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Photo of Jimmy Webb for EVG by Walter Wlodarczyk]
Jimmy Webb, a familiar figure in the East Village during his long tenure as the manager and buyer at Trash & Vaudeville, is opening a rock 'n'roll boutique next month on the Lower East Side at 75A Orchard St. between Broome and Grand. Webb gave me a quick overview about the shop, called I Need More, which opens on Oct. 13.
Why did you decide to return to the retail business?
What else would I do? In my heart I never really left.
I’ve never really looked as myself as a seller of anything or even as someone in the retail business. What I do is I make dreams come true and I love doing it! I simply find what’s inside people, I help bring it out, and then I help them dress it up! I guess that’s the retail business, but the word "business" sounds so disconnected from "dream maker," and I’d rather make "dreams come true!"
Why did you pick the Lower East Side for the shop?
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. A certain group of friends, I call them angels, guided me to the clarity that I needed to open a brick-and-mortar 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.
What can people expect from I Need More?
It’s about the spirit of New York City — past, present and future, And also the spirit of what art, music, and everything else that colors the world! It will be about everything that is real, raw, energetic, welcoming, passionate, dirty, beautiful and most of all — honest!
I’m a firm believer in "we are the future.” That "no future” pessimism doesn’t cut it with me. Like Joey Ramone singing “What a Wonderful World” or Iggy singing every song that Iggy sings. I Need More aims to please with every heartbeat within it. It’s here to make dreams come true.
Thanks to Walter Wlodarczyk for the photo. Find more of his work here.
