Edward Tatoosh
"Tat"

"I met Tat not long after I arrived here. He used to come out of the Churchill Pub just up the street from where I was busking on Government St and ask me for songs, notably Jelly Jelly. I played the version I knew (via the Allman Brothers) of Billy Eckstine's song, "It stormed and started raining. I'm as lonesome as a man can be..." but he was having none of it, almost got mad at me. "That's not it!" he said. I was only 21 years old and a bit intimidated by him but we grew to like each other. Of course I got to know him over time and was impressed by the reverence many held for him, including John Fisher. John brought him to my house several times to record at least 3 CDs or cassettes.
Tat had a big voice and loved to play music. He had got his start in 1959 in a band in Port Alberni (his hometown) called The Chancers, kind of old rock and roll by what I've heard. Even later on, he always had old rock and roll songs in his repertoire, mixed in with blues like Jelly Jelly and Big Fat Woman. Tat had lost his index finger on his left hand but still managed to play solid guitar or bass. A jovial personality endeared him to other musicians and fans.
I attended the jam at Soprano's that Phil Rossner threw in his honour after he passed. It was a jovial affair, as befitted him." Dave Harris

"Ed Tatoosh, or 'Tat' as he was known to those who knew him, was a 'regular' at the blues jams around town and up island for as long as I can remember. I got to know Tat fairly well as, at one point, I was working with a filmmaker and we had plans to do a documentary about Tat - a beautiful, soft spoken soul who had endured an upbringing fraught with trauma and tragedy. I recall seeing him once on TV discussing, along with others, the traumatic time he spent in a residential school. To see this big mountain of a man break down in tears as he reflected on his memories of those times also brought me to tears. If I recall correctly, Tat had a degree in linguistics from U-Vic and his mandate was to keep the language of the Nuu-chah-nulth - of which he was an elder - alive. Apart from those memories of our dear friend, Tat loved to play guitar and sing the blues. In this photo, which I took at the James Bay Inn on April 5, 1997, Tat was celebrating the release of one of his recordings. We held a mutual musical respect for each other and, as often as not, Tat would refer to me as 'Thunderbird' after I would finish playing at one of the many jams that were held around town. This moniker was, indeed, a huge honour for me to receive from Tat. He was a kind and gentle soul, who could rock out with the best of them. RIP dear friend!" Phil Rossner