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CBGB founder Hilly Kristal dies

BY GLENN GAMBOA | glenn.gamboa@newsday.com

4:28 PM EDT, August 29, 2007

The inside of what was CBGB. (amNewYork Photo/Justin Rocket Silverman / August 28, 2007)

Hilly Kristal never intended to build his tiny little Lower East Side club CBGB into the epicenter of punk, where The Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads would launch a global musical and artistic movement, roaring to shake off suburban boredom and raging to shake up the establishment.

A classically trained violinist, Kristal wasn't even a fan of loud, aggressive rock at the time his club opened, but Kristal was a man who appreciated the struggle.

Kristal died in his sleep Tuesday morning at Cabrini Medical Center, after a long battle with lung cancer, according to his daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman. He was 75.

Kristal kept his cancer battle private, as he waged a high-profile battle to keep his famous club open after a rent dispute with its landlord. Though CBGB -- which stands for "Country Bluegrass Blues," the music Kristal loved -- lost its lease and closed in October after 33 years in the same location on the Bowery, the club's spirit lives on in the music of punk rockers such as Green Day and in punk-influenced pop stars ranging from Fall Out Boy to Avril Lavigne.

"When CBGB started in December, 1973, the Bowery was a place you didn't want to walk down," Burgman said. "But my father had respect for the homeless on the street. He had respect for every single one of them. That's the type of guy he was.

"It allowed him to hear the beauty in all types of music, even the hardcore that I still don't understand," she said. "As he saw the beauty of the essence of a person, he also saw the beauty in the essence of music."

It was Kristal's open-door policy at CBGB that turned it into a musical hotbed in the late '70s. He would hold open auditions every week and would let nearly any band play at the club as long as they performed their own music.

"He offered us artistic freedom and his gruff, yet unconditional, love," said punk poet Patti Smith, who headlined the final show at CBGB in October. "We evolved, we left and went out into the world like prodigal children. When we returned, he always accepted us with open arms."

Marky Ramone, of The Ramones, called Kristal "an integral part of the punk scene." "He was always supportive of the genre and of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell and Voidoids and will hold a prominent place in music history," Ramone said in a statement. "In an era when disco was the mainstream, Hilly took a chance and gambled. The gamble paid off for both him and for us."

Born in the farmlands of New Jersey, Kristal worked hard to keep CBGB going. For years, he drove a cab to keep the club financially afloat. Even until the club's end, he would work during the day at his desk next to the front door, surrounded by walls covered in stickers from bands that had played there. At night, he would be in the club, watching the bands and doing whatever needed to be done.

"He was the Mayor of The Bowery -- he knew everybody, he knew when they would be walking by to get their coffee and he would always be willing to help," said Scott Goodstein, a former employee and the coordinator of the Save CBGB campaign. "He would always be there, eating a sandwich from Katz's, talking on the phone and giving a tour at the same time. This guy's New York, man. They don't make guys like this any more."

Over the years, what CBGB stood for became more important than the actual building. A new retail store in the East Village sells t-shirts and memorabilia bearing the now- defunct club's name. However, Burgman said her father had been working on deals to open CBGB clubs in several cities and that she would continue those plans.

Kristal's granddaughter, Jenny, said her favorite photo of her grandfather is of him on a New York rooftop, eyes closed, playing his violin. "My grandfather loved music and he loved us all very much and a lot of people loved him," she said, recalling how Kristal always wanted to hear about what she and her brother, Adam, were doing. "That's the sort of man my grandfather had become."

Though many of CBGB's early bands have since entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and thanked Kristal for his help, Kristal's biggest thrills included singing onstage at Radio City Music Hall and the release of his own album "Mad Mordechai," a collection of songs he would sing to his children.

Kristal is survived by his daughter Lisa Kristal Burgman, son Mark Dana Kristal, and two grandchildren. A private memorial service is planned and a public memorial will be held at a later date. Contributions may be made in his name to the American Cancer Society or to the Hilly Kristal Foundation for Musicians and Artists (168 Second Ave., PMB 207, New York, NY 10003).

"Hilly Kristal was the good shepherd of a flock of black sheep," Smith said. "We are forever grateful."