THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601180150
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
The bulldozers finally did it.
Unlike many of the rock 'n' roll bands that promised over the years but never delivered, the wrecking machines tore the roof off the sucker. And before they finished, the walls came tumbling down.
On Jan. 10, the Atlantis nightclub was flattened.
It was noisy, a fitting end for the 25-year-old flat, blue-and-white oceanfront building in Nags Head that housed several incarnations of rock 'n' roll nightclubs.
The building, owned by Virginia Beach businessman Ed Ruffin, first opened in 1970 as a skating rink. But by the summer of 1971, the rink was gone, replaced by the Rain Dancer nightclub. The club lasted one season.
After the Rain Dancer failed, the building sat vacant for two years - at one point half-destroyed by fire.
Enter Paul Shaver and John Lancaster, a couple of budding financial wizards. They leased the building from Ruffin, borrowed $20,000 for repairs and renamed the refurbished building the ``Oz.''
In the summer of '74, the Oz became part of the burgeoning Nags Head club scene, joining the now-defunct ``Hurricane,'' ``Nags Head Casino'' and ``Nags Header.''
``It was sort of modeled after the Peppermint Beach Club in Virginia Beach,'' says Shaver. ``It was nothing fancy. There was sand on the floor.''
``Things were real competitive then,'' remembers Oz bartender John Miller of Kill Devil Hills. ``Some of the more established clubs got the big names.''
But the Oz did manage to attract two of the mid-'70s' best regional bands: Country-rockers Snuff and the Good Humor Band. The Oz's first season was a success.
``We were packed most every night,'' Shaver says.
When the Oz reopened in the summer of '75, it got some national exposure.
``Lloyd Dobbins (then a TV newsman on WAVY Channel 10) used us in a feature on the Outer Banks nightlife,'' Shaver says. ``We were on his 'Weekend Report.' ''
The Oz lasted two more summers. After four years, Shaver was ready to get out.
``I loved it,'' he says. ``But that lifestyle wears on you.''
Mike McQuillis then leased the property from Ruffin. His club, ``The Atlantis,'' debuted in the summer of 1978.
By then, the Casino and Nags Header were gone and the Hurricane had been renamed the ``Odyssey.''
When the Odyssey closed in the early '80s, the Atlantis became pretty much the only game in town. McQuillis then was able to book the top regional bands such as Byrce Street, Nantucket and Power Play, as well as national acts Blue Oyster Cult, Tommy Tutone and Molly Hatchet.
McQuillis left the nightclub business in 1989. But the Atlantis arose again the next summer under the management of Doug Kibler, who lasted three seasons.
For the last two years, Jerry Dallas of Kitty Hawk leased the property. He was able to snare such up-and-coming groups as Everything and Egypt, and that little old band from Charlottesville that has sold about 3 million CDs: the Dave Matthews Band. One of his other coups was landing reggae legend Burning Spear.
But now, the building that enjoyed more lives than a stray cat is gone.
In its place is property divided into four oceanfront lots.
The Atlantis may rise again, however. Last week, Dallas said he is looking at another space for his business. MEMO: John Harper covers Outer Banks entertainment for The Carolina Coast.
Send comments and questions to him at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C.
27959.
ILLUSTRATION: File photo
It was a noisy,fitting end for the building that had housed several
incarnations of rock 'n' roll nightclubs.
by CNB