PORT AUTHORITY BUS TERMINAL NYC!  NEW YORK CITY!!! Arriving in New York was a dream realized. David dove into the city’s electric world of art, music, Max’s Kansas City, and CBGB’s. An era crackling with energy and possibility!

Maxs Kansas City  On his first night in the city, he went straight to Max’s Kansas City, met a couple of women who offered him a temporary place to stay, and spent the next month getting on his feet. It was a quintessential New York beginning that was raw, lucky, and unforgettable.

120 EAST 4th STREET  David soon found a clean, roach-free studio for $120 a month. A rare photograph from that time shows a 2x4 he kept for protection during the blackout when looting swept the neighborhood.

On the walls were promotional photos of Lou Reed—whose best friend David would later meet, eventually leading to conversations and even a painting for Reed. Its whereabouts today are unknown.

BLEECKER BOB'S AWNING  While dividing his time between the East and West Village, David met Bleecker Bob, owner of the legendary record shop on MacDougal and West 8th. Bob hired him to paint a punk figure across the awning. David worked at night for a few days; Patti Smith stopped by, David Peel chatted for a while. Only things like this happen in The Village—until the Landmarks Committee ordered the awning removed.

THE CLUBS  From Copperfields to Rockbottom, Trude Heller’s, Stickball, and The Nursery, David decorated numerous nightclubs with murals and design work.

KING OF PUNK  David Peel—counterculture icon, friend of John Lennon, and author of The Pope Smokes Dope—went punk, and David created the cover art for King of Punk while also playing on the record. Peel’s performances at Mills Tavern were a neighborhood staple, and David often joined him onstage. Peel has since passed, though David doubts his soul in Resting in Peace. This period also involved creating album covers and logos for other artists—most now lost to time. “If only smartphones existed back then,” David says.

WORN OUT AND BUSTED  Eventually New York took its toll. When David’s band fell apart and burnout set in, he walked away from his apartment and his life there. In one of the few surviving photographs, his painting Bum Bum peeks around a corner—a reminder of what had been.

Pictured are also Tashin , my guitar player and Andy Warhol.