40 Watt Club
Encyclopedia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
. Along with CBGB's, the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and "New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
."
The 40 Watt Club had its origins as Curtis Crowe
Curtis Crowe
Curtis Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia and is the middle of five children. Curtis moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett Crowe was later the bass player for the band Guadalcanal Diary, a...
's College Avenue loft back in 1978. Bill Tabor and Curtis joked that it was a 40 Watt Club due to the single 40 Watt bulb which hung from the ceiling. Curtis first party in his space featured his band Strictly American a group of friends from Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
which included members of the future Guadalcanal Diary
Guadalcanal Diary (band)
Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group. They originated in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, but they were often billed as being "from Athens, Georgia" in the early 1980s. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. They reformed in 1997, but never recorded any new material...
. Curtis and Bill would hang out in his loft upstairs and listen to Michael Lachowski
Michael Lachowski
Michael Lachowski is the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at...
and Randy Bewley practice the same riff over and over again in the space directly below. Curtis eventually knocked on their practice space and asked if they could use a drummer and Pylon
Pylon (band)
Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...
was born. During Pylon's subsequent tours of the Northeast, Curtis theorized that opening a real club on a shoestring was possible. Crowe and his partner Paul Scales then moved the "club" across the street to a space above a sandwich shop at the corner of College and Broad Streets. It opened with Curtis still making last minute additions to the bar and stage. The Side Effects
The Side Effects
The Side Effects were an indie rock band, part of the music scene of Athens, Georgia. The Side Effects debuted in 1980, alongside other local performers like R.E.M..-History:...
played that first night and Pylon on the second. It was an instant smash with the local youth of Athens. The floors had to be reinforced with removable beams due to the intense dancing that took place. Later, with new partner Steve Allen, Scales migrated the club to a larger space on West Clayton Street. 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.
Doug Hoescht bought the club from Allen and Scales and 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 West Clayton 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. The Club later moved to its current location on Washington Street, the former Potter's House Thrift store building. The 40 Watt Club is currently owned and operated by Barrie Buck, the former wife of R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, who has managed the club since 1987.
The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numerous "Athens bands", including Pylon
Pylon (band)
Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...
, R.E.M., Drivin N Cryin
Drivin N Cryin
Drivin' 'N' Cryin is an American Hard rock/Southern rock band from Atlanta, GA.-History:The band was formed in 1985 in Atlanta. Kevn Kinney hooked up with Tim Nielsen, who was in a popular band called the Nightporters with drummer Paul Lenz at the time...
, Guadalcanal Diary
Guadalcanal Diary (band)
Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group. They originated in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, but they were often billed as being "from Athens, Georgia" in the early 1980s. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. They reformed in 1997, but never recorded any new material...
, The Primates
The Primates
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. The Primates...
, Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Modern Skirts
Modern Skirts
Modern Skirts is an alternative rock band based in Athens, GA. The band consists of four members: Jay Gulley , JoJo Glidewell , Phillip Brantley and John Swint ....
, Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
and others. Its DIY ethos and informality were instrumental in the fostering of punk rock and a "scene" in Athens, GA. In more recent years, the club has been the home-base for such nationally renowned local bands as of Montreal
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
, Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
, and The Whigs
The Whigs
The Whigs are an American garage rock band from Athens, Georgia, consisting of lead singer and guitarist Parker Gispert, drummer Julian Dorio and bassist Timothy Deaux.-Biography:...
.