Five Minute Histories: Hammerjacks
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ธ.ค. 2022
- Happy New Year from Baltimore Heritage! If it was 1989, maybe you would be getting ready to go out to the legendary Hammerjacks bar and music venue. Join us today as we look back at the local spot that hosted rock greats like the Ramones, Guns N’ Roses and Joan Jett, and then later served as a center of Baltimore club music. Thanks for watching and see you in 2023!
This is our series called "Five Minute Histories." We record short videos about different historic places all over Baltimore and post them on our Facebook page, TH-cam channel, and website. For more information or to become a member of Baltimore Heritage, check out: baltimoreheritage.org/support/
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What a GREAT place to go ! So many memories! The music was so loud my ears would ring for days! The speakers were so BIG your pants leg would move from the vibration’s! The 80’s music was the best ! Still have my Hammer Jacks bumper sticker and matchbook’s! What a meat market ! A darn shame the building is now a parking lot😥
There will NEVER be another Hammer Jacks 😥
Great Times ! Rock n Roll ! Loud !!! Sexy Girls !! What more could a young person ask for at that time ? lol Hammerjacks will always be missed ...✌🤟
The smell of stale beer and burn’t pizza. Aah great memories!
My parents met at hammerjacks! I wouldn’t be here without it 😂
What a great story!
Damn you make me feel old.I spent a lot of time there.
Lol. I met my wife at Odells, after leaving Gatsby's. It was a busy night.
I had no idea that part of Joan Jett's I Love Rock and Roll was filmed at Hammerjack's. That's some awesome trivia! 😉
I met my husband at Hammerjacks in 1987 him and his friend always came up there on Saturday night from Washington. The old man lived in Prince George's County right outside of D.C. we have been married now for 34 years.
A lot of great memories at Hammerjacks. I was fortunate enough to go to the original Charles St location
That was such a great venue! I remember seeing the Ramones there. The place was packed. Stage diving, slam dancing, good times.
One of the BEST jobs I ever had. I DJed from 1992 till they closed the rock club. Mostly Thur, Fri and Saturday nights in the Concert Hall. The last night I worked there was New Years and the KIX played the last show.
Good remembers
Do a 5 minute history about the paradox and the sonar!
We'll add them to our list!
FWIW that's Baltimore's own legendary Child's Play in the video at the end. Not Sure Johns knew that.
That's awesome-thanks!
I went to school with Idzi and John Allen.
steve Albinak and I were best friends as teens.
I used to go there!!!! I loved it. Thank you for these great memories!!! They were so successful, it's still hard to believe they ever closed.
Started going to HJ when it was on Charles Street. Tuesday nights were 25 cents pizza and draft nights. The guy making the pizza's would pour Jack Daniels in the sauce. Remember the cannon hanging from the ceiling. Good times!
The pizza was amazing, or was it just because of the alcohol? I'll never know!🤔
Memories memories memories 😊😊😊😊😊
Hammerjacks was for everyone. From rock n roll to club music. All colors have stories about hammerjacks. Good times 😊
I got kicked off of my bar stool by a girl in stiletto heels on the cat-walk dance side one night, best night ever! Another time we went to see Lita Ford but she cancelled at the last minute. Somehow, they got Pantera to play instead, it was absolutely nuts. People were jumping off of the second story balconies into the crowd.
❤️🤘❤🤘❤🤘⚡️
Used to go to the spot on South Charles and regularly visited the new one. Met a lot of lovely young ladies there!
I wasn't old enough to go; but, I remember seeing the bumper stickers every where! I think I saw more Hammerjack's stickers than South of the Border and King's Dominion combined back in the 80's. I was 17 when we left Montgomery County and moved to Florida. Knowing what I know now, I would have tried to get in. You brought up all those big acts that played there and left out one big one. I've heard them called the Hammerjack's house band before. Hagerstown's very own Kix! Still rocking to this day! Thanks for the memories.
Spent many a night there. Even got to play there twice. Great place to play. Nearly every national act that was in town stopped by after their show.
Went to see Def Leppard and Tesla at the old B-more Arena for the Hysteria tour. It got postponed till the next night,so my Older Brother took me to Hammerjacks and we ended up meeting the Drummer and Guitarist from Tesla. It was Freaking Awesome
If i told you the stories I've got from that place and the after parties you probably wouldn't believe me.... 🤘⚡
Had a lot of one night stands there 80s music 🎶 was the best
Me too. Wouldn't trade it for the world.
Struever was never a co-owner. He worked on the building.
Just ran across this video as I was searching for Kix live at Hammerjacks. I lived in Northern Virginia in the 80s but road trips up to Baltimore & the Howard St venue were our thing every weekend. I actually married a Hammerjacks girl who I met there on the dance side. I'm almost 65 now, my ex-wife has passed, but Hammerjacks will remain forever in rock music venues legend! It was the size of the Howard St location & the gritty neighborhood that made it truly special. Like the original 930 Club in old downtown DC, 930 F St. Thanks for the journey back in time. I'm a country boy now in the southern Shenandoah Valley of VA, but I'll never forget those raucous weekend nights at Hammerjacks!
I was there for the making of the Joan Jett video and The Kix video..."Blow MY Fuse". Seen The Ramones, Iron Maiden, got thrown ONTO the stage at LAGuns show,later got to meet bassist Kelly Nickles and still friends with him till this day, Later at another Joan Jett show got to meet Joan Jett as she spilled my drink on the side bar as she left the stage and same night met Rachel Bolan (bassist of Skid Row) and Lita Ford as they were both in the crowd. My then gf was always a regular in the bikini contest where they would have a kiddy pool on stage full of water for the girls. Was at Hammerjacks when Hardline played (drove my '69 Caddillac Hearse to that show), as years before when the Gioeli brothers (guitarist and singer for Hardline),had a band named KillerHit in my hometown of Lancaster,Pa,where I went to school with the brothers,they used a Hearse to haul their band gear. Seen Kix EVERY time they played at Hammerjacks,even the first and last times. Hammerjacks was 1hr south for me n my friends. They had a hotline you could call to see who was playing when. It was nothing to be at our local mall and an hour later were having beers rocking out to Tall Stories or Childs Play. Pizza bar above the drum riser. back corner 2 level w mezanine strip bar. Front left of stage through the wall was a pool hall. Bathrooms backstage hallway right across band dressing rooms. Was too easy to meet anyone.At oThe LAGuns show after being thrown onto the stage, I was escorted down the long hallway backstage and my head was used to open the door. heard the bouncer radio my description not to let me back in. Threw my leather jacket ubnder LAGuns tour bus, cruised to the front door, showed my ticket stub,flirted w the girl at front and i was right back in, w a beer, up front with my friends, giving the bouncer the finger :)+
Teenage memories…thanks for sharing 😊 Happy new year 🎉
Happy New Year to you too!
Hello! Former bartender at Howard St! I've seen it all!
Cool!
This was my second home for years (Howard Street). Working there was so much fun and crazy! The stories are so wild that only those who worked there would believe them.
You said that you used to work there do you know anybody named Ronnie I don't know his last name
Oh the memories! Well done!
Happy 🎉New Year
Hammerjacks 🎶 lot of fun memories and incredible Live Music!
I worked at Hammerjacks in the early 80s. It was an interesting experience.
Loved it. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
I've spent so many weekends and money in that place. Good times!!
That looks like it was quite a party spot! I'm sorry that never got to check it out. (I moved to MD in 2002.) Thanks for all of the informative & enjoyable videos, and I'm looking forward to more in 2023! 🙂
Metallica played Hammerjacks back in 1983! Pantera also played there in 1992.
Pantera rocked that joint!
With Dave mustang.
I was there.
Great memories at Hammerjacks, shame plans failed to bring it back to the former glory so this generation could experience it. Too many good times to count!
There was never before and never will be a place like Hammers.
Met many of girls there and met the love of my life.M.R.Sadly I didn't marry her.I was stupid and I broke up with her.
One of the bands I seen there was Cinderella.
YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YA GOT TIL ITS GONE.
Does anyone remember Painters Mills Music Fair? That would also be a good video. It's now a BJ's
I saw DEVO, the Plasmatics, Split Enz and dozens of bands there. It burned to the ground
Joan Jett did not film the Video for I love rock and roll at Hammerjacks. I Love Rock 'n' Roll spent seven weeks at #1 and has featured on several 80s compilation CDs ever since. The song set the bar high and subsequent singles failed to match the success of their declaration of music.
The video was filmed at a club called Privates on Manhattan's Upper East Side, which today is a ubiquitous Starbucks. It mostly features the band performing the song with a few shots of Joan's imminent conquest for the night. The only telltale sign that remains is the shot at the end when Joan looks back inside. The buildings across the street are still recognizable, even with my longstanding curse of visiting NYC locations covered in scaffolding.
Can you do a 5minute history on the Seagull Inn??
We'll add it to our list!
I saw Foghat and Nazareth there. I also recall napkins descending in large quantities from the top floor, 13 bars, a 60,000 watt stereo, a Navy SEAL about 5 and a half knocking out a guy much taller that was harassing him, and people EVERYWHERE!
Edit: During a contest one night, someone with an incredible arm launched a large chunk of ice toward the stage, just missing Louie's head. He said, "That ?[/&÷= $
Wow it really seems it was larger than life!
the holloween nights were off the hook Id drive from Hagerstown to go the Hammers..............................
That's a long drive!
@@baltimoreheritage1006 about 80 miles one way
My brother Mike must have been there setting up for Crack the Sky.
Please do the Bank of America building.
Thanks we'll add it to our list
After Hammerjacks it was Bandaloops ...
Is the seagull inn still around?
It became a restaurant called the River Watch, but it was sold to Looney’s last year and they’re planning to re-open it early next year under a new name, LoonAsea.
I wonder if Mr. Principio has any relation to the historic Principio Furnace in Cecil County?
His grandfather was the first in the family to come to the US from Rome, Italy and he came in 1907. Best I can tell it was named after the Principio Creek. Don't know where the creek got its name from.
I remember Louie louies and I've been to the new one by the prison
This is an odd clip: he left out the club being featured in the movie Serial Mom, and most notably any reference to the recently released Rockumentary, for which a lot of people worked really hard and it's produced by people who actually worked there.
How can you do a "History" of Hammerjacks and not even mention one of the most underrated bands of all time KIX???????
uh oh, we didn't know!
@@baltimoreheritage1006 You did a great job regardless ;-)
bring Sophie back
In 1989 I was 17 and was dying to see what Hammerjacks was all about. I was 5'6" with dark brown hair, no facial hair.
Two of my friends got fake ID's. My fake ID said I was 6'2", 35 years old, and the picture on the ID was a guy with blond hair and a mustache. I gave the door guy the ID, he looked at me and laughed, and said, "Nahhh, nice try dude".
Needless to say it was another year before I got in. It was worth the wait.
Here is a 5 second revelation by me. end '80 in my mid 20ies I went once to hammer Jack's all the way from Montgomery village , had red denim pants on and the stupid bouncer at the entrance had to make an irritating remark about it , I kicked him in the balls and wrestled him to the ground and never again visited this FN institution.
I saw DEVO and RAMONES, among many others, at "Hammer's". The regulars hated it when we punks invaded!😂
Devo is great!
The Ramones show I saw was exhausting just trying to survive the movement of the crowd and remain in one piece. Great venue and awesome show.