This month, the GenX Book Club heads back to New York City in 1977, a city of punk rock, poetry, underground art, the blackout, Son of Sam, and a little club on the Bowery called CBGB.
Paul Stroessner Jr. and Suzanne Mattaboni are joined by author Gabriel Rotello to discuss his novel The CBGB Conspiracy, a historical murder mystery that mixes fictional characters with real people, places, and events from one of the wildest and most creative periods in New York City history.
Gabriel didn't just research this world. He lived in it. He arrived in New York in the 1970s, played music during the early CBGB era, and later became a journalist, activist, author, and documentary filmmaker.
The conversation quickly moves beyond the mystery itself and into the New York that inspired it. Gabriel shares memories of the downtown music and art scene, the real history woven throughout the novel, the Everard Baths fire, the Anderson Theater and CBGB's attempted expansion, and the remarkable collection of artists, musicians, writers, and outsiders who found one another in a city that was simultaneously falling apart and exploding with creativity.
Suzanne brings her own memories of New York and the New Wave era, while Paul digs into Gabriel's experience of turning history into fiction and why writing the novel was so much fun.
And at one point, Gabriel shares a piece of CBGB history that he says nobody else knows about.
They also discuss Steven Sprouse, William S. Burroughs, Holly Woodlawn, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, the transformation of New York nightlife, and whether the conditions that created that extraordinary downtown culture could ever happen again.
This is a spoiler-free conversation, so you can listen even if The CBGB Conspiracy is still sitting on your TBR pile.
Because sometimes a great book isn't the end of the conversation.
It's where the stories begin.
Connect with Gabriel Rotello:GabrielRotello.com
The CBGB Conspiracy can be found at Amazon and anywhere else where books are sold.
More from the
GenX Book Club Crew
📖 Suzanne Mattaboni (Author of Once in a Lifetime) 🔹 Get her book anywhere books are sold, including Kindle Unlimited and onceinalifetimenovel.com 🔹 Visit her at suzannemattaboni.com 🔹 Follow Suzanne:
- 📷 Instagram: @suzannemattaboni80s
- 🐦 X: @suzmattaboni
- 📘 Facebook: Suzanne Mattaboni
🎙️ Del Roehling (Host of 80s at 8 on 91.1 WEDM FM) 🔹 Tune in to 80s at 8 for all your favorite throwback tunes 🔹 Get your daily dose of '80s news on the 80s at 8 Facebook page
💡 Connect with
GenX Journeys 🌎 Website: GenXJourneys.net 📩 Email: [email protected] 📺 YouTube: @GenXJourneys 📷 Instagram: @GenXJourneys 🐦 Twitter/X: @Returntothe80s 📘 Facebook: GenX Journeys 🎥 TikTok: @GenXJourneys
🎧 Subscribe to the GenX Journeys Podcast on: ✅ Apple Podcasts ✅ Spotify ✅ iHeartRadio ✅ Podbean ✅ PlayerFM
💡 Whether you're a die-hard '80s fan, a nostalgia lover, or just someone who enjoys a great book club discussion, this episode is packed with fun, wisdom, and plenty of throwback vibes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow/subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave a review.
