Venue of the Month-Scruffy Murphy’s

by Ryan Edwards

Scruffy Murphy’s is next door to the Retro Room, across the street from the Gin Mill and not too far from the Tavern Downtown. But unlike those bars, Scruffy Murphy’s offers something that those venues lack, authentic Irish punk music. “I think we are the only Irish bar in Denver that plays Irish punk music,”said Craig Hostrup, a bartender since its beginning. The venue stands out with its wooden finish on the outside, and floorboards that came from the original Scruffy Murphy’s in Ireland. Scruffy Murphy’s has been owned and operated the last two years by John Elliott, but has been around for the last seven years. Once home to an old hair saloon and a graphic design company, Scruffy Murphy’s has been a second home for many local and mainstream Irish bands, as well as other types of music.

Mainstream bands like Sixty Six Days, Synthetic Elements, the Drop Kick Murphy’s and Flogging Molly have put Scruffy’s on the map as one of their favorite intimate venues to play in Denver. However, many local bands and musicians appreciate what this venue has to offer, musicians such as Adam Lufkin, a solo guitarist, who also plays in the band Kinetix. I spoke with Lufkin, and he was anxious to talk about the overall venue.

Lufkin appreciates that the audience and staff are laid back, and open to hear just about anything. “I like to play here, I can just f@*# around, it’s an Irish pub” said Lufkin, chuckling as he commented on the easy-going vibe. And Lufkin feels a sense of intimacy with the crowd, considering the stage is not set high from the ground, and patrons are right there. Lufkin has made it a point to play here often, stating “[they are] good people, I’ve never had a bad experience.”

I came in another night, to check out the venue further, and instead of a live band, there was a DJ.  I soon realized that this is no ordinary local DJ spitting songs from a laptop. DJ Maladjusted has been collecting 45s and LPs for almost 15 years. He has boxes of vinyl records and rarely runs into a song requests that he can’t provide, like being asked to play Jay-Z on that particular night. He also appreciates the intimacy of stage, and how patrons will often walk up and ask for a request in his ear, as well as the patrons dancing right in front of him.

For more information, check out scruffymurphysdenver.com

Tags: flogging molly, kinetix, adam lufkin, ryan edwards, scruffy murphy's, retro room, gin mill, tvern downtown, irish punk music, craig hostrup, ireland, john elliott, sixty six dys, synthetic elements, the drop kick murphy's, dj maladjusted, jay-z

Category: The Post