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May 11, 2005
Smokin' Joe's
Spurred on by some early 90s nostalgia in the comments section of my last post, I've decided to continue revisiting the stranger musical moments of the ramshackle three-storied edifice located at 157 East Rosemary Street in downtown Chapel Hill. Starting with the extremely short-lived Smokin' Joe's, a rock club that was located in the basement of that run-down building, in the exact same space that Hell has occupied for these last 8 years. I'm pretty sure that Smokin' Joe's started having shows in October 1993. The 206 W. Franklin Street incarnation of the Cat's Cradle had shut its doors in May 1993, and while the relatively new Local 506 had started bringing in some amazing shows courtesy of the adventurous musical inclinations and booking talents of one Randy Bullock, there was still this general vibe around town that Chapel Hill was in desperate need of another larger venue where both touring acts and local bands could play. Enter Smokin' Joe's. I don't know who owned the place, it might've even been the same people who owned Troll's, the fratty bar that previously occupied the space. But as I recall the club was booked by Kelley Cox - founder of Moist Records (aka Moist/Baited Breath), the idea man behind 1992's much-ballyhooed "Big Record Stardom Convention", and a one-time Poindexter Records clerk. Cox knew a lot of bands/label/industry people and had good taste to boot. My concert-date memory isn't nearly what it used to be, but I was able to reconstruct a partial Smokin' Joe's schedule from some listings in old issues of Trash and Stay Free! and a bunch of scrawlings in my old Carolina Week By Week:
Thu. 10/14/93 - Beatless
Fri. 10/15/93 - Small 23, Crowsdell, Orangestone
Sat. 10/16/93 - Blue Green Gods, Vineland, Shiny Beast
Sun. 10/17/93 - King Kong, Bicycle Face
Sun. 10/31/93 - Rodan (reportedly w/ special guests Lulu Spagoo!)
Tue. 11/02/93 - What Peggy Wants, Truck Stop Love
Fri. 11/05/93 - Orifice, Queen Sarah Saturday
Sat. 11/06/93 - Half Japanese, Family Dollar Pharoahs
Tue. 11/09/93 - Picasso Trigger, Slug, J. Church
Wed. 11/10/93 - Voodoo Birds
Thu. 11/11/93 - Jack O'Nuts, Capsize 7
Fri. 11/12/93 - No Safety, God Plow
Sat. 11/13/93 - Small 23, Mousetrap, Sunbrain
Tue. 11/16/93 - Lud, Greensect, Channel
Wed. 11/17/93 - White Buffalo, Post
Thu. 11/18/93 - Grifters
Thu. 12/02/93 - Blue Green Gods, New Radiant Storm King
Fri. 12/03/93 - Chew Toy, Raymond Brake, New Radiant Storm King
Fri. 12/17/93 - Analogue
I can't vouch for the completeness or accuracy of most of these lineups...bands could've been dropped or added from some of these bills, and a few shows might've been cancelled. I missed the Louisville heavyweights on the schedule (Kink Kong, Rodan) but I remember going to the Half-Japanese/Family Dollar Pharoahs show (really great), the Grifters (pretty much my favorite non-local band in 1993), and the Small/Crowsdell show.
As I recall, the bands played in the far back corner of the club - the area diametrically opposite from the main door/stairwell, not the less-visible corners where Hell's foosball and air hockey tables live. And in case anyone was wondering how Hell's men's room got to be the luxurious suite that it currently is, just check out the "His" section of Stay Free! #5's "Local Restroom Reviews". Not a lot has changed.
I'm not exactly sure why Smokin' Joes stopped having shows but I daresay it probably had a lot to do with the fact that the Cat's Cradle reopened at its current Carrboro location on November 29, 1993. That first night was a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion/Jesus Lizard/Brickbat show and the new Cradle was understandably packed. My Kentucky connection tells me that Kelley Cox moved to Louisville at some point in 1994 and probably still lives there. If anyone out there has any corrections or additions or memories to contribute to this somewhat hazy history of Smokin' Joe's, please make a comment.
Next up: Transmissions 001 invades Bub O'Malley's...
Posted by Tim at May 11, 2005 10:25 PM
Comments
Wow. Thanks for compiling that - I saw many, many of those shows.
Posted by: pinky at May 12, 2005 09:22 AM
My college-era memories are a jumbled mess at best, but I seem to remember a night at "Rosey's Goodtimes" where the bill was "Kangaroo/Pipe/Archers Of Loaf". I, of course, may be combining several different nights together . . . .
Kangaroo had some of the people who eventually became Mayflies USA. What was the band before that (not the Dwayne band and not Kung Fu Fighting)? They played out a lot I think.
Rosey's had a projection screen and I remember Pipe played a video of hockey fights during their performance. That was great.
Posted by: toby wong at May 12, 2005 11:12 AM
Wasn't there a "secret" Archers of Loaf show at Smokin' Joes? For some reason I remember seeing them down there...
Posted by: Stuart at May 12, 2005 12:18 PM
I'm excited to hear your retelling of your personal series of unfortunate incidents at transmissions...
Posted by: bo at May 12, 2005 02:06 PM
Don't be. Not all tales were meant to be shared with the online world.
Posted by: Tim at May 12, 2005 03:28 PM
Now Picasso Trigger has been "immortalized" in this (total rip-off?) t-shirt, available for purchase through the folks at turntablelab.com
http://www.turntablelab.com/gear/pics1/ua-vomit/front-1.jpg
Posted by: Todd P at May 13, 2005 11:22 AM
hey tim - did you know the identity of all the clampettes? so long has passed - I knew two, but I can't remember the rest.
Posted by: pinky at May 13, 2005 02:59 PM
I don't want to give away all the details, but 11/13/93 was my 21st birthday, 157 E Rosemary was the closest bar to my house, and I remember calling the placing Puking Joe's after that night.
Posted by: Dan Smith at May 13, 2005 04:01 PM
I think I knew the identity of 2 or maybe 3 of the Clampettes....but that is pretty hazy for me too.
Posted by: Tim at May 16, 2005 03:55 PM
Damn. this is bringing back some memories. I also remember us (Chew Toy) playing with Archers of Loaf at whatever the club was upstairs.
Anyone remember La Terraza?
Posted by: Karen at May 17, 2005 09:54 PM
I remember an Archers show at Rosey's Goodtimes where I was sitting on the floor leaning against the pool table. I was really tired and had to work the next day, so I decided I would wait until I heard "Toast" and then go home. It's hard to imagine being that blase about it now.
I also remember a Superchunk show in the same space. There was no stage, so we as the audience kind of had to decide how far away from the band we would stand. I was in the front about three feet away from Mac, and it was very strange. I felt like I was completely in his space and that I had to avoid making eye contact with him, or else it felt like I was forcing him to sing the whole show to me.
Posted by: dbt at June 9, 2005 11:13 AM
Was just reading your comments about Troll's - I must object! Troll's was NEVER a fratty bar - at least not while I was in Chapel Hill. I bartended there in 87-88 with Roger (the old owner) and it was a beer swillin' rat hole. Between Troll's and Hell - it was a bar called Fred's. Wonder what happened to the juke box there - it was the best!
Cheers!
Posted by: Stevie B at June 1, 2006 10:56 PM