Well, yeah... there's that. Cee ----- Original Message ----- From: Gatornet Admin To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 12:48 PM Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] Sun: Ancient Gainesville history
...and some you couldn't remember if you wanted! ;-)
Randy
----- Original Message -----
From: Cecilia
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 12:27 PM
Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] Sun: Ancient Gainesville history
I only have one small quibble with this article. Mr. Petty was known as
*Tommy* back then, not Tom.
As a G'ville local, I spent a LOT of time at Dub's... some good memories,
some bad, some best forgotten. LOL.
Cee
----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry Belloit
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:01 PM
Subject: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Sun: Ancient Gainesville history
Boy does this bring back memories. I remember enjoying a few listening
to Dennis Yost and the Classics IV as he sang Stormy and many other olden
greats!
Jerry
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Oliver Barry
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 2:52 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [gatornews] Sun: Ancient Gainesville history
Local legendary club, formerly known as Dub's, reopens under new identity
Erica Brough/Staff Photographer
The original "dress policy" sign is shown at Eagles at Dub's, a re-opened
club at 4562 NW 13th Street in Gainesville, Fla. where Tom Petty played six
nights a week in the '70's, shown Thursday, February 12, 2009. The three-level
club has three bars, live music and karaoke nights.
By Travis Atria
Published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 11:57 a.m.
As far as rock 'n' roll goes, this is hallowed ground.
A long time ago, a young man stood in this very room six nights a week
with a group of his friends and played covers, occasionally sneaking in an
original tune claiming it was a Santana song.
The young man's voice would soon be familiar to millions around the
world. He would soon write some of the most beloved songs in rock history. But
standing in that room, he was still just regular old Tom Petty.
The legend of Dub's in its heyday makes it sort of Gainesville's Cavern
Club - the renowned venue that birthed The Beatles. Now, it is open again under
the auspices of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles and is called Sunshine Eagles
@ Dub's.
"This building spoke to us from the very beginning," says Jan Hukle,
chapter auxiliary president. "It has such history within this community."
That history is never far from James Opp's mind. During the late '60s,
Opp was a bartender at Dubs.
"When Dub (James "Dub" Thomas) bought the place out, he asked me if I
wanted to be 'his bartender,' as he put it," Opp says. "I was in my young 20s
at the time."
"On Saturday night, we'd sell 150 cases of Budweiser bottles. It was hard
to dance on the dance floor a lot of the time because it was just bumper to
bumper, as it were."
Opp never saw Petty and Mudcrutch play at Dub's, but he has another
connection to the famous rocker's origins.
"I can't remember specifically Tom Petty playing there, but I used to go
to the parties right around the corner - the ranch, or whatever they called
it," Opp says. "Of course, he wasn't a famous big name at the time."
Apart from memories of Petty, Opp cherishes the time spent working for
Dub.
"We'd be behind the bar working our butts off, and Dub would get a little
buzz on," Opp recalls. "He'd walk up to you, and he had a belly, he could pull
it in and just pump it out and give you a good serious bump. And then, of
course, he'd give you a wink and we'd go on about our business."
After Petty struck out for California, Dubs continued to have an impact
on music, both local and national. Perhaps no one felt that impact more than
Ken Block.
Block is now famous as the front man of Sister Hazel, but back in the
mid-'80s, he was just a kid in a band called Scorcher, hungry for a break.
"After asking a million times, he finally gave us an opportunity to play
at Dub's," Block says. "It was really the first lesson I had in
professionalism. You had to play four sets a night, you had to start on time
and you had to end on time and he'd book you for the week."
One of Block's favorite memories of performing at Dubs is opening for the
band Warrant.
"Getting to walk behind the bar and pour shots with Jani Lane from
Warrant was a big deal," he says.
But, perhaps nothing meant more to Block than the encouragement he
received from Dub himself.
"I remember one night he called me into his office and said, 'I think if
you stick with it and you continue to work on your craft, you could make a
living at this and be doing it for a long time,'" Block says. "Those words held
so much weight because he had seen so many artists."
The Fraternal Order of the Eagles, which now operates the club, is a
non-profit organization founded 110 years ago. It is a social organization with
a strong emphasis on charity and community.
"While we're having all those good times, we're also raising money for
charity, so it's a win-win," Hukle says.
And, while the club is now far from its golden days - which, apart from
Petty, included performances by Black Sabbath, The Eagles, The Righteous
Brothers, Molly Hatchet and more - perhaps it is fitting that it should have
reopened in the same year that Mudcrutch reformed, and released its first and
only album.
Hukle hopes to return the club to prominence - "We're shooting for the
big stars," she says - while keeping its historical significance intact.
"All the time, people will come through the door and will just stop in
their tracks, and they'll look from top to bottom and get that far-away look on
their faces," she says.
"It's so neat to see it growing like this."
Sunshine Eagles @ Dub's
What: Live bands on Fridays and Saturdays, karaoke on Thursdays, variety
of music on Sundays.
When: 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 5-11 p.m. Thursdays., 4 p.m.-1 a.m.
Fridays-Saturdays, 4-10 p.m. Sundays.
Where: 4562 NW 13th St.
Information: 335-4518
Sunshine Eagles @ Dub's
What: Live bands on Fridays and Saturdays, karaoke on Thursdays, variety
of music on Sundays.
When: 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 5-11 p.m. Thursdays., 4 p.m.-1 a.m.
Fridays-Saturdays, 4-10 p.m. Sundays.
Where: 4562 NW 13th St.
Information: 335-4518
sc19dubs3.jpg
Ken Block's former band, Scorcher, performs at Dub's in the mid-'80s with
Block on stage in hat.
Ken Block's former band, Scorcher, performs at Dub's in the mid-'80s with
Block on stage in hat.
Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI
Real Estate Broker
Halo Realty, LLC
700 E. Main St.
Hendersonville TN 37075
[email protected]
office: 615-822-3509
fax: 615-822-7741
mobile: 615-972-4239
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