There are the big name music clubs, famous in folklore and popular culture…The Fillmore West in San Francisco, The Fillmore East in New York, CBGB in NY, Tipitinas in New Orleans, The Fox in Atlanta, The Royal Albert Hall in London, the Whiskey A Go-Go in L.A. I’m sure you can add to this list. Once upon a time, high up in the Blue Ridge mountains, there was a club in little ol’ Blowing Rock, North Carolina that was the center of the music universe for many of us that were lucky enough to be there. It was called P.B. Scotts Music Hall and almost 30 years after it closed, it has a Facebook page (Remembering P.B. Scotts) and an annual party to celebrate its reign from 1976-1983.
What made it so special? Did it happen to exist in the golden era of great music? Was it the geodesic dome-shaped wooden building and the feng shui? Was it the high quality performers? Was it the stage? Was I at the age where everyone finds their favorite music spot? Was it the sound man and state of the art Bose sound system? Was it the crowd that came every night expecting great things and ready to make a party happen? Was it the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains? Was it the party in the parking lot? Heck Yes! It was all of these things. At the time, the disco craze was sweeping the country and I think most people who were there would agree that P.B. Scotts was just the opposite of Studio 54 (the infamous disco club in NY). You did not have to be a celebrity to get in and there were no disco balls.
I saw some incredible, big time performers that played there including Greg Allman, J.J. Cale, Ramsey Lewis, Molly Hatchet, Papa John Creach, andThe Nighthawks (!). B.B. King also played there but somehow I missed that one. My all-time favorite show was the Dixie Dregs. Don’t let the name fool you because they played more styles of music than a jukebox on steroids. Their playing was very dynamic, taking you up and down, fast and slow and they could turn on a dime. This all-instrumental band was fronted by guitar player extraordinaire and band leader Steve Morse. He is probably more famous now for his stint as the latter day guitarist for Deep Purple. But I bet his heart will tell you that The Dixie Dregs at P.B. Scotts was as good as it gets from a musician’s standpoint. The audience hung on every note and beat while dancing, swaying and jumping to the music, only a few feet away from the band. And let’s not forget the regional bands that played there like The Spongetones, Sidewinder, Razz Ma Tazz, etc.! Did somebody say Snuff?! Herein might be the key to P.B. Scotts rating as my favorite music club of all time. It did not matter who was playing. It was always exciting and I don’t remember an off night. Watching and listening to a musical performance there was a very zen experience. You became totally absorbed in the here and now. Tomorrow did not matter.
P.B. Scotts only held about 800 people. In front of the chest high stage was a dance floor. It seemed like the perfect height for a stage. There was a 2nd level balcony and a smaller 3rd level balcony. My favorite spot was the 2nd level, but the dance floor was a good place to go crazy.
Soon after it opened in 1976, I attended my first show. I don’t even remember who played that fateful night, but when I walked through the front doors I felt like I had entered the coolest place in the world. That same feeling came over me every time I went in. Fast forward to 1983. I moved to California and about one month later P.B.s (as we liked to call it) closed, finally succumbing to some funky local laws requiring establishments to serve more food than alcohol. So I got to experience pretty much the whole spectrum of people and music. I will venture to say that I hung out and attended more shows there than anyone, other than employees, and more than some of them. Like that old saying goes, “no brag, just fact”. I welcome any friendly challengers on this.
One special night in 1982, they had a “Local Band Night”. My band, Crash Landing, performed along with another local band called Justus. What a thrill! Our opening number was the Van Halen version of “You Really Got Me”. During the intro, we almost blew the place up with our homemade pyrotechnics/light show consisting of photographic flash powder in Maxwell House coffee cans. Just a little too much of the flash powder, but what an intro! It sounded like a bomb went off throwing a huge rush of warm air across the room, and the flash powder blinded everyone for a few seconds. On guitar was Karl Tellekamp, myself on bass guitar, lead vocals by Doug Buttner and Joe Helms on drums. We specialized in tunes by Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Robin Trower, ZZ Top and we even had a few original songs. You know Karl had some serious chops to cover those guitar heavyweights.
So how did a music club like this spring up in the Blue Ridge mountains of NC? In 1976, the population of Blowing Rock NC was about 500 year round residents (that’s right, 500). But, it was an affluent part of Watauga county with many summer homes, and in 1976 it was the only town in the county where you could buy alcohol. It was the go-to place for entertainment and nightlife. At first glance, an outsider might look at Blowing Rock and see Mayberry. There were certainly some of the good elements of Mayberry, but it was more complicated than that. Consider the demographics of the region’s population. There was a strong local community, going back for generations, who had a great appreciation of music. There were also many “alternative” people running away from cities to retreat into a simpler mountain lifestyle. Can we call them hippies? There were also the Florida tourists and transplants. But mostly there was Appalachian State University in Boone NC (only 8 miles away) which accounted for the bulk of P.B. regulars…students from all over North Carolina. Swirl all of these people around with a lot of beer and primo music and you had something magical. If I could bottle whatever it was that made it so special, I would be a rich man. But, I am definitely richer, having spent so much time at P.B. Scotts. And short on a few brain cells.
There can never be another place like P.B. Scotts, at least not for me. It was definitely a product of the times. If you were lucky enough to be there, cherish it.
Have any of you had similar experiences with a music club? Let me know about it.
Rory Gallagher played some of the rockingest blues based guitar of the baby boomer generation. He turned down a request to join the Rolling Stones because he did not want to be boxed in. In addition to his brilliant guitar work, he wrote scads of top shelf songs and raged through different leads each time he performed them. His enthusiasm is evident in each performance. He jumped around the stage like Angus Young of AC/DC, but with less manic movement. He drew his band members in with eye contact and brought out their best like a good football coach.
I had an epiphany at a small open mic gig regarding a statement my old mentor said to me, “You may have to choose between the most shredding cat in town and the cat that’s good enough. If you find yourself in this situation make sure you grab the cat that you can throw back a brew with. The cat that’s cool to hang.”
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