AJOBO: Standing On the Corner of Bleecker and MacDougal
Once in a great while, I get the chance to flex my useless knowledge muscles. As my friends can attest, I’ve been known to throw out a random fact about nothing in particular a time or two (or three… or four…). Some of the knowledge, I admit, isn’t so useless, especially when it comes to my main areas of expertise in music.
Though I don’t claim to be an expert, I’m a longtime student of the history of the Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s. Sparked by my movie to the Big Apple in 2008 and passion for many of the bands that emerged from that creative hotbed, I’ve meticulously tried to gather every fact and anecdote I can about that time and those people.
On Saturday, I’m going to get to finally put that knowledge to good use. New York University, one of the most powerful institutions in the city, if not the country, has asked me to lead a walking tour for alumni appropriately titled “Rock ‘n’ Walk.” (Good one, guys.) I’ve been told that the tour’s 50-60 slots filled up almost immediately, which is not only humbling, but also lets me know that folks do care about what happened here, and are interested in the history of this amazing mecca.
I say “here” because I’m currently typing this week’s AJOBO from a cozy spot at the legendary Caffe Reggio on MacDougal Street, home of the very first cappuccino maker in the country, and a Greenwich Village institution since 1927. (Ironically, there’s a walking tour stopped just outside the windows at this very moment.)
This place is super sacred to me, and not just because I was mayor of it on Foursquare in 2009 (true story). I encourage anyone who finds him- or herself in the Village to forgo the pervasive Starbucks (Starbuckses? Is this in the dictionary yet?) and head over to Reggio for a real Italian coffee experience, not to mention a slice of cheesecake or the to-die-for chocolate mousse.
(I promise this post isn’t sponsored by Caffe Reggio. Rather, it’s brought to you by my loathing of gentrification in Greenwich Village. Starting with those damn Starbuckseseseses!)
As the Village loses more and more of its character thanks to corporate greed and skyrocketing rent prices, it’s important to appreciate what’s still here, and a lot of that is telling its stories and discovering its hidden character. Sometimes it feels like we’re powerless against the big guys and shelling out $3.50 for a cappuccino won’t do anything, but it does. And you’re getting world-class coffee in return, so find me a downside. (Spoiler alert: there is none!)
Anyway, cross fingers the weather holds out for our jaunt around the Village venues and landmarks that helped shape rock ‘n’ roll, and, in the meantime, check out…
This Week on REBEAT!
– P.F. Sloan was one of those most prolific songwriting voices of the ’60s — his biggest hit, “Eve of Destruction,” was perhaps the most random success of the decade. At the height of his career, he vanished from the scene. This week, we’ll chat with Sloan about what happened and where he is now, plus look back at his incredible body of work.
– You can take the gal out of Motown, but you can’t take the Motown outta the gal. Or rather, a gal’s Motown column. Anyway, Sally O’Rourke is back at the wheel with the skinny on the Motown 25 DVD release, along with her regular IW50YAT feature.
– We’ll also share our thoughts on a new Robert Plant biography, book about Nick Drake (written in conjunction with his sister), and more. Stay tuned!
