A Tribute to the 30th Anniversary of Punk Rock
to Benefit Max's Kansas City Project
at the Gibson Entertainment Showroom, New York, NY
December 14, 2006
By Jeanne Fury

 

 It's rare when Otto Luck and I get to spend a night on the town together. Otto is usually very busy thinking up business ideas (ask him about his plan to revive the AM radio) while I'm usually very busy being very extremely busy. Such is the life of trend-setting high-rollers. But we decided to head on over to the Gibson showroom in midtown mainly because one of our favorite people, Jayne County, would be in attendance. It's not every day we get to see the original rock-and-roll translady (and her voluminous hair) perform. Of course, it also meant that we'd be supporting the Max's Kansas City Project – a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping out artists in need of health care, housing, and legal aid. They also help educate kids on the dangers of substance abuse, as the Max's era has seen too many creative people drop dead from junk.

We navigated our way through the showroom and found ourselves downstairs in what looked like a large basement with a makeshift stage. Jimi LaLumia and the Psychotic Frogs were playing bawdy punk rock, notably, a cover of Jayne County's "Fucked by the Devil" and their very excellent CBGB tirade, "New York City Song." Everyone was shouting the chorus – "What's that smell?! CB-GB!" – including Ms. County. Then there was a raffle. I asked Otto if raffles were common back in the heyday of Max's. Otto shook his head. "There's a certain element of violence missing," he informed me. Then I punched him in the face and we ambled home. Stay off the junk, kids.