Hilly Kristal didn’t expect what he ended up getting…  When he welcomed unknown bands to his Bowery Dive: Television, The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Pattie Smith Group and so many more…He was a farm kid from Jersey where he had tastes and hopes for C (Country) BG (Bluegrass) B (Blues) to flourish and fill his club, instead his cramped club became the epicenter of punk rock movement, setting off a three-chord musical revolution that spread around the world.

Kristal, 75, died from lung cancer this past Tuesday at a Manhattan hospice after a long fight with the disease.  Sad to see all of this come to a close…