OCR Text |
Show Park Record Thursday, April 14, 1988 Page A7 With Don Ruffatto in Park City, the music here never stops ,' : bTEr : . wSr - v ' .v i a. -, . ; . - Lf, '), . ' I ' f '. .- ' . - y M ! , - ' t. ,.,., ,'" I .' ' ' iV ' " C t ' ' "'' J " i-OMMMM J ' '' ' ' i J (. - ; ,'pv - . j ... i .jii i ' J.-" I ' 4 miwt ' A:".C;-.; - :- ;, r 1 . , '- Don Ruffatto Ron Gorg By RON GEORG ' Record staff writer Park City may not look much like a melting pot, but where else could a soft-spoken, guitar-playing guitar-playing Montana boy like Don Ruffatto become a nighttime impresario im-presario in just four years? To get at the answer, we need to go back a few years. Ruffatto came to Park City for a weekend, and it turned into a long one. He met Steve McComb of the Baja Cantina, and he began playing his guitar there. At the time, music was his driving driv-ing ambition. He had gone to Montana State to study music, though he was more interested in playing. "I'm not real sure I intended in-tended to graduate, I went to learn about music and play." Play he did, hooking up eventually even-tually with a band called "Lucky Fingers," a bluesrock band which toured around the Northwest. Nor-thwest. Working with that band was a good introduction into what he's doing now. . Touring taught him something .about negotiatiops from a musi- what a musician is looking for in a contract. Knowing that is the big part of the game, because an amiable negotiator is more likely to get the performer. Ruffatto used that tactic last time Norton Buffalo was in town. Ruffatto had a long association with Buffalo, back from his "Lucky Fingers" days. Buffalo also joined Ruffatto and Steve McComb at a Baja jam a couple years ago. When Buffalo said he'd be back in the area this weekend, Ruffatto asked, "Why not play at Cisero's I probably can't pay you what you're used to, but you'll have a good time doing it." As far as a good times rocker like Buffalo goes, that's going for the soft underbelly. A good time is exactly what he's looking for, and he will find it at Cisero's. To insure that, Ruffatto will limit ticket sales to one hundred. "If it gets too crowded in here, nobody has any fun. This time of year, on a Sunday, it will be mostly most-ly locals, so I'm just looking to cover my costs for Norton." , .. JMot only will the show be most-. most-. iy locals, it will probably be most,-;; ly people who know Ruffatto. Just during this interview, Bruce Bach, local deejay and general nightlifer, popped in the back door with a bunch of names for the guest list, including fellow KPCW deejay Scooter Meehan. Getting back to a more chronological story, after coming to Park City and playing a few solo gigs at the Baja, Ruffatto went back to Montana with a truck to relocate a few important possessions. He became closer friends with McComb, and eventually he bought into McComb's interests, taking over management of Cisero's restaurant. This particular venture took most of his time, since he was a musician, not a manager. He spent most of his time learning the ropes, but it was not without reward. "I was finally working for myself, and that is fulfilling. Steve was confidant in me because I had an interest in the place's success, and things worked work-ed out well." When he first started that, the private club downstairs was separately owned. When its owner was convicted of a felony, the club lost its license. Cisero's began operating it as a beer bar, but that wasn't working out real well, so they closed down, sum dd Gees QsCQffl RACQUET CLUB VILLAGE v.. Two bedroom with loft adjacent to mdoor?outdoor park city racquet club. Two fireplaces and a jacuzzi tub to warm you. Economical gas heating. Washer?Dryer Hookups. Individual carports with storage' facilities. Call today! Kathleen Nolte 649 8895 -A nk - U j "uri" J""" Mnmf - riiYUu firr MAGNIFICENT DEER VALLEY Lower Base location. 2.193 square feet with master bedrooms?2 bathrooms and a 6 person hot tub. Underground parking, laundry facilities, deluxe kitchen and custom decorator furniture. Very private! Reduced to sell at $200,000. All offers considered. CALL NOW. Kathleen Nolte 649 8895 EXTRA NICE - SUPER CLEAN! ! ! Enjoy the warm sun, blue-blue sky and clean air from the large private hillside deck of this 3 bedroom condo. In a quiet and convenient location with the rarity of no shared common walls with other units. Includes refrigerator, washer and dryer. Price $68,000. For Day or Evening showings contact Listing Agent - ferry Obert 649 6684 TTT"" i i Park City, UT. 84060 1910 Prospector Avenue 649-3000 Or at our office location at The Resort Center until they got their private club license August 1, when they reopened as Cisero's private club. "When we opened up down here, I was just feeling comfortable comfor-table running the restaurant," said Ruffatto. "This was another challenge, learning to run a club as well." The club didn't have a specific intent at first, but it has blossomed blossom-ed into Park City's only nightly live music club. Since sometime during the winter, Cisero's has been featuring music every evening. even-ing. Most of those performers are local, or from Salt Lake. Ruf-fatto's Ruf-fatto's proudest find is "the Rhythmights," who were assembled by local musician Pat Carnahan. "Pat has an amazing ear for musicians," said Ruffatto. "He knew I was looking for bands, and he brought these guys in. They've been a real steady draw for us." Unfortunately, Jimmy and Larry Mahlis, the guitarist and drummer for the band, will be leaving this season. "I'll have to go scout Salt Lake soon for new musicians with the Rhythmiehts gone." Of course, if there are blanks in the schedule, Ruffatto, McComb, and a bunch of their friends who sit in on the local's jam night are always available to keep the music going. "It's not a true jam night because we've been playing together a long time, but we don't rehearse or anything, and we give each other cues for the next tune during one tune." said Ruffatto. Sometimes the jam night can get frustrating for a manager, but . Ruffatto takes it in stride. "Sometimes it's hard to look at it from a jam night perspective and a business perspective, because if you got a good crowd going, and somebody gets up there and they're real bad, the crowd leaves. But that's really just a part of a jam night, so I just look at it that way." There is one thing in Ruffatto's life which just doesn't fit. Aside from his interest in entertainment, entertain-ment, he is also an avid sports fan. In high school he was a state champion sprinter, and has announced an-nounced an occassional Park City football game with Dan Wilcox. One obligatory question of all announcers is, "had any bloopers?" Ruffatto's blooper was a good one here in Utah. "I was excited, and I shouted out, 'Jesus, what a stick!' Dan switched off the mikes quickly and we roared for about two minutes." Unfortunately, having taken over the added responsibility of the club, Ruffatto doesn't have time for that sort of commitment. He's certainly no recluse, though, as you may see him pedaling around town on his high-tech Specialized touring bike. "I love riding around Park City. There are so many interesting little lit-tle roads, you can do a couple Deer Valley loops, ride out to Thaynes you can ride for a couple cou-ple hours." At just twenty-seven years old, Ruffatto will probably make a number of contributions to Park City. He says he plans to stay here, and he sees Cisero's continuing conti-nuing indefinitely. With the response the club has gotten in its short existence, it is likely to become a mainstay of Park City nightlife. "We attract a strong local crowd, they enjoy it here, and they want to see it stay around." said Ruffatto. , vas&kte : wis Ron Georg A Wednesday night local's jam at Cisero's. Don Ruffatto is second from left. , .. . , ... .!q Q l v... 101110? By RON HOUSE, DIZ WHITE, JOHN NEVILLE-ANDREWS, ' ALAN SHEARMAN DEREK CUNNINGHAM. Based on an idea by Ron House and Diz White Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 15-30, 8 p.m. Adults $7 Students, Seniors $6 Children $5 Tickets available at all Smithtix, Kimball Arts Center, and the Adventure Center. For Reservations call 649-1217. For More Information call 649-9371. Starring: Rocky Revels, Maree Plunkett, Frank M. Bell, Robin Riley, Ronalt Pratt. ; Directed by: Edward D. Britt. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Presented by Park City Performances IESS REID MM!" |