Growing up in the suburbs of Long Island in the 1960s and early 70s, Gary Green got turned onto bands like The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls, quickly becoming enamoured with New York’s underground rock and roll scene that took root at fabled nightclubs like Max’s Kansas City and CBGB.
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In the summer of 1976, Green moved to Manhattan, sharing a two-room flat just north of Washington Square Park with two roommates. It was cramped and run-down, but that didn’t bother the young upstart in the least.
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“I had no idea what I was going to do with my life,” Green, now 64, says. “I worked during the day as a photographer’s assistant in midtown. At night, I would go out whenever I could to see a band, meet someone to photograph, or see what was going on. I wasn’t very career oriented – I just knew I wanted to make photographs.”
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And that he did. While Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, The Ramones, and The Heartbreakers played all over town, only Max’s and CBGB had shows every night – the perfect training grounds for the aspiring photographer. “I probably spent to much time there, misspent youth as they say, but at least I made pictures,” Green says with a laugh. “It feels important that I made something because that was so seminal in my life and I realise it more now than I did then.”
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