If there had been live music at Cheers we might still all know Norm鈥檚 name.
In the face of adversity or perhaps because of it, Branch 31 of the Alberta NWT Command of the Royal Canadian Legion has become arguably the hottest spot for live music in Jasper.
In the last couple of years manager Sue Henderson has found a formula for keeping the Legion alive by, of all things, breathing life into it, and it鈥檚 almost all about music.
鈥淏ands contact me, I don鈥檛 contact them,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o they want to come to Jasper, not just for the mountains, but because they want to play. They know the Legion is the place to play, because it鈥檚 more of an intimate show. You鈥檙e 鈥榳ith鈥� the band when they鈥檙e playing. It sounds like they鈥檙e playing to you.鈥�
Henderson weaves the traditional with the contemporary in the hall that extends from the bar to the sitting area, where patrons can enjoy the pub-plus menu, and the dance floor, which plays host to folk, rock, dance and drag shows on near equal measure.
Due north of the floor is the stage, which might have one of the coolest monikers in the country.
Welcome to the Stand Easy.
鈥淓verybody just wants to play on our stage, because they hear good things about the Legion,鈥� Henderson explained. 鈥淭heir friends have played here. They鈥檒l say 鈥榳e鈥檙e going to B.C.,鈥� (and are told) 鈥榳ell, you have to play the Legion.鈥欌��
She whispers: 鈥淭his is a great place.鈥�
In 2007 the Legion started hosting music as a way to get people through the doors. At that time the space was empty 90 per cent of the time and the non-profit organization was in desperate need of income.
To keep the Legion afloat, President Ken Kuzminski renovated the bar and built the stage. He then started to invite local bands to come in and play. That went well, so Kuzminski began attracting regional bands that were passing through on their way to gigs in British Columbia or Edmonton, and before he knew it, the Legion was drawing crowds of 80 to 100 people on days when the space would otherwise be closed.
However, just as things were beginning to pick up, the Legion lost a critical income source鈥撁塩ole Desrochers鈥搕he local French school, which had been renting a room in the building.
With a deepening financial hole the legion asked the municipality for a tax exemption in 2014. It also began cancelling bigger acts to save money.
While it waited patiently for the municipality to make a decision about whether it was legally exempt from paying municipal property taxes (the municipality is currently seeking a legal opinion), things began to take off thanks to Henderson鈥檚 foresight and leadership.
Today the place is rarely empty and many musicians consider it one of the best rooms in Canada. Just ask Juno winner Joey Landreth, who hits the Legion on March 6 as part of a 12-show tour behind his new seven-track album.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful place,鈥� the Winnipeg native said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e built a really cool clientele. People know what to expect from the room. They come for the vibe as much as the music. They let the town vouch for them. Not every room in Canada has that. There are a lot of venues where it鈥檚 鈥楶lay something we know, monkey.鈥� Lots of places are like that. So it鈥檚 very special and unique when they kind of let you do your thing.鈥�
Since August of 2015 Henderson has been booking dozens of bands and updating the facility, creating what must be one of the liveliest and most modern Legions in the Alberta NWT Command. Three new taps went in just weeks ago, as did some tall, dark and handsome additions to the house PA.
鈥淚 had to change some stuff up,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭he place, when I arrived, felt very cold. There was nothing up to date. I put all the gig posters on the wall, got a big screen and changed the layout of the bar. It looked like a cafeteria in here (and) it鈥檚 nothing against the other managers, but I have background in venue management (she ran a bar on CFB Borden in Ontario), and I wanted the visual to appeal to people when they walk in. If you don鈥檛 see it, you鈥檙e not going to stay.鈥�
She added newer elements for younger vets who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, so they could also relate.
The upgrades included another television in the back, where track-lit dartboards line the walls, surrounding pool and foosball tables, couches and chairs.
That second space has been used by outside parties in the past, and there are talks of it hosting a satellite campus for Grand Prairie Regional College鈥檚 culinary program.
鈥淚 wanted to change the look of the Legion, that it鈥檚 not just a place for vets, it鈥檚 for everyone to come and relax and enjoy.鈥�
There鈥檚 something unique about a resort town that attracts people from across the globe, let alone this part of the country, to work whatever job they can get just to be near the Rockies. It creates an off-book talent pool that adds to the atmosphere here, an energy just esoteric enough to charm the tourists and add an appropriate level of mystique to the mountain town.
鈥淔riday nights are the night,鈥� Henderson explained. 鈥淛am night starts a little later, but we have bands who travel from out of town, and just get on stage and sing a song. But the talent that is in these little stores鈥搘orking at the liquor stores or CN, driving boats in the summertime, plumbers, firefighters鈥搃s unbelievable. They know there is one place they can come and get on that stage, and they鈥檙e good.鈥�
The Athabasca Barnburner and their brand of grassroots not-really-folk, not-really-rock has become synonymous with jam night at the Legion.
鈥淲e show up, and our beer is already poured,鈥� member Liam Cullen said. 鈥淎ny night I鈥檓 going to steer you toward the Legion because it鈥檚 the best venue in town and they accommodate whatever is happening.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got local beers, beer from Valemount on tap. They treat us really well as musicians. We do lots of benefits and fundraisers and stuff like that trying to promote local music and they just treat us like gold.鈥�
When Henderson took over, the Legion was booking live music any day of the week. Henderson pared it down to Thursday and Saturdays with Fridays reserved for jam night.
鈥淭hey kept kind of giving their jam night away to bands, so jammers never knew when to come, so they stopped coming,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚 took over and we sat down and had a little meeting about the Legion and what it is. I very rarely put anything on a jam night because now my jam night guys know where to go on a Friday night.
鈥淚t makes me feel good. My husband asks me why don鈥檛 I take a Friday night off once in awhile? I can鈥檛. Friday night is my favourite to be here because I get to see my jam guys. I鈥檝e made friends with these guys and girls and when I see them on the street, they are important. They are awesome and they make the arts and music scene in this town just phenomenal.鈥�
Henderson calls it the Cheers treatment.
鈥淚鈥檓 kind of like the momma bear to them,鈥� she smiled. 鈥淚 hear this from a lot of bands: they play a venue, and the staff don鈥檛 even talk to them. Well, they鈥檙e playing on our stage, and they鈥檙e people and I want to know them. They鈥檙e not just a singer or a guitar player, they鈥檙e somebody鈥檚 brother, or father. They have kids and a real job out there and I like to know what they do when they鈥檙e not travelling. When they come back the next time, they walk in and they鈥檙e like 鈥楽ue!鈥� We鈥檙e the Cheers of Jasper鈥攚e know your name."
Craig Gilbert
[email protected]
