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Laressa Bachelor The Rocky Mountain News Thursday, January 24, 2008 |
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A cowboy painting by the late Dan Fogelberg hangs behind Pioneer Inn owner Bunny Spangler. Click Picture To Enlarge |
The sign outside the Pioneer Inn made John Carsello hesitate: "No longhairs or unkempt beards allowed."
The grocery store next door had a similar sign: "No more than two hippies at a time" allowed inside.
But the disapproving looks the Caribou Ranch manager got when he stepped inside the Pioneer Inn convinced him he was at the wrong place.
"We thought, 'We're really gonna love this place,' " he said in a recent interview about that first visit.
"(The locals) hated longhairs," said Bunny Spangler, who bought the Pioneer in 1972 and has run it since. With Nederland's population at fewer than 500 people, "they didn't want any changes. The people in the town at the time were the old miners and the cowboys."
The Pioneer Inn, formerly Harry's Place, is a classic rough-hewn-wood Colorado bar. There's Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap, regulars who run a tab with a promise to pay later and great cheeseburgers. Turn-of-the- century antiques and architecture fill the place. One former bartender "got tired of people asking where the restroom was" so he tattooed "RESTROOM" on one arm and used it to point the way, she said.
"We've always had a cast of characters here," said Spangler, who took down the "longhairs" sign and brought a bit more progressive attitude to the place when she took over. Another sure sign of change: It became the home away from home for the superstars who recorded at Caribou Studios.
Recording at Caribou "was a minimum of distractions, except for the Pioneer Inn," recalled guitarist Joe Walsh.
"This was the one place they could go in town," Spangler said.
"When the bands wanted to go out for a beer, I brought them here," Carsello said. "They ended up jamming with the local musicians."
"The Pioneer Inn was the club. Incredible jams. It was a nonstop happening, especially on a Friday night," said bassist Kenny Passarelli.
If these walls could talk, they'd hardly know where to start.
"Tommy Bolin played here," Carsello said. "Tom Scott and some of the guys with the L.A. Express. Of course, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Chicago. Three Dog Night. Joe Walsh. Supertramp. They would just jam with the local band that was playing. Dennis Wilson would sit in on drums. Fogelberg did actual shows, as did Stills. The Chicago guys would come in and jam, especially (the late guitarist) Terry Kath."
They'd just move the tables out of the back room and bring in guitars and amps through the back door.
"Joe Walsh actually worked behind the bar here for about 45 minutes before someone recognized him," said Addison Waite, the night manager. "He said, 'OK, I'm out of here' and went out the back door."
The Inn long sported a cowboy painting by Fogelberg, which Spangler now keeps at home. "I got nervous when people started asking me how much I'd sell it for."
"He was a good friend of Bunny's," Carsello said. "She took care of his dog" when he was on the road.
The musicians came because it was no big deal, just the local bar. No one bothered them.
"That was a crucial point. Everyone was absolutely respectful," Spangler said. "Those people came in, they enjoyed how much time they wanted to spend here and nobody bugged them."
Perhaps for that reason, no known tapes or photos of the performances exist. "We were so busy (with recording) at the studio we didn't think of it that way. This was a place for them to cut loose," Carsello said.
"It was sort of like family. You just didn't," Spangler said. "This was their private, private life. We were so honored that they came and played and had a great time."
Despite the closure of the recording studio, the bar's still a hangout. Wednesday nights see The Big Pick, a jam with various bluegrass musicians, and live music happens on Friday night, too. The Pioneer Inn even has a MySpace page, located at myspace.com/thepioneerinn.
"Robert Plant comes in now," Spangler said. "He loves to come up here and sit at the bar. Nobody says anything to him."
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Comments...
Posted by ayeotis on January 28, 2008 at 6:13 p.m.
While I really enjoyed the great articles about the Pioneer Inn and Caribou Ranch which appeared last week, I have received numerous calls from 'old Pioneer' friends who question why Bunny Spangler, my former wife, takes all the credit for the inception and growth of the wonderful institution the Pioneer became and remains! While it is not a big concern in the scheme of things, it was me, Art Yeotis, who bought, promoted and nurtured the Pioneer Inn from my purchase in 1971 until I sold to her, through divorce, in 1990. While I do not deny that she was a valued wife/partner, she did little to cultivate the majority of the valued patrons from Caribou Ranch! I want my Pioneer friends and family to know I am alive and doing very well in Michigan!
Posted by RudyToot on January 29, 2008 at 7:48 a.m.
As part of the Nederland, Colorado music scene in the late 70's, I would certainly like to say hello and thank-you to Art Yeotis for allowing, and indeed encouraging, so many great musicians to gather and play at the Pioneer Inn.
Many of the jams involving guest artists from Caribou Ranch and musician neighbors who lived in the surrounding area, were absolutely high water marks for many of our lives, and Art was our host.
The Rudy Toot Band was fortunate to prosper and grow calling the Pioneer Inn their musical home.
Thank you Art. glad you're well.
Thommy S., Rudy Toot Band drummer '76-'80
Posted by luckyanderson on February 3, 2008 at 7:34 a.m.
Hello
I was walking by the Pioneer Inn in 1971 when I unrolled my sleeping bag in the street, undressed, hopped into my bag for three seconds, hopped out, dressed, rolled up my bag, and departed town, Charlie Chaplin style. The bartender with the tattoo on his arm later told me everyone laughed, thought it was funny. Those were fun times and I thank Art and Bunny for their hospitality. Miners, cowboys, hippies, musicians, poets, town people, crazies off the road, it was all interesting. I wrote a novella but it never got published. Here is a book that captures the insights of those wild days in Nederland: Original Self, by Thomas Moore.
Yours truly, Lucky,
John Cutler Anderson
Posted by nacisroc on February 6, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was part of the glory days and would like to hear more. I was a manager of the PI My best to all. A story should be told about the closing and trial by the town.
George Drew
Posted by nancye on February 6, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I, too, was part of the "Glory Days"! What a crazy time. I loved being a bartender at The Pioneer. Hi Art, Bunny, George, and Carl. Where is crazy Carl? And yes, I certainly remember being a witness at the town trial. Where is Skip? And where Is John? I loved living at Caribou Ranch!
Nancy Ensign
Dallas, TX