My rock ’n’ roll New York: Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo

LEE RANALDO

IN 1981, Sonic Youth unveiled themselves to New York audiences and began their journey to become one of the most important alt-rock bands of the last 30 years, playing pretty much every NYC venue along the way. The band went on hiatus in 2011 due to the marital breakup of members Kim Gordon (bass) and Thurston Moore (guitar), but guitarist Lee Ranaldo continues to perform live regularly. “I think all of us have moved on,” says Ranaldo, who plays the Bell House in Brooklyn on Saturday. This is his rock ’n’ roll New York.

Loft apartment, formerly at the corner of Bowery and Spring Street

“When I first moved to New York, I was friends with a lot of dancers — people from Merce Cunningham’s company and things like that. Two or three of them lived in a loft on Bowery and Spring, and once a month, they would turn over their loft to other artists to perform in. They called it ‘The Bowery Project.’ Sonic Youth played one show before we even had a drummer. It was just me, Kim and Thurston. The lights slowly went down, and the set was just 30 minutes of feedback.”

Max’s Kansas City, formerly at 213 Park Avenue South, between 17th and 18th streets

“One of the very first downtown shows I ever saw was at Max’s. It was the week after the nuclear disaster at Harrisburg in 1979, and I picked up the Village Voice and there was a show called ‘Meltdown.’ I decided to go on the strength of that! It turned out to be significant, because the show was performed by people I would later work with — Rhys Chatham (guitarist, composer), Glenn Branca (guitarist, composer), Wharton Tiers (producer) and Robert Longo (visual artist).”

CBGB, formerly at 315 Bowery, between First and Second streets

“Sonic Youth played there a lot over the years, and it wasn’t my favorite place to play toward the end. But the first few times, it was exciting, even though it was a stinky, beer-smelling dump. We got our first significant pieces of press in the New York Rocker from early gigs at CBGB.”

Tier 3, formerly at West Broadway and White Street

“This was where all the really out-there, no-wave bands played. It was a tiny space with a stage a foot off the ground, and the clientele was very particular. I saw a lot of great bands there, like X and the Gun Club, but it’s not as well-known as places like CBGB, because it only lasted for about a year-and-a-half.”

The Mudd Club, formerly at 77 White St., at Cortlandt Street

“The stage was in a corner and had a metal, roll-top garage door that came down. One of the first times Sonic Youth played there in 1982, our sound was so chaotic that the house rolled down the door in the middle of the set. They thought we were so f - - ked up that they ended our show! Another time, Warhol was in our dressing room, and a junked-out Richard Lloyd from Television showed up once, too.”

Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza

“We played a show of mostly instrumental songs in 1997, and this venue doesn’t usually have a lot of rock shows. So we treated it as a more formal occasion — I had a really nice shirt on, and Kim had a nice dress on.”

Danceteria, formerly at 30 W. 21st St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues

“David Bowie would go there, and Lou Reed and Iggy Pop would show up sometimes. Madonna used to go there before she was Madonna — I remember she and Michael Gira of the band Swans were once caught necking in a corner of the club! You could line up for an hour or two and still not get in — you had to be far-out-looking or someone special on the scene. There was also a VIP level inside, where people were doing cocaine and harder drugs.”

Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza

“Sonic Youth played there for two nights in 1991 with Neil Young, which was exciting, but we were getting booed, and Neil’s crew was not into us. They didn’t let us use the full volume of the PA. After the first night, we took our grievances to Neil, and he put the word out that we could do whatever we wanted. The second night was a lot better — although the crowds didn’t stop booing!”