MOLLY VANDENBERG
Staff Writer
The SUNY Fredonia Cinema Alternatives Group had a showing of “GoNightClubbing” on Oct. 2 where Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong were present to talk about their work.
The mix shown was a collection of punk rock video performances from 1975-1980 in New York City during the city’s’ golden age of punk. Clubs like CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City ruled the scene.
Iver’s and Armstrong were truly a two woman team, having to carry heavy video equipment through packed New York dive bars.
The footage they gathered was raw and unfiltered, much like punk rock itself. Some of the musicians and bands included were The Cramps, Iggy Pop, Buzz & The Flyers, The Heartbreakers, Ballistic Kisses and DNA.
Many people automatically assume that The Ramones are the one and only faces of punk but the scene in New York was incredibly diverse.
“The entire ‘70s was an incredible mix of all different kinds of music. When you walked into the CBGBs on any night, you literally never knew what you were going to see. It could be hardcore, it could be rockabilly . . . you just never knew,” said Ivers.
Ivers began working at Manhattan Cable’s Public Access Department in 1973 after dropping out of film school and traveling.
There’s more to the scene than just the music itself.
“[Punk] is really a name for a culture . . . and DIY sort of ethic. Punk was a reaction to a really bad political situation in America. It was post- Nixon and post-Reagan. It was very reactionary. New York City felt like it had the door shut on it [regarding budget crises]. In result of it, people made amazing art. I think now the same kind of thing is happening. Our government that we have is so reactionary and repressive, I can only tell you guys to go out and make great art,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong began her video career running Public Access Channels C and D at Manhattan Cable TV in the mid 1970s. This is where she eventually met Ivers and the two began videotaping bands. Their work has been presented on their weekly TV show “NIGHTCLUBBING,” as well as at museums throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Their footage was packed away from 1982 until 2012, when NYU digitized all of it for storage at Fale’s Library on NYU’s campus.
The “‘GoNightClubbing’ Archive” is now stored alongside the likes of Richard Hell, David Wojnarowicz and the Riot Girrrls so more people can appreciate it for years to come.