Scorsese's 'Vinyl' series debuts
In an episode of the new HBO series, Vinyl , Devon Finestra, the character played by Olivia Wilde, enters the concert hall Max's Kansas City and he greets Bruce Springsteen, Andy Warhol, John Lennon… Bob Marley and Peter Tosh are on stage. Reality or fiction? “I thought they were just making it up and filling the site with famous names,” says the actress, a fictional former Warhol muse in the series. But that session was real . "It didn't seem like a historic night at the time because it was just one more night of good music in New York ”.
The CBGB restrooms
It was like that every night in New York. dangerous . Crime rates were higher than ever as Scorsese recounted in Taxi driver or announced midnight cowboy . But the level of talent per square meter was even higher. "In a matter of months and within a radius of seven kilometers, hip hop, disco and punk emerged," he says. Terence Winter , showrunner of Vinyl, a show behind which are two luxury protagonists of that New York: Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese.
The series is set in 1973. and tells the ins and outs of the music scene from the point of view of an industry hotshot. In 1973, David Bowie had already played at Carnegie Hall and he was a regular at those evenings at Max's Kansas City, at the endless party at the Warhol's Factory and at the height of cool in Studio 54 . Jagger was around, but also Lou Reed , and the ramones , Y jane fonda , Y New York Dolls , Y Patty Smith. It was precisely she who said that any young artist who wanted to find her way should not go to New York. Because he would be trapped forever in her filth and whirlpool of sex, drugs, rock and roll and glamour. She wishes she had known him. Having passed through some of the places that will be seen in the series. Of most there is no longer a trace.
The Thin White Duke
MERCER ARTS CENTER
Concert and multipurpose room . The premises opened in 1971 in the 512 West 19th Street and collapsed in 1973. This is how it begins Vinyl , when Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) walks in and discovers a new gang that was driving the youth back then crazy, the New York Dolls . It was the punk mecca before CBGB.
THE BRILL BUILDING
Much music has been created in the offices and studios of this art deco building. Here is the office of American Century Records, Finestra's label that seeks the new rock and roll. In the Brill they recorded Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Phil Spector, Elvis Presley, Carole King … And, in addition, it has a beautiful portal from 1931 that you can still admire.
Capote at Studio 54
MAX'S KANSAS CITY
In 1968, Andy Warhol moved his Factory to the Decker Building (at 33 Union Square) just to be closer to Max's Kansas City (213 Park Avenue South), the place where it all happened. The epicenter of glam rock from 1965 to 1974 when it first closed its doors overshadowed by Studio 54 and punk. The Velvet Underground was his resident group. And Lou Reed said goodbye to his band in that room at a concert in 1970. In 1975 it reopened to house the punk movement, but closed for good in 1981.
Diana Ross in the booth at Studio 54
THE FACTORY
He had three addresses: Warhol opened the first, the SilverFactory , with silver walls in 1962, in the fifth floor of 231 E 47th Street . In 1968, he moved to Decker Building . Bowie was introduced to this when he first visited it in 1971. Later, in the 1970s, Warhol moved his entire troupe of superstars to the 860 Broadway Street . There he installed his most professional Factory, a studio where he painted all the commissions.
Warhol and his factories
THE SUBWAY
Of course it still exists. Without him we would be nothing in New York. But the subway no longer exists without a millimeter free of graffiti. Still dirty but now it's safe.
285 LAFAYETTE STREET
There, in the attic, David Bowie lived his last 20 years. A spontaneous altar was installed there after learning of his death. And still many fans stop by to pay their respects to the Brit who considered himself a New Yorker. “I have lived in New York more than anywhere else in the world” , he said in 2003. he lived through his seventies, albeit intermittently. And there he retired to a life far removed from the night world he knew.
Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall at the entrance of Studio 54
ELECTRIC LADY STUDIOS
Jimi Hendrix he founded these studios in 1970. Four weeks later he died, but even today this music mecca is still going strong. Adele has been one of the last to use it . But before her there were Dylan, Lennon, The Clash, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin... She is still at 52 West 8th Street, in the middle of Greenwich Village , the musical district par excellence, with permission from the surroundings of the Bowery. Washington Square Park , the epicenter of the neighborhood, It was Bowie's favorite place in New York..
Studio 54
CBGB
The mecca of punk and new wave, founded in 1973, is expected to appear on Vinyl. And that through it pass the Ramones, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith … It was one of the premises of that time that resisted the most, but in 2006 it succumbed to the 'cleansing' of the city. In April, the Queens Museum dedicates an exhibition to the Ramones, where we hope to see good documents from the place.
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