Max's Kansas City

Max's Kansas City

Max's
Location	Manhattan, New York
Type	Music venue, restaurant
Genre(s)	Glam rock Punk rock New Wave
Opened	1965
Renovated	1975
Closed	1981
Owner	Mickey Ruskin, Tommy Dean Mills
Website	http://www.maxskansascity.com/

Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.

History

Origin of name

Opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in December 1965, the name Max's Kansas City does not come from any club owners direct connections to Kansas City (neither from Kansas nor from Missouri). Mickey Ruskin grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey and was educated at Cornell University.

There are two stories as to how the name came to be, both involving suggestions by the poet Joel Oppenheimer. The first story is that the name commemorated a poetic place described by fellow poet Max Finstein.^[1] Oppenheimer and Finstein were among the poets who had gathered at Ruskin’s earlier establishment the 9th Circle in Greenwich Village. The second story is that when Oppenheimer was a kid, "all the steakhouses had Kansas City on the menu because the best steak was Kansas City-cut, so I thought it should be 'something Kansas City.'" "Max" was chosen because it sounded "restauranty."^[2]

Oppenheimer also suggested the menu items on the marquee of “Steak, Lobster, Chick Peas.”

Max's I

After the opening of Max's by Mickey Ruskin in December 1965, it quickly became a hangout of choice for artists and sculptors of the New York School, like John Chamberlain, Robert Rauschenberg and Larry Rivers, whose presence attracted hip celebrities and the jet set. Neil Williams, Larry Zox, Forrest (Frosty) Myers, Larry Poons, Brice Marden, Bob Neuwirth, Dan Christensen, Ronnie Landfield, Robert (Tex) Wray, Peter Reginato, Carl Andre, Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Smithson, Joseph Kosuth, Brigid Berlin, Carlos Villa, David R. Prentice, Roy Lichtenstein, James Monte, Peter Forakis, Peter Young, Mark di Suvero, Larry Bell, Lee Lozano, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Richard Serra, Kenneth Showell, Jack Whitten, Philip Glass, Max Neuhaus, Rosemarie Castoro, Ray Johnson, John Clem Clarke, Malcolm Morley, Carl Gliko, Marjorie Strider, Edward Avedisian, Robert Povlich, Billy Hoffman, Michael Steiner, David Budd, Norman Bluhm, Carolee Schneemann, Dorothea Rockburne, Alan Shields, Peter Hutchinson, Lenore Jaffee, Colette Justine, William S. Burroughs, Tiger Morse and Marisol were just a few of the artists seen regularly at Max's - the favorite place for artists in New York City during the 1960s. Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, art critics Lucy Lippard, Robert Hughes, Clement Greenberg, and Harold Rosenberg, art dealers Leo Castelli, and David Whitney (whose gallery was across the street) ^[3] and architect Philip Johnson, occasionally would be seen there as well.^[4]

It was also a favorite hangout of Andy Warhol and his entourage from The Factory. The Velvet Underground played their last shows at Max's in the summer of 1970. It was a home base for the short-lived Glam Rock scene, which included David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and the New York Dolls. Many bands made early appearances there. Bruce Springsteen played a solo acoustic set in the summer of 1972.^[5] It was the site of Aerosmith's first New York City gigs, Columbia president Clive Davis signed them there.^[6] Bob Marley & The Wailers opened for Springsteen at Max's at the beginning of Marley's career on the international circuit. Tim Buckley, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Odetta, Dave Van Ronk, John Herald, Garland Jeffries, Sylvia Tyson, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Elliott Murphy and Country Joe were some of the musicians that played there.^[7] Fashion designer Carlos Falchi was a busboy there in 1970.^[8]

By 1974, Max's had lost popularity among the art crowd and the glam era was in decline. The legendary establishment closed in December of that year. Ed Koch later had a campaign office in the building.^[9]

Mickey Ruskin

Shortly after graduating from Cornell Law School, Mickey Ruskin opened The Tenth Street Coffeehouse, which featured nightly poetry readings. He then opened Les Deux Magots, on East Ninth Street. His next endeavor was a bar called The Ninth Circle, a hangout for artists and musicians on West 10th Street. After opening Max's Kansas City, he opened similar restaurants including: the Longview Country Club ^[10] (later known as Levine's Restaurant) that was on E. 19th street and Park Avenue South across the street from Max's ^[11] and Max's Terre Haute, on the Upper East Side, but they did not do as well. His last club during the Max's era was The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, on Chambers Street in TriBeCa.^[9] After Max's closed he briefly worked at the Locale a bar on Waverly Place, Ruskin's last enterprise was Chinese Chance (nicknamed One U) a bar and restaurant that he opened in partnership with Richard Sanders located at 1 University Place in Greenwich Village. The French composer Duncan Youngerman and the poet and mail artist Adam Czarnowski both worked there as busboys. Lauren Hutton, Ellen Barkin, Gerard Malanga, Joe Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Nico, David Bowie and a score of other "Lower Manhattan" celebs hung out there, as well as the artists that frequented Max's and the doormen of the famous Mudd Club.^[12] Ruskin died in New York City after a late night out in the early morning hours of May 16, 1983 at the age of 50.^[13]

Max's II

The club reopened in 1975 under new ownership of Tommy Dean Mills, who initially thought he would make it a disco. Peter Crowley, who had been booking the same, early punk bands that played at CBGB, and Mothers, a gay bar on 23rd Street (Manhattan), was hired to start booking bands at Max's.^[14]

Under Crowley's guidance the club became one of the cradles of punk, regularly featuring bands like New York Dolls, Wayne County, Cherry Vanilla, The Fast, Patti Smith Group, Ramones, The Heartbreakers, Television, Suicide, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Dictators, The Cramps, Mink DeVille, Misfits, The Fleshtones, The B-52's and Klaus Nomi, as well as out-of-town bands in the same vein such as The Runaways and The Damned. After the breakup of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious played many of his solo gigs there. Devo played several shows at Max's in 1977, including a show where they were introduced by David Bowie as "the band of the future."

Max's original site closed its doors for the last time in November 1981. Bad Brains were the headliner on the final night. The building survives and now houses a Korean deli called Green Café.^[15]

Max's III

Mills reopened the club again on January 27, 1998, at a new location—240 West 52d Street—site of the former Lone Star Roadhouse.^[16][17] However, it closed shortly after opening.

The opening had been delayed due to litigation by Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, who claimed that she owned the trademark to Max's Kansas City and was granted a temporary restraining order to prevent use of the name.^[18]

Aftermath

In 2000, Acidwork Productions, Inc., a production company founded by Neil Holstein (second cousin of Mickey Ruskin) began working in conjunction with Victoria Ruskin (Mickey Ruskin's daughter) on a feature length documentary about Mickey and his many establishments, including Max's Kansas City.^[19]

In 2001, Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin established the Max's Kansas City Project in memory of the late Mickey Ruskin who fathered two of her children. To honor the spirit inherent in Ruskin's philosophy of helping artists in need, the project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit provides emergency funding and resources for individuals in the arts in crisis and empowers teens through the arts.^[20]

Further reading

• Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City (1998) Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN 1-56025-183-2
• Weinberger, Tony, The Max's Kansas City stories" (1971) Bobbs-Merrill [1971] CALL NUMBER in Library of congress: PS3573.E393 M3
• Kasher, Steven, Max's Kansas City: Art, Glamour, Rock and Roll (2010) Abrams Image, ISBN 0810995972.

References

1. ^ Stephens, M.G (2005-06-22). "Ross Feld (Biography)". The Review of Contemporary Fiction. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11412205_ITM. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
2. ^ Sewall-Ruskin, Yvonne (October 1998). High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1560251832. 
3. ^ [1] David Bourdon, Life Magazine May 1970, Whats Up in Art, The Castelli Clan, David Whitney Gallery and Lyrical Abstraction, Retrieved June 9, 2010
4. ^ High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City, by Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, forward by Lou Reed, Thunder's Mouth Press NYC. 1998, pp.2-105
5. ^ Bruce Springstein at Max's Retrieved June 12, 2010
6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKACJCGpys&feature=related
7. ^ High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City, by Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, forward by Lou Reed, Thunder's Mouth Press NYC. 1998, pp.210-229
8. ^ Cathy Hoyrn, The Return of the King of Patchwork, The New York Times, October 29, 2009, Accessed October 30, 2009.
9. ^ ^{a b} Hart, Jon (2003-05-11). "Neighborhood Report: Union Square; Archetypal Host". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E5DB153FF932A25756C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
10. ^ NY Magazine, 1969 Restaurant review Retrieved May 3, 2010
11. ^ Les Levine's restaurant Retrieved May 3, 2010
12. ^ Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, High on Rebellion Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City (1998) Thunder's Mouth Press, pp. 246-279, ISBN 1-56025-183-2
13. ^ Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin, High on Rebellion Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City (1998) Thunder's Mouth Press, p.279, ISBN 1-56025-183-2
14. ^ Nobakht, David (2004-12-15). Suicide: No Compromise. SAF Publishing. pp. 66. ISBN 0946719713. http://books.google.com/books?id=J2w35kE7O0AC&pg=PA66&dq=%22Peter+Crowley%22#PPA67,M1. 
15. ^ Seabrook, John (2010). "The Back Room". The New Yorker (Condé Nast) (August 30, 2010): 26–27. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/08/30/100830ta_talk_seabrook. 
16. ^ Stamler, Bernard (1997-10-09). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: MIDTOWN; Downtown Moves Uptown Redux". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E7DF1439F93AA35752C1A961958260. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
17. ^ "New Yorkers & Co.". New York Times. 1998-01-04. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E4DE1E31F937A35752C0A96E958260. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
18. ^ DiGiacomo, Frank (1997-12-07). "Factory Kids in an Uproar Over the Whitney's Warhol Show". The New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/node/39930. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
19. ^ "Mickey Ruskin". http://www.acidwork.com. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
20. ^ "Max's Kansas City Project". http://www.maxskansascity.org. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 

External links

• www.maxskansascity.com Official site
• www.maxskansascity.org Max's Kansas City Project
• www.acidwork.com Mickey Ruskin documentary

• Peter Crowley on Myspace

Coordinates: 40°44′12″N 73°59′19″W / 40.73667°N 73.98861°W / 40.73667; -73.98861