Information about 40 Watt Club
The 40 Watt Club is a significant punk rock venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB's, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and "New Wave music."
Curtis Crowe, later drummer for Pylon, was the renter of the space, and the first band to perform for an audience in the space was Crowe's Strictly American. As a continuous performance space, the club began as the practice room for Pylon and got its name from the single 40-watt light bulb in the room. The original loft space was above the offices of the University of Georgia newspaper, The Red and Black.
After a year and a half of sporadic operation, Crowe and fellow UGA student Paul Scales moved the club across the street to the corner of College Avenue and East Broad Street, above a sandwich shop. The first work was to expand the small stage to make it "Vanessa proof," meaning that the floor had to be especially strong for Pylon's singer to dance safely on. Still, the floors bounced up and down during performances, contributing to the "on the edge" feeling of the space.
About the time Pylon left to tour Europe and the floor was literally about to fall in on the sandwich shop, Paul Scales began looking for a new space. Coincidentally, a few blocks west a hole occupied by Rick the Printer's Coffee Club or "11:11" (because 11:11pm was when the doors opened) had been having trouble - no one seems to be sure why - with the cops. Finally, after having been shut down by the police (during R.E.M.'s second ever public appearance) Rick and Dennis Greenia decided to vacate the premises and turned the space over to Scales and new partner Steve Allen. Amenities such as a stage and hot water were added, as was a second bathroom. True to the "40 Watt Method" it was assembled with found materials (including toilet and sink) and volunteer labor.
Allen, who had graduated from the University of Georgia in 1976, was brought in because he had a real job in Atlanta and thus could provide needed funds. He and Scales had been next-door neighbors in Macon, Georgia before they both moved to Athens. At the time, the cover charge at 40 Watt was $1, and all of this went to the band. Beer, the only beverage sold, cost 25 cents. Allen upped this to 75 cents, but still lost money on the deal, though he had plenty of fun.
The next phase began when Doug Hoescht bought the club from Allen and Scales, moved it to 382 E. Broad Street and renamed it "40 Watt Club Uptown". The 40 Watt Uptown was large and professional, and it was a major stop for underground independent music acts in the 1980s. When rents increased on the space, the club moved back to its Washington Street location ("the new old new 40 Watt"). At the same time, the formerly small, spare competing club, The Uptown Lounge, expanded to a much larger space (the Georgia Theater). Therefore, with Uptown Lounge taking over as the high-capacity venue there was again a market for a small club that would focus on local acts. At around the time of the transition from uptown to the original location, the music video for REM's "Turn You Inside Out" was filmed in the Washington St. 40 Watt Club. The 40 Watt Club has remained at its Washington Street address since the closing of the Broad Street location.
The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numerous "Athens bands", including Pylon, R.E.M., Drivin' and Cryin', Guadalcanal Diary, The Primates, Indigo Girls and others. Its DIY ethos and informality were instrumental in the fostering of punk rock and a "scene" in Athens, GA.
Curtis Crowe, later drummer for Pylon, was the renter of the space, and the first band to perform for an audience in the space was Crowe's Strictly American. As a continuous performance space, the club began as the practice room for Pylon and got its name from the single 40-watt light bulb in the room. The original loft space was above the offices of the University of Georgia newspaper, The Red and Black.
After a year and a half of sporadic operation, Crowe and fellow UGA student Paul Scales moved the club across the street to the corner of College Avenue and East Broad Street, above a sandwich shop. The first work was to expand the small stage to make it "Vanessa proof," meaning that the floor had to be especially strong for Pylon's singer to dance safely on. Still, the floors bounced up and down during performances, contributing to the "on the edge" feeling of the space.
About the time Pylon left to tour Europe and the floor was literally about to fall in on the sandwich shop, Paul Scales began looking for a new space. Coincidentally, a few blocks west a hole occupied by Rick the Printer's Coffee Club or "11:11" (because 11:11pm was when the doors opened) had been having trouble - no one seems to be sure why - with the cops. Finally, after having been shut down by the police (during R.E.M.'s second ever public appearance) Rick and Dennis Greenia decided to vacate the premises and turned the space over to Scales and new partner Steve Allen. Amenities such as a stage and hot water were added, as was a second bathroom. True to the "40 Watt Method" it was assembled with found materials (including toilet and sink) and volunteer labor.
Allen, who had graduated from the University of Georgia in 1976, was brought in because he had a real job in Atlanta and thus could provide needed funds. He and Scales had been next-door neighbors in Macon, Georgia before they both moved to Athens. At the time, the cover charge at 40 Watt was $1, and all of this went to the band. Beer, the only beverage sold, cost 25 cents. Allen upped this to 75 cents, but still lost money on the deal, though he had plenty of fun.
The next phase began when Doug Hoescht bought the club from Allen and Scales, moved it to 382 E. Broad Street and renamed it "40 Watt Club Uptown". The 40 Watt Uptown was large and professional, and it was a major stop for underground independent music acts in the 1980s. When rents increased on the space, the club moved back to its Washington Street location ("the new old new 40 Watt"). At the same time, the formerly small, spare competing club, The Uptown Lounge, expanded to a much larger space (the Georgia Theater). Therefore, with Uptown Lounge taking over as the high-capacity venue there was again a market for a small club that would focus on local acts. At around the time of the transition from uptown to the original location, the music video for REM's "Turn You Inside Out" was filmed in the Washington St. 40 Watt Club. The 40 Watt Club has remained at its Washington Street address since the closing of the Broad Street location.
The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numerous "Athens bands", including Pylon, R.E.M., Drivin' and Cryin', Guadalcanal Diary, The Primates, Indigo Girls and others. Its DIY ethos and informality were instrumental in the fostering of punk rock and a "scene" in Athens, GA.
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Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, USA
Nickname: "Classic City" "The Classic"
Location in Clarke County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates:
Country United States
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Nickname: "Classic City" "The Classic"
Location in Clarke County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates:
Country United States
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Nickname(s) The Whisky
Location 8901 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, California 90069
Coordinates Coordinates:
Type nightclub
Genre(s)
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Location 8901 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, California 90069
Coordinates Coordinates:
Type nightclub
Genre(s)
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New Wave was a rock music and pop genre and movement that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. In those days, many music groups were inspired by punk rock and used elements of other genres, such as electronic music, reggae, and ska.
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Pylon is a rock band from Athens, Georgia, USA. Their most important work was done between 1979 and 1983. They were highly influential among new wave bands. They are also considered one of the seminal groups of the Athens music scene where their influence has been pervasive.
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University of Georgia (UGA) is the largest institution of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located in Athens, approximately 70 miles (113 km)
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The Georgia Theatre is a prominent music venue in Athens, Georgia, located in an old cinema. Many prominents acts from the early music of Athens, Georgia performed at the Theatre, including a range of folk, popular and country acts.
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A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.
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Pylon is a rock band from Athens, Georgia, USA. Their most important work was done between 1979 and 1983. They were highly influential among new wave bands. They are also considered one of the seminal groups of the Athens music scene where their influence has been pervasive.
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R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's "jangly" guitar
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Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group from Marietta, Georgia. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. It formed again in 1997 and toured without a new album.
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The Primates were one of the original post-punk / rock bands to come out of Athens, Georgia in the mid 1980s. Their loud, fast in-your-face hedonistic style is reminiscent of West Coast bands X and The Minutemen, but peppered with a definite influence of traditional Country Music.
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Indigo Girls are an American folk rock duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They got their start in Atlanta as a regular act at The Little 5 Points Pub and were tangentially part of the Athens, Georgia college rock scene that included The B-52's, Pylon, R.E.M.
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Do it yourself, often referred to by the acronym DIY, is a term used by various communities that focus on people creating things for themselves without the aid of paid professionals.
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