Amphibian Invasion

An All-Nite Warehouse Dance Party Fundraiser by Dance Cult

"A spiritually moving, transcendentally uplifting, strobelight-worshipping, psycho-rhythmic ritual...

This experience will change your life!"

Source: E-town Flyer Archive

with DJ Darren & Nicky; Locks Garant & DJ Pain

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About the Yardbird Suite (10203-86 Av.):

The club shares a name with the jazz tune by Charlie "Bird" Parker of the same name.

Present-day location of the Yardbird Suite (10203 - 86 Av)

The Yardbird Suite, integral to Edmonton's jazz scene, celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007.

From "Coolest spot in town swings for 50 years," Edmonton Journal, March 1, 2007:

from yardbirdsuite.com:
"The Yardbird Suite put Edmonton on the jazz map."

"The [Yardbird] Suite was started as a private, after-hours weekend club -- no booze, strictly enforced -- but quickly became the place to be for local and visiting jazz cognoscenti.  [...]

"It was a dark, black little room," recalls [Canadian senator and saxophonist Tommy Banks]. "Terry was a pretty good artist and his work was on the walls. The furniture was right out of the Sally Ann or somebody's parents' basements, all castoffs."

A certain Canadian poet visited the Yardbird Suite in 1966 to read his work:

"[...] the Suite moved around to several locations, occasionally mixing theatre and poetry with the music and famous Sunday jazz sessions, attracting luminaries from Leonard Cohen to [saxophonist] Zoot Sims. Finally closing its doors in 1967 in the midst of the British (rock) Invasion that shut many jazz venues across the continent, the Suite -- at least in name -- remained dormant until '84."

From "A Place to Play the Music they Love," Edmonton Journal, March 1, 2007:

"Chicago-based Ken Chaney still has fond memories of the original club, which opened in 1957. Just 16 at the time, the pianist was the youngest of a half-dozen musicians who co-founded the first Yardbird basement room simply to have a place to play the music they loved. [...]"

"Chaney remembers seeing significant touring jazz names visit the original Yardbird every month or so. [...] 'There were more jazz fans in Edmonton at the time than people realized.'" 

(from yardbirdsuite.com/)

New York singer Sheila Jordan remebers the club: 

"[...] the fact that they were doing all of this for the love of jazz with no payment blew my mind. And I loved all the writings on the wall in the musician's green room."

Tommy Banks, saxophonist, band leader, Canadian senator:

"[...] the Yardbird Suite is simply world famous, as identifiable with Edmonton as Gretzky or the mall: an icon. The fact that it could operate all these years on a volunteer basis is a mark of maturity, and singular at that. There is nothing like it in Toronto or New York. It's ours."

Since opening in its current location in September 1984, the Yardbird has been run by volunteers of the Edmonton Jazz Society, many of whom were fans of the original Yardbird Basement Room. 

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