Unlike most of the other tour guides in NYC these days; getting their facts from Wikipedia and photos from the internet, many of the stories I tell are from my own personal, first hand accounts.  I'm someone who was out on the mean streets of NYC streets since the age of fourteen in mid-seventies, a heroin drug mule immersed in all the crime, music and culture New York City had to offer and almost lost my life on several occasions because of it.

But.... I SURVIVED.  The Streets, lock-up, addiction, punk rock, gang violence and here I am in 2024 which marks the 11th year of my World Famous Lower East Side  Crime, Art and Music Tour. It's 3 hours of complete insanity, laughter, facts and unforgettable stories. I've been featured on NBC's Today Show, Fox 5/ NYC, written up in the New York Times, The Huffington Post, Time Out New York, Brooklyn Vegan, Vice online and countless other entertainment outlets.  One thing they all agree on is whether you're a seasoned New Yorker or someone visiting the city for vacation, this tour is NOT to be missed. There's something for everyone and it's guaranteed to be an experience you will never forget. In fact I've had many repeat offenders take my tour several times.

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What is it about the Lower East Side that attracted so much talent and crime over the years?  Since my early days of punk back in the Summer of '77 I have been exposed to some of the best art & music as well as the worst crime imaginable. From the great shows at Max's Kansas City, CBGB's, the Mudd Club and The Ritz, to ruthless murders, Lower East Side drug gang violence, serial killers and insane madmen like Daniel Rakowitz who lived above me in a squat, murdered his girlfriend, made soup out of her and fed her to the homeless people in Tompkins Square Park, that same Tompkins Square Park where the Riot of 1988 took place and I was there to witness first hand.

Most people walking around on these streets today with its trendy boutiques, Starbucks, sushi joints and frat boy bars have no clue of its history prior to the gentrification that gutted the area. The place where great music, art and violence has always coexisted side by side. Where the Ramones, Dead Boys, Bad Brains and Patty Smith made their bones. Where Jean Michel Basquiat took Andy Warhol back in the 80's to see my band the Cro-Mags play at the Ritz. Where mafia kingpins like Al Capone came to kick back a few cold ones at a speakeasy during America's years of prohibition, and John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk and Charlie Parker played (his house on Avenue B is now a New York City Landmark). And of course we'll stop by The Theater at 80 St. Marks where Frank Sinatra performed at the infamous speakeasy run by mobsters which is now the home of the Museum of the American Gangster.

I'll take you by the famous clubs that once were like The Filmore East, CBGB's and CBGB's Theater, Great Gildersleeves, the Palladium, Max's Kansas City and more, to the drug gang hangouts, gruesome murder locations and hunting grounds of one of NYC's worst serial killers, Joel (The Ripper) Rifkin who killed 17 prostitutes on these streets including my heroin addicted musician friend's girl which was the murder that got him caught. We'll also visit famous movie locations from "Taxi Driver", "Desperately Seeking Susan", "Angel Heart", "Rent" and "The Godfather" as well as iconic TV show locations.