Venue Type: Venue

Year of First Show: 1981

Year of Last Show: 1982

Address: 1511 East Main St.

Articles

K.O. Jams Rock Club 1981-1982 (Comprehensive History by Philip Dean Wallace)

March 11, 1993 – Sidelines – The day the music died

“Starting Thurs. 10-28, A new era begins at MTSU – ‘The Modern Mode’ – Be a part of it!”

There’s not much to say here that Philip Wallace doesn’t cover in his excellent blog post, K.O. Jams Rock Club 1981-1982. K.O. Jams was only open for six months but still managed to host some notable bands, including R.E.M. and Jason and the Nashville Scorchers. The owners were Bruce Fitzpatrick (who later went on to run The End in Nashville) and Richard Sadler. As Mike Poole noted in a Facebook comment, “Bruce and Richard had just the right amount of ‘don’t care’ to let the place be a great hang.” Shows ended shortly after a burglary in 1982, but it is unclear if that was the reason the club closed. Jason and the Nashville Scorchers played the last K.O. Jams show in April 1982 and folks recall that the club closed out the night with a big pile of broken furniture in the middle of the room.

The building is located at 1511 East Main Street in the College Heights Shopping Center. (There is some anecdotal dispute about its exact location, but flyers do note the 1511 East Main Street address). The shopping center eventually became the home of B&L Pizza, which held shows in the early 1990s. As of 2024, the building is home to Smokes and Brews.