East Village Beat: They Call Her Mariah Photographer Aguiar Reminisces About CBGB’S Early Days
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ART Lisa Kereszi BOOKS Tomaz Salamun MUSIC Kathy Zimmer BOOG CITY POETRY Rodney Koeneke, Cynthia Sailers A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER FROM A GROUP OF ARTISTS AND WRITERS BASED IN AND AROUND NEW YORK CITY’S EAST VILLAGE ISSUE 25 MAY 2005 FREE East Village Beat: They Call Her Mariah Photographer Aguiar Reminisces About CBGB’s Early Days Patti Smith, The Dictators, BY PAULETTE POWELL The Helen Wheels met Mariah Aguiar with her best friend Band, The Tuff Darts, The Helen Wheels at a downtown art opening in Damned, The New York I the early nineties. The two women electrified Dolls, The Dead Boys, and the room, and I spent the evening bonding Jayne County. with them, Helen, a songstress and Mariah, She talked about an artist. Later I asked Helen and Mariah if when she first hooked up they would participate in a reading I curated with Wheels, lead singer at CB’s 313 Gallery, Venus in Latex, with all of The Helen Wheels Band and an ‘I was a kid reading Punk and Roxy award-winning bodybuilder. Magazine,’ Aguiar said. ‘I loved the “Helen had look and the music, and I knew I had been playing to be where the bands played, so I CBGB’s and raided my piggy bank and took the I was blown away by her train from “Smallville” Long Island to performance— Max’s [Kansas City] and CBGB’s.’ such a powerful woman with a powerful voice— proceeds to benefit Iris House, a women’s I couldn’t stop taking her shelter. Helen read an excerpt from their book picture. in progress, “We Took Dawn for Granted,” “One night, I walked and Mariah donated one of her photos to be past a crowd and all of auctioned, a vintage Debbie Harry at CBGB’s a sudden Connie, Dee in 1977, one of many punk photos that illustrate Dee Ramone’s girlfriend the book. The book would be Helen and at the time, had mistaken Patti Smith (l) on the sidewalk outside CBGB’s, the Dead Boys’ Mariah’s experiences with the rock ’n rollers me for someone she had Stiv Bators on the stage inside, circa late 1970s. Mariah Aguiar photos who survived the punk years, and so many who a beef with. Before I had didn’t. “We were fearless,” said Helen, “never even noticed, Helen had thought some of us wouldn’t come out alive. I prevented Connie from shaving off half my skull as we go through her photos. The muse is silent, say ‘CBGB can be closed down because they am one of those survivors.” with a broken beer mug by physically grabbing and this is not fair; but there are still the stories can’t pay 40-50 thousand dollars per month Mariah was a 15-year-old shutterbug. “I me by the waist and pulling me out of her lunge. to tell, and they will be told. rent to a non profit organization that is funded was a kid reading Punk and Roxy Magazine,” Helen stood between us and looked her straight We pause for a few moments, missing by the city, state, and federal government[s] to she said. “I loved the look and the music, and I in the eyes and said, ‘If I were you I wouldn’t Helen, and then pondering CBGB’s future. the tune of 23 million dollars per year.’” knew I had to be where the bands played, so fuck with me.’ Then Helen turned to me and said Mariah interjects, “Hilly is like a father to me I raided my piggy bank and took the train from ‘You look like too nice of a kid to get messed up and so many kids that come from all over the Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ‘Smallville’ Long Island to Max’s [Kansas City] with that shit,’ and then she walked away, like universe. They know this is where they can play City Hall and CBGB’s.” no big deal.” Mariah starts to laugh. their own music, tell their stories, be heard. New York, NY 10007 Mariah would sneak into the clubs, and “The funnier thing about this story is that CBGB’s is more than a club, it’s a culture and a Phone 311, or later she was hired by the Scottish manager years later when Helen and I were out with living history. Hilly Kristal keeps the dream alive 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC Merve Ferguson to work at CB’s. “I found a friends, she told the story about how we first and the kids keep coming.” Fax: 212-788-2460 home; I wasn’t alone anymore.” She pauses as met,” said Mariah. “I corrected her and said For all inquires regarding Mariah’s work, she becomes a little dewy-eyed and continues. we first met when you saved me from Crazy please email [email protected] To e-mail go to: “I remember Blondie sending me their first Connie. Until that moment she didn’t realize that Check out www.CBGB.com and www. www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html release, I was just a little girl. Their first release! the star-struck kid was me. She was my hero.” helenwheels.com I mattered. It came to my Long Island address. Helen died January 17, 2000, not To help save CBGB’s, its My poor Mom.” We giggle. from illegal drugs but from legal medical owner, Hilly Kristal, says “Send This is CBGB’s history that Mariah has malpractice. “Down the rabbit hole,” as a letter to The Mayor’s Office documented with her camera. And what a Mariah puts it. It’s still hard to believe and so asking Mayor Michael R. photo gallery she has, including The Ramones, unnatural that Helen is not sitting next to Mariah Bloomberg if he’s prepared to Noah Falk Dayton, Ohio CBGB’s is the True City Hall 26. Down BY ROGER HITTS night screenings of X-rated movies. Knowing Harvey was generally thin As the breaks rapidly compressed t’s funny how taking a stand with Predictably, the Bible-banging of wallet, I asked him why he would us into a tailspin I knew. your wallet is often a more noble Christians—homogenous Christian, there drop what little bank he had on being Will we be the spiral death of rush hour, Igesture than gathering en masse on was nary a Mosque or synagogue within a dutiful devotee of debauchery. “I’ll tell an avenue waving placards. I was doing 50 miles of the town—were up in arms. you what,” he said, “if I am completely eyecandy for rubberneckers time in a little backwater, middle-of- Protesters picketed the theatre with their busted, I will still go hit up a friend for 10 the road was burning with sunlight. nowhere Michigan burgh in 1985 while Sharpie signs lamenting moral decay bucks to get into that theatre every night. earning my stripes as a reporter, when and predicting the fall of western, or at I could give a shit about what they’re the town (Mt. Pleasant, pop. 25,000) least Pleasure Mountain, civilization. My showing, it’s the fact they are showing it Mercury Cougar, I daydream faced a moral dilemma. A four-screen newspaper was flooded with letters to that makes me want to support it.” about your insurance information. Cineplex near the highway was sucking the editor. But my friend Harvey would I’ve long kept Harvey’s credo in mind the life out of the two quaint Main Street dutifully cross through the picket lines when it comes to CBGB’s. Since hitting the I am beneath the imploded airbag movie theaters and threatening their each and every weekend without fail plus side of 40, CB’s has gradually left my like a left field flower. existence. In desperation, the owner of and catch the umpteenth showing of realm of “must get there every weekend” one of the Main Street theaters decided such moldy porn classics as Behind The pub crawls. But still, dutifully, once a the key to survival was weekend, late- Green Door. Please see HITTS page 5 BOOG CITY Issue 25, May 2005, free PRINTED MATTER editor/publisher David A. Kirschenbaum Lost in Translation the accident. History shapes itself into little “Things,” images seem to proliferate as he [email protected] Blackboards spheres, it uncovers problems of complete ordinariness Tomaz Salamun forms like a new mutant animal species. made strange. copy editor Saturnalia Joe Bates ’ll let you be in my dream if I can be in Salamun’s American fans have mainly gotten Have you ever seen God yours.” Bob Dylan said that. I remember to know his work through the publication of how he comes running at 2:30 exactly art editor Ihearing the Slovenian poet Tomaz Salamun individual poems and collections of poems responsibility responsibility. read a few years ago, on an evening when I selected from multiple volumes, but new issues Brenda Iijima was really sleepy after a long day at work by small presses will change that. His first book, Beckman’s translation has the freefalling and a quickly finished beer. I truly enjoyed the Poker (Ugly Duckling, 2003), shines in a new quality of those repeated “responsibilities,” a east village editor reading. Every time I came to consciousness translation with Joshua Beckman. One of his more vocal urgency that just keeps going but never truly Paulette Powell I remember hearing about eating, animals, recent projects, Blackboards was completed by ends in crisis because it’s in a small crisis every [email protected] God, or Europe.