Marcade Phil - Punk avenue: inside the New York City underground, 1971-1982

HIGH PRAISE FOR

BY PHIL MARCADE

MARCADES GREAT SENSE FOR STORYTELLING, as well as his knack for being in the right place at the right time, make this a must-read for those interested in the history of punk.

LIBRARY JOURNAL

A MUSICIANS MEMOIR OF PUNK ROCK in its New York City heyday shows how much fun it was while it lasted, before AIDS and heroin had the last laugh A must-read for those who love that era and want a fresh perspective on it.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

IT WAS HARD TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. A fun and dishy read! Gives us the real 411 about both CBGBs and Maxs Kansas City and the drug scene that was happening.

PUNK GLOBE

A FAST, FUN READ THAT FILLS IN historical gaps and establishes Phil Marcade as more than a character lurking in the shadows. Fans of CBGB and American punk will dig it.

RAZORCAKE

MARCADE DETAILS A LIFE CONSUMED with rock & roll, and his arrival in New York from France at a time when The New York Dolls were new and igniting the wave of bands that tried to follow in their footprints.

GOOD TIMES

GET IT! Its great!

VICE

A COMPELLING ACCOUNT OF LIFE as an artistic Parisian in Downtown New York, back in the good/bad ol days of sex and drugs and rock n roll. In a subculture of anti-fashion and nihilism, Marcade stood out with an urbane, sophisticated sound and style deeply rooted in R&B musicologythat makes sense now more than ever. Vive La Revolution!

STEVEN BLUSH, AUTHOR/FILMMAKER, NEW YORK ROCK, AMERICAN HARDCORE

AN INCREDIBLE INSIDERS JOURNEY through New Yorks 1970s underground music scene. From the hallways of the Chelsea Hotel to psychedelic barges on the canals of Amsterdam, from wild cross-country tours with his band The Senders to backstage antics at CBGB and Maxs Kansas City, to the notoriously deadly dope houses of the Lower East Side, he experienced it all and lived to tell. A must-read for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the nascent Manhattan punk scene or American rock n roll history.

PLEASANT GEHMAN, AUTHOR, SHOWGIRL CONFIDENTIAL

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU LED a fascinating, fun, wild, scary life, along comes this maniac. Im amazed Phils still here. But thankful he managed to make it back with these untoppable tales from the inside of the insideof his pals Johnny Thunders, Joe Strummer, Debbie Harry, Dee Dee Ramone, of Maxs, CBs and the long-ago Lower East Side, all told in a matter-of-fact style that only makes them more incredible. A definitive dispatch from the trenches (and gutters) of New York punk.

ROBERT DUNCAN, MANAGING EDITOR, CREEM; AUTHOR, THE NOISE

A RIVETING ACCOUNT OF DESPERATE DAYS and high-octane nights that vividly recall the gritty glamour of New York in the 1980s, that penniless yet golden age of sex not sexting, drugs not hugs, and pure, unadulterated rock and roll. Written in blood by somebody who was there, in the combat zone, loving every manic minute.

MAX BLAGG, POET

ONE OF THE GREATEST VIEWS OF NYCS golden age you will ever find from the leader of one of the greatest unheralded bands everThe Senders. We see rockers, junkies, punks, dealers, poets, street characters stripped of their myth and experienced as they really were. Marcades book is historically important, invaluable in fact, but its also a fun, fast, nasty read.

JAMES THE HOUND MARSHALL, BAR OWNER, RADIO PERSONALITY, COLLECTOR, HISTORIAN, NEW YORKER

PHILS MEMOIR OF NYC in the 70s is almost as much fun as being there.

PETER CROWLEY, MANAGER/BOOKING AGENT, MAXS KANSAS CITY

FEELS LIKE HAVING A CHAT with an old friend, remembering and laughing over those crazy, glorious times.

IDA S. LANGSAM, RAMONES PUBLICIST

Punk Avenue: Inside the New York City Underground 19721982

by Phil Marcade

2017 by Phil Marcade

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. For permissions, please write to address below or email editor@threeroomspress.com. Any members of education institutions wishing to photocopy or electronically reproduce part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to: Three Rooms Press, 561 Hudson Street, #33, New York, NY 10014.

This is a work of creative nonfiction. The events are portrayed to the best of author Phil Marcades memory. Some parts of this book, including dialog, characters and their characteristics, locations and time, may not be entirely factual.

ISBN 978-1-941110-49-2 (trade paperback)

ISBN 978 -1-941110-50-8 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016955388

Originally published in French as Au del de lavenue D by Philipe Marcad (Scali, August, 2007, 978-2350121765; Camion Blanc, November 2009, 978-2357790490). Translated by the author.

COVER AND BOOK DESIGN:

KG Design International: www.katgeorges.com

FRONT COVER PHOTO:

Steve Shevlin, Johnny Thunders, and Phil Marcade, 1979

Photo by Marcia Resnick: www.marciaresnick.com

PHOTO, PAGE 118

Phil Marcade and Stiv Bators at CBGB, June 1978

Photo by Eileen Polk

DISTRIBUTED BY:

Publishers Group West: www.pgw.com

Three Rooms Press

561 Hudson Street, #33,

New York, NY 10014

threeroomspress.com

info@threeroomspress.com

For Pierre

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between, does what he wants to do.

Bob Dylan

All my friends are dead, or else theyre not feeling too good.

Tom Waits

Why were the seventies so important and interesting? Probably because nobody cared. There wasnt much money involved, there was no Internet, New York City was no mans land, and the terrorists were blowing up things all over Europe. Meanwhile, we were trying to play music that very few people were interested in hearing, so much the better. By the time the labels got interested, the best part was over.

Chris and I met Philippe in New York at CBGBs. He was the prettiest thing and his French accent was so intense I was embarrassed to ask him to repeat things because I couldnt understand him. He played and sang and looked great on stage.

We finally had a show together booked in a small theater on Eighth Avenue, which is now dedicated to dance shows. We asked him to translate Denis for me to sing the song in French, not knowing the full history of the Sylvie Vartan version. On that same day, there was a truly ridiculous scene created by a madman we once had for a manager and the owner of the theater. They were acting more punk than any of us and came to blows outside in front of the theater.

So Philippe and I never got to play that show together, but we got a really sweet translation of Denis Denis.

Debbie Harry

If I ever was going to direct a movie of Please Kill Me, the book Gillian McCain and I did, I would put Philippe Marcade in the background of every scene, giggling with some exotic French beautyjust like in real life.