Big
Horn
Bridges
Kid
Chrysler and the Cruisers
Jr
Cadillac
Dr.
Hook
Epicentre
Foghat
The
Heaters
Louie
and the Rockets
Orphin
Anny
Rail
& Co.,
The
Ramones
Ricky
Nelson
Shyanne
Thin
Red Line
The
Wailers
White
Rock
Others?
The Rocker Tavern located in downtown Aberdeen, Washington, hosted many of the top northwest bands. Originally opened by Stan Foreman, a popular local DJ and later became an A&R man for Capital Records.Stan opened The Rocker tavern around 1971. Iit was later purchased by Rick Burgess in 1977. Some of the NW bands that played there included: Jr Cadillac, Big Horn, The Heaters, Epicentre, Shyanne, Rail & Co., Bridges, The Rockets, Thin Red Line and many more.
Many big name acts also played at the rocker tavern, including Foghat, Ricky Nelson, The Ramones, The Wailers, Dr. Hook, The Guess Who and others.
The Rocker was sometimes a stop over for concert acts when they had an open date between Seattle and Portland. The Rocker Tavern closed in 1980. It later became a restaurant and lounge with live music. It was converted to a casino in August 1999 and is now called Sidney's
Burgess (V-Twin), June 2006
The Rocker opened in Nov of 1973 with the NW group The Fragile Lime headlining. The building was formerly the Aberdeen Moose Lodge. I bought it from them in March of '73 and remodeled the place to turn it into a rock n roll bar with seating for 300. It had a huge stage and even a band room which was unusual for a club rock bar in those days.Owning a live music/liquor venue in a town like Aberdeen is always an adventure. It appealed to a crowd that worked hard in the mills and timber industry and played hard on the weekends. Two of the most popular acts to play The Rocker were Kid Chrysler and the Cruisers and Louie and the Rockets, both 50's style bands.
I sold The Rocker to Ralph Burgess and his son Rick in 1977. They changed the name to Sidney's around 1979 and went with disco and karaoke but the club was never sold or closed. In '99 Sidney's became a mini-casino which it is today and is still owned by Rick Burgess.
Two of the acts that played at The Rocker were signed to Capitol and I was with the bands when they played there......Dr. Hook and Rick Nelson.
Stan the Man Foreman, June 2006
We did a one-nighter there in 1977 and I remember what a great venue it was for rock'n'roll, with a great stage and a floor plan similar to the Ad Lib in Kent, if I remember correctly.
John Horgdal, August 2007
