The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and new wave music.
- Venue
- 40 Watt Club
- Town
- Athens, US
The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and new wave music. The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numerous "Athens bands", including Pylon, R.E.M., Love Tractor, Dreams So Real, Guadalcanal Diary, the Primates, Modern Skirts, and others. Its DIY ethos and informality were instrumental in the fostering of punk rock and a "scene" in Athens. In more recent years, the club has been the home-base for such nationally renowned local bands as of Montreal, Reptar, Drive-By Truckers, and the Whigs. The club's owner since 1987 has been Barrie Buck. The 40 Watt Club had its origins as Curtis Crowe's 171 College Avenue loft back in 1978. Bill Tabor and Crowe joked that it was a 40 Watt Club due to the single 40-watt bulb which hung from the ceiling. Crowe's first party in his space, on October 31, featured his band Strictly American, a group of friends from Marietta, Georgia, which included members of the future Guadalcanal Diary. Crowe and Tabor would hang out in his loft upstairs and listen to Michael Lachowski and Randy Bewley practice the same riff over and over again in the space directly below. Crowe eventually knocked on their practice space and asked if they could use a drummer and Pylon was born. During Pylon's subsequent tours of the Northeast, Crowe theorized that opening a real club on a shoestring budget was possible. He did so early the following year. In May 1980, Crowe and his partner Paul Scales moved the "club" a few doors south to a space above a sandwich shop at 100 College Avenue and renamed the club the "40 Watt East". It opened with Crowe still making last-minute additions to the bar and stage. The Side Effects 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. In April