Audio By Carbonatix
Whenever I ask people if they want to see a show at Gumwrappers, they say, “Hey, isn’t that a strip club?” Well, sure, back when Reagan was president. The joint on A1A has been through a transformation that still doesn’t get it the attention it deserves. Just four years ago, the place was still a bump-and-grind house, the same as it had been for more than two decades. But then the city fathers tried to legislate it out of existence, and Gumwrappers lost an expensive battle to preserve its booby-lovin’ self. After that defeat, the club sought a new identity as a bikini-dance bar, without much success. So on to the latest incarnation, which was unveiled on January 29 of last year, featuring rockers Southern Flaw and Trapped by Mormons. Now here was a combination that made some real sense: loud rock ‘n’ roll bands surrounded by chicks in swimsuits. Four months ago, the dancers were booted entirely as Gumwrappers completed its metamorphosis into a local house of rock. The lap-dance chairs and stripper poles are still there, but on Friday and Saturday nights, local bands bare their naked musical souls rather than their tan lines. And for Florida band junkies like me, that’s a better use of my dollar bills.
