Remembering Reverend Ron and The King Eddie
During the 1990s when roots rock and blues bands had an abundance of great venues to play, my band The Rhythm Lords made several trips up the western coast into Vancouver Canada and through the midwestern plains to Winnipeg. We made fast friends everywhere we went and rarely had a bad encounter with anyone. We played hundreds of dates at places like The Yale in Vancouver, Buds on Broadway in Saskatoon and the Windsor Hotel in Winnipeg but without a doubt some of our most memorable shows in Canada where in Calgary at the notorious King Eddie.
Housed in the King Edward Hotel, “The Eddie” (as the locals lovingly call it) was considered the primer blues club in Calgary if not the entire providence of Alberta. The building stands on the edge of downtown Calgary between modern sky scrappers to the west and its quaint suburbs and neighborhoods to the east, surrounded by waterways and bridges. Wild life comes within the city limits and when it snows you know you are not in Los Angeles anymore.
The King Edward Hotel is an old brick building that looks to be well over a hundred years old. The city has been fighting over the future of the building, which is considered an historical site. Many say that the building should be preserved but of course there are always the developers who want to tear everything down to build something new and ugly without any character. And believe me, The King Edward Hotel has character in spades.
Located on the ground floor, the club is big enough to hold a couple hundred people. The stage is roomy enough for a trio or four piece band and had one of the best sound systems in Canada (as long as Billy was running things) with very simple lighting that sometimes worked or sometimes not. The people who worked at the club were the best bunch of folks that I have ever known and will always consider them friends. We had some great nights that were so much fun that I never wanted to leave.
After a great night playing to a packed house it was customary to have the band and a few close friends of the staff hang out into the wee hours where the real party began. I have never consumed as much alcohol, beer and cannabis as I did on those evenings hangin’ with my Canadian friends.
Whenever we were in Calgary we would always make sure to contact Reverend Ron at the local radio station CJSW located at the college. The Reverend had a radio show that covered blues as well as other roots music styles. He was very open minded to all music as long as it was good. Ron was a walking encyclopedia of blues music and it’s history but he seemed to know a lot about classic country, honky tonk and rockabilly too.
He had an “absent minded professor” sort of persona and seemed forgetful when it came to boring day-to-day stuff. But his mind was a trap for catching and accumulating gobs of stories and antidotes about blues music, musicians and their recorded output as any good DJ worth his weight should.
Whenever we would hit town we’d always get a call from Tokyo Rose. Rose is not only Reverend Ron’s friend but she is also his liaison for touring musicians and she would be responsible for connecting with the touring bands and help arrange visits/interviews with Ron. On the day of his show we would drive over to the college with Rose and head to the radio station to meet with Ron. We would visit for a few moments before going on the air and Ron and I were always laughing long before the green light came on. I loved his wit and humor and he was a wicked storyteller in a be bop / silly-billy sort of way.
I have some fond memories of Reverend Ron at the King Eddie dancing with any gal that was handy and he would holler at us and sing along with me every time I played “White Lightnin’” by George Jones. I was truly moved by his presence and feel sad that I will not have another chance to laugh and talk with the Reverend in this lifetime.
With the closing of the King Eddie and the threat of it being torn down along with the passing of Reverend Ron just reminds me that I have been away far too long and that if I ever return to Calgary, that it will not be the same as I remember.
Dale Peterson/The Rhythm Lords
Los Angeles
