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Two decades after its heyday, The Imperial Garage still triggers the memories of local blues fans.
And for one evening, Aug. 12, the legendary venue lives again when the B-Bar plays host to the first-ever Imperial Garage Reunion.
In the late 1970s, Niagara Falls native and self-professed "blues junky" Toby Rotella had a vision. He saw, in the condemned remains of a 1920s era car dealership, the makings of a nightclub. After a year of back-breaking work done largely by Rotella, his friends and family, the dream became a reality.
Opened in June 1980, and decorated with all kinds of road signs, The Imperial Garage was arguably the most important blues venue Western New York has ever known. Located at 512 Third St. in Niagara Falls, with an official capacity of 500, the club played host to a dizzying array of stars.
Headliners included Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Guitar Junior Johnson, Koko Taylor, Hubert Sumlin, Son Seals, Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang--the list goes on and on. Can any self-respecting blues aficionado ever forgive himself for not being there among the handful who enjoyed a blistering set by a young guitar slinger from Texas named Stevie Ray Vaughan?
"It all started in 1979 with Shutters and Boards (a defunct Niagara Falls saloon), the place I booked my first show," Rotella said during a telephone interview from his home in Key Largo, Fla.
"I talked the owner into lettin' me bring John Lee Hooker in there on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. It wasn't a weekend. I just said, if it goes really well, you can give me something. We brought in 450 people that night, and you know what he gave me? A six-pack of beer."
It was all the push the former drag racer needed to realize he had to have his own club.
"The place was junk," recalled Danny "Lurch" Danoian, an Imperial investor. "The roof was caved in. We scrounged everything, and Toby, who was really into cars, was always coming in with some new sign he'd found to hang up in there."
The bar got its name, almost by default, when Rotella came in with an enormous plastic "Imperial" sign from the Chrysler plant where he worked.
One night, local trumpet player Eddie Urso sat in with B.B. King's band when King's horn player had over-indulged. "The guy couldn't feel his lips! The word went out that B.B. needed a horn player," Danoian said. "Eddie came down and played the whole night."
Somehow, the shows always went on, and always in front of an enthusiastic audience.
"It was a great place to play, with a really receptive crowd," said Donnie Walsh, the driving force behind The Downchild Blues Band. Walsh is best known to this generation of blues fans as the man who wrote "I Got Everything I Need Almost," and "Shotgun Blues," both covered by The Blues Brothers.
One night, the lead singer of the Ontario-based Downchild Blues Band couldn't get through U.S. Customs at the border. In true Garage spirit, Walsh and the rest of the band went on without him.
"We pulled out old standards and everyone had a great time," Walsh said before a gig in Savannah, Ga. "It was one of those nights--the adrenaline kicks in and you realize how much you know."
One reason so many greats made The Imperial Garage a regular destination was the down-home treatment they received upon arrival.
"Toby's Mom always fixed up a big spaghetti dinner," said Louie Antonacci, longtime friend of Rotella's, "and we'd make sure there was alcohol. French champagne (for Muddy), or whatever kind of special vodka some guys might like."
Rotella developed a deeper connection to Waters, going on to serve as his chauffeur and sometime road manager.
"In Boston, Muddy didn't have a suit jacket, and I had one," Rotella told Sharon Schneider of Blues Beat magazine in 1996. "Muddy gave me an envelope with half the gig money, which was probably a couple grand. He said, 'Don't give this to anybody; this is the payroll.' He sent over (drummer) Willie Smith who said, 'Muddy said to give me the money.' I said, 'Nah, nah, nah, nah, you ain't getting the money.'"
Like all great blues legends, the end of the line for The Imperial was ominous. On April 30, 1984, one year to the day after Muddy Waters' death, the back part of the building was mysteriously blown down. Rotella said, "I still have no idea what happened. It must have been a miniature hurricane or something. Gregg Allman was playing the next night and the cops didn't want the show to go on. It was crazy."
By September 1984, the bar closed its doors for good.
When you add Roy Buchanan, Brownie McGhee, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Johnny Copeland, Sugar Blue, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Leon Redbone, James Cotton and Buckwheat Zydeco to the list of luminaries who played there, the vibrancy of the place can be felt. To that, throw in Canadian acts like Ronnie Hawkins and Downchild Blues Band, among others. Then consider all the great local and regional bands like Kingsnake featuring Dr. Z and The Nighthawks from D.C. Finally, factor in some incongruous acts like Iron Butterfly, Buddy Rich, Herman's Hermits and Boxcar Willie (who sold out three shows), and it becomes hard to imagine how it all came together in a mere four years.
On Aug. 12, The B-Bar at 7611 Buffalo Ave. will host The Imperial Garage Reunion from 5 to 11 p.m. Sure to be crowded with characters from the club's colorful past, and featuring music by Dr. Z and the Kingsnake Band (The Imperial House Band), Donnie "Mr. Downchild" Walsh, and The Nighthawks, the evening aims to recreate the sound and atmosphere of the place it celebrates. Toby Rotella will be on hand to receive a special "Muddy Award" from Rich Schneider, editor of Blues Beat magazine, for his priceless contributions to the music he loves.