~ Triad Venues Vol. 1 ~

When words fail…..

…Music speaks. It’s a good thing there are some great venues locally that allow music to say all it wants, and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of them.

I am going to start in Winston-Salem with Scotty B’s in Germanton. This is a quaint little bar that turns its dart board area into a stage. The staff and owner are awesome, nice, and welcoming! Scotty told me that he is looking at bringing in more and more bands, ranging from Classic Rock, to Country, tribute bands, to Modern Rock. I have caught bands such as Kitty Hawk and InterTwined here and was very impressed with the entire set-up.

The cover here is also very affordable. How can you go wrong with a $3 to $6 cover? You just cant. There are always drink specials as well, so a night out here will not break your bank.
Don’t be surprised if you end up with a membership by the time you leave, you will want to come back and check out another band or five.

Now lets move a little bit East to a place called Skagnetti’s. This bar has a GREAT set up for bands to play in a separate room from the main bar. There are tables to sit at, pool tables to play at while you listen to the band, and plenty of room if you want to get up and dance or jam with the band.

The bartenders are really nice gals. They will help hook you up with a bucket of brews and pretty much any drink you might be interested in. Don’t let the bouncers scare you, Yank might look like he could bite your head off, but he gives great hugs. I have enjoyed every show I have caught here, and I do plan on going back to see more.

Dropping south for a moment to a venue called the After Hours Tavern. A true music venue coming out of sleepy High Point. Worth the drive from Winston, Greensboro, or even Burlington to catch some of the great names that play here. Black Glass, Sonic Shakedown, Toyz, Almost Famous, Dan Fino and Magazyne are just a sample.

Debbie runs a tight ship, and doesn’t book just anyone. If your band is interested in playing here, you can come on a Wednesday and play on open mic night. She said this is one way for lesser known and new bands to ‘break out’. By doing this, I feel she is a serious supporter of local music. Giving everyone willing, the chance to be heard. The band, Dan Fino, loans their equipment to this effort, so all you have to do is bring your talent and show up.

You will definitely want to check this place out!

Now back up to Greensboro, you will find a friendly, ‘homey’ kind of bar call The Clubhouse. The woman running the show, Ducky, is a spitfire when it comes to getting the music job done. I hung out one Sunday for the “Hope for Haiti” benefit, in which 9 bands played. The bands included such names as 90 Proof, 3 Day Funk, & Magazyne. Ducky had an awesome variety planned out with sounds from acoustic to blues, bluegrass, all the way to rock.

The sound in this place is great as well. Not a lot of venues have ‘house’ PA systems that can rival what some bands have of their own, but I was impressed with the one here.

The bar staff is very friendly and the regulars are as well. I was made to feel comfortable with how they ‘took in’ some new faces and made us feel like part of the ‘family’.

On the edge of sanity, aka Mebane, is a little place called Ground Zero, and I have to say that I love this venue! The area for the band to set up in is not that big, but the sound in the bar is great! The owner, Linda, is a HUGE supporter of local music and prides herself for booking a diverse variety of bands.

The night I was there, I was with Magazyne. The house sound man, Clint, did a fantastic job running the boards for the band. I have heard a lot of bands play in little venues like this, and I have to say that I was impressed with the ‘big venue’ sound that he gave them.

The bar staff were fantastic! They were quick to help and the bouncers, off the hook guys! They even helped a friend that was with me track down a local pizza place to deliver to us there. I will DEFINITELY be going back!

One thing I look for in a venue is the quality of sound. Of course every band is only as good as their ‘sound man’, but if you have large ceilings or the band area is too large and ‘hollow’ sounding, no good sound man can really overcome that.

Then there are the venues where the ‘sound man’ could take a lesson, or 10, in how to ‘dial in’ the right person at the right times. I have had the unfortunate chance to witness such assassinations of awesome musicians like that. These are venues I will not review, until I give a second chance.

I do try to be fair…but I will also be honest.

Well the weekend is upon us once again…..I dare you to try one of these venues. You might just like what you experience. I know I did :)