Upstairs Ballrooms

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 6 Nov 2009 3:05 pm

I'm sure many of you old timers will remember playing in Upstairs Ballrooms. They were built on the second story of a block of downtown retail small businesses. Many times there were no elevators and you had to lug your equipment up about two stories of steps. Many of these in So. Calif. were built in the 20's and 30's and there were a lot of them. I don't know if any are left or how it is in other parts of the Country. There was usually the main steps and a rickety fire escape at the back. They could really be Fire Traps. Some of them were quite large and others were smaller in smaller neighborhoods.

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 6 Nov 2009 4:26 pm

Billy I remember those places in CA. Not too bad though as all I had was a little six strg National and an Epiphone amp. The most tortuous of those types however is a place in central Tx called Sefcik Hall. It had 18 steps straight up and of course By this time I had a triple neck Sho-Bud, a peavey duece amp, a Chordavox, and a steel seat. Oh yes, an old fender reverb unit. In honor of peavy I dropped the duece at the top of the stairs, it rolled down all the way, got home,plugged it in and no problem whatsoever. cc

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 6 Nov 2009 4:43 pm

Billy,they were not ball rooms just clubs,the last band I was on the road with a couple of years ago,seems every other club we played was up two or three flights of stairs,some I remember were in Jacksonville,Atlanta,Knoxville,Albany,Columbus Ga,Savannah,etc,at the time was playing a MSA-D-10,with a 400 LTD, I was lucky to be playing with a bunch of young whippersnappers about 40 years younger than me that would handle all the heavy stuff or I would NEVER have made it.Those stairs are rough on an old geezer.That's why I changed to a MSA-S10,and a Nashville 112. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 6 Nov 2009 5:41 pm

Funny how those places never had freight elevators........

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 7 Nov 2009 5:53 am

what in the world is a freight elevator? In those days you would have asked about an elevator you would have been kicked out onto the alley. cc

Steve Alcott · Post by **Steve Alcott** » 7 Nov 2009 6:03 am

Freight elevators are for freight, building staff, trash- ANYTHING but musicians with heavy equipment.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 7 Nov 2009 7:28 am

Anyone else remember the "National Velvet Room" upstairs at Toronto's Orchard PArk Tavern? Quite a place. They even had a freight elevator though I think we only got to use it once.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 7 Nov 2009 3:13 pm

Years ago had some gigs for private parties at the old Mission Inn in Riverside, Ca. This was virtually a Castle that had been built from early years in the 20th Century. If you werent playing on the ground floor it was a nightmare getting your equpment to any of the upper floors. In one section there was a platform on a hydraulic lift that went up a couple of stories. There were no walls to this little elevator and you had to stay in the middle to keep away from the walls as they went past you.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 9 Nov 2009 4:09 am

Hey Billy, I remember when I was playing for "Martha Lou" on the military base circuit that we used to work a club on the Naval Base in Long Beach. It might have been the "Acey-Duecy" club, but there was a very long staircase you had to lug your equipment up which was really a pain......JH in Va.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 9 Nov 2009 3:06 pm

Jerry:
When working in one of Martha Lou's bands we were booked into a little Air Force club that circled the elevator shaft at the top of a Radar tower on the hill above San Pedro, Ca. Harbor. Must have been over a hundred feet off the ground.

Perhaps there should be a new posting for the most unusual places forumites have played in.

Also, in San Pedro was a Portugal Hall where the stage was so high, if you fell off, it would have killed you.

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 9 Nov 2009 3:19 pm

I can't for the life of me remember the name of the place, but Calgary had an "Upstairs Ballroom" of considerable vintage which was still pretty fashionable when we gigged there in 1975. This was a five piece rock band, with a keyboard player whose gear was a Lawrence Audio Electric Piano (basically a small upright with a pickup) and a Hammond B3. And a Leslie speaker. Those made my folded horn 18" bass cabinet look light and portable. The reaction to that pain may have been what drove me to playing mandolin for a few years!!

KP

Roger Miller · Post by **Roger Miller** » 9 Nov 2009 5:17 pm

Ken, I played a big room on the 2nd floor in Calgary called the 400 Club. It was a men's club only, Only let women in during the Stampede.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 9 Nov 2009 6:52 pm

Those upstairs clubs are still there in this part of the country, like Smith's Olde Bar and Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, Liz Reid's in Macon. And a few of the old big rooms too, like the Armory Ballroom in Macon. Most of them are great rooms to play, and a real bitch to load into. Sigh.

Carl Walden · Post by **Carl Walden** » 9 Nov 2009 7:53 pm

Yeah, Sammy and us played that Portugal club several times. There was an upstairs at the Orange Elks too, right down down.
CW So. California.

Carl Walden · Post by **Carl Walden** » 9 Nov 2009 8:06 pm

o.k. Billy T. Heres a weird one. A rickety old platform over the bucking bull stalls at the Rodeo in Hilliard, Fla. Rickenbacker Steel, Bass and Rhythm player. Big Sid the bad bull that was advertized decided to climb up out of his stall into the bandstand. We were climbing up to the top. Of course Big Sid broke his leg and was shot. Back in the 40's. Cheers...

Mike Brinkmeyer · Post by **Mike Brinkmeyer** » 15 Nov 2009 9:42 am

Here's a link to one that was built in the 1890's and recently restored and reopened after being closed for over 50 years or so. Sengelmann Hall in downtown Schulenburg, Texas. Ballroom upstairs and restaurant/bar downstairs. Cool place . . . check out the "photos" link on their website.

http://www.sengelmannhall.com/

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 15 Nov 2009 10:18 am

The ballroom at Whichard's Beach stood for many years. Kenny Dail took me there and let me sit in when I was learning from him. In the 70's when bands started lugging around big PA's and lots of gear, they would load the equipment onto the roof of the first floor with a front end loader and then carry it in thru a side door of the ballroom.

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 15 Nov 2009 10:22 am

Not to forget, basement ballrooms. The load in at Carolina Underground in Sanford, N. C. was down a narrow staircase with a 90 degree turn. Those old bulky roadcases and pianos had to be turned on end to make it.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 15 Nov 2009 2:52 pm

Up in this neck of the woods we had a few upstairs ballrooms which were hardly "Ballrooms" as such. Nevertheless the 'Palace Gardens' was a classic joint. I carried my Fender triple Custom up a long flight of steps, going back for my heavy Fender 15" amp !
The name of the joint was very misleading ! Hardly a palace 'nor remotely a garden. This, back around 1950.