There is something fundamentally wrong when the two Cro-Mags websites [Paris' site is www.cro-mags.com and Harley's site is www.cromags.com] haven't been updated in years. While Paris' site was registered before the release of Revenge, I don't remember either site being active before the "final quarrel" in 2001 .

Anyway, the RSVP list for Friday's free Cro-Mags / Pissed Jeans / Fucked Up show at House of Vans in Brooklyn is full but John Joseph posted to Facebook earlier today "Do this SATURDAYS walking tour and get free VIP tix to sold out Cro-Mags show FRIDAY."

THE HISTORY OF ART, CRIME, DRUGS and PUNK ROCK ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE:

What was it about the Lower East Side that attracted so much talent and crime in the last 40 years? Since my early days of punk the summer of 1977 I’ve been exposed of the best music and the worst crime. Everything from Max’s Kansas City to the Alphabet City Butcher Daniel Rackowitz who lived right above me and killed his girlfriend, chopped her up and fed her to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park. I was also in that park when the riot of 1989 kicked off and I played one of the last shows at CBGB’s.

Most people walking around on the Lower East Side today with its trendy boutiques and coffee shops have no idea of its history, the great music and violence that has always co-existed side by side down here. I’ll take you to the punk clubs, gang hangouts and drug spots where some of the craziest things went down. It’s a first hand account from someone who was immersed in the danger having myself grown up on the streets of NYC since the age of 14. I guarantee you it will be a true punk rock & crime history lesson from someone who was there way back then and is still here.

We will drop by the famous CBGB’s location where The Ramones and so many other legendary punk bands started. We’ll walk by Great Gildersleeves where the Hells Angels regularly ran people over on their motorcycles. Stroll down memory lane at Saint Marks Place passing Trash and Vaudeville (punk store), the Electric Circus where the likes of Bad Brains, Crass, and so many others jammed. All the while telling you my anecdotes and funny stories of the crazy shit I’ve seen go down. Then Tompkins Sq Park, giving first hand knowledge of the areas events. We’ll even hit MANITOBAS for Bob Gruen's famous Punk Rock photo exhibit before we go by the Ritz (now Webster Hall) and Irving Plaza where so many great bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Motorhead (first US gig), The Damned, Buzzcocks and where the late punk-rocker John Belushi slam danced his nights away. Finally our last stops on the tour will be Max's Kansas City where we end in Union Sq Park discussing the area and what is what like. Drugs, hookers, violence, the Palladium where The Clash's London Calling album cover was taken and many great bands played. Ever heard of Julien's Pool Hall? The porno theaters where I’d sleep in the dead of winter for 50 cents a night and the Gramercy Park Boxing Gym (now PC Richard’s) where my old man and many world Champions boxed. The bottom line is, whether you’re a seasoned New Yorker or someone visiting the city on vacation, this tour is not to be missed. I can guarantee you it will be a memorable experience.
Hosted by John Joseph

Links:
Rocks Off Walking Tour (Tickets are $35)
John Joseph