Celebrating the life of Reagan Youth's Paul 'Cripple' Bakija at Niagara

Reagan Youth founding member and guitarist Paul Bakija (aka Paul Cripple) died last month after a long battle with cancer.

A celebration of his life and music will be held on Sunday (4-8 p.m.) at Niagara, 112 Avenue A at Seventh Street. 

Read more about the influential early 80s punk-hardcore band here.

This non-fiction reading series in the East Village turns 10 on Monday

Image via @missmanhattanny 

On Monday (April 1!), the Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series turns 10.

Author-photographer Elyssa Maxx Goodman hosts and curates the monthly series at Niagara on the SE corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street.

Here, Goodman, author of “Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City,” talks more about one of the few non-fiction-only readings in NYC... 

Why did you decide on non-fiction when launching the series? 

Non-fiction is just the genre I know best. I enjoy fiction and poetry, of course, but my heart is always with non-fiction. I also realized at other series I had been to around the city that there would be something like one non-fiction reader every third time or something like that, and I wanted to create more space in New York for work in the genre. 

At Miss Manhattan, I like to have all styles of non-fiction, too — memoir, essay, storytelling, humor, journalism, you name it, as many types of truth-telling as possible. 

What were your initial goals with the series? 

Since non-fiction is the kind of writing I do, I wanted space for it, and I also wanted to meet people working in it. I was very early in my freelancing career, maybe three years in, and I wanted to be able to engage with writers I might not have otherwise known. 

It was important to me, too, to create a place where good writing is just good writing, so I would have both emerging and established writers — you didn’t need to have a book out to read here, you just had to have great work. 

Lastly, I wanted an event that felt accessible, where the spirit matched my own — I’m a bubbly, sassy, outgoing person, and I think literature should be fun, a place to take the work seriously but not ourselves. I think it’s worked so far.

Did you ever envision this would be running for 10 years? 

I’m honestly always just so consumed with booking the event from month to month that it definitely crept up on me and has been creeping up on me for the last 10 years! 

As much fun as it always is to meet people, I just want to have a good show now. I want the readers to have fun, I want the audience to enjoy themselves, and I want to enjoy myself, too! If none of those things were happening I wouldn’t have wanted to continue. It’s always been a labor of love. 

What has made the back room of Niagara a good home for the readings? 

I love this space at Niagara because its East Village art and punk roots run deep. In the 1980s, it was A7, famously the site of New York’s hardcore scene — there’s a plaque in the back room detailing all the bands that played there; after that, it was King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, a site of experimental theatre. 

We get real cozy and the DIY energy is real. That I get to do my reading in a place like that is such a gift, not to mention the Yoshitomo Nara drawings on the walls of the bar. The staff has been so supportive throughout the years, and I’m grateful the reading continues to have a home there. 

What are a few of the 10-year highlights for you? 

I’m always looking for new, talented writers, and I’m proud of the times I was right about writers like T Kira Madden and Joel Kim Booster. I also love when really established writers come and have a blast. Joan Juliet Buck, the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue, came to read one night and was cheering everyone on from a seat on the banquette. 

What’s wonderful, too, is when people come to the reading as either writers or audience members and keep coming back. They bring their friends, want to read again, or even become friends! I met Naomi Extra that way. I read her work online and loved it, so I invited her to read, and now I’m proud to call her a friend. She’ll be reading at the anniversary, too! 

The greatest compliment is when people want to come back for any reason. I’m so glad they’ve found reasons for the last 10 years. Here’s to many more.

------

 

HBD Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer was born on this day in 1951.

And here's some sort of EVG photo project from several years back outside Niagara on Avenue A and Seventh Street... where Dr. Revolt and Zephyr created the original mural back in 2003... after Strummer's untimely death in December 2002.

A celebration of Joe Strummer's life this Thursday outside Niagara on 7th and A

This Thursday, Dec. 22, marks the 20th anniversary of Joe Strummer's death. 

The iconic musician and co-founder of the Clash was only 50. He died from a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. 

On this occasion, local singer-songwriter and bar owner Jesse Malin is hosting a free busking show outside the Strummer mural at Niagara on the SE corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A. Starting at 6 p.m., up to 20 acts are expected to perform an acoustic cover or two. There's an after-party at 9 p.m. at 96 Tears next door to Niagara. (Malin is an owner of both venues.) 

Dr. Revolt and Zephyr created the first iteration of the Strummer mural here in 2003.

And in case you've never seen this... here's the video of "Redemption Song" by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros that shows the mural's creation ... and a bonus clip below that...

 

Sunday's opening shot (and HBD Joe Strummer!)

This morning's view of the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A... the co-founder of the Clash would have been 70 today.

Dr. Revolt and Zephyr created the original mural back in 2003... after Strummer's untimely death in December 2002.

And a new box set, Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years, is on the way.

Dec. 22's parting shot

Joe Strummer (aka John Graham Mellor) died on this day in 2002 at age 50. 

As always, a photo (from the other day) of Dr. Revolt's mural circa 2004 outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A. 

And now, enjoy this interview on CBS 2 with Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from 1982...

 

Tuesday's parting shot

Today marks the 18th anniversary of Joe Strummer's death at the age of 50 ... the image here is a screengrab from the video of "Redemption Song" by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros ... which features Dr. Revolt  in November 2003 creating the mural of the Clash frontman that remains to this date (after a few iterations) outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A...

 

Holiday Joe

The holidays have arrived at the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A...



Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Wednesday's parting shot

Go straight to hell boys...



Seventh and A.

Dec. 22

Today marked the 16th anniversary of Joe Strummer's death ... no flowers or candles as of 10 p.m. at the mural outside Niagara, on Seventh Street and Avenue A, like in previous years (here ... and here, as an example). However, #JoeStrummer was trending on Twitter for awhile as many users paid tribute to the leader singer of the Clash.

... and a threesome of the Clash ...

Monday's parting shot

The Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A got its holiday cheer on today (nine days earlier than last year!)... thanks to Robert Miner for the photo.

Joe to the world

Holiday decorations are up on the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street at Avenue A...

Monday's parting shot

Photo from earlier today... the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street at Avenue A... dressed for the holiday season.

The A7 35th Anniversary Throwback Show is tomorrow night

A7 opened on the southeast corner of Avenue A and East Seventh Street in 1981... and over the next three years, some of the hardcore scene's most influential bands played on A7's small stage... tomorrow night (Thursday, March 24) at Niagara, the bar in the former A7 space, there's a 35th anniversary show featuring the following lineup (via Facebook):

7:00 Doors open
8:00 - 8:30 Killer Instinct
8:30 - 9:00 The N.Y.H.C. Chronicles Film (Excerpt screening)
9:00 - 9:30 Ultra Violence
9:45 - 10:15 Urban Waste
10:30 - 11:00 Antidote
11:15 - 12:15 The Undead
All Night D.J. Jimmy G.

And it's a free show.

The evening includes excerpts from the documentary "The New York Hardcore Chronicles" ... here's the trailer...

Candles for Joe Strummer

As of around 5 p.m., someone had left two candles at the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara, East Seventh Street and Avenue A.

Strummer, the lead vocalist of the Clash, died 13 years ago today.

Previously.

Today, I rescued the Niagara sidewalk sign

This morning, while walking along Avenue A near East Ninth Street, I noticed the Niagara sidewalk sign-board thing tossed in the bush in Tompkins Square Park.

At first glance, I thought someone had left especially large, stale bread (matzo?) for the pigeons (and later the rats).

Anyway, I took a photo and was going to try to be funny or something and say they have extended their happy hour, etc. I started to walk away, but it didn't seem cool to just leave it there. So I hopped the fence [etc. etc.] and returned it to the bar on Avenue A and Seventh Street. I rang the doorbell and ran.

Noted

Spotted on the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on East Seventh Street and Avenue A…



Photos by John Penley

Previously

Joe Strummer is sporting a new look on East 7th Street

Several readers alerted us to the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on East Seventh Street and Avenue A … where Dr. Revolt has touched up his mural … giving Joe Strummer a decidedly more Joe Strummer look, complete with new sunglasses, leather jacket, hairstyle...


[June 2014]

Please do not deface the Joe Strummer mural

Thank you

Previously

H/T The Long-Lost Intern of EV Grieve

Joe Strummer died on this day in 2002

The lead singer of the Clash would be 62.

And, as we have done before, a look at the mural outside Niagara on East Seventh Street and Avenue A … as it has been modified since the spring of 2003…

[Via ‏@NYbillbell]

[Bobby Williams]

[BW]

And as you may have read, scientists recently named a spiky, deep-sea snail after Strummer — Alviconcha strummeri.

Finally, the same person tagged the mural again…