"We Watched the whole thing happen"
When Tom Mooney and the NYC August Rock Band take the stage at The Living Room on October 12th as part of Sonicbids' CBGB Festival showcase, they'll be able to do so with a claim that no other band playing that day will be able to say; They played CBGB in its heyday.
The NYC August Rock Band was a staple of the legendary club in the 70's. While they can no longer play at the physical CBGBs, they can bring parts of essence and soul into their performance at the club's titular festival.
We caught up with Tom to talk everything CBGB.
Sonicbids: How did the band form?
Tom Mooney: The band was started by friends living in the Upper East Side of NYC. Not rich kids; locals that grew up there when it was Germantown. I joined as the lead singer after years in cover bands and working in the record business. We played together for 7 years, playing up and down the East Coast but we were most well known in New York City.
SB: What was your first show at CBGB like?
TM: The first time we played CBGB it was not yet the famous scene it became. It was a local bar that had become a home to many bikers, not Citi Bikes, Harleys. They were a tough crowd but they liked loud blues rock so we were a hit. Hilly (Hilly Kristal opened CBGB in 1973) was behind the bar and if you kept the crowd drinking he loved you. We did.
We loved the No Rules, Just Play atmosphere. The Max's (Max's Kansas City, another legendary club that was home base to the Glam Rock scene) crowd that followed us came to CBGB and then the Punk scene moved in and the rest was fuckin' history.
Even though we weren't a Punk band we still drew a following that drank a great deal so we kept getting invited back. We watched the whole thing happen. Pretty cool.
SB: You got to see some legendary acts get their start at CBGB
TM: Yes, we played with Blondie a few times. At first they opened for us and when they returned from a very succesful trip to London we opened for them. They were one of the best Punk era bands then and she (Debbie Harry) was a wonderful performer. Debbie is and was a great fuckin' person and woman who can rock with the boys.
Television was one of the best bands of any era. Their leader, Tom Verlaine, was an artist. The band was tight and made up of excellent musicians. We opened for them a few times but we always watched them when they were on. They shouldve been more succesful in the world of music. It's not always fair who hits and who does not.
SB: What should fans expect at your set at CBGB Festival?
TM: The fans should expect a good old Rock 'N Roll band. We were not part of the punk scene but we were right in the thick of it.
The NYC August Rock Band plays at 8PM on Saturday, October 12th at The Living Room. You can get tickets for all of CBGB Festival HERE.
