The lease on world-famous New York City rock music club CBGB's expired September 1st. Despite a last minute rally by supporters, a celebrity led “keep-it-open” benefit, and various landlord/tenant legal wranglings, it appears the 32-year-old punk landmark will join other venerable NYC music venues such as The Bottom Line, Fez and Meow Mix that have fallen victim to the upscale gentrification and development that continues to transform Manhattan’s bohemian lower east side neighborhoods.

CBGB’s gained an international reputation as the birthplace of bands like The Ramones, Television, The Talking Heads, Blondie, Patti Smith and Living Colour. For all the many, varied music and life styles that comprise the aesthetic known as “punk”, it remains remarkable that the name of this one venue, above all others, has served as a center of sorts around which an entire movement coalesced so definitively.

Although mainly known for its kinship with all things “punk”, CBGB’s has also embraced and featured many other styles of rock music including new wave, heavy metal, rap, folk, alternative and all manner of progressive and experimental genres.

I’ve read numerous “scholarly” writings on the importance of CBGB’s in the history of American pop culture. Oddly, few of them contain any mention of the vibrant and consistent gay presence that was always part this iconic club.

More and more published accounts are appearing that chronicle for posterity the multi-faceted and far-reaching phenomenon of the GLBT influence on music in general, and punk music specifically, for which the terms “Queercore” and “Homocore” have been coined. Similarly, No CBGB’s remembrance or tribute--be it documentary film, coffee table book, celebrity studded concert, or park statue--will be complete without acknowledging the considerable contribution made by the GLBT community to its 30+ year history.

I have many fond memories of the place myself. In addition to the numerous peak musical moments I’ve experienced there over the years, as both a performer and an audience member, I can’t help but also recall all the many gay-related special personal and cultural memories intertwined with all my other recollections of the place.

1970s: My first time at CBGB’s, sometime around the mid 70s, was as an innocent, wide-eyed young rocker. New to NYC, I was introduced to the then just-exploding live punk scene by gay music industry mover-and-shaker Danny Fields, whom I’d recently met. Fields was, at the time, both manager of The Ramones and editor of 16 Magazine.

He’d already taken me to meet the The Ramones at another infamous 70’s punk hangout, Manhattan’s Mudd Club (where we also spotted a voyeuristic Mick Jagger in the crowd, apparently checking out this new NYC “punk” scene for himself).

Our party arriving at CBGB’s included members of another 70s rock band Fields was working with: the highly original progressive rock group Orchestra Luna. (One seminal member of the now long-gone Orchestra Luna is popular gay rock artist Rick Berlin, now based in Boston and still enjoying a thriving solo career).

That night at CB’s we worked our way through the crowd to the backstage area. There, lined-up against one of the graffiti covered walls, Fields introduced me to an up-and-coming band, unknown to me at the time. They were being interviewed and photographed by a small throng of reporters and paparazzi. The band featured what I thought was a most unusual looking female lead singer who was quite unlike the currently popular arena rock vixen or disco diva type. Her name was Deborah Harry. The band was Blondie.