Idaho Statesman, Dec 9, 2005

By Michael Deeds

read the original article on the Idaho Statesman Website

Dank new club! Terrapin Station targets jam bands

Few concert clubs in Boise can match the rich history of the inauspicious, somewhat divey building at 1519 W. Main St.

In the '90s, it was an all-ages punk, indie-rock and metal venue: The Crazy Horse hosted groups ranging from Mudhoney to Korn. Later, it morphed into J.D.'s and Friends, a hip-hop dance club that hosted diverse shows ranging from rap (2 Live Crew) to death metal (Six Feet Under).

Recently, with all the fanfare of a whisper, the club changed again — to Terrapin Station, the name of a Grateful Dead song and album. It's been open for about three months, but the first notable music barrage is happening this weekend.
Bluegrass from Buckskin Bible Revue will pour out the door tonight. On Saturday, psychedelic rockers Oxcart and jam band Farmdog will perform. On Monday, the supremely talented Eric McFadden Trio will play. And Tuesday, Global Funk rolls into town with Phishy, long-winded noodling.

Terrapin Station's co-owner Jason Kearns, 32, says his mission is simple: "I'm here to give people good beer, good music and a good time," he says.
Kearns plans to book diverse acts, which makes sense.

"The jam band umbrella is so huge and encompassing," he says . "It covers everything from electronic to bluegrass to funk to dub to reggae."

Compared to its dingy predecessors, Terrapin Station is a surprisingly welcoming bar. It sells beer and liquor. Minors aren't allowed.
The chain-link fence is gone. There's a new dance floor. Fresh paint. Cleaned-up bathrooms. Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia and dancing bears adorn the walls.

When I entered, The String Cheese Incident was rocking the sound system.
I asked Kearns a handful of questions, but inevitably, our conversation turned to music.

"You heard of this band Conspirator?" Kearns asked me.

Uhhhhh. I was busy scanning the bar's wicked array of microbrews.
Terrapin Station has, like, a dank beer selection. It also pours a signature draft — Dark Star Dunkel, made locally by Sockeye Brewing Co.

Kearns spent the past few years working as a daytime sous chef at The Milky Way. When he saw an opportunity to convert the former J.D.'s and Friends into a jam-band venue, he jumped on it "just because there's not a hippie bar in Boise, per se."
"I was like, 'I'm tired of selling lunch to a bunch of rich spoiled ladies with Macy's bags,' " Kearns said with a laugh. "I'll sell beer to cool people!"

Granted, "cool" means different things to different Boiseans.

If you own a Hula Hoop and wear socks with sandals ... you're home, bro. Otherwise, you may need to download some Dick's Picks and study up on the nuances of patchouli oil.
Whatever the case, nobody should feel particularly out of place at Terrapin Station.

"It's a fun place," says Luke Anderson, acoustic guitarist for Farmdog. "It's got a really cool ambience. I like the concept. The town needed something like this.
"All the rest of the bars in town, they kind of do Top 40, heavy-metal kind of stuff. Not a lot of people cater to the jam band crowd, and there's a lot of us here. So it's kind of nice that somebody recognizes that."

Kearns certainly knows his crowd. He has a sense of humor about it, too.

Terrapin Station's happy hour starts at 4:20 p.m.
"A few people, they're, like, '4:20 happy hour? Ohhh, I get it!' I'm, like, 'It's about time! You've been partaking in the 4:20 a little long!' "

(Terrapin Station can be found in the Linen District at 1519 W. Main Street)