Everyone who was anyone was there. max's kansas city was the place to be. It quickly became the new drug of the late sixties and early seventies counterculture scene, and its effects were lasting.
The legendary restaurant/bar opened its doors December of 1965 at 213 Park Avenue South between 17th and 18th, off Union Square, just around the time popular culture was poised on the brink of a remarkable shift. The name max's conjures up images of the chic and outrageous.
Max's kansas city was the salon of the psychedelic era: part living theater, part Animal House. A three-ring circus with a sparkling and legendary nine-year run, Max's was the coveted clubhouse of the 60s "in-crowd."Mickey Ruskin (1933-1983), the impressario behind max's, created a safe haven for artists and writers. There never was a place like it, nor will there ever be again....
It was the home of the Underground scene....
It was the home of Underground Art, Poetry and Music, Fashion and just about everything else.
It was home to the New York Dolls, Iggy, Alice Cooper, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Andy Warhol, Ingrid, Lou Reed, Viva, Candy, Jayne County, David Bowie, Bebe Buell, The Backroom, Ondine, Billy Name, Ultra, Jackie, Nico, John Cale, Mo, Bob Gruen, Sid and Nancy, Johnny and Jerry, Cyrinda Foxe, Mick Jagger, Marisol, Maria and Geraldine Smith, Larry Zox, Cherry Vanilla,, Joey Ramone, Marky Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tommy Ramone
Max's became home to a myriad of underground scene makers, film-stars, models, artists, poets, writers, hookers, transvestites, rock-stars.
All sorts of young people clamored to get into the joint. The raucous mix created a revolution in all aspects of the arts. The action was forever changeable and intense. In many ways Max's exemplified instant gratification whether it be in the form of food, drugs, sex, music, exhibitionism, or voyeurism, which is not to say Max's was lacking in intelligent conversation.
The quality of the mix led to such meetings as Andy Warhol and Valerie Solanis, Candy Darling and Divine, Abbie Hoffman and Janis Joplin, Robert Smithson and Tuesday Weld, and David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed.
You knew even the assholes were going to be famous. It was that kind of place...like lighting a pack of firecrackers all at once & throwing it in the room. -- Steven Tyler
Holly came from Miami, FLA...Hitch-hiked her way across the USA, plucked her eye-brows along the way, shaved her legs, and honey, He was a She....Take a Walk On the WildSide....Candy came from out on the Island...In the Backroom, she was everybody's darlin'... --Lou Reed
Music played a huge part in the success of max's. With the creation of the 'Upstairs at max's performance space, the club opened itself up to a wider reaching audience, the folk singers and the rock'n rollers.Many household names got their start at the tiny upstairs room.
Sam Hood was responsible for booking the acts like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Tim Buckley, John Herald, Garland Jeffreys, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Rait, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and the Velvet Underground, whose triumphant return to NY was a twice-a-night show at the club, Iggy played his Midnight shows there, and the New York Dolls were a regular feature. The Velvet's 'official' bootleg recordings made by Brigid Polk are in the collections of million's,in the form of the Live at Max's album..... vinyl or CD, it doesn't matter, it captures the spirit of the place so beautifully.
Later, the Heartbreakers would release another Live at max's, which also takes it's rightful place in rock n roll history.
Music was fast becoming the mainstay at max's, the underground and folk stars replaced with the Glitter-rock crowd, ruling the roost of the nightly-scene.
The artist/writer/fashion and poet crowd, many of whom had acheived fame and notoriety had begun to drift away, and the place changed shape.
Mickey Ruskin's endless party was coming to an end, and with rising debts, mostly created by his own unending generosity to those he loved, and a lack of interest in the rock scene, he had had enough.
He told Taylor Mead during the last days of max's kansas city,1974 "I got bored with this place four years ago. The last years were just a party for my friends ".
It had run for almost a decade - a decade of decadence
And so, in late 1975, max's moved into it's second incarnation - that of the Rock 'N Roll club. Owned by Tommy Dean, a former restauranteur from Queens, the club metamorphosised but remained THE place to be seen during the Mid/late 70's, alongside CBGB and others.
Upstairs at max's was THE place to play, Peter Crowley booked two or three bands a night!
The Cramps, Cheap Trick, Jayne County, Ramones, Talking Heads, Ruby & The Rednecks, The Planets, Dead Boys, Stilletto, Sic F*cks, Comateens, Tuff Darts, Victoria Spivey, Mink DeVille, Devo, Robert Gordon, The Dictators, Madonna, Pere Ubu, VON LMO, The Terrorists, The Contortions, Lyn Todd, Suicide, The Mad, Knots, The Billies, The Victims, Blondie Reparata & The Delrons, Donna Destri, Eddie Dixon, Paul Oscher, The Rattlers, Cheap Perfume, The Stray Cats, Lenny Kaye, The Senders, The Offs, The Troggs, Bad Brains, Luigi & The Wiseguys, Tymon Dog, Buzz & The Flyers, Roland Alphonso, Levi & The Rockats, Bo Diddley, The Heartbreakers, Idols and Sid Vicious all played the club, and made various recordings.
...the one and ONLY, max's kansas city finally closed it's doors in 1981.
It's spirit lives on Forever...
..."There are no stars in the New York skies.....They're all on the ground.." Lou Reed
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© ® Legal Notice - max's kansas city is a registered trademark all rights reserved Yvonne R. Sewall.
For licensing requests worldwide email: [email protected]
Photo Credits: Anton Perich, Bob Gruen, Elliot Landy, Billy Name, Chris Lynch, Leee Childers...anyone else I've missed, get in touch!
The book all about max's 'High on Rebellion' and THE Coolest Garment in Rock n Roll - If you don't already own one, shame on you - get yours today! Click the Pix !
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