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. Although he was caught giving away free beers at the lord's expense.
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). This was a harsh move on the georgia theater's part, making them horrible to be around. 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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References

External links

References

★ A history of the 40 Watt Club

External links

★ The 40 Watt Club home page

★ The 40 Watt Club in 1981

★ The 40 Watt Club on MySpace