Joseph Hudak
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Jesse Malin's stage show 'Silver Manhattan' is inspired in part by his friendship with the late DJ Howie Pyro. Mark Seliger* When Howie Pyro, the bassist and co-founding member of D Generation died in 2022, it shook his former D Gen bandmate Jesse Malin to the core. Last week, the New York songwriter released a tribute song to Pyro, “Hollywood Forever,” with a B-side of the Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail.” Malin takes the Pyro homage a step further on Wednesday with the release of an accompanying music video featuring photos of Pyro, also a popular DJ, as well as items from his vast collection of curiosities, including figurines and books on the occult.
“He would always say, if he had to go, Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the place he’d want to be buried,” Malin says in a statement. “Howie could get along with anybody. He was friends with both Johnny and Joey Ramone. Hells Angels, skinheads, drag queens, comic-book nerds, art collectors, fashionistas — they all loved him.”
Pyro, born Howard Kusten in 1960, died May 4, 2022, after a battle with liver disease. A year later, while celebrating Pyro’s memory over dinner with friends, Malin himself was struck by a rare spinal stroke, which left him paralyzed. He tells the story of his health injury and his long history with Pyro in his ongoing stage show, Silver Manhattan. Malin announced the final extension of the production, which now runs through May 10 at the Bowery Palace theater.
“My play Silver Manhattan is a love letter to New York City, and it’s also a love letter to Howie,” Malin says. “I didn’t make it to the end of that party. I ended up in the hospital for three months, but I did write this song to show him how much he meant to me. It’s our story.”
