“I’m from a hillbilly town upstate where they hunt deer,” he said. “We walked to the creek with Boone’s Farm a friend’s older sister bought us and listened to ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ on a transistor radio.”
Lou Reed’s 1972 ode to hustlers, transsexuals and transsexual hustlers would alter Mr. Webb’s life. “A friend asked, ‘Do you know what it means?’ ” he recalled. “I did without knowing it. I knew I was a boy that had to leave to go somewhere.”
At 16, he ran away to New York with a pillowcase full of clothes. It was 1975. “Coming into Trash and Vaudeville my first time, I knew I’d found a home and I wasn’t crazy,” he said.
At first, Mr. Webb worked as a bar-back in a gay establishment on the Upper West Side at the height of the neighborhood’s Needle Park infamy, attended hair school (he flunked grandiosely) and was a regular at CBGB. He fell into heroin addiction for 20 years and lived in Tompkins Square Park, eventually returning upstate.
“It got worse before it got better,” he said. “They thought I was going to die. After rebuilding my body and spirit, I wanted to go back to the city I loved.”
I didn’t pick the Lower East Side, or any special place for I Need More. I was very open to where the rock 'n' roll angels were leading me when I finally decided to open a store ... Loving all of New York City I was very open to anywhere in Manhattan. My heart and spirit is in ALL of New York City.
Of course the Lower East Side is a HUGE part of my life since I ran away and arrived in the city in 1975. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised when that second batch of angels ended up leading me right to 75 Orchard Street — 75A in fact! How cool is that? I take that leap of faith and run away to New York City in 1975 as a 16-year-old boy. Decades later another leap of faith leaving everything I know and ending up at 75A Orchard Street.
Upper Retail: 2,600 Square Feet
Lower Retail: 2,600 Square Feet
Storage Space: 1,500 Square Feet
Asking Rent
Upper Retail: $160 PSF
Lower Retail: $135 PSF (including storage basement)
We're always looking to find new things — We have our core theme, but we build around it. We keep layering on it and layering on it. We have our basics, and our basics are black skinny jeans and black motorcycle jackets. We're always going to have Beatle boots, and we're always going to have creepers. I know I'm going to sell more black leather and black suede Beatle boots then I'm going to sell green python Beatle boots, but I still need green python Beatle boots because they're so damn cool.
As on St. Marks, both Trash and Vaudeville will continue to exist on two levels. At the Seventh Street digs, they’ll be connected via an internal staircase, and those in the market for towering T.U.K. platform creepers can take comfort in the fact that the storied shoe department will still be housed on the lower level.
"I love St. Mark's Place. There's no doubt it. There's something magical about it. This just isn't any block," Goodman told us on the phone. "The decision wasn't something that I took lightly. From a business perspective, we saw a shift in the clientele. The block is not as conducive for fashion shopping as it once was. Now it seems as if it's all food — fast food — and bongs. Even stores that aren't bong stores sell bongs."
He said that the changing business environment on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was just one of many factors that played into the decision to relocate.
"The retail world is so different today," he said. "So much of it is done online."
And increasing rents are always a culprit.
"The rent is creeping up," said Goodman, who is a minority partner in the ownership of the historic Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Mark's Place. "Rent was a factor, but it wasn't the sole reason."
While passersby may not ever again know the pleasure of seeing the store’s most famous employee, Jimmy Webb, lounging on those steps ... he’ll continue his reign when Goodman and co. open their doors in the new space ...
Closing day of our St Marks location has changed to this Sunday Feb 28! Come by & hang w us before we move to 96 east 7th st in March! ❤️🎉👪
— Trash and Vaudeville (@trashvaudeville) February 24, 2016
