TUESDAY, November 15, 2016
www.kamloopsthisweek.com
BUSINESS
A17
BUSINESS COORDINATOR: JESSICA WALLACE 778-471-7533 or email jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
Texas Teas no more
“We used to come in early and pour like 300 of those on a Friday, Saturday night and that would not be enough,” Chuck Ferguson recalled. “We would fill every carafe we had and we would have to refill them.”
Think you’d be around this long?
“I don’t think so. What typically is the average for a nightclub?” Tammy Baron asked. “Maybe 10 years,” said Ferguson. “You think of all the bars that have come and gone in Kamloops. There’s the Brass Rail, they all came and went. Go Bananas, the Max.”
Cactus Jack’s Saloon on Seymour Street has transformed over the years and moved locations to Fifth Avenue, where its focus is largely on live music. KTW FILE PHOTO
CJS NIGHTCLUB TO CELEBRATE 30 YEARS JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
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very time Tammy Baron gets rid of something country, she apologizes to her late father-in law Roy.
Cjs Nightclub was once decorated with bullhorns, cougars — you name it — a place where reallife cowboys visited on weekends from throughout the region to toss back Texas Teas mixed by bartenders in cowboy vests. These days, flame-
blowing drink stunts have replaced western attire and two-steppin’ is few and far between live shows, art battles and today’s popular music. “It’s sad that it’s no longer that, but again, you just kind of move with the times,” Tammy said. The club is celebrat-
ON STAGE WHAT: Cjs Nightclub 30th Anniversary with Prism WHEN: Friday, Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Cjs NIghtclub, 130 Fifth Ave. TICKETS: $15, available at Life Ink Tattoo, 808 & Bench, Pizza Pi and online at cjskamloops.ca
ing its 30th anniversary this month and KTW dropped by to discuss its storied history in downtown Kamloops. A former Mountie turned businessman, Roy Baron founded the old western watering hole, which began its life as Jack Daniel’s. The name, often shortened to JD’s, lasted about six or seven years before
the Tennessee distillery sent a letter advising the name be changed due to copyright infringement, thus conceiving Cactus Jack’s Saloon. Located in an old multi-storey building on Seymour Street — now the Rex Hall — Wednesday nights became popular and two-step lessons taught cowboys and
left-feet alike to keep up with the quickfooted rhythm of country music. The bar also became known for bull-riding nights and rodeo sponsorships. Those days, however, are long gone. If the old Cactus Jack’s was a country bar, today’s Cjs — shortened because, like JD’s, everyone just called it that anyway — is a much more diverse nightclub and concert venue. “We’re trying to bring in acts that appeal to a broader spectrum,” said general manager Chuck Ferguson. “So, rather than being specifically country or
specifically rock and roll, we are bringing in people like Coleman Hell, we’re trying to do a reggae night.” Cjs moved from that historic location on Seymour Street in 2009 after Roy got fed up during a landlord dispute. Just down the road, Fifth Avenue offered a venue at triple the capacity, paving the way for mid-sized acts. That was the better part of a decade ago, a transition that was tricky to start and ultimately redefined the bar to what it is today. Many people have come and gone from Cjs over the years: Geoff Smith, who went
on to own the since shuttered Thirsty Dog (now Red Collar), Teri Willey, now part-owner of the Blue Grotto — too many to name. Roy died in 2013, a loss felt not only by the Barons, but also throughout the community. Cjs, however, remained in the family. Roy’s son and retired NHLer Murray Baron and wife Tammy help run the bar and Roy’s wife Joyce still attends the odd show at age 75. “She drinks tequila more and better than anyone I know,” Murray said with a laugh. See ‘DIRECTION’, A19
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