Bossmans The Story of Bossmans I never thought id write a story about the club, But i feel its important to explain to those that dont know, the history of the Club. First off I will share my musical past. When i was 15 yrs old and i bought my first guitar. It was a piece of crap. I would try to teach myself with this stupid book, that had stupid exercises, and stupid songs. Progress was given up, but every once in a while i would try again. I finally figured out what a chord was, and that was cool. There was no internet then, so i would go to the music store and buy music books that had words and chords. The first book was the Beatles, and that had me interested as i would accually play a song that i knew and liked. Over the years i would gain interest and lose it again, but slowly getting better. I grew up in Edmonton, and a buddy of mine and i joined The Druid Rugby Football Club. We never played a game, but the club did the security at the coliseum, or rather for the the bands that had shows there. You know, the guys that weat t shirts that say SECURITY. Our duty was to protect the bands. We would guard the dressing rooms, Back stage, The front of the stage, and the boards so crowd dont rush the stage. We were not security for the Coliseum, but for the band. If someone had a bottle of booze, we would take the bottle, if it wasnt empty, they could slam it if they wanted, but we wanted the bottle so they cant throw it at the band. If they had a J, We didnt care because they wont hurt the band. My favorite spot was the dressing room, as i would meet the bands. The list of events were incredible. Areosmith, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Motor Head, Cheap Trick, Robert Plant, Joan Jet, Dianna Ross, and way way more. I wasnt a groupie, but i did collect picks off the stage after the show. My career took me to the General Manager at the Ambassador Hotel located in Down Town Edmonton. The Tavern was rented out, and was a BLUES bar with Legends such as B.B. King & Albert Collins ( They dont call him the Ice man for nothin) . After a couple of years, I assumed the rent of the Tavern. We ran Blues for a while with local bands , but the costs for a blues band was more than the bar made. We switched to local basement rock bands and did really well. We had a acoustic open mic every Tues, which was super successfull, as all the buskers would attend. It was there, that i met Bill Borne. He would come in and help with the sound. I had purchased my own sound system which consisted of a little 12 channel HILL sound board, 2 SP4 speakers, with bass bins, 3 way crossover, full mic drum kit, and a 24 can (1000 watt per can) light show with contollers. I was already familiar with sound obviously, cause i owned my own system, but became good, Knowing where, and how to find ground humms etc. When Bill Borne hit the stage, it was incredible. He would blow away everyone. Thats probably why he won a JUNO in 92. It was then that I got the name BOSSMAN. After several years, I relocated to Taber as my parents lived here and it was the time in my life to be back with Family. One day I went to the Palace Hotel as they had Karaoke, and the host on stage blew me away. This guy was every bit as good as Bill Borne. I followed him outside when he went for a smoke and chatted with him. I mentioned to him how i thought he was every bit as good as i guy i knew in Edmonton named Bill Borne, and it turns out they played together in Reddeer. We had something in common and a friend ship was made. This guy hosting karaoke at the Palace was no other than Wild Bill Lawson. As a joke i would never tell Bill my name, but i always wore a hat that says The Boss. Thus the name Bossman came back to life. Bill and i became good friends, and we started a band called Wild Bill & the Wind Jammers. The first band i was ever in. I bought a crappy drum kit, and we would jam in my house in the attic. Wild Bill was the drummer and singer, i played acoustic, and Alex McCormick was the bass player. We did songs like Let it be, Stand By Me, Brown eyed Girl, House of the Rising Sun, Etc. We started an open mic, first at the Heritage Inn, & then the Shamrock Club. It was the Shamrock Club that we found interest from teenagers to learn to play. We had a entire band of teenagers that we taught how to play. The satisfaction was undescribable. The Shamrock closed down, and the band disolved. I began jamming with Brandon Gregus (elect. guitar), Richard Fingers Schnieder (Acoustic), Kyle Schnieder (Drums), and myself on Bass. We would jam every week, and became so good, that when we finished a song, we would look at each other and say, WOW. That was awesome. One day I noticed a for rent sign on an abandoned building, and after inquiring, agreed on a very good rental agreement. Little did i know the amount of work that needed to be done. Rick Schnieder and myself joined in a partnership to open and run the Club. The Building had to be rezoned, Bathrooms installed, Electrical nightmare, plumbing nightmare, Permits galore. But we finally finished. We decided to go as an all ages venue with out the liquor license, so that we could continue teaching kids to play. Our object was to pay the bills with the sale of pop and chips. On Friday night we would have open mic, and on saturday, \club night with dance music catering to the younger generation. Well, the TEEN CLUB as it became known as, went Bullistic. It was the Teen hotspot. The Open mic fissled, but Club night was a blow out. Not one month did we ever to break even, but we came really close. Suddenly the Taber Police Services decided to crack down on curfew. After speaking with the police chief, it was obvious that they would not support the teen club in any way, So we decided fine. We didnt do this for controversy. We will close the Teen club and get a liquor license. We now have Open Mic every friday, and the club has been termed as a Club for Musicians. Not being a big enough town to support jammers on saturday too, we tried doing the Club night thing again, and although we have had some good nights, it didnt catch like the teen club. My partner and volunteer staff all quit, leaving me to do mulitiple duties including, Bar tender , Janitor , Buying supplies, and finaces including gst, taxes, utilities, etc. I do have a volunteer bartender now, who works stickly for tips, as she is doing her thing to support the club. At times im overwhemed. The turn out on jam night is only mediocre. We do have a house band (Classic Rock), who plays the entire night, with the occasional jammer coming in. All venues of music are played inluding, Rock< Blues
Posted on: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 22:18:13 +0000
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