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GREENSBORO — The first time Kim Cowett walked into Pinups, she felt like a kid again.

“It was like walking into someone’s parents’ basement,” she said on a recent Saturday night at the club. “We didn’t know if it was that or a new cool little clubhouse.

“I mean, honestly, you walk in and it’s like, 'Oh, it’s the greatest tree fort! With pinups!’ It was a really neat little hidden treasure.”

Pinups opened in the summer of 2010 in the basement of Chumley’s, a bar on Lawndale Drive near its intersection with Battleground Avenue. It’s one of the newest music clubs in the Triad and one of the few that consistently features live, original music and showcases local bands.

It was Cowett’s second time seeing a band at Pinups. She went a few weeks ago to see the Raving Knaves, then returned to see the Othermothers (her husband, Al Cowett, is the band’s lead singer).

Kim Cowett likened Pinups to Nightshade Cafe — a basement music club on Tate Street that had its heyday in the 1980s and hosted the Othermothers.

“Several people have said it’s kind of like Nightshade Cafe,” she said. “That same low ceiling. But it is cleaner, and it’s a little brighter.”

One wall in the club is covered with 1950s-style pinups pasted by owners Mike Duquette and Ryan Hyatt. There isn’t a large budget for the club, but Duquette says that’s part of its appeal.

“A lot of work instead of money, but I think that puts a little more character into it,” Duquette said. “We’re looking for more of the art-type crowd who will appreciate that.”

The club offers live music at least once a week, with dance parties on other weekend nights.

“We don’t want the whole downtown, Top 40 kind of music,” Duquette said. “It’s an alternative place. Getting kind of the hipster crowd.”

The Facebook page for Pinups describes it this way: “A magical, mystical establishment offering reasonably priced libations, world-renowned musical selection and a casual atmosphere free from the plagues of Ed Hardy, steroid junkies and ho hum watering hole banality more generally.”

Duquette also developed the N Club (now Allure Nightlife), Much and Skybar in downtown Greensboro. Hyatt worked with him at Much.

With Pinups, they’re operating on an intimate scale. The club has a

legal capacity of 99 and targets serious music fans –– people more interested in the band instead of the booze.

“We’re leaning on the indie rock, alternative side,” Duquette said. “We do a lot of hard rock, punk. It’s a variety. Original music is what we’re looking for more than cover bands.”

Andy Lewis, an old roommate of Hyatt’s who lives in Greensboro and plays in the metal band Colossus, has booked several shows at Pinups. He has brought in several local punk bands, including Social Life, Funny Like a Funeral and The Quiet Brace, as well as national touring acts such as The Beggars from Detroit and Future Mouth from Gainesville, Fla.

“We’re just trying to get different music in Greensboro, and this place has got a pretty good scene to it, a good vibe,” he said. “The regulars that come here are really cool people. Just a nice little vibe, and a nice alternative to going downtown or going to College Hill or NYP (New York Pizza).”

Othermothers fan Julie Talbert feels the same way about Pinups’ vibe.

“I really like it,” she said. “It’s got surprisingly decent sound and a nice, cozy little environment. It’s warm and a good vibe.”

Contact Eddie Huffman at ehuffman@triad.rr.com