Chattanooga Pulse

Downtown just ain’t what it used to be. They say when Giuliani was mayor of New York, he turned Times Square from the Thunderdome into Disneyland. And pretty much the same thing happened here when the Tennessee Aquarium opened in 1992. But before that, you could shoot a gun down Market Street and not hit a soul, which made downtown Chattanooga the perfect playground for us kids.

There were tons of cheap apartments. And if you didn’t feel like paying rent, there were plenty of places to squat as well. There were scores of dive bars and restaurants. And there were tons of places to see good live music. The infamous institution known as “The Nucleus” (where The Mix was located at 4th and Market) for example, hosted Black Flag and Red Hot Chili Peppers among other top-shelf alternative bands of the time before they were superstars.

Chattanooga had its fair share of great local punk bands too. Loud, fast, dirty, filthy, gnarly, distorted garage rockers who could count on one hand their influences (which almost always included The Stooges, Dolls, Pistols, Replacements and Ramones). And if, of all of those bands you had to name the one that truly stood at the center of Chattanooga’s plethora of young, talented qualifiers, it would likely be an outfit simply known as Hank.

Named for the activity that generally ensues when looking at a racy magazine during some alone time, Hank was made up of bass, drums, a female guitarist and an illustrious lead singer: Chuck Jennings.

Chuck was quite a character, very mysterious. Mainly that’s because only a few people knew his true story. Most knew the legendary story. And here’s how it went.

Apparently Chuck hailed from somewhere in California. Laguna Beach, I believe. He had just been released from either reform school or prison when he arrived in Chattanooga back in the mid-’80s.

Now, just because Chuck spent some time “gettin’ his mind right” didn’t mean he was bitter, dumb or spiteful. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Chuck had an intense lust for life that not too many of us could muster up unless he was around. One friend put it best when he pointed out Chuck was the type of guy who could send you a letter from prison that would make you feel like you were missing something by not being there. And, he was a pretty smart guy when it came to figuring out real quick how one can get by on their wits, charm and good looks.

First step: Start a band. And what a band he started. Hank was a very, very talented outfit. In addition to their exceptional musicianship, they had Chuck. And Chuck was the closest incarnation of Iggy, Mick and Bowie rolled up into one this town has ever seen.

My favorite of Chuck’s personality traits was that he didn’t give a shit. At all. He would do anything, anytime, to or for anybody if it meant 1) kicks, 2) mayhem or 3) adding to his growing mystique. But when it came to fronting a fine rock band, he was flat-out the consummate showman. That’s where he truly shined.

In fact, even to this day, THE finest display of local talent I have ever witnessed was Hank’s infamous show at a now-defunct bar called the Go-Go Club back in the summer of 1986.

During a rockin’ cover of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie,” Chuck swung from the light rigs and then jumped off the stage, ran over to the bar, jumped across it and started grabbing bottles and pouring liquor down his throat. As the bartender started to chase him away, he jumped back on stage just in time to finish the song and, true to form, bolted before the cops showed up. Brilliant.

As with anyone who’s bigger than the town they’re in, Chuck decided to move to LA right about the time people started wondering why he was living here in the first place. But wherever he ended up over the years, he would occasionally send us a card or letter with a cryptic tale that was surely written with the same kind of smile with which it was received. Unfortunately though, his demons, habits and survival tactics eventually got the best of him. Sadly, Chuck overdosed about ten years ago. But as far as the mark he left on the pre-aquarium Noog, he lives on.

“K-Mart Town!”

Chuck Crowder is a local writer and general man about town. His opinions are just that. Everything expressed is loosely based on fact, and crap he hears people talking about. Take what you just read with a grain of salt, but pepper it in your thoughts. And be sure to check out his wildly popular website  www.thenoog.com