Any CBGB'ers or those influenced by Lester Bangs?

I've been a huge fan of classic rock for some time now (sadly I was born in 79 and didn't get to see it all live)

Regardless I have a great admiration for the CBGB (Country, Bluegrass and Blues) club in New York. Musical acts such as the Ramones and the lesser known Ricahrd Hell and the Voidoids started here. Others include the Talking Heads and Blondie.

CBGB

On the other hand Lester Bangs, a legendary rock journalist who refused to bow down to the bumlicking that magazines like Rolling Stone subscribed to, was another influence of mine. He also died not long after I was born but I love to study the guy and listen to his musical influences such as the Violent Femmes and the Guess Who (love this band)

Lester Bangs

Above link includes a rare one-on-one interview with Lester regarding the state of rock music (in his days, typically covering the 70's) and the downfall of rock.

WARNING: Take Lester's words with a grain of salt. I am not asking you to totally jump on the info like I did

He speaks alot about rock influences and how depressing it was that the largely ignored black population, which was a good 50% or more influence on rock, was taking a stanglehold on the population of the time.

I'd love to see if anyone else knows of Lester Bangs or the CBGB, been there or has any stories on either. Also I would love to see if any of you are into the same music (rock of the 60's and 70's) as I.

Heck lemme make my point...I want to talk about ROCK! The type of Rock that had a message

Trust me I am no elitist...I still have much to learn, hence why I am opening this discussion

-Kyo