivals, or sit and spin the radio dial or surf the web). Then Sign Up Now to become a member of CTLocal.com. It is FREE, and there are NO purchase OBLIGATIONS! Come, Expand your local musical horizon...


June 13th, 2005

We now have The Anti-Emo Empire! Radio Show! t-shirts!
Hot off of the presses and only a small batch made...so be sure to get one while they are still hot!!

All proceeds go to pay for web hosting and domain registration that has been coming out of pocket for the past few years. So if you are fans of or support the radio show, please be sure to show that support by purchasing a t-shirt!

Click here for more info and to purchase...


May 30th, 2005

Tonights show marked the 4th anniversary of The Anti-Emo Empire! Radio Show!
Thanks to everyone for 4 incredible years on the air!!


May 27th, 2005

The Anti-Emo Empire! is now on Myspace.com. Check out the page...www.myspace.com/theantiemoempire


May 23rd, 2005

Well...this really isn't News, it's more of a week in review and what an incredible week it was...

Monday night 5/16 I had the pleasure of having Joe and Sue Snow from Incas Records guest host the show with me. We spun most of the Up All Night compilation cd as well as a bunch of incredible unreleased songs from most of the bands who appear on the comp. We gave away a few copies of the cd to some lucky listeners and talked a lot about the cd release show that was happening on Saturday night. Check out the playlist from the show...


On a normal Tuesday night I go to WNHU with my wife Michelle and I edit and go through new cds in the production studio while she in on the air from 8-10, but not this Tuesday night. At 3:30 PM I was supposed to meet the Eyeliners and their manager at Toad's Place and get them over to WNHU for a live interview with Becky and Meg on their show Mono Mono. The manager and myself were on time but the band hit some traffic and were about an hour late. Fortunately their schedule for sound check allowed for them to still have the time to do the interview, so we all piled into my car and headed to WNHU. I took a few pics which you can check out on the Pictures page. After the interview I took them back to WNHU and then headed home for dinner and to pick up Michelle for the Toad's show. Michelle prerecorded her radio show so that we wouldn't miss The Eyeliners and The Lost City Angels, unlike the week before where we missed Murphy's Law and 2-3 Supersuckers songs at the Reverend Horton Heat show at Toad's. So we got there early and met up with the Eyeliners tour manager and had the incredible opportunity to meet Joan Jett. Yes, I said Joan Jett...If you are wondering why she was there, it's because The Eyeliners new cd is on Blackheart Records and Joan played guitar and sang back up vocals on the song Destroy, so she was there to jump up on stage with the band for their finale...and what a finale it was. I also guess that Mike Ness is a Joan Jett fan and vice versa so Mike asked Joan to come up stage with Social D and do a blues jam...so about 3/4 through the set, that is exactly what happened. Mike said, "I want to welcome our special guest Joan Jett on stage for this next song" and the crowd went berzerk...it was truly history in the making and for once I was there to witness it instead of reading about it the next day...Michelle got some incredible pics from the show and you can check them out on the Pictures page...


On Wednesday 5/18 Joe Snow picked me up at my house and we meet up with Steve Ellison of the Dummy's and Gregg Won (who had flown in from Los Angeles the night before). We drove to Café Nine for lunch and were like giddy little school kids when the new issue of the New Haven Advocate arrived. We all wanted to see the write up about the Incas show, but we didn't want to jump out of our seats and rush the delivery guy either. It was just like that anxiety that you get as a kid when you wake up on Christmas morning. I had to get a copy though because not only was the Incas write up in there, but my wife Michelle came in 2nd place for The Advocate's Best Of New Haven Readers Poll 2005 for Best Local Radio Personality. That's right, she beat out Chaz and AJ from WPLR!! After lunch we headed to Bridgeport to find Gregg Won's house that he grew up in and also the infamous house on Light Street where he hung out with friends and killed a lot of brain cells and which inspired the song Light Street and dubbed Gregg as the original Light Street Bad Ass! I cannot explain how much fun it was driving around with these guys, most of the time we were laughing our asses off...it's actually amazing that I didn't piss myself in the back seat of Steve's car. I had to cut out early though because Tuesday was Michelle and my's 2nd wedding anniversary, which we had to postpone to Wednesday because we were too busy doing the rock 'n roll thing on Tuesday night...


Thursday night 5/19 I had band practice...that's right, it's looking like I finally have a new band rolling and Gary just informed me that he set up a page on My Space which you can check out here...No recordings or live shows just yet, but let's hope for some soon. I am back on bass and back to my roots...old school hardcore/punk!


After months of planning, promoting, anticipating and coordinating a day that ALL of the members of seven bands who haven't played together in 25 years could make it (which I tell you 1st hand is not easy), it was here...it was Saturday May 21st.

Michelle and I arrived at Cafe Nine at 8 PM and you could feel the magic in the room. It truly made me happy to see so many old friends reunited after 25 years. Many band members moved out of CT in the early to mid 1980's and for a few of them it was their 1st time back to New Haven in over 20 years. Some of them put aside their differences and Steve Schneider from X-Factor said on stage, "I cannot even remember why I left the band, but looking back now, who cares".

The night was truly history in the making...I mean these bands were there at the beginning and they shaped a sound and an attitute that would influence generations to come. A few members went on to band's that influenced me directly in the mid 1980's and helped to shape my musical tastes and career ( I use the word career lightly)...

Now, I was never a Light Street Bad Ass or a Reactor and I never had the pleasure to hang out down at Ron's, but everyone treated me as if I was one of them. I learned pretty early in life that there are very few moments that you can truly share. Like when you see a movie or hear a band for the first time and you are blown away and then you play it for a friend and they are like ehh! Your heart drops and you realize that you are truly alone with your feelings and your emotions. Well that was not the case on Saturday night and if only for this one night, for this one small moment in time, I could look around the room and know that we are all sharing this and we are all feeling the same emotions and excitement!

Be sure to check out the pictures from the night and I hope that in some way shape or form they can project the magic that was in the air on Saturday night! The bands, the attitude, the music, the vibe was the the closest you will ever get to it being 1978 all over again!

There are very few times in one's life that you can be a part of something truly magical and I want to thank Joe and Sue Snow for making me a part of this night and for also making me an honorary member of the Connecticut Punk Preservation Society! If you have not already purchased a copy of the Up All Night compilation cd, you can do so here...

I want to thank Café Nine for agreeing to host the show! Since Paul and Gary took over the Nine the New Haven music scene has definitely blossomed and we are all indebted to The Musicians Living Room!

Thanks to all of the bands, Gregg Won and the Light Street All Stars, Epitome, the Dummy's, the Editors, Xtras/X-Factor and the Reactors for making this happen. Let's hope that it's not another 25 years until you all see one another again!

I also owe a huge thanks to Johnny Flat Top, Rick Hendricks and Ernst who have time and time again taken me under their wings and shared many a story, passed along music and a contact and mostly just for still being passionate and sincere about their youth and the CT punk scene!

We are ALL definitely NOT too old to be "Punk Rockers" and NONE of us are ready to die!!!


Check out some press on the show...

The Hartford Courant

The New Haven Advocate

The New Haven Register


May 9th, 2005

Up Front are playing in CT at the end of July!

This show has been in the works for the last 4 months and I finally have all of the details. The guys in Payback called me back in January and asked if Up Front would play a Payback reunion in CT and we said yes. Payback were one of the many CT bands that Up Front shared the stage with back in the late 80's and we thought that it would be a fun time...

The Moose Lodge
44 Dodge ave, Stratford CT

Friday July 29th

Concrete Facelift
In Defiance
When Freedom Dies
New Society Of Anarchists
Lethal Aggression
Payback

Doors 6PM
$5.00All Ages


Saturday July 30th

Society In Breakdown
Unexplained
Second Class Citizens
When Freedom Dies
Up Front
Payback
Bloodshot Hooligans

Doors 6PM
$5.00
All Ages



May 2nd, 2005

I was unable to do my show tonight, but I left you with the very best...Kevin from The Basement Takeover! I will have the playlist up soon...I will be back next week and I will have a few pairs of Social Distortion tickets to give away to their upcoming show at Toad's Place on May 17th, so be sure to tune in to win!!!!


Also, on the show Monday May 16th I will have Joe Snow of Incas Records on with me. We will be talking about Incas Records, the new Up All Night cd comp, the CD release show on May 21st at Café Nine and a whole lot more...


May 30th will mark the 4 year anniversary for The Anti-Emo Empire! and I am going to try and plan something special for that night's show...stay tuned for more details...


March 28th, 2005

Revelation Records old schoolers BOLD have reunited and are playing their 1st show on Sun April 17th with Mental, Triple Threat, Have Heart and The Fire Still Burns @ CB-GB 315 Bowery, NYC, doors 5PM first band 5:30. The line up is said to be Matt Warnke, Tom Capone, Tim Brooks and Vinny Panza (drums).


I attended two shows this past weekend. Friday night I saw The First Step, Triple Threat, Signs of Hope, Fired Up and Lion Of Judah @ The Wallingford American Legion and Saturday night I saw Human Vice Patrol, Running Like Thieves and Dearly Beloved @ Cousin Larry's in Danbury CT. Click here to check out some pics from both nights...


March 21st, 2005

Cradle of punk facing possible eviction
Owner trying to stave off death of CBGB

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hours earlier, Hilly Kristal was with rock's royalty inside a Waldorf-Astoria ballroom for the latest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.

By the morning, though, Kristal sips a cup of coffee and pops an antacid as he considers the future of his own piece of rock history: CBGB's, the venerable birthplace of punk. After 32 years in business, the world-renowned club on the Bowery is in danger of losing its lease.

"Even at this Hall of Fame thing, people were coming up and asking, 'What can we do? What can we do?' " Kristal recalls, sitting at his cramped desk just inside the club's front door. "It's very discouraging after all these years."

Kristal says the club owes $91,000 in back rent -- through a bookkeeping mix-up. (His landlord concurs, but still wants the money.) Come August, when its lease expires, he expects the current $19,000 monthly rent to at least double, although Kristal's landlord says there will be no new lease unless the old mess is gone.

"Show me you can meet your current obligations, and then we'll talk about new ones," says Muzzy Rosenblatt, executive director of the Bowery Residents' Committee. "His destiny is in his own hands."

Rosenblatt's group holds a 45-year lease on the building, where the agency houses 250 homeless people above the club. CBGB's is their lone commercial tenant; their rent feud dates back five years, when the committee went to court to collect more than $300,000 in back rent from the club.

The agency currently is in court trying to evict CBGB's, citing the current unpaid rent and Kristal's alleged failure to repair code violations in the legendary club. Kristal is battling on both fronts.

"I'm energized," says the gray-bearded owner. "I'm going to fight."

For fans of the dank storefront bar, its demise would mean the demolition of the Empire Punk Building.

"I consider it a historic place," says Tommy Ramone, drummer in one of the club's most enduring bands. "It would be like losing a landmark of sorts, you know?"

CBGB's, with its familiar white awning, holds a special place in the city's music history. It was here that the Ramones, the Talking Heads and Blondie created the punk scene for small crowds that paid a $1 cover charge.

"CBGB's allowed bands -- original bands, no less -- the freedom to go and play and do whatever they pleased," recalls Tommy Ramone. "It was a good fit."

Rosenblatt is aware of the club's legacy. He and his future wife shared their first kiss inside the club, although he's quick to add that nostalgia won't keep its doors open.

Hilly Kristal founded CBGB in 1973.

"I will not subsidize CBGB's at the expense of the homeless," Rosenblatt said. "I can't allow my own sentimentality to impede our ability to serve homeless people."

For Rosenblatt, that's one of the major problems in his agency's dispute with Kristal. He estimates the committee has spent $50,000 in legal fees and expenses to collect back rent from the club and to force Kristal to bring his space up to code, taking money away from the homeless.

Kristal suggested that greed was at the root of his problems with the landlord. A new tenant could afford a much steeper rent, and the building housing the club is now worth many millions of dollars, he said.

Back in the early '90s, when the neighborhood was still dicey, Kristal considered buying the building -- but he couldn't raise the needed $4 million. The majority of money generated by the club now comes from T-shirt sales, he said.

Kristal was considering several options, including turning the space into a museum during the day. The club is already a repository of rock 'n' roll memorabilia, with every spare inch of its walls covered in posters, fliers and stickers for hundreds of bands.

Several wealthy benefactors have also stepped up with offers to rescue the club, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. "It's an icon of the New York music scene," the dot-com billionaire said by e-mail, confirming his interest.

Kristal doesn't know if that will help.

"You raise $50,000, $100,000 -- big deal," he said. "This is going to be $20,000 a month more, at least. It doesn't make sense."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

View the actual article here...


March 17th, 2005

SAVE CBGBs: EAT MORE CHOCOLATE: MAY, 2005

NEW YORK - Winner of the 2004 Timeout New York Eat Award for “Best Chocolate Store” and New York’s candy store for grown-ups, Chocolate Bar celebrates CBGBs: Home of Underground Rock with limited-edition products dedicated to saving Manhattan’s cultural institution. For more than 30 years, the eternal downtown nightclub has with ragged pride, served as the incubator for much of the punk and art-rock which came out of New York over the last thirty years including The Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, Blonde and The Talking Heads. Founded in 1973 by Hilly Kristal, the now grandfatherly 73-year-old converted a Hell’s Angels hangout into one of the most famous venues for live music and in doing so established a New York City landmark. Debuting this May, 2005, Chocolate Bar, in collaboration with Hilly Kristal unveils two edible lines of CBGB products including the CBGBs Punk Rock Box ($25.00); a 16 piece truffle collection embossed with the pioneering history and iconic imagery of CBGBs illustrious music scene. Served in a chocolate brown box, hot-stamped with the venues famed logo, it comes complete with a postage-paid petition to save CBGBs, a record-shaped biography, steel logo keychain and a collection of CBGB stickers. CBGB Retro Bars ($3.00 each); Inspired by those colossal flavors from late-night, post-show snack attacks, discover pure 1970 nostalgia with two new retro flavors. Each is wrapped in a limited-edition CBGBs keepsake, weighs an impressive 2.25 ounces and comes complete with a postage-paid petition to save the venerable venue. Chocolate Bar is located at 48 Eighth Avenue between Horatio and Jane Streets. Consumers can pre-order CBGBs product for delivery anywhere in the U.S. by calling 1.800.481.2462 or by visiting www.chocolatebarnyc.com.



March 15th, 2005

WNHU is having their annual Phone-A-Thon this week and next week. It's the one time out of the year where the radio station and the DJ's reach out to the community for donations. WNHU is a non-commercial station funded solely through student tuitions, the university of New Haven and donations from Alumni and listeners/supporters.

From what I understand, if you pledged money to the station last year, you should be receiving a letter in the mail along with a pledge form. If you choose to make a donation this year, please be sure to write The Anti-Emo Empire! in the "Department" section on that form.

If you live in the listening area of WNHU, I will be on the air Wed 3/16, Mon 3/21 and Wed 3/23 and it would be great if you could call the Pledge Line @ 203-934-WNHU between 8-10 PM on either of those days to make a pledge.

If you live outside of the listening area and would like to contribute, you can email me your full name, mailing address and phone # and I will fill out the pledge form and mail it out to you in a self addressed stamped envelope.

All pledges are tax deductible and you don't need to have the money right now. Once you receive the pledge form, you can mail it back with your pledge at your convenience.

This coming May will mark 4 years on the air for The Anti-Emo Empire! and I cannot thank you enough for all of the support that I have received throughout!

Thanks!!!!
Jeff Terranova


March 7th, 2005

CBGB, Punk-Rock Mecca Of The World, On The Verge Of Extinction
From VH-1.com / 03.04.2005

Club owner owes landlord $91,000 in back rent.Much like the bald eagle, the komodo dragon and the piping plover, New York's legendary rock venue, CBGB — the punk-rock mecca of the world — is teetering on the verge of extinction.

The clock is counting down to August when, if lease-renewal negotiations with its landlord aren't settled with a new agreement, the iconic club will board up its rickety doors for good — due primarily to rising rents and declining live-music audiences, factors that have taken a toll on many small venues across the country.

Club owner Hilly Kristal, who in 1973 transformed what was once a Hell's Angels hangout into what is regarded as the birthplace of punk rock — serving as the incubator for the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Television and literally hundreds of others artists through the years — says he'll fight for as long as he can to keep CBGB open. But it's going to be an uphill battle.

During the most recent round of lease-renewal negotiations with his landlord, Kristal learned that his monthly rent would likely double, to $40,000. Tack on the $91,000 in back rent his landlord is owed — an amount that his landlord says must be paid before the now-suspended negotiations can resume — plus CBGB's $80,000 annual liability insurance, and Kristal is looking at a king's ransom he isn't sure he'll be able to come up with.

Nonetheless, "We won't be boarded up until after our lease is up" in August, he vows. "I am determined to stay, but they want me out."

The Bowery Residents' Committee Inc. — a nonprofit organization that provides housing and social services to the homeless, chemically dependent, psychiatrically disabled, aged, and persons with HIV/AIDS — assumed control of the building's management in 1993 and has been the club's landlord ever since. Muzzy Rosenblatt, executive director of the BRC, said that his chief concern is the safety not only of the 175 people who are provided shelter in the housing units above the punk-rock landmark, but of CBGB's patrons as well.

In 2003, after a deadly blaze at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island killed 100 Great White fans and injured hundreds more (see "At Least 96 Dead At Rock Show Fire"), New York's city council created a task force to examine the issue of building and fire safety in the city's nightclubs and music venues. That team issued "tons of violations" against CBGB for issues that have not yet been resolved, Rosenblatt said.

"Patrons who go to CBGB to listen to music expect to come out alive," he says. "[Kristal] has no public-assembly permit, there's insufficient egress, construction has been completed down there that they [never secured permits for] and was not done to code. It's scary." Rosenblatt said he has only asked Kristal to be a responsible tenant by paying rent and bringing the venue into compliance with existing building codes.

"To date, he has not successfully done that," Rosenblatt said. "So I am not going to put lives at risk for sentimentality. Just because you've cultivated many talented musicians doesn't give you immunity."

But it does give you friends. Kristal said he has been contacted by several musicians in recent weeks, both high-profile and lesser-known, who have offered to lend their support. He said that John Joseph of long-running hardcore combo the Cro-Mags has assembled a consortium of musicians to help raise awareness about the club's fiscal dilemma. But, Kristal says, there are no definitive, concrete plans to stage a fund-raiser or similar event in the foreseeable future. Joseph could not be reached for comment.

Three other popular New York clubs are in similar straits. Fez, a small, seated venue popular with singer/songwriters, will close in the next few weeks; underground-music hotspot Tonic is suffering financial difficulty; Luna Lounge's Ludlow Street location has been sold to developers who plan to level the club — where the Strokes first performed — to make way for a large apartment complex. However, Robb Sacher, one of Luna's owners, said they plan to move the venue to either another location on Manhattan's Lower East Side or to Brooklyn. Several other popular New York clubs have closed in recent years, including Coney Island High, Wetlands, Brownies and the Bottom Line.

The situation is not unique to New York. In 2004, Chicago's legendary Fireside Bowl, one of the epicenters of the Windy City's underground-music scene, was converted back into a bowling alley (albeit one with occasional live music). In 2003, Boulder, Colorado, rock club Tulagi was shut down by the state, to whom its owners owed more than $7,000 in unpaid business tax. That same year, Connecticut's El 'n' Gee club threw in the towel when it couldn't afford to pay its bills. New Orleans' Mermaid Lounge was boarded up in November of 2004; a health-and-wellness center sits in its place.

Whether CBGB's situation will change between now and the expiration of its lease is unclear. But Kristal doesn't seem to be holding out much hope: "Realistically, we have until the end of August."

View the actual article here...


March 1st, 2005

First off, the TV Smith show at Café 9 on Sunday night was truly incredible. Hands down one of the best shows that I have seen, it makes my top 10 list! I took pictures, so be sure to check them out on the Pictures page...The set list from the night is at http://www.tvsmith.com/archives/setlists.php?gid=380


Mother Nature struck again last night and unfortunately the snow prevented me from getting to WNHU to do my show. Mark Maturo from Wires In The Walls filled in for me and though it was not The Anti-Emo Empire! he did a damn good job with the show. Be sure to check out the playlist. I am looking forward to next week's show!!!


Time to vote in the New Haven Advocate's "Best Of"

http://newhavenadvocate.com/bestof/2005/

Write in WNHU 88.7 FM for " Local Radio Station" on line 25
and Jeff Terranova for "Local Radio Personality" on line 26.

You have to register with a valid email address and also remember, you need to vote in at least 20 categories for it to count.

Thanks for your support!!!


February 19th, 2005

Saw an incredible show at Café 9 this past Thursday, 2/17. It was a book signing by one of the real fathers of NYC punk rock, Legs McNeil, author of "Please Kill Me, The Uncensored Oral History Of Punk". His new book is called "The Other Hollywood: An Oral History of the Porn Industry". The night also featured an appearance by the Big Fat Combo with special guests Joey Ramone's brother Mikey Leigh and Legs McNeil, plus a retro-naughty burlesque performance to kick off the evening and the Big Fat Combo set.
Michelle and I took pictures, so be sure to check them out on the Pictures page..
.


Glenn Danzig will be joined by his former MISFITS bandmate Doyle for a special 30-minute set of MISFITS classics at two DANZIG East Coast shows in early March, BLABBERMOUTH.NET can exclusively reveal. The dates are as follows:
Mar. 01 – New York, NY @ Spirit Performance Center
Mar. 02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Danzig and Doyle had previously shared the stage in December in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in what was being billed as their first joint appearance in 20 years. "It's the closest thing to a MISFITS reunion anyone is ever going to see!" Danzig had previously said.
DANZIG's "Circle of Snakes" U.S. tour is scheduled to kick off tomorrow (Feb. 18) in St. Louis, Missouri. Support at all shows will come from KATAKLYSM, TRIVIUM and EYES OF FIRE. A complete list of currently confirmed tour dates can be found at this location.



February 16th, 2005

AGNOSTIC FRONT FEATURED ON MONSTER GARAGE!
Agnostic Front will be performing music from their latest release, Another Voice, which hit streets on January 25th, on an episode of Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage.
Jesse James hand-picked Agnostic Front to perform live while an all-star team of builders turn a 1929 Ford Model-A into the most insane hot-rod to see the light of day. To ensure this street-rod has East Coast flare, the work takes place in the Big Apple and Agnostic Front's stomping ground.
February 21, 2005 at 9:00 PM & 12:00 Midnight
Network: DSC
Series: Monster Garage
Episode: NYC Hot Rod


CBGB is facing the prospect of shutting down when its lease expires in August and its annual rent could reach nearly half a million dollars.
Read the story here: http://nypost.com/news/regionalnews/40710.htm


February 10th, 2005

Schoolhouse Rock
The students of UNH tell National Public Radio to go jump in Lake Wobegon.

by Mark Oppenheimer - February 10, 2005

On Feb. 2, I spent some time hanging out in the basement studio of WNHU 88.7 FM, the student-run radio station of the University of New Haven. You could guess what the lounge area looks like, and you'd be right: tattered sofas, band bumper stickers stuck to the wall, crushed soda cans at your feet. Scruffy college boys with struggling facial hair were sitting around, listening to the station's broadcast piped quietly from speakers mounted on the wall. These are guys, and some girls, who spend 30 hours a week down here in the bowels of Maxcy Hall, for no money, superintending the best college radio station in the state.

I had come to ask what they thought of the possibility of their radio station carrying six hours a day of National Public Radio-- Morning Edition every morning and All Things Considered in the afternoon--a plan hatched by station manager Hank Yaggi and his friend, Connecticut Public Broadcasting president Jerry Franklin. I had written about the plan Jan. 6 ("Radio Free West Haven"), describing Yaggi's contention that the alliance would provide greater visibility for UNH, better radio for southern Connecticut, and better educational opportunities for these student DJs. Now I was finally sitting down to talk to these students, who, it seemed, were going to see the culture of their station changed drastically.

But two days later, on Friday, Feb. 4, University of New Haven president Steve Kaplan sent an e-mail to the UNH community saying, "I have decided that the time is not right for us to enter into a relationship with WNPR to broadcast morning and evening news shows."

The DJs and their supporters had spent weeks hanging out in the student union, collecting signatures on their petitions. They had shown real savviness in pestering me (and, I presume, the Register ) to write about their fight. They had mobilized a very loyal alumni body, who had called President Kaplan to give him the old verbal what-for. And they turned 40 students out at an open forum with Kaplan the night of Feb. 2.

At the forum, Kaplan said, "I have nothing at stake in this. I'll tell you that right now. If you convince me this is a bad thing for the students, I'll back off the whole thing."

They convinced him.

Sometimes the good guys win. Congratulations, kids.

They had already convinced me, a couple hours earlier, as we'd chatted in the WNHU lounge.

"The point of college radio has never been about ratings or mass appeal," saidMatt Heller, a junior from Whalen, Mass., who is the student station manager this year. "It's to provide something other stations don't provide."

Kyle Stewart, who graduated last year but still has a radio show, said that the station owes something to its fans. "I don't think the university understands what WNHU means to 14-year-old kids."

He should know: He's from West Haven, grew up listening to WNHU, and now has the station's logo tattooed on his bicep. Another DJ, Mark Scialabba of Wallingford, would come home from high school and tune in to WNHU--to hear Kyle Stewart's show.

It was extraordinary to hear the passion of these students. They didn't seem like born activists; rather, they were music fiends, and that's why the station meant everything to them. In this age of fractured media, with the internet and radio and satellite radio and newspapers and TV and movies and books all competing for our attention, these DJs were focused on one thing: music, played on the radio.

If WNHU existed only to feed the students' connoisseurship, I might not have cared so much about this fight. But the community needs this truly independent radio station as much as the college kids do.

About two weeks back, I spent a night driving around, going nowhere in particular, with my pooch J.J. in the back seat. It was zero degrees outside, I was feeling pensive, and I happened to want to listen to something other than classic rock or country. So I hit the seek button on my radio, and soon I was listening to the cool country and rockabilly songs of Go Kat Go! , the weekly show on WNHU. Then, the next morning, I wanted to listen to something other than NPR or the canned chatter of commercial radio--so I hit seek, and soon I was listening to old jazz and big band standards.

Now, the NPR plan would have banished the morning big band, replacing it with NPR's All Things Considered --but I'd still have had my evening rockabilly. But that's not the point. The point, I realized, is that we ought to have a station that takes a stand-- a stand on principle --that says: We will play certain music just because it's cool and our enthusiastic, sometimes inexperienced DJs think it's worth playing. And even if only 50 people are listening, even if the music is outdated or old-fashioned or unpopular, we'll play it. And, once in a while, someone will happen onto 88.7 on the dial and will hear a song that, lo and behold, she thinks is just terrific. And that's reason enough for our station to play this stuff.

This is a stand against capitalism, which I generally like, and it's a stand against popular tastes, which I generally share. It's a stand for the same principle that says animal species are worth perserving just because , even if nobody would notice their extinction. I believe that it's worth having diversity and variety on God's green earth, and so we don't need yet another NPR station.

I think NPR is a terrific news-gathering operation, but there is a dark side. Much as Fox News does the thinking for a huge chunk of America, NPR spoon-feeds certain tastes to another segment of the country, and that can be just as harmful to diversity of thought. Harmful, too, are the reactionary stances some NPR affiliates take in opposition to the licensing of low-wattage radio signals; NPR, too often, wants to be the only public radio show in town. College radio is one antidote, and those of us who oppose corporate consolidation and monopolies should celebrate it.

NPR plays pretty much everywhere, but not all towns are lucky enough to have a WNHU. Our corner of New England is better for having on its airwaves a station that broadcasts quirky, underappreciated music. WNHU is different, and, in this case, that makes all the difference.


View the actual New Haven Advocate article here...


February 7th, 2005

Life has a strange way of weights and balances. Last Friday afternoon I heard some of the best news that I ever heard, but that news being via the telephone as I sat in my bed sweating from a fever and choking from a bad case of bronchitis that my doctor diagnosed me with not 4 hours earlier. Joe Amarante from the New Haven Register called me and asked me if I had heard the news. What news? I said. He read me an excerpt from a press release that came from UHN and I couldn't believe my ears
. I mean, I knew that WNHU would win the battle, I never had any doubts, but to hear it in writing was something else!

I want to personally thank everyone who spoke out, who wrote letters, who sent emails, who made phone calls, who told a friend, who signed a petition, who called the dj's and offered their support! We stuck together as a community and our voices were not stifled. I am proud to be a part of WNHU and this community and all of you should be proud as well!!!

Here is a copy of the article that appeared in last Saturday's New Haven Register!


Top Stories
In reversal, WNHU will not air public radio programs
Joe Amarante, Television and Radio Editor
02/05/2005

WEST HAVEN — University of New Haven officials have decided against the hot-button proposal to air key news programs from Connecticut Public Radio’s WNPR on its own WNHU-FM, it was announced late Friday.

The decision was made after weeks of mostly hostile reaction to the plan and after UNH President Steven Kaplan met with more than 100 students about it this week. The students laid out their opposition to the plan, which would have seen weekday morning- and afternoon-drive WNPR programs run on WNHU (88.7).

Scores of students, alumni and community volunteers made their feelings known to Kaplan and Hank Yaggi, general manager of the radio station on the West Haven campus, after the plan became public in December.

One editorial in the student newspaper, The Charger Bulletin, supported the plan that was laid out to some managers in mid-December. But several students, volunteers and alumni felt the move would not serve students or community and was being rushed into effect while students were on winter break.

Yaggi called that assertion "outrageous" and "absolute non-sense." As late as last week, he was defending the plan (which also included internships at WNPR and other news training) by saying that, "No student who is qualified through training here will be denied a time period of this radio station."

But Friday’s decision went the other way. Not ruling out such a move in the future, the two offi-cials announced in a release that they decided that "the time is not right to enter into a relationship with WNPR to broadcast morn-ing and evening news shows."

Mark Maturo, the student program director, said the sta-tion’s "integrity and soul in the community has been kept intact, as it has been for the past 30 years."

Craig Mortali, an ESPN pro-ducer and former student man-ager of WNHU, said, "I’m most pleased as an alumni who cares a lot about the station. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without WNHU."

Mortali, who along with for-mer GM Dick Gelgauda and sta-tion veteran Jim Abbott met with Kaplan in December to oppose the plan, said, "My overriding thought was that we don’t want outside people (from WNPR) coming in to try and fix our problems" at WNHU.

Students apparently defended the eclectic contributions of community members in talks with Kaplan, whose statement read in part, "The students made a clear, convincing case why the community DJs also contribute to their real-life learning in the stu-dio and we hope to continue relying on them to provide pro-gramming. Kaplan announced that he has asked UNH Provost Blake Cherrington to appoint an advisory board to help guide the development of the station. The creation of the advisory board was one of the main recommenda-tions of a Strategic Planning Task Force on WNHU that met two years ago.

That task force, which in-cluded Mortali and Gelgauda, issued a final report on March 18, 2003, that recommended not only the advisory board and better student training, but that WNHU not accept the WNPR offer to link up (something talked about back then, too).

"The answers are in the re-port," said Mortali. "We just think they should give it a chance."

©New Haven Register 2005

View the article here...


January 14th, 2005
WUNH considers deal with NPR - by Chris Velardi

(West Haven-WTNH, Jan. 14, 2005 6:28 PM) _ College radio often stands out because its programming is so unique. That's why a proposal at the University of New Haven is making waves. UNH is considering airing three shows from National Public Radio on its campus station.

* by News Channel 8's Chris Velardi

WNHU, the campus radio station at the University of New Haven, is true college radio. Rap, rock, big band, you name it, the student and volunteer disc jockeys play it.

"To me, not having a radio station when you've got programs in mass communications is like having a biology program without labs," says UNH President Steve Kaplan. "It's the place where the students really do their learning."

President Kaplan says a proposal to add 30 hours of programming from National Public Radio won't change that.

The university is toying with the idea of becoming a NPR affiliate, airing the programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Kaplan says he wouldn't even be considering this if he didn't think it could benefit the school the station and, most important, the students who'd be able to take advantage of public radio equipment.

"Our students would have access to the facilities up in Hartford and to some other local facilities they're talking about in terms of internships, coops, seminars," says Kaplan.

Reaction so far has been mixed. Students are still away on break, but some have already started a petition drive to keep NPR off of 'NHU.

UNH professors David Morris and Joel Marks host a weekly talk show on the station. They're afraid that eventually NPR will start calling the shots when it comes to other programming.

"There's a unique kind of openness and variety and experimentalism and novelty and innovation you can have on a college radio program," says philosophy professor Dr. Joel Marks.

"I think if we could maintain our identity in those other hours, I don't see anything wrong with it," says marketing professor Dr. David Morris, "but if we lose our identity, which I think could be easily done, then I think it's a possible problem."

Right now, this is just a proposal and the University says the debate has to continue. It's going to hear from all sides before it makes an ultimate decision.

Some local radio shows would be bumped if NPR programming is added, but the university says that time would come from community volunteers, not from students.


View the article here...


January 10th, 2005
SEXBOMB! of the legendary CT SEIZURE to co-host the Anti-Emo Empire! on Monday January 17th!

Sexbomb and I have been talking about having him come on and co-host the show for like 6 months now, so I figured that it was time to set a date. Be sure to tune in, Monday January 17th from 8-10 PM for this "not to be missed" show! Sexbomb has been a long time staple in the hardcore/punk scene. From assisting Sean and Brian from the Legendary Anthrax club, to playing in Seizure, to more recently dj'ing friday nights at the Roxy in Norwalk and much, much more...



January 7th, 2005
More press in the New Haven Register today...

Turning WNHU prime time over to NPR isn’t in community interest

Randall Beach
01/07/2005

The executives who call the shots at the University of New Haven keep telling us they want to "serve the public interest" by handing over prime time morning and afternoon drive-time programming at the campus radio station, WNHU, to National Public Radio.

But the students who work at the station and the volunteer community DJs think it’s a dumb idea that makes no sense.

As an avid daily listener to both WNHU and WNPR, I agree with the students and the other DJs who bring to the community a fascinating variety of music.

For many years, WNHU (88.7 FM) has been the best college radio station in the New Haven area. It would be a shame to turn over any of those precious hours to a national corporate entity whose shows are easily available elsewhere on our radio dials.

Why is this switch being proposed? I had a long talk about this with WNHU General Manager Hank Yaggi and I have studied his written arguments.

I think it comes down to a marketing strategy. Yaggi told me he wants to "put UNH on the map."

"On a daily basis," Yaggi said, "we would have a 30-second announcement that would run on NPR stations into New York and to the Rhode Island border."

But Jeff Terranova, a WNHU community volunteer who hosts the punk music show "The Anti-Emo Brigade," noted potential UNH student applicants are not generally the sort who listen to NPR.

"This may put UNH ‘on the map’ for having handed 30 hours a week of alternative programming over to NPR," Terranova said, "but it will ultimately take WNHU off of the map."

His wife, Michelle Terranova, who hosts the WNHU rockabilly and psychobilly show "Go, Kat, Go!" Tuesday nights, said, "People tune in to WNHU to hear music they can’t hear anywhere else."

"You want NPR?" she asked.

"Just tune in to one of the other three stations broadcasting it" in Greater New Haven.

This is true. NPR stations are all over the dial. Although Yaggi told me some listeners in West Haven and Milford report trouble getting a clear NPR signal, I have never had that problem there on any car radios.

Yaggi also plays up the NPR idea because it would enable UNH students to have internships at the modern WNPR studio in Hartford.

But the Terranovas say few students would want to drive from West Haven to Hartford for this.

They also note internships already are available at more local radio and TV stations.

Although Yaggi said the move "won’t eliminate students’ opportunity; it would expand it," a statement from the WNHU student members strongly disagreed.

"How can reducing the times students have to work on the radio station help in any way?" the students asked. "It can only hurt the students by keeping them off of their radio station."

While Yaggi and the students also argue over how much of WNHU’s funding comes from students, Yaggi conceded that at least 30 percent of it comes from the student general fund.

If the students are contributing financially to the station, then their voices, their opinions should count.

The students’ statement also asked, "How can nationally syndicated programming that is already broadcast on other radio stations in our market help the community?"

The students concluded, "It can only hurt the community by decreasing diversity on the radio dial and decreasing the speech of one of the few community radio stations in our area."

The students also noted, "In an age of unprecedented media consolidation, the need for independent voices in the media is greater than ever."

Those independent WNHU voices include "Rockin’ Richard" Phillips, who has done a popular oldies rock ‘n’ roll show for 31 years. Another great evening veteran is oldies rocker Jim Abbott.

Two other key voices are Karen and Bob Isaacs, who as part of the "Memory Lane" shows from 8:30 to 11 a.m. play Broadway show tunes, classical jazz and much more.

They told me, "We are concerned that this unique voice of the community is slowly being eroded."

In a written statement explaining the proposed share with NPR, Yaggi said, "We are committed to preserving the unique nature of WNHU."

But this move would have the opposite effect.

It’s not too late to stop this from happening. Yaggi said the final decision is up to UNH President Steve Kaplan. His e-mail address is SKaplan@newhaven.edu. You could also call (203) 932-7000.

Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com or 789-5766.

©New Haven Register 2005

View the article here...


January 6th, 2005



Radio Free West Haven
Why is WNHU hopping into bed with NPR?
by Mark Oppenheimer - January 6, 2005

If its management gets its way, WNHU, the radio station of the University of New Haven, will later this year begin offering six hours a day of National Public Radio programming, Monday through Friday: Morning Edition from 6-9 a.m., All Things Considered from 4-6:30 p.m., and Marketplace from 6:30 to 7. The contracts between WNHU and Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc., have not yet been signed, but, as the Register has reported--and as many of you know from getting alerts in your e-mail--people are already teed off. Students, DJs and other activists are circulating petitions, and their basic question is this: Why are local and student DJs being pushed aside for national programming?

Before I rule on the wisdom of WNHU's proposed move, I want to separate fact from rumors. Having spoken to WNHU general manager Hank Yaggi, DJ Jeff Terranova, DJ and student Mark Scialabba, and Kim Grehn, the vice president of radio for Connecitcut Public Broadcasting, Inc. (CPB), here is what I've learned:

WNHU pays nothing for the NPR shows. Connecticut Public Broadcasting, which owns the licenses for four public radio stations in the state (including the powerful WNPR, but not WSHU, which New Haven gets more loudly and clearly), wanted to get more coverage west of New Haven, along the shoreline--West Haven, Milford, places like that. So they struck a deal with WNHU, which will air the premier news programs, gaining listeners for Connecticut Public Broadcasting (and gaining donors at pledge-drive time).

Connecticut Public Broadcasting will pick up the tab, paying $1,000 a year to NPR for the right to air three programs on WNHU. Depending on how many new listeners WNHU gets, that $1,000 could be adjusted "up, maybe toward $30,000 or so," according to Connecticut Public Broadcasting's Kim Grehn. This is still a bargain for Grehn's people: CPB pays about $600,000 for the NPR programming it airs on WNPR, WPKT, WRLI and WEDW.

What do WNHU and the University of New Haven get out of this deal? First, they'll get more listeners, tuning in to hear NPR shows. And some of those listeners will keep the dial on 88.7, hearing shows like Go Kat Go (rockabilly), the Diamond Cut Xperience (reggae and dancehall), and Polka Time (music for my dead grandma). How many new NPR listeners will tune in to the other shows is, of course, anybody's guess.

Second, WNHU will get the perks of being an NPR station. WNHU producers will be able to produce for NPR; WNHU reports could be picked up by Morning Edition and the other shows.

Third, University of New Haven students will get internships at Connecticut Public Broadcasting, where they'll be able to learn radio and television production (CPB also runs the state's local PBS programming). And CPB employees will offer occasional seminars at the university, according to station GM Hank Yaggi.

Finally, Yaggi says, the university will get publicity. "The university has not gotten what it could from the radio station to reveal the extent and breadth of the intelligence of the people coming to speak here," he says. He's trying to change that, by airing radio features with guests who come to speak on campus. "When I came here, we did a program after the Democratic convention with the dean of the school of arts and sciences. We did a piece working with Hadassah Lieberman [the senator's wife] on Holocaust Remembrance Day. [Former Yugoslavian dictator] Tito's granddaughter came to campus--the station aired an interview with her." With NPR affiliation, the University of New Haven will be able to promote campus guests not just on WNHU, but also on every NPR affiliate in the state.

All this, Yaggi says, at the low, low cost of sacrificing six hours a day of local programming--30 hours a week, out of 140 hours that WNHU is on the air.

I am all for people in Hartford knowing about New Haven-area appearances of Sen. Lieberman's wife and Marshall Tito's granddaughter. (Question to Tito the younger: Are you proud of Grandpa?) But at what cost? Giving away the prime real estate of morning and afternoon drive-time radio on WNHU? Less jazz and big band in the morning, less college rock, rap and reggae in the afternoons?

I believe that Hank Yaggi is sincere when he says this is a win-win situation. He really wants to help the communications and journalism departments give graduating students the skills that will get them jobs; he believes that these CPB internships will help.

But isn't that exactly what WNHU is supposed to do--give UNH students job skills in radio and journalism? What's more, if WNHU really wants students to have jobs when they graduate, shouldn't it be working against the radio consolidation that shrinks career opportunities in radio? The more NPR stations carrying Steve Inskeep and Renee Montaigne, the fewer jobs for Anti-Emo Jeff and Geometric and the Wild Women.

I fear that Yaggi, the former president of Channel 8, the local ABC channel, seems to sell his own station short. WNHU has been training DJs for thirty years now. Students have been learning by doing, and by studying in the school's communications department. There's no need to outsource his students' education--especially by joining a consolidation regime that hurts his own students' job opportunities down the line.

As for raising the school's profile, announcing those UNH intellectual fora to listeners across the state, I wonder if that is the proper goal. UNH is never going have the well-attended lectures of, say, Yale or Wesleyan. It just ain't. But it has something else: a wicked-good college radio station, with a fairly strong signal. And that's pretty cool.

This isn't a done deal yet, folks. CPB's Grehn says he hopes it will be a go "sometime this spring." Which means it could be stopped. To complain, call University of New Haven president Steve Kaplan at (203) 932-7000. If they get a lot of calls, they may start screening by asking what you're calling in reference to. Have a lie handy.

Meanwhile, I asked Kim Grehn, "If the deal falls through, will WNHU students still be able to get internships at Connecticut Public Broadcasting?" His reply: "They might. Depends on the talent pool." A chance worth taking, I say.

©New Haven Advocate 2005

View the article here...


January 5th, 2005
More press in the New Haven Register today...

Opinions
EDITORIAL
WNHU should stick with campus shows
A New Haven Register editorial
01/05/2005

WNPR isn’t yet the nonprofit version of Clear Channel, a virtual monopoly of commercial radio. But it is trying in Connecticut. There is certainly no benefit to radio listeners in the area who can already choose from at least three stations on which to listen to NPR’s morning and afternoon programs like "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

Nonetheless, the University of New Haven is talking with Connecticut Public Radio about its station, WNHU, broadcasting the NPR programs as well. The shift would mean more of the same while some six hours of local programming by students would disappear.

UNH could claim it was in the big leagues of nonprofit radio with the affiliation. NPR would get another outlet. But, students who just want to get their programs on the air would be shut out, and the public would have one less listening choice.

©New Haven Register 2005

View the article here...



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