From punk rock to puri: A piece of Louisville's music scene lives on with Nirvana

Jeffrey Lee Puckett | Courier Journal

The announcement this week that an Indian restaurant, Nirvana, was opening at 1047 Bardstown Road in the Highlands brought a rush of memories.

That is one of Louisville's more storied addresses, chiefly because it was the home of Tewligan's Tavern, the venue where the city's underground music scene was nurtured and flourished.

In addition to a few hundred local bands, the club hosted the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Widespread Panic, Alex Chilton, They Might Be Giants, Fugazi, Ben Folds Five, Firehose and every struggling touring band for hundreds of miles around.

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Starting in 1981, Doyle and Mary Guhy turned a boogie bar called the Funktion Junktion into Tewligan's and began booking bands from the city's very young punk rock scene.

The perfectly grimy club eventually became ground zero for original music just as the national indie-rock scene began to grow, and it wasn't unusual for Tewligan's to host 10 or 15 bands a week. Local giants such as Babylon Dance Band, Bodeco, Crain, Rodan, King Kong, Love Jones and many more made it a home.

The club went through a few owners and a couple of name changes, Snagilwet and The Cherokee Blues Club, and its last couple of years were not great. The club closed in 1996 and reopened as a bar and pool hall, Cahoots, a few years later.

"There was so much crammed into that little ---- hole," said Billy Hardison, co-owner of Headliners Music Hall, who learned to book bands at Tewligan's.

Well said, sir. And with that, here are a few Tewligan's memories culled from a Facebook post, with gentle editing to counter social media shortcuts.

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Michael Jones: "I used to have an apartment down the street from Tewligan's, where Quills is now. My friends would always stop by my place before or after shows. One day, my friend James Barber stopped by and says there is a band called Tammy and the Amps playing at Tewligan's. I didn't want to go to the show but he told me that someone who worked there said it was a must-see show. So, we make our way to the bar. It wasn't crowded cause nobody knew Tammy and the Amps. But when the band came on it was the Breeders with Britt Walford on drums. It was a great show."

Craig Pfunder, of VHS or Beta: "My very first memory of that room was in 1994 and I had just moved to Louisville chasing a girl. I had a small apartment on Cherokee so I walked over one afternoon to Tewligan's. Passing the Taco Bell parking lot littered with kids I made my way into my first all ages show in Tewligan's. The lineup was Crain, Rodan, Spavid. I barely remember Spavid but ... both Crain and Rodan melted my face. My fave band at the time was Sonic Youth and so that's all i could really compare them too. I can still recall how it felt and how massive Jon, Tim, Jeff, Jason, Kevin, and Tara Jane all looked in that tiny room."

Paul Curry booked shows there for a couple of years and seemingly attended all of the rest.

"My favorite memories, however, are of two shows that were hardly noticed," he shared. "The Jesus Lizard's first trip to Louisville drew next to no one for a daytime show, and lead singer David Yow took the opportunity to strip naked for the kids. ... The other show that defines my memory of the place was Vic Chesnutt playing for 13 people in August, 1990. It was the last night before the guys I worked for were giving the place to new owners and the last show I booked. The sound man made a board recording of the show, and Vic played 'Wichita Lineman' for me."

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Sean Garrison, leader of I Have A Knife and formerly of Kinghorse and Five Finger Discount, had heard about Tewligan's growing up in the wilds of south Louisville. He was introduced to Tewligan's via Ashtar, a club regular.

"The first time I walked into the back room the first thing I saw was the wizard Ashtar in his tighty whities drinking something from a bucket," he wrote. "... Ashtar was the only person in the back room. I am not sure if I am remembering this right or not but I'm fairly sure he bellowed 'WELCOME, young reprobate!' at me when he saw me.

It was a glorious moment for moi, because I needed to know people like him actually existed in my town."

Steven Durm: "1991. I had just moved to Louisville for a job. A girl I liked at work invited me to see Pauly Shore with her at Tewligan's. She bought the tickets and asked me to meet her there. I remember Pauly just wanted to do his bit and got frustrated by the drunken crowd's interactions. I went to the bar to get drinks for me and my date. When I returned, I couldn't find her. I walked all around the building. Met Pauly out back. He gave me "the weasel" handshake. Never found the girl. Learned later that she left with another guy. Thanks for the memories, Tewligans."

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John Hawkins: "My first full-time pro music gig was running sound at Tewligans. I lied about my age to get the gig. On my first Derby Eve, the Afghan Whigs played, and Greg Duli emptied his beer in the only good monitor we had."

Stuart McWhirter: "As a teenager that felt out of place and misunderstood growing up in Corydon, Indiana it was a life changing experience finding Tewligan's and the Highlands in general. This was the late '80s and early '90s and although my family and hometown friends are dear to me, it was not until I met like-minded weirdo art and music kids at some of the all-ages shows that I learned to celebrate my differences.

Some of my closest friends to this day I met at Tewligan's during that period In my life."

Nirvana, which will be run by the family responsible for Kashmir Indian Restaurant, is planning on having live music several nights a week. It's safe to assume that there'll be no Ashtar, but we can hope.

Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at 502-582-4160 and jpuckett@courier-journal.com.