Punk Avenue: Inside the New York City Underground, 1972-1982 - Softcover

Marcade, Phil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941110495 ISBN 13: 9781941110492

Publisher: Three Rooms Press, 2017

Synopsis

Finalist, 2017 Indie Book Awards for Autobiography/Memoir, Foreword Reviews

Punk Avenue: The New York City Underground 1972-1982 is an intimate look at author Paris-born Phil Marcade’s first ten years in the United States where drifted from Boston to the West Coast and back, before winding up in New York City and becoming immersed in the early punk rock scene. From backrooms of Max’s and CBGB’s to the Tropicana Hotel in Los Angeles and back, Punk Avenue is a tour de force of stories from someone at the heart of the era. With brilliant, often hilarious prose, Marcade relays first-hand tales about spending a Provincetown summer with photographer Nan Goldin and actor-writer Cookie Mueller, having the Ramones play their very first gig at his party, working with Blondie’s Debbie Harry on French lyrics for her songs, enjoying Thanksgiving with Johnny Thunders’ mother, and starting the beloved NYC punk-blues band The Senders. Along the way, he smokes a joint with Bob Marley, falls down a mountain, gets attacked by Nancy Spungen’s junkie cat, become a junkie himself, adopts a dog who eats his pot, opens for The Clash at Bond’s Casino, opens a store named Rebop on Seventh Avenue, throws up in some girl’s mouth, talks about vacuum cleaners with Sid Vicious, lives thru the Blackout of 1977, gets glue in his eye, gets mugged at knife point, plays drums with Johnny Thunders’ band Gang War, sets some guy’s attache-case on fire, listens to pre-famous Madonna singing in the rehearsal studio next to his, gets mugged at gun point, O.D.s on heroin, gets saved by a gentle giant named Bill, lives at night Never sleeps   A very funny book.

About this title

About the Author:

Phil Marcade left Paris in his late teens to begin a few months” of travel that would lead to a 40 year-stay in the U.S., mostly in New York City. He was at the center of the origins of the punk rock explosion, as a musician (founder and lead singer of The Senders) and scenester, forming intimate friendships with artists and musicians including Johnny Thunders, Nan Goldin, Cookie Muller, Wayne Kramer, Debbie Harry, Nancy Spungen and Willie DeVille. His first book, Au-delà de l’Avenue D (Scali, 2006), was published in France. In addition to writing, he works as a painter and graphic artist. He lives in Bologna, Italy.

Review:

Finalist, 2017 Indie Book Awards for Autobiography/Memoir, Foreword Reviews

“Beautifully observed memoir from key early CBGB / Max’s Kansas City player . . . A suave evocation of a lost, grittier New York.” ―Mojo Magazine

“The best book on the New York punk scene since Please Kill Me!”―Rockerzine

"Recommended reading 2017." ―Stereogum

“Punk Avenue is the story of a naïve young man looking for simple fun, accidentally fumbling through a music revolution, and in the meantime becoming a symbol for the rise and fall of a scene.” ―Pop Matters

"Phil Marcade is a fun and fascinating memoir set during one of New York City’s most unique era. This book takes you back to the time when Punk was ruling–even if it was just on the underground." ―New York Trend NYC

"Nowadays, when punk aesthetics and ideologies are studied, archived and presented in curated museum shows, Marcade’s new memoir, Punk Avenue, is a timely gem. His words fill the page with meaning but never overstay their welcome, illuminating untold stories, different scenes, and missing links between the hippies and the punks, between black American music and the reclamation of a three-minute sonic spike to the vein. This is uncluttered, unordained prose.” ―The Observer

"An incredibly informed and informative biography of a man that includes the rise and fall a unique genre in American music history, Punk Avenue: The New York City Underground 1972-1982 is a truly riveting read from cover to cover."―Midwest Review of Books

“Lucid, grimly humorous and gripping. . . . Truly a perspective from the inside. Highly recommended." ―I94 Bar

“A fun, funny, and f**king fast read.” ―Stomp and Stammer

“A quick, engaging read. It is chock full of great anecdotes and tales of shenanigans while also adding some color and flavor to a scene that too often suffers anymore from over-analyzation and the icy, sterilizing eye of academia. His is a leaving breathing world where those “names” are real people doing real people shit, good and bad, and he is one of them.” ―Jimmy Alvarado, Razorcake

“A fascinating and amusing book . . . deservedly belongs next to your copy of Please Kill Me and New York Rock.” ―Shake Some Action

“A must-read for all Punk Rock fans and those looking to be entertained while getting a personal look at the birth of the NYC punk movement.” ―The Punk Site

“Even if Punk Avenue isn’t likely tell you anything about the ’70s Downtown NY scene you didn’t already know, it’s just insanely entertaining stuff and a must read for anyone whose copy of Please Kill Me is in tatters from over-reading.” ―Midnight to Six

"The real noteworthy feat is not simply remembering stories, but weaving them together in a way that is fun and funny and sad and personal and gripping, whether you’re a fan of early the early NYC punk scene or not. Marcade not only does exactly that in expert fashion with Punk Avenue, but he does it in a language that’s not his first.” ――Dying Scene

“PUNK AVENUE is relatable for me in a way no other book about that era has been. . . . I do not need to be part of the scene to feel a spirit of inclusion when I read PUNK AVENUE. That is what the best books are, the ones where we are welcome into the story.” ―Rock NYC

“Punk Avenue throws in an outsider’s perspective on the scene–author Marcade came to New York from Paris. Throw in contributions by Debbie Harry and Legs McNeil, and you have a decidedly interesting work on your hands.” ―Vol.1 Brooklyn

“The French-born musician cut his teeth during the heyday of New York punk, rubbing elbows with the likes of the Ramones, Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls and Nancy Spungen (of Sid and Nancy fame).”―Tidal

"Phil Marcade's Punk Avenue is both fascinating memoir and a detailed, first-person account of the birth (and growth) of punk rock in New York City." ―Largehearted Boy

"Marcade's great sense for storytelling, as well as his knack for being in the right place at the right time, make this a must-read for those interested in the history of punk." ―Library Journal

“A must read book if you love the inside scoop on New York City's authentic rock scene from 1972-82.  Written from the perspective of Phil's own life story, the history of Max's Kansas City and the gritty NY punk scene gets documented with often hilarious detail.” ―Dave Cromwell Writes

"The brief, insane explosion of the punk scene in 1970s New York has fascinated people ever since and left a lasting impression on art, culture, and music. Punk Avenue: Inside the New York City Underground, 1972–1982 is a first-person account by Phil Marcade that brings this savage decade to life. . . . Marcade’s stories surprise and delight, reviving an influential, exciting moment in American culture." ―Foreword Reviews

“A musician's memoir of punk rock in its New York City heyday shows how much fun it was while it lasted, before AIDS and heroin had the last laugh. . . . Must-read for those who love that era and want a fresh perspective on it.” ―Kirkus Reviews

"Punk Avenue leads us from the early highs through the dark periods of addiction and loss without losing hope." ―The Villager

"It was hard to put this book down. It's a fun and dishy read!... Gives us the real 411 about both CBGB's and Max's Kansas City and the drug scene that was happening." ―Ginger Coyote, Punk Globe Magazine

"Punk Avenue is a fast, fun read that fills in historical gaps and establishes Phil Marcade as more than a character lurking in the shadows. Fans of CBGB and American punk will dig it.” ―Michael T. Fournier, Razorcake

“Just when you think you led a fascinating, fun, wild, scary life, along comes this maniac. I’m amazed Phil’s still here. But thankful he managed to make it back with these untoppable tales from the inside of the inside ― of his pals Johnny Thunders, Joe Strummer, Debbie Harry, Dee Dee Ramone, of Max’s, CBs and the long-ago Lower East Side, all told in a matter-of-fact style that only makes them more incredible. A definitive dispatch from the trenches (and gutters) of New York punk.” ― Robert Duncan, Managing Editor, Creem; author, The Noise

“A riveting account of desperate days and high-octane nights that vividly recall the gritty glamour of New York in the 1980s, that penniless yet golden age of sex not sexting, drugs not hugs, and pure, unadulterated rock and roll. Written in blood by somebody who was there, in the combat zone, loving every manic minute.” ― Max Blagg, poet

“Marcade's book is  historically important, invaluable in fact, but it’s also a fun, fast, nasty read. I couldn’t think of a better introduction to NYC in the days when the streets were dangerous, the rents were cheap, and the fun never ended.” ― James “The Hound” Marshall, Bar owner, radio personality

About this edition

• Publisher: Three Rooms Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1941110495
• ISBN 13: 9781941110492
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288