Thursday, March 3, 2011

Sex, drag and rock-n-roll: The New York Dolls on the 1970s...

Vanity Fair has an interview with David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, the sole surviving members of the New York Dolls, who have a new record coming out... Here's an excerpt from the Q-and-A:

Let’s talk about New York during the 70s. Stories from that era tend to be romantically gritty and over the top. It’s always something like, “So I was living in an apartment over a peep booth theater run by a midget, and one day these mobsters showed up with a meat truck filled with uncut cocaine...”

SS: That’s usually it. There’s a lot of nostalgic exaggeration about that time. But it was also much more dangerous than people remember. Back then, we got our asses kicked constantly. We had our first loft in SoHo, and some of our first musical experiences were there. But you took your life in your hand just walking through the neighborhood after 5 o’clock. If you were in Greenwich Village and you crossed Houston into SoHo, kids would come right up to you and beat the hell out of you, just because you had long hair or you were walking with a black guy or something. People say to me all the time, “Wasn’t it great back then?” No, it was not!

Alex has more over at Flaming Pablum about who the Dolls will tour with this summer (Mötley Crüe and Poison!) ...

And, why not...

Death & Co. will be closed for one more night

That's the word from owner David Kaplan to us via e-mail: "Looks like [the State Liquor Authority is] taking their time — it will be one more day. Closed tonight and they say we'll be open tomorrow." Death & Co. on East Sixth Street is just awaiting their liquor license renewal...

Previously.

Golden globe



At this time of the late afternoon, it appears newly crowned Best Actress Natalie Portman has a golden dome on the Bowery...

Tag sale at Rite Aid?



First Avenue and Fifth Street via EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams.

You'll feel like a total frickin' rock star from Mars



Heh.

Via @elvainadine

Work more prominent now at the Economakis Mansion

It just occurred to us that we haven't checked in on the Economakis Dream Mansion on East Third Street since last May... On Jan. 5, Curbed made a return visit, noting a new cornice and new windows ... Still, hasn't really seemed like much is happening... until now... Workers recently put up construction netting and a sidewalk shed...



A look at the DOB permits issued a few weeks back don't reveal too much... However, there is the permit approved on Jan. 11 ... according to the DOB, workers will be installing a new curb cut. The DOB originally disapproved the curb cut, as Curbed noted on Jan. 5 ... Now it seems to be OK. As Curbed noted: "Maybe the old storefronts are being eyed for a private garage?"

Previously on EV Grieve:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Conspiracies: Where are all the fliers?

Death & Co. temporarily closed while waiting for liquor license renewal



We noticed that Death & Co. on East Sixth Street wasn't open last evening around 9 or so ... they usually open at 6... What's going on?

Owner David Kaplan told me there's a delay with the liquor license renewal. "Just the now regular SLA renewal process being slow," he said last night via e-mail about the temporary closure. They will be back open tonight.

Rumors: Juice Press opening a second East Village location

Several readers have noted that the Juice Press, the popular cold-pressed juice joint on East First Street near First Avenue, will open a second East Village location in a few months... one tipster even put the new storefront in this space on East 10th Street just west of Avenue A...



We asked founder Marcus Antebi if the Juice Press was opening a second location. He responded via e-mail: "Could be. I might do a laundromat instead. More quarters."

That came with an "LOL" ... they've been kind of funny all along... as you may recall, the storefront featured an array of goofy signs — Robot Daycare/Missing Sock/Mime Academybefore opening last May.

Season's greetings from the Moonstruck Diner

So you probably saw the trucks lined up on parts of First Avenue and Second Avenue yesterday ... crews were there to film scenes for "Damages" ...

[Photo via Pedro]

At the Moonstruck Diner on Second Avenue and Fifth Street, crews decked out for the diner as if it was the December holidays....


[Top two photos via Bobby Williams]

While we personally didn't spot any of the cast members, Pedro reports seeing lead Glenn Close in the window of Moonstruck, typing away on her laptop (not a Mac person!). We can't confirm whether the Moonstruck staff served her boiled bunny rabbit ...

And in the evening...



At the Cooper Square Hotel, V is for....?

Just looking at the new art near the front of the Cooper Square Hotel...



Looks similar to the hotel's new restaurant/bar mascot at the Trilby... except for having normal-sized hands...


[Image via Eater]

(And is this Nick Walker's work? I left before taking a closer look at the signature...)