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Topic: Flame Lounge--Fairbanks |
Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 7:45 am |
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Another thread delves into Gino King and Chilkoot Charlie's in Anchorage, Alaska. This reminded me of my first gig as "the steel player," in Fairbanks. Anybody else on the Forum play at The Flame Lounge?
This was in the summer of 1975, I believe. I was in a throw-together, rehearse-on-the-plane CW band out of LA (booked by Gail McConkey, for you old-timers). We played from 10 to 4 a.m., and alternated sets with a diminutive belly dancer, with tapes, from Seattle.
On Sundays, there was a live radio show broadcast from the club, and I played on that.
At the end of the 2 months, I was offered a job at a rival club but I could feel the winter coming and headed back to LA. But I met lots of interesting people in Fairbanks, and those hours behind my Emmons S-10 were a great foundation in my transition from guitar to PSG.
Did you ever gig at the Flame?
Chris
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Carter SD-12 Extended E-9 with 5 & 6; Peavey N 112; Small Stone, Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere. |
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 11:37 am
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Hi Chris, Never played the Flame although a band I played with here in Dallas played the Mecca club on Kodiak Island back in September of this year.
I was surprised to learn that bands start at 10:00pm and play until 4:00am luckily our band played a short show and the house band (the only band on the Island) played the rest of the night thank God.
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 12:45 pm
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| Dick:It takes a brave man to play at the "Mecca"There is another club about 6 miles past the Coast guard base called "The Rendevouz"Which is a blast to play at,and the hours are 9:30pm-1:00am,and they get some name acts in there every now and then.Stu |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 1:11 pm
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Dick, the 10-to-4 regimen wasn't so bad in the summer. At closing time the sun would be brilliant in the summer sky.
The thought of playing and living all winter in varying shades of darkness was too depressing for me to take the permanent job at the other club.
Chris |
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 1:43 pm
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Stu, seems like they told us the Rendevous Club was bad but then we all stopped at this fishing tackle shop to get our fishing license and the lady there turned white when we said we were at the Mecca.
Chris, the band was driving along the main road way out of town when we saw this lone 70's looking long haired guy who was raking rocks along the side of the road so we stopped to see what he was doing.
We asked him how long he's lived there and he proceeds to go into this hour long rant about the sun and how it caused normal people to get depressed start drinking and kill themselves so we asked him if he could point us in the direction of the nearest bar.
We did see the Northern Lights which was really neat.
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 29 Nov 2005 5:21 pm
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| Quote: |
| The thought of playing and living all winter in varying shades of darkness was too depressing for me to take the permanent job at the other club. |
We train for that in Western New York.
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Jim Florence
From:
wilburton, Ok. US * R.I.P.
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Posted 30 Nov 2005 11:43 am
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Chris, You really stirred up my memories. I was stationed at Eielson AFB, from 1952 to 1954. I played at a Ptarmigan Club, at North Pole, the Northward Bar in Fairbanks, and everywhere in that gorgeous contry. I was in two bands, The Tanana Valley Boys, and the Alcan Playboys. Hard to believe that was over a half century ago.
Jim |
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