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Skully’s set to celebrate seven years of Ladies’ 80s

By Bram Fulk

Skully’s Music Diner has become one of the most well known venues in Columbus’ music scene. After eight years on campus, the original Skully’s moved to its current location at the top of the Short North and returned to owner Skully Webb’s roots as a DJ by transforming it from a bar and grill into a very hot dance club.

Now preparing to celebrate Skully’s seven-year anniversary in its new spot, Webb spoke with UWeekly about the iconic concert hall’s history, its place in Columbus’ music scene and, of course, the upcoming week-long party.

UW: When Campus Partners came in and took over what’s now known as the Gateway, how did Skully’s change?

We moved here from campus. [Skully’s] used to be on 11th and High. We were an upscale rock ’n’ roll bar and grill. We had a jukebox, food — it was sort of a big pool hall. We had seven, eight pool tables, I think. When we started here, I know I [wanted] to set up more as a dance club/live music venue.

UW: Skully’s is known for its Ladies’ 80s night. How did that get started?

The first week we opened, I started pulling out my old records ... and I said, “Well, let’s bring all my records and play what I played in the ’80s and do an ’80s night.” And we did it the first night — the first week we were open — and it was a hit. We’ve built it up over the years, but it has always been a very, very popular night. People come here, they’ll spend some time — six months, two years — here every Thursday, and then they graduate and go on or whatever, but we’re always bringing in new faces because it’s pretty lively.

UW: So what are you doing with your seven-year anniversary next week?

We’re doing a whole week — Wednesday through Saturday — seven-year anniversary week. We’ve got four different events: Wednesday is DJ MomJeans, who is Danny Masterson [Hyde from “That 70’s Show”]. Indie electro-rock dance mixes, I guess that’s what his forte is. Thursday is the Ladies 80s anniversary, then Friday we’re doing a hip-hop show with Devon the Dude and Brother Ali — it’s double-billed. And Saturday night is Jack Daniel’s Studio No. 7 party, which we’re calling “The Magnificent Seven.” We’ve invited seven local bands [the Whiles, Two Cow Garage, Deathly Fighter, Good Company, Bush League All-Stars, Psychedelic Horseshit and Unholy Two] to be on the bill.

UW: What are your thoughts on the current music scene in Columbus?

The current music scene is very lively. There’s a lot of action, a lot of people who want to get involved with it. Very competitive. The talent is, you know, all over the board. A lot of people have been in bands and been in the music scene and the band scene for quite some time. I just think there are a lot of places to play. What we do here is offer them great sound, great stage. They’ve got a huge room to fill. So some bands — if they can bring 750 people, they can fit them in here.

UW: What do you see Skully’s place as being in the Columbus music scene?

Well, I think our place in the Columbus music scene is definitely we’re the mid-size venue below the size of the Newport. The Newport holds 1200, 1600. We’re definitely the next size down from that, and most of the other stages in town are more like bars with a stage. We’re definitely a live entertainment dance club. It’s definitely a bigger space with a lot more activity and a lot more to offer because you can get so many people in here. We get national bands, but we also do focus, though, on the local scene. The local scene is definitely where we started with live music, and I believe someday something’s going to happen with Columbus. You know, there’s been some waves here and there. Everyone talks about the Columbus sound’s not really definitive. There are a lot of different style bands in Columbus, and we get bombarded on our Web site with bands wanting to play here. It’s an opportunity for a lot of them to start, a lot of them to grow.

Originally Published: November 12, 2008

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