CBGB Music and Film Festival to Return to New York City

CBGB might be long gone, but the iconic New York club’s memory lives on in the form of an “arts” festival which will be returning to the “city that never sleeps” later this year.

The five-day festival which features a combination of music, art, films and more will be taking place across New York City from October 8 through the 12.

The third annual installation of the festival will include live performances, new music, industry talks, and special events which will be taking place in a variety of settings such as theaters, clubs, galleries and even rooftops from Williamsburg to Time Square.

The headquarters for the five-day event will be housed in a 35,000 square-foot warehouse which will be dubbed, Center 548. This will also play host to the CBGB Icon Awards, music-themed art exhibitions, concerts, comedy shows and others.

Last year, the event premiered over 50 films which included the future Academy Award-winning film, 20 Feet From Stardom.

As of now, further information about who will performing during the five days is still minimal, but tickets and other information can be found at CBGB.com. Tickets range from $10 to $50.

Watch the ‘CBGB’ Trailer

With all the hype the upcoming film, CBGB and news that it has been garnering over the past few months, it was only a matter of time before the first trailer for it would find its way onto the internet.

The upcoming biopic tells the story of the famous New York City nightclub that helped launch some of punk’s biggest artists during the 70s. In the two-minute clip, which can be seen below, we see Alan Rickman as founder Hilly Kristal, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop, and Watchmen’s Malin Akerman as Blondie’s Debby Harry.

Last week, the full soundtrack track list was revealed and it was quite a list including those that made the nightclub a house hold name. But even though the club was a NYC staple, it still didn’t help it stay a float; the venue was shut down, sadly, back in 2006.

‘CBGB’ Soundtrack List Revealed

Earlier this year, the posters for the upcoming film, CBGB were released on the fans who were looking forward to see Hollywood’s take on the history of the famous New York City night club that helped launch the career of many punk superstars.

Today, the list of all the songs that will be featured on the soundtrack for the film. Talking Heads, Television, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, the Dictators and others who rose to fame during the golden age of the New York rock ‘n’ roll scene (aka, the mid-70s), will appear on CBGB: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The soundtrack will be released through Omnivore Recordings on October 8.

The record company won’t only be releasing a CD, they will also be releasing  a double LP of the soundtrack, with the first pressing on translucent pink vinyl. The same day that the record is slated to come out, Rhino will release a deluxe digital version with an expanded playlist.

Music supervisor and one of the film’s producers, Brad Rosenberger, also works with Omnivore Records and has quite an impressive list of films he had worked on in the past such as Almost Famous, Lost In Translation Good Will Hunting, Moulin Rouge and several more. 

For those not familiar with the plot for CBGB, the official description can be read here:

“CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal’s (played by Alan Rickman) New York club from its origins as Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock ‘n’ roll and punk. Kristal, a fan of country and bluegrass dreamed of having a club in the lower Eastside that catered to that kind of music. When he had difficulty booking those bands he turned to other kinds of rock music. Hilly had one demand of the acts he booked: They could only play their own original music. No top 40′s, no covers. It was the credo he lived by: Support the artist at whatever the cost.”

Check out the full track list.

“CBGB: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” track listing:

“Life During Wartime” – Talking Heads
“Kick Out the Jams (Uncensored Version)” – MC5
“Chatterbox” – New York Dolls
“Careful” – Television
“Blank Generation” – Richard Hell & The Voidoids
“Slow Death” – Flamin’ Groovies
“I Can’t Stand It” – The Velvet Underground
“Out of Control” – Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
“Psychotic Reaction” – The Count Five
“All For the Love of Rock ’n’ Roll (Live)” – Tuff Darts
“All By Myself” – Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers
“California Sun (Original Demo)” – The Dictators
“Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth” – Dead Boys
“I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” – Joey Ramone
“Get Outta My Way” – The Laughing Dogs
“Sunday Girl (2013 Version)” – Blondie
“I Wanna Be Your Dog” – The Stooges
“Sonic Reducer” – Dead Boys
“Roxanne” – The Police
“Birds and the Bees” – Hilly Kristal

‘CBGB’ Posters Make Their Ways on Line

Another new poster for the upcoming rockumentary about famed New York rock club, CBGB has made it to the web. This time, instead of the whole cast of characters on it, but little by little specific character posters have been making it online. On Thursday it was actress Malin Ackerman taking on Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and now Joel David Moore’s take on Joey Ramone.

The film, titled CBGB examines the New York punk scene and how a night club launched the career of many of punk’s most influential bands including Blondie, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, The Talking Heads and many more. Hilly Kristal (played by Alan Rickman) was the original owner of the venue which was supposed to be a club for country and bluegrass artists. When it became difficult to book those types of artist, they decided to shift their attention to local musicians and bam, an iconic place was born.

Aside from Rickman and Ackerman, the cast also includes: Ashley Greene, Johnny Galecki,  Stana Katic, Rupert Grint and Foo Fighters’ drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Poster can be seen right here:

         

‘CBGB’ Movie Poster Unveiled

As if the “50,000 bands. One disgusting bathroom” doesn’t scream rock and roll then I don’t know what does.

Yesterday, the poster for the upcoming film was released via their Facebook page. The movie which stars Alan Rickman, Malin Ackerman, Ashley Greene and pretty much everybody in the world tells the story of the famous former New York rock club staple in the early years and how it went from being a bluegrass club to the accidental birthplace of punk music in America.

If you’re not familiar with the club and it’s origins, you can read a slight history of the club or better yet what the movie is going to focus on right here:

“CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal’s (played by Alan Rickman) New York club from its origins as Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock ‘n’ roll and punk. Kristal, a fan of country and bluegrass dreamed of having a club in the lower Eastside that catered to that kind of music. When he had difficulty booking those bands he turned to other kinds of rock music. Hilly had one demand of the acts he booked: They could only play their own original music. No top 40’s, no covers. It was the credo he lived by: Support the artist at whatever the cost.”

But apparently not everyone is thrilled with how the club will be perceived on film. The Village Voice are at the head of the “we hate this film” club being quoted as saying, “If you’re the type of cynical punk asshole who thinks the movie about CBGB can’t be anything but terrible, well GOOD NEWS, the movie’s poster essentially proves you right.”

Guess you can’t always satisfy everyone, right? CBGB will hit theaters sometime this year.