Mid 2007 Tricks

September 2007

Sept 21 & 22 - Log Cabin Bar, Grand Rapids

Tricks played a trial weekend at the Log Cabin bar in Grand Rapids. We don't spend much time trying to get gigs at city bars because they are typically less friendly places when compared to the weekend rock and roll bars out in the country. Not so here at the Log Cabin - 2 thumbs up for this city bar with down-home charm. Tricks got a warm reception from the regular crowd and the nice staff at the Log Cabin. Matt the owner turned out to be a very "hands-off" manager. Matt trusted Tricks to do their thing and Tricks did our best not to let Matt down. Friday's crowd was a bit thin, but we got lots of compliments from the regulars who were sizing up Tricks to see if we "made the grade". Saturday was much more relaxed and fun for everyone. We had a full dance floor most of the night, which is the way Tricks likes to operate. We got reacquainted with some Tricks fans from waaaaay back who stopped in when they saw "Tricks" on the marquee. We also got some good support from our regular crew - Thanks so much - you know who you are. Thanks to Roger, Krystal, and Denny for taking pictures. Great looking bar; you'll see what I mean in the pictures. We hope to be back at the Log Cabin next spring. Sign up for our Tricks Newsletter to keep up-to-date on our Tricks schedule for 2008.
Fri | Sat

Sept 14 & 15 - SideTrack Bar & Grill, Fennville

Tricks loves playing at Sue's SideTrack. Great stage, huge dancefloor, awesome food, strong drinks, friendly staff, fun crowds. They got it all happening just right out at the SideTrack Bar and Grill. It's good rock and roll fun at its best. We had a pretty thin crowd on Friday, but everyone was going the extra mile to make it more fun with what we had. Mostly "regulars" who are just the nicest people you could ask for.
On Saturday we had a great "blow-out" for our last night at the SideTrack - No Holding Back! Great party-people, great wild dancers, good friends out for a night of fun with Tricks. Thanks for coming, everyone! Tricks loves you! It was our special treat for Tricks to party with Jason for his birthday. Jason was hangin' and bangin' with Tricks - Literally! Krys made him bang on the drum; we have some great pictures of Jason banging the drum, just in case he's a little hazy recalling the festivities.
Fri | Sat

Sept 7 & 8 - SideTrack / Southshore Fun Run

The big biker blast to end the summer! Great weather! Tricks provided the lively jams for drinking and dancing all night, after a hard day of riding. A huge chicken barbeque was waiting at the end of the ride. Bikers played games and socialized in the parking lot and pretty much every square inch of SideTrack property was used for camping. After the sun went down, all the dancers came inside to jam with the band. Lots of friendly and positive comments about the Tricks rock and roll show. Party people were in the mood for dancing, so Tricks was more than happy to accomodate that desire. Everyone was out for a wild time, but everyone was very well behaved. No hassles. Just a bunch of friendly biker buddies out for a good time on a beautiful summer weekend.
Thanks so much to Sue for all the hard work keeping the show "on the road". I'm sure there are lots of unsung heroes who need lots of appreciation. So, - Thanks! Thanks to all the Southshore and SideTrack workers who made this happen. Great work organizing and pulling off the bike run, the barbeque, the drinks, the camping, and all those little details that no one gets thanked for. Well, THANK YOU, all of you! We'll get prints of our best pictures and make sure Sue gets copies to put on the wall at the SideTrack.

Friday
Saturday Fun Run

August 2007

Aug 31 - Larry & Ali 25th Anniversary - Grand Haven, Michigan

Tricks had the extreme pleasure and honor of playing for (Steve & Rick's brother and sister-in-law) Larry and Ali's 25th Wedding Anniversary party at the Grand Hall above Portabello's Restaurant in Grand Haven. Larry & Ali threw a very cool party for all their family and friends. What a great time! The big party room was very nicely decorated. There was plenty of awesome party food. What a great spread! Drinks were always in supply. The Weideman Family Band (our cousins) played 2 sets to start the night's entertainment. Then Tricks played until midnight. Family and friends of all ages were rockin' with Tricks. Special thanks to Roger for the great pictures. Thanks to the Trendway "Tricks virgins" who showed up by special invitation. Thanks to the Weideman Family Band for all those tasty tunes. Thanks to all the family and friends who came to show love and respect for Larry & Ali and their boys. Thanks to Larry and Ali for having Tricks! Love ya, man!
We have pictures that tell the story of this big, elegant, fun "party of the year".

Aug 24 & 25 - Wayland Hotel - Wayland, Michigan

Tricks and friends were out on the town this weekend. Friday and Saturday both were great nights at the Wayland Hotel. We had birthday parties and bachelorette parties and a haywagon party. Everywhere you look, there are smiling faces. People must be having fun. Lots of great dancing action, and Tricks was getting back into the bar=band routine. "Sleep all day, out all night". "Rock and Roll all night, and party every day". We sure had a great time with the Wayland crowds. Thanks so much to the wait-staff at Mary Kay's Wayland Hotel. And thanks to Roger for manning the cameras and the "Jam"-mobile. Hopefully, we have some video form this weekend that is worthy of YouTube. We'll let you know if we post any new videos to YouTube. Better yet, why don't you go and subscribe to the Tricks YouTube videos, and you'll automatically get updates when we add new video.
You also might want to subscribe to the Tricks online Newsletter.

Great Pictures -

Aug 17 & 18 - Wayland Hotel - Wayland, Michigan?

Tricks is finally back to the bars after our long and grueling summer vacation. We were itchin' to rock out with you people. And it seems like plenty of people were missing their Tricks fix. We had great crowds and great dancers both Friday and Saturday. Happy Birthday to our soundman Dave Lopez! I don't know how old he is, but he sure looks good, doesn't he? We also were toasting birthday cheers for Carl, Pat, Nina, Duane, and Wayne. Wow!, that's a lot of cheer! It felt really good to be back at the Hotel, with lots of regular Tricks and Hotel friends and family.Thanks so much to Mary Kay and her friendly wait-staff for helping us party hardy. You are the Best!

Here are the Wayland "Back to the Bars" Pictures -

Aug 4 - Phelpstock - Irons, Michigan
Tricks Lite, with no Steve no drums, played for a camping party out in the backwoods of Irons. This was our 4th annual party with Tommy and Tara Phelps and their friends and family. So far, we've been having this party at Tommy and Tara's pool, at their home in South Haven. But this year we took it up to their property out in the woods of Irons. Tommy and Tara were great hosts as usual, with plenty of good food, drinks and cleared-out campsites for everyone. We played until past midnight and had a wild time out in the woods. Thanks for having us, we hope we can do it again next year. Hopefully, we'll bring the e-drums next time.
Sorry no camera photos.
I set up the camera and took some video while it was daylight and while we were still sober. Here is a YouTube video of Tricks Lite doing BTO's "Let It Ride", unplugged (Rick's new Babicz guitar), without drums, without a net.

July 2007

July 27 - Hiscock Wedding , Trowbridge Hall

Tricks was honored to entertain at Mikey and Krista's wedding reception at Trowbridge Hall. It was all the regular wedding fun stuff: Great food, great family and friends, great music, great dancing. We even brought along a CD so everyone could do the chicken dance. Tricks don't do no chicken dance. But I would say that a good time was had by all. Thanks so much for having us! Congratulations and best wishes for a happy life together.

July 21 - Elegant Pet Design, Hamilton, Michigan
Rick and Krys played and sang for Barb Mason's new pet grooming / boarding place in Hamilton. It was nice and sunny and hot. There were lots of doggies. Next year I think I'll bring my cat because my cat thinks he's a dog.
Sorry, no pictures - our camera is broken and I'm ordering a new one soon.

July 4 - South Park stage, Dorr, Michigan

Tricks rocked out at the Big annual Dorr 4th of July Celebration. We played from 7 until 10pm and then the Fireworks started - BANG!! Best Dorr fireworks show ever. For such a small town like Dorr, you know, those things aren't cheap. What a great show - and Tricks was good too! Special Thanks to our friend Roger who provided us with extra speakers and power. Special Thanks to Josh Schaefer who wired a couple extra circuits of AC for us. Special Thanks to Deb for having her camera there when our camera went haywire. Thanks to everyone who came out to dance and sing in the park with Tricks - it was all just as fun as we expected it to be. Lots of work, but fun!! We've been asked back for next year, so I guess everyone was very happy with our Tricks show.
Thanks to the Dorr Business-Owners Association and all the Dorr workers and planners for putting on a great show for 2007. Great carnival food. Great family activites for young and old: tractor pull, mud volleyball, . . . other great shows including: Dorr Idol, Cutest Baby, Dorr Dance Academy, Not-So-Newlywed Game, and . . . Tricks Classic Rock.
Rick was there running sound for 2 days, and I'm here to testify that it was all very, very fun. Best of all, NO RAIN as the weatherman had threatened, and the heat wasn't too bad, with temps in the 80's.
At the start of the Tricks show, we had several dozen people getting into the rock and roll music. As it got darker and Steve's rumbling drums brought Tricks into our last set with "WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND", there were hundreds people getting situated for the fireworks show. There was great response to the Tricks show, with screaming and cheering, people dancing on the grass, people bouncing in their seats, and lots of singing along.
Perhaps Tricks gained some new fans, or re-lit the fuse on some old fans.

Here's a fun YouTube video from our Dorr 4th of July gig -
It's K.T. Tunstal's "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" -

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June 2007

Added Sunday, July 1 - Double 40th Birthday Party - Dave and Amy
June 30 - Husband & Wife 40th Birthday, Trowbridge Hall

Tricks was honored to provide some rocking entertainment for Dave and Amy Ballmer's double 40th Birthday party. The party was at the Trowbridge Township Hall, just a few miles south of Allegan. A small group of a few dozen friends and family, but what a great time we all had! We always say "we prefer Quality to Quantity". There was lots of good food, yummy! And a keg of Miller Lite and a keg of Labatts Lite, yummy! The weather was perfectly beautiful, so it was nice hanging and chatting outside during band breaks. The dancers had fun all night, but they really rocked out with us during the last big set. For such a small group, we ended up having a really fun night. What a nice bunch of people. Tricks was glad to have the chance to play on our weekend that was originally booked for the now-defunct Woodshed in Douglas. Maybe Dave and Amy can have Tricks at their double 50th B-day party as well. We look forward to it! We appreciate all the hard work that goes into getting everything ready for a party like this. Thanks so much for having Tricks play at your party. Hope to see you again soon!

Dave and Amy Party Pics

June 15 & 16 - Wayland Hotel

Tricks Blow-Out weekend! As predicted, we had a massively fun weekend at the Hotel: 2 nights of rock and roll drinkin' and dancin' . Friday was hot fun in the city of Wayland. Steve got a brand new JBL monitor speaker so he can actually hear what's going on with the entire band. What a concept! Guess I need to update the Gear Page. We have several new additions of Tricks Gear in the past year, and I haven't updated - Bad Webmaster, No Cookie! Oh wait, that reminds me - Thanks for the Cookies, Deb!
Saturday Night's Alright - even hotter and funner - for Krystal's big birthday bash. We had lots of loyal Tricks / Krystal Lovers come home from camping for the sole purpose of partying with our party girl, Krystal. See pics 2 page - Krystal begged off doing band work for the last set - no singing or light flashing - so she could dance with all of her friends. Seems that everyone liked playing Krystal's iPod foam guitar that Deb G. got for her. Krys got lots of cards & presents and cake.
One more big Tricks "Thank You" to Mary Kay and the wait-staff girls. Tricks loves you! And we can't say thanks enough to everyone who came out for our last big Tricks Blow-Out weekend at the Wayland Hotel. You make the fun happen. "You Are The Music, We're Just The band!" Thanks to Roger for all the camera work; be sure to look at our YouTube video of Radar Love - (Roger falls backward right at the very end of the song), but excellent close-up video of Tricks at work.
We'll see you back at the Hotel in late August. Until next time . . .

Here's a Video of Tricks doing Funk 49 on Krystal's B-day.

Also, . . . Check out the fun Video of Radar Love -

June 8 & 9 - Wayland Hotel

Another wild and wooly weekend with Tricks at the Wayland Hotel. Strange comings and goings at the Hotel. On Friday, we had a big party with our nieces and nephews and their friends. The Merrens were in town - though it took a couple sets to get them dancing. We had to change the words to "Blue-Eyed Girl" for our nieces, Heather and Becky. Whatever! I wonder if they even remember that part of the night. (Just joking!) They were a little on the wild side, but that's what Tricks is here for. Thanks so much for coming out to party with Tricks at the Hotel! On Saturday we had another one of those Bachelorette Parties stop by for first set. After they left us, it took a while to get the party going again, but we managed quite well, thank you!
Thanks to Mary Kay for having us. By the way, I have to tell you that everyone always says what good food they have at the Wayland Hotel, with great prices and friendly wait-staff. Mary Kay even put a nice Ad in the Penasee Globe last week: "Tricks at the Wayland Hotel" for 3 weeks. We appreciate all the effort that goes into making the party happen. And, once more, we appreciate all the fun folks who came out to party with us this weekend. Tricks Loves You!! XX 00

Here's the pictures -


June 1 & 2 - Wayland Hotel

Tricks entertained for Mel's 50th birthday party and Tanya's Bachelorette party on Saturday night at the Wayland Hotel. It was quite the mob of drinkers and dancers. We never expected such a great party on G.R.'s Festival weekend, plus all the graduation parties going on. Wow! What a great night! Thanks for the memories! Krystal had some trouble with her light conroller, probably all this humidity is making things go haywire. But no one seemed to notice the lightshow wasn't working right, because everyone was having . . . (what are the words?) TOO MUCH FUN!! Thanks so much to Mary Kay and her wait-staff girls. I recommend coming early and having dinner at the Hotel; they have great food for great prices.
Thanks for coming out to celebrate with Tricks - your party band for every occasion. Tricks looks forward to 2 more great weekends at the Wayland Hotel, ushering in the summer of 2007 with lots of rockin' and rollin' fun nights at the Wayland Hotel.

Check out the pictures -

- to Early 2007
- to Late 2007

Tricksband.com website was started in March 2004.
Rick is webmaster, with graphics help from Krystal.

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