A7 was a club in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

that between 1981 and 1984, was a main location of the

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

scene. The tiny space was located on the southeast corner of East 7th Street and Avenue A in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's East Village, and operated by Dave Gibson and

Doug Holland Douglas William Paul Lozito (born March 7, 1962, in Manhattan , New York City), known professionally as Doug Holland, is an American musician, vocalist, and songwriter for New York hardcore bands Kraut and Cro-Mags. He was a bartender and manage ...

. The venue hosted fast punk bands such as

The Stimulators The Stimulators were an American punk rock band from New York City. Although they have a limited discography, they are notable for being consistently cited as an important transitional band between the late-1970s New York City punk rock scene a ...

and

The Violators ''The Violators'' is a 1957 American crime film directed by John Newland, written by Ernest Pendrell, and starring Arthur O'Connell, Nancy Malone, Fred Beir, Clarice Blackburn and Henry Sharp. It was released on November 27, 1957, RKO Pictures. ...

. Slowly, a hardcore scene of initially about 100 persons formed around the club which spawned bands like

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...

Antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

Cro-Mags The Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has garnered a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they ...

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Kraut ''Kraut'' is a German language, German word recorded in English from 1918 onwards as an List of terms used for Germans, ethnic slur for a German, particularly a German soldier during World War I and World War II. Its earlier meaning in English wa ...

, The Mob, The Abused and Urban Waste who played the A7 regularly, some of them weekly. Although the venue was putting on performances from lesser known New York punk rock and hardcore bands like False Prophets and The High and the Mighty, it became the scene's unofficial headquarters after

Bobby Steele Bobby Steele (born Robert Charles Kaufhold; March 18, 1956) is an American punk rock musician. He is the current guitar player, singer, songwriter, and sole original member of the horror punk band The Undead. He has been a member of multiple o ...

began performing at the venue due to being banned from

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

and

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists, and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Dece ...

. It also played host to a fertile

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

scene during the 1980s. The success of the club led to the owner opening the 2+2 Club on the intersection of East Houston Street and 2nd Avenue in the summer of 1982. This venue was larger and could host bigger performances.

Niagara

In 1997, the venue reopened and is now called Niagara. Bands continually perform in the room that used to be A7. In October 2013, a plaque was hung in the room, marking the space's history.

References

External links

Official website of Niagara
(formerly A7) 1981 establishments in New York City 1984 disestablishments in New York City Cultural history of New York City East Village, Manhattan Former music venues in New York City Music venues in Manhattan Nightclubs in Manhattan Punk rock venues {{music-venue-stub