When Michael Dorf dropped out of law school, a music scene was born. In 1987, Dorf opened a coffeehouse/gallery/performance space on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, on a dodgy stretch of Houston Street near the Bowery. The idea was to showcase all manner of creative endeavors, from readings to music to performance art. Dorf named his place the Knitting Factory, and regulars dubbed it the Knit. In addition to running the club, Dorf kept busy with an independent record label he called Flaming Pie.
A year after the club’s opening, Dorf created “Live at the Knitting Factory,” a series of recordings documenting performances by Bill Frisell, Arto Lindsay, and other jazz luminaries who dropped by the Knit. These tapes were sold to radio stations across the country and eventually distributed by major label A&M. The Knitting Factory and its recordings were on their way—destined for widespread popularity.
Today, the Knitting Factory’s physical appearance is a significant improvement over its early days (the bars are polished, the bathrooms sparkle), but its dedication to eclectic music remains. Its stages have served as venues for major festivals like CMJ, the American Music Awards and the TriBeCa Film Festival, but it also hosts the annual Lebowski Fest (a colorful salute to The Big Lebowski). Artists like Lou Reed, Beck, Sonic Youth, and Erykah Badu have appeared at the Knit. But you can still catch a group of college kids playing their first gig.
Its current success is thanks to Dorf’s early vision, which filled a void in New York’s cultural landscape. By the late ’80s, avant-garde jazz artists were having trouble getting booked at uptown venues like the Village Vanguard, and the CBGB’s crowds were at the height of The Ramones’ frenzy. Where could New Yorkers hear music that was part, part rock, part experimental? The Knitting Factory. The club became de facto headquarters for downtown’s jazz experimental musicians and up-and-coming rock acts and poets.
By 1994, the Knit had moved to its current location in TriBeCa, at 74 Leonard Street. It’s a grand multi-level venue, home to three performance spaces: the Main Stage has a 400-person capacity, the Tap Room holds half as many people, and the Old Office is a relatively intimate room for 100 people. The club marked its 10th anniversary in 1997 with performances by John Zorn, Laurie Anderson, and a jaw-dropping double bill featuring Philip Glass and Cecil Taylor.
Meanwhile, the Live at the Knitting Factory imprint grew to include a number of smaller labels under the KnitMedia umbrella. In 2002, Knitting Factory Records acquired Instinct Records, a label that began in a Greenwich Village living room and whose first signed artist was a struggling electronica musician named Moby. Instinct was also known for its “This is Acid Jazz” series and its stable of diverse artists include the James Taylor Quartet and Soundscape UK. While the Knitting Factory record label--and its assorted subsidiaries-are dormant for now, their vast back catalogues is available for sale.
The success of the Knitting Factory in New York prompted a westward expansion: Knitting Factory Hollywood, a 19,000-square-foot venue, opened in 2001. Located just steps from the famed Kodak and Grauman’s Chinese theaters, the Hollywood Knit also boasts three stages and a state-of-the-art sound system.
But its original home remains the epicenter of amazing performances. The fall schedule in New York promises the Pontiani Sisters burlesque show (Oct. 21), a ska festival (Oct. 28 and 29), rapper Clipse (Nov. 4), grunge heroes Mudhoney (Nov. 17 and 18), and a Japanese costume-rock spectacle called Peelander-Z (Nov. 18). Somehow, at the Knitting Factory, it all makes perfect sense.
