Blog / News from Tricks - August 2009

Aug 28 & 29 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

It seems we were destined to have a Tricks family reunion of sorts this weekend. On Friday, we had the pleasure of partying with Dale Boysen, long-time Tricks guitarist, vocalist, and all-around handyman with the electronics and guitar repair. You can learn all about Dale by looking at the Tricks History pages from 1979 to 1993 . And on Saturday, we were happy to see Scott Markle, former Tricks bassist / vocalist, and Scott came all the way from Traverse City to check out the Tricks action at the Wayland Hotel. See Tricks History 1980 for Scott's story.
Friday was a bit slow, but the big highlight was when Dale got up and played guitar for ZZ Top "La Grange", while Rick played the bass. There are so many pictures of that 5 minutes, you'd think Dale was up there all night long, but it was only one song. We tried to twist Dale's arm and make him do more, but he's such a shy guy. But, that one ZZ Top song was big fun for everyone.
Saturday was packed. We helped Jackie celebrate her birthday - that means we had a table full of Steve and Tammy's party people. And there were Bachelorette Party girls who wandered in around middle break and kept playing with the lit-up tambourine that we inherited from some other bachelorette party a couple weeks ago.
Happy birthday Jackie! Good to see you Scott - thanks for coming down! Thanks to the bachelorette party girls for bringing your party to the Hotel! Thanks to Dale for jamming with us and coming out for a rare appearance! Thanks to Mary Kay and her wait-staff for their hard work! Thanks to the regulars from the Hotel. Thanks to the Tricks friends and family. Thanks to everyone who helped take pictures. We couldn't have Tricks party time without the help of so many friends.
We'll be back at the hotel in a few months - for the big Thanksgiving Eve party night blow-out!! See ya then.
Remember: Tricks loves you!
^Fri|Sat

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Aug 21 & 22 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Tricks hosted several birthday and bachelorette parties this weekend. On Friday, our friend Julie had her annual Hotel Bash to celebrate her birthday. We had a blast with a bunch of Dave and Debbie's friends. Julie's husband Rich is a drummer / singer who is a bandmate buddy from Bassbeast's dim and distant past. Julie has been doing her birthday parties at the Wayland Hotel with Tricks for many years; way before we knew any of those good people. The bar was full of Party People, and we had a FUN-tastic time. I think the crowd out-performed the band tonight. But it was fun to hear one comment from this older couple who stayed for 2 sets and danced to all the slow songs, but sat there watching all the action. As they were leaving at 2nd break Rick was walking past, and the old guy said, "you guys are the hardest working band ever". Rick said, "yeah, we have fun doing it, but I wonder when I'll get too old to do this anymore". And the man answered, "never too old". What a great attitude.
And then came Saturday's fun. In the morning, Rick & Krys went over to Dicks' Market in Dorr for Steve's annual Bratwurst Cookout. It was threatening rain while Steve's crew dished out the yummy brats to a continuous stream of people of all ages. Rick & Krys sang a bunch of tunes from 11am until 2pm. But, it never rained much; just enough to clean the music equipment. See you next year. Check out the pics.
And then, back to the Hotel for Saturday night. Ashley brought a whole bunch of good-looking girlfriends out to the Hotel to celebrate her wild bachelortette party with lots of drinking and dancing with Tricks. You can see the pictures of Ashley getting up onstage to dance with the Bassbeast. I wonder if Ashley remembers that??
We also had a big birthday party for Amy and her girlfriends. I'm pretty sure there were other parties going on, because the dance-floor was like the proverbial "Babe-O-Rama". See the pix; I wouldn't lie to you about these things. This night, the band kept right up with the crowd; a giant Free For All - Rock and Roll Party!!
Thanks so much to Amy and Ashley and all the party people and the DANCERS. We love dancing with you!! Thanks to our regulars who sit amused while watching this wild scene, thinking, "been there, done that". Another night of hanging and banging with Tricks and company! Thanks to Mary Kay and staff, Tricks appreciates your hard work, especially when we're dealing with a bunch of crazed maniac rockers all night long! Thanks to Roger, Debbie, and Krys for pictures.
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Aug 14 & 15 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Tricks returns to Wayland for more fun nights at Mary Kay's Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill. Friday was a typical first night back in the saddle for the Tricks band. We haven't played for 4 weeks, so there was a little rust to work out, but lots of enthusiasm for getting back onstage to sing and play for our Tricks pary friends. So, Friday was a load of fun for everyone at the Hotel. We had a mid-sized crowd, and we appreciate the friends who came out to support this first night of the 2nd half of Tricks tour 2009.
Saturday was a different story; we had 4 birthdays to celebrate, so there were lots of cakes, balloons, cards, presents, hugs, and kisses. . . not to mention all the drinking and dancing. The most notable Big birthday was Bassbeast's 50th celebration, put together by his loving wife Debbie. - Very cool bass-guitar cake, presents and friends and all that good stuff for Bassbeast. See the pictures for all that action.
Our soundman Dave Lopez shares his birthday with Dave Bassbeast, so we had a Double-Dave B-day celebration. Dave L had presents and cake and all that stuff too. We also were celebrating birthdays for our friend Pat. And Melisa was there with friends to celebrate her birthday as well. Naturally we had to sing the Beatles "They say it's your Birthday" song for everyone. What a party! Thanks to everyone who helped take pictures. Thanks to Mary Kay and her great staff. Tricks appreciates your hard work keeping the party going. Great food, I might add. Thanks to everyone who helped the party spirit by bringing presents, balloons, cakes, and so on. Especially, Thanks to Debbie T for the Bassbeast celebration planning and work. Great cake, and cool picture book showing the Bassbeast band history!
^{Fri|Sat Debbie Pics}

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Aug 1 - Phelpstock 2009, Irons -

This party goes way back, originally an annual Pool Party at Tommy and Tara Phelps' beautiful home in South Haven. This is the third year that the party is an "Up North" affair, at the Phelps cabin in the woods just a few miles southeast of Irons. The main event is Tommy's birthday celebration, but the party is a good excuse to invite family and friends up for a weekend of camping, canoing, hiking, tubing, 4-wheeling, eating, drinking, and singing around the campfire.
This year we enjoyed the culinary talents of our friend Steve Miller, who is not a rockstar, but who is a very excellent chef from the South Haven area. Along with Steve's goodies, there were treats and dishes-to-pass galore! Chicken wings, bar-b-q ribs, baked potatos, campfire-cooked corn and beans, fruits and veggies, and a fantastic birthday carrot cake (I managed to bring a couple left-over pieces of cake home). The main thing left-over was bunches of baked potatos, so on Sunday morning we had a huge campfire-cooked breakfast of twice-baked potatos, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Yummy!!
Friday evening we were afraid of getting rained out on Saturday, so we had a little pre-party. Bunches of burgers and hotdogs and a couple sets of Rick & Krys music. About 15 people drinking and lounging around the fire. Tommy made his arrival just when we thought we were almost going to end the pre-party and rest up for Saturday's activities. Tommy brought the mother-lode of booze, so we all had to do shots of Jack, and we sat around and sang a bit more.
On Saturday, we had more arrivals, and about 20 people went tubing on the Manistee River. Then everybody got back to change into their campfire clothes and start cooking up the feast. There was constant action on the two ATV's tearing up the trails on Tommy's 40 acres.
By the time all that eating was well in progress, we had the Rick & Krys show in motion. Rick's buddies Linda and Kim showed up with a bunch of party people ready to dance around the campfire until past midnight. I wasn't keeping track, but I think we played and sang music from about 8pm until almost 1am, with 40 to 50 people and 4 dogs hanging out around the fire. Everyone said it was the "Best Ever".
Thanks so much to Tommy and Tara for being the greatest hosts. We love ya, man. Thanks to everyone who worked on the food, especially Steve Miller. And thanks to my friends, Linda and Kim for bringing all the dancers. Thanks to our friend Roger who sold some Tricks T-shirts and helped take a lot of pictures. See y'all next year, same time, same place.
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Blog / News from Tricks - July 2009

July 17 & 18 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

The Sidetrack is famous for leading the way and joining in on various charity events, usually Motorcycle runs to raise money for worthy charity organizations. This month it's the American Cancer Society Benefit. Sue had a friend build a small jail on the dancefloor of the Sidetrack, and for $5 anyone can put a friend in jail; the jailbird has to raise $25 to get out of jail.
But this Saturday night, the Sidetrack gang took it a step further, and made their sacrifice up-close and personal; they cut a man's long hair. And they cut another man's long hair. Whoever gave the most money for the cause got the honor of chopping off the manly hair. José had his long white hair cut off, and Paul had his long pony tail cut. There was also a large donation made if Lonnie and Joe would dance together (see the pics - at least we didn't make them slow dance).
All in all, the generous folks at the Sidetrack raised $331 on Friday night and $772 on Saturday. That makes a 2 weekend grand total of $2,349 raised for ACS during the time that Tricks was on the Sidetrack stage, the past two Fridays and Saturdays. Considering that the summer bar crowds aren't that huge, that means we had a lot of generous people sacrificing their hard-earned money for a good cause.
Thanks so much to everyone for helping to make Sue's ACS benefit a huge success. Thanks to José and Paul for donating their "Locks of Love" for the cause, Thanks Joe, Lonnie, and everyone else who sacrificed a little dignity and a lot of money to support cancer victims. We all are touched by this disease, and we all need to give what we can to help alleviate the pain. And it's nice when we can have fun working on that cause.
Big Thanks to Sue for her awesome attitude. You go girl! Tricks is so proud to help "drum up" suppport for the benefits at the Sidetrack. We have a great fun time rocking out with you folks. Thanks so much for coming out to hang and bang with Tricks. We love the big dance floor, the great stage, the good-sounding room, the outdoor picnic area, the clean restrooms, the friendly staff, and especially the hard-core party people who are regulars at the Sidetrack. And the food! Great food. Everyone knows that the Sidetrack is the place to be on Taco Monday, and there are dinner specials daily - come out and eat at the Sidetrack and give Sue some support during these hard economic times. They always have good portions and low prices. See ya there!
Tricks will be back in October - including Halloween Night - Tricks & Treats.
And, . . . Tricks is playing this year for the Sidetrack New Year's Eve private bash.
Mark your calendar, por favor.
^{Fri|Sat DebbiePix}

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July 10 & 11 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

It never fails! The Sidetrack Bar comes through with a bang-up weekend, full of good time rock and roll parytin'. Sue's crew knows how to deliver the fun, whether the bar has 10 people or a hundred people. We had fun on Friday with a small crowd of Tricks faithful and Sidetrack regulars. The band was glad to be back on a familiar stage, after a few weeks off from the bar scene.
And then on Saturday, we had Christi's bachelorette party; a bunch of crazy party girls who danced through all 4 sets, and closed the bar down with us. Thanks to all you fun girls for bringing your party to Sue's Sidetrack Bar. We sure had a great time with you all! Hot summertime fun!
A.C.S. Benefit - The biggest highlight of the weekend was Sue's fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Sue had a friend build a jail right on the dance floor. The rules were: 1. Put any friend in jail for a $5 donation, 2. Minimum stay in jail, fifteen minutes, 3. You are released when you raise $25 from sympathetic bystanders and friends.
What a hoot! All the fun we had putting people in jail, and for a good cause. The Sidetrack gang raised $355 on Friday and $909 on Saturday, for a total of $1,264 raised over one weekend for the fight against cancer. That's remarkable for such a little bar out in the country. It tells you something about the kind of folks who hang out at the Sidetrack Bar and Grill.
Thank you for being so generous! Thanks to Sue and all the good sports who sat in the jail. Thanks to everyone who gave up their hard-earned dollars in these hard economic times. Read here about the work that the American Cancer Society is able to carry on because of generous people like you.
We are going to continue Sue's ACS Benefit next weekend with Tricks providing the jams for you lucky jailbirds - we like a captive audience. Bring a few extra $5's to help out. See the pics for the fun time. Sorry about the blurry pictures, I think we had a smudge on the lens. But there are plenty of fun pictures of Christi's bachelorette party and the jailhouse rockin' fun.
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July 4 - Independence Day Festival, Dorr -


Tricks had the high honor of entertaining the families who gathered at the South Dorr Park to watch the fireworks on a beautiful 4th of July evening. Tricks knows that this is an extra-special family day, celebrating Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. So, we had to watch our P's and Q's, and play the songs that might please all ages. And, as you can see in the pictures, there were all ages and all kinds of people down at the park on this fun day.

Steve says: Thanks to the thousands of folks who come annually to Dorr for the parade, carnival, fireworks, etc. The parade and the crowd were as huge as ever! Although there were hundreds of people at the south park for the fireworks, there are always 10 times that many who line the roads around town, or simply watch them from their own back yard. The awesome $27,000 fireworks display is paid for by Dorr businesses. Please support our local businesses if you want to keep our quality of life in Dorr vibrant.
 
Formal thanks to the Dorr July 4th committee: Elise & Mark DeYoung, Bob Wagner, Marcia Halloran, & Melodie Niemczyk. This year's celebration was a challenge for them to put on due to very few volunteers. Every year we hope some folks will step up to help but it isn't happening. Volunteerism is becoming a thing of the past. I just hope my little town's July 4th Festival can endure somehow.

Bassbeast says: Food, Family, Friends and Fireworks!!!
Small town atmosphere with a big Fireworks show and Tricks doin' the rock thang! We had folks there from Big Rapids, Belding/Rockford, Holland, Muskegon and of course, Grand Rapids as well. They were promised a good show and I didn't hear any complaints when the smoke finally cleared (literally)!

Tricks extends our love and most sincere thanks to our friends, families, and fans who come out regularly to give us support. We are all feeling mighty sore today, since we have to be our own roadies, ... and we ain't gettin' any younger (the number of Tricks grandchildren at the park yesterday will attest to that fact). You people make all the aches and pains and stress worthwhile. We see you out there dancing and singing along, and it gives us energy and inspiration. Thanks so much! Extra special thanks to Roger for supplemental sound equipment, camera detail, and help with set-up / tear-down. Special thanks to Mark Anderson for help with electrical issues. Thanks to Debbie and Fred for pictures. Lots of Fred pictures! Wow! Thanks to the elusive Josh for additional electrical help. Thanks to Paula and Mark for bringing out a bunch of people, and for the shower facilities. Let's see, ... that about covers it.
Happy Summer, everyone!

^{Life! - Liberty! - Pursuit of Happiness!
| | Debbie Pics| FredPics |}

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Blog / News from TRICKS - June 2009

June 27 - South Haven High-School Reunion, South Haven -

Rick and Krystal were honored and delighted to provide entertainment for the 25 Year Reunion for South Haven High-School Class of 1984. There were just over a hundred people attending, and it was the greatest fun. The festive party was at the South Haven American Legion Hall, overlooking the Black River channel and Lake Michigan. A beautiful spot, and we had a beautiful day. There was fantastic food catered by Phoenix Street Cafe, what a great spread - I was impressed! And, at the end of the night, they insisted that everyone help take left-overs home. No problem.
I can't tell very many personal stories about all these people, but it was a very friendly bunch. We got this gig through my friend Bob Wallis. Most of the 50 class mates who showed up for the party have been in touch with each other on Facebook. So, they actually had a big bar party on Friday night, turning the whole class reunion thing into a weekend-long affair.
The weather was simply fantastic, not too hot like the past few days. So, everyone was hanging out in the beautiful patio area, and Rick and Krys were inside playing to only about 10 or 20 people at a time. But, as the mosquitos drove people back indoors, it got a little more wild. We brought along our Djembe drum, and several of the guys (and one girl) took turns banging on the drum. And a bunch of people were dancing and singing along to our unplugged rock tunes. Very fun! We were supposed to play from 8 until 11, but we couldn't stop until 12:30, we were having so much fun!
Krys and I were happy to bump into Nancy, one of the bartenders from the now defunct Douglas Woodshed. We also made several new friends, and hope to see them at the nearby Sidetack bar in July, only about 15 miles from South Haven.
Thanks so much to Amy and Bob for getting us hooked up for this great party. It was nice to meet all of you people! We had a great time! Thanks to the Prez for getting us started with some introductory words. Thanks to Calvin, Bob, Eric, and Jeff for banging on the drum and helping to keep the dancing going.
^{"Class of '84 Rocks -}

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June 12 & 13 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Sorry about the Red Wings on Friday. But don't worry, we all drowned our sorrows after the big loss. My camera somehow had a glitch on Friday as well. I only have 18 pics that turned out okay. So, anyway, Friday was a bit of a downer, as you might imagine. We had a couple birthdays on Friday night, but it seems like all but a few Tricks Inner Circle fans stayed home to watch and mourn.
Saturday was a whole different story. Our Krystal has a birthday on this Tuesday, so we had a bunch of people with cake and presents (and shots) who came out to celebrate Krystal's birthday. She might look like she's having too much fun in the pictures, but I can assure you that we're strictly professional in the Tricks band. Tricks came on like a well-oiled musical machine, and we had plenty of dancers and head-bangers to keep the place bounchin'. There were also a couple other birthdays on Saturday, so Tricks says, "Happy Birthday, and thanks for bringing your party to the Hotel so Tricks could rock your socks off"!!! But, you're the ones who make it happen; we can't do it without you here with us. You are the Music, We're Just The Band!
This was the big "Saturday Night Blow-Out Night", which means you-know-what: no brakes, no net, no holding back. Tricks goes out on every limb and there's no turning back. We gotta plow through these songs and make it all nice and tight and crunchy. All the Tricks friends and fans know that the best night to come and see Tricks is always the Saturday Night Blow-Out. You're playing with the Big Boys now, kids!
Thanks again to Mary Kay for the great food and drinks. Thanks to the staff. Thanks to our helpers, especially Roger and Deb and Debbie for camera details. Krys says "THANKS SO MUCH" to everyone for making her birthday celebration so special, with great friends, great presents, and most of all, great CAKE!
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June 5 & 6 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

I gotta tell ya, we had a blast at the Wayland Hotel this weekend. I hope everyone else had a great weekend, wherever they were. We had a few die-hard Tricks regulars and a handful of Hotel regulars, and that's about it crowd-wise this weekend. There was plenty of fun stuff going on; Red Wings play-off game, Free Night at Martin Dragway, Kalamazoo street fair, the Grand Rapids art festival and fireworks, the big free Kansas concert, bunches of grad-parties, not to mention the great fishing and camping weather . . . I think the main cause of our thin crowd was Steve talking in the Tricks Newsletter a few days ago, saying, and I quote, "we haven't had a slow night yet this year". Way to go, Steve!
Well, we always like to say that, given the choice, we prefer quality over quantity. And there were a handful of "quality" party people this weekend. It looks like the same crowd both nights, with the Tricks family and friends making the best of it. From the guitar-player's point of view, I thought the band really was cooking this weekend. We really "own" the new songs now. And, now that we can do these new songs in our sleep, we're all gonna start having fun and taking some chances, gettin' cocky and goin' out on a limb now and then. I thought the new blues songs were the "Best Ever", on both nights. Same with a lot of other songs, old and new. The jams felt tight and punchy. Just hope we can carry that over when we have a big hot party crowd (this next weekend?). One more weekend at Wayland, so we hope to see y'all.
Thanks to Mary Kay and the Hotel wait-staff for having us, and for putting up with our big loud happy sound in the half-full bar (at least it wasn't half empty). Thanks to our regular Tricks Inner Circle friends, and to our helpers and picture takers. Roger even sold a few shirts this weekend. Fun times for the faithful few, check out the pics.
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Blog / News from TRICKS - May 2009

May 29 & 30 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Get ready for more fun times at the Wayland Hotel. The Tricks Party People came out in force this weekend. Friday night it was packed from the git-go. We had Birthdays up the ying-yang! (I like using archaic catch-phrases, ya dig?)
If I had to analyze (and I do), I would say that the crowd was in the driver's seat on Friday night, but Tricks took control on Saturday night. Both nights were great, but the crowd was more aggressive on Friday, and the band was more aggressive on Saturday. Both nights were tons of fun!
We had a big bunch of birthday parties happening on Friday night. Happy birthday to Tina, Lori, Marly. There were a couple other birthdays, but we didn't catch those names. Thanks for bringing your birthday party to the Wayland Hotel. You know you're gonna have a good party time when Tricks is helping to make the fun time happen.
Saturday was more of a Tricks crowd, but the Red Wings were a bit of a distraction. No matter! The Red Wings kicked butt; and then we rocked out for the rest of the night. Thanks to the Tricks FFF for coming out to hang and bang (friends, fans, family). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the band was "ON" Saturday Night - "firing on all 8 cylinders" as they used to say. We've rearranged our song list order; we put more famiar Tricks tunes earlier in the night, and put some of the new Tricks tunes later. Our purpose, as always, is to get more people out on the dance floor, and more people in Steve's face! When the drummer gets hot, the whole band catches fire, and then the juke-joint gets jumpin'. That's exactly what happened on Saturday.
It was a special treat to have Tim Clifford show up on Saturday night. His band, Dew South had an afternoon outdoor gig at Bittersweet in Otsego. So, Tim stopped by the Hotel for a set or 3 on his way home.
Tricks would like to thank Mary Kay for having such a great party place. We love the food, we love the dance floor, we love the stage, we love the sound of the room, we love the Wayland crowds that come to the Hotel. Love, Love, Love!
Thanks, as usual, to our helpers - Roger, Debbie, and any other picture takers, t-shirt sellers, and drink getters ... you make our life much easier.
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May 16 - Buddy & Bobbi Jo O'Neal Wedding, Moomey's Polebarn, Hilliards -

Can you say "Party Of The Year"?? The first barn party of the summer and we already have a big contender for Tricks Party-Of-The-Year, 2009!
Tricks was honored to be the musical entertainment at the wedding reception / celebration of love / for Buddy and Bobbi Jo. The festivities were held at parents-of-the-bride, Greg and Gabi Moomey's scenic homestead out in the woods, just west of Hilliards.
We had a little preview of this party when a bunch of these Moomey / O'Neal party people came to the Hilliards Corner Lounge on our first weekend, just a couple weeks ago.
The first Tricks tune of the night was a "first dance" song for the bride and groom, chosen by Buddy & Bobbi Jo. They heard us do Tim McGraw / Faith Hill "It's Your Love" back in March, and they decided that song was "the perfect wedding love song". After that romantic moment, we fired up the rock and roll, and had a great dancing, sing-along, scream-along, head-bangin' good time!
Most of the setlist for the party was chosen ahead of time by Buddy & Bobbi Jo. Tricks has about 100 songs in their repertoire, and you can only do about 10 songs per hour, so you gotta be picky. And they did a good job picking, because the dance floor was packed most of the night, especially the last 2 sets of craziness!
If you look at the pictures, you'll see lots of people dancing with their beer cups in hand. You'll also notice lots of people with beer spilled on them, because everyone was getting wild on the dancefloor. (It was also a bit wet all over the outside from the early morning rain). Anyway, it was time to let your hair down and do some hooting and hollering.
Thanks to Greg & Gabi for all your great work putting on this fabulous fest in honor of Buddy & Bobbi Jo. Thanks to all the other dozens of people who helped with food, cleaning, drinks, kegs, fireworks, and the hundred other little things that go into a wedding day. Thanks for having Tricks for your entertainment. We had such a great time with the Moomey and O'Neal family and friends. Wow! You people know how to have a good time!
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May 8 & 9 - Hilliards Corner Lounge, Hilliards -

Tricks had one heck of a good time here at Hilliards Lounge. This was our last weekend for a while - we won't be back here again at Hilliards Lounge until October.
On Friday we had a big party of 20-something guys and gals. Friends and family of Steve's daughter Kayleigh and her new hubby Mike (see ). That was a big group of social butterflies, but we got 'em on the dance floor a few times for some head-banging action with Tricks. One of the highlights of Friday night was the little baby girl dancing and getting into the band during the start of first set. See the Friday pics for that cutie pie. There were also a couple birthday celebrations going on Friday Night.
On Saturday night, we had a big party crowd with lots of regular Tricks friends, family, and fans. That makes for an excellent bunch of wild drinking and dancing fun. We a couple birthdays on Saturday again, to help set a festive mood. Everyone had to get outta there a little early to get rested up for Mother's Day on Sunday, but there sure was a lotta hot and heavy dancing action in the mean time. The band was hitting on all 8 cylinders, with Steve banging on the drums all day in his corner at the Corner Lounge. A good time was had by all; check out the pictures to see all the smiling faces and dancing feet.
Tricks has a deep appreciation of new owner Eric and all the hard work he's been putting into getting the Hilliards Lounge all fixed up and nice-looking once again. Thanks for having Tricks at your party place! Be sure to stop in sometime for the excellent food at Hilliards Corner Lounge. They are open every day for lunch and dinner, with daily specials.
Thanks also to the wait staff and cooks. Thanks to everyone who helped take pictures. Thanks to Roger for everything - you know you make our rock & roll life much easier. Thanks to all the Tricks regulars who came out to make a great big good first impression on Eric the owner. We couldn't do it without your support. You turn our Tricks times into fun times.
Tricks loves you, man!

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May 1 & 2 - Hilliards Corner Lounge, Hilliards -

Tricks returned to our old stompin' grounds at Hilliards Corners. We haven't seen much of the inside of this bar since the late 80's. But, we were the first Rock and Roll band to play in this building - ever.
The original Silver Dollar Saloon was a tiny building right on the street corner, and they used to have rock bands and country bands back in the 60's and 70's. The old brick building was torn down after one too many cars missed the stop sign at 18th, and plowed through the front brick wall. (Back then, it was just a 2-way stop at 18th and 135th; Cars traveling west on 135th would go through the stop sign, swerve to miss a passing car on 18th, and crash through the front of the Silver Dollar.)
The new bar, built in the early 70's, was a big pole barn. And they made sure it was far back from the road. The owners kept the name "Silver Dollar Saloon". They intended to have only Polka bands, cashing in on the huge popularity of Hilliards annual Polski Day celebration. But it was the mid-70's and polka bands were a dying breed in these parts, due mostly to Polish inter-marriage with non-polka-loving spouses.
When Louie and Carol Bartz bought the Silver Dollar in the mid-70's, they started to have country bands, but swore they would never have rock bands. But, after much groveling and begging, they finally were pursuaded to let Tricks have a one-night try on Sunday, July 3rd, 1978. It was their biggest night ever, with cars parked up and down 18th street and 135th Ave. They later changed the name to "The Royal Knight", and it was Tricks territory for much of the 80's.
Anyway, back to the future: This weekend, it was good to be back. Although it's a short drive from Wayland and the Hotel, we have an entirely different crowd at the Hilliards Corner Lounge. We had lots of people coming up and saying things like, "hey, it's great to see you guys, we haven't seen Tricks in years".
On Friday, we had a big birthday bash with Lisa Lain and her family and friends. Lots of fun dancing and head-banging all night long. Just like the good-ol' days.
Steve writes:
Saturday was just as much fun, with a Bachelorette party for Amber Tanis. Angela Boersma was her antagonist feeding her drinks last night. Angie, Amber, & Kayleigh (Dutkiewicz) were schoolmates.
Speaking of Tricks history, some of the Tricks fans from Wayland Class of '77 were there. Yes, that Class again! Even Tony Bartell in from CO.
Seemed to be a bit older crowd than expected, but that didn't matter to owner Eric. He said that crowd ages seems to fluctuate. Eric has the long term in mind for this place. A very healthy "hang in there" attitude. As we all know, with this economic situation that is what it takes to survive. Did we mention the food is fantastic?
Food is served at the Hilliards Corner Lounge Tuesday through Sunday. And they have big buffet-style specials on the holidays (hint, hint: Mother's Day).
Thanks so much to Eric the owner, and the wait-staff. Tricks appreciates all the remodeling that is in-progress at the Hilliards Corner Lounge. We are so happy to bring our Tricks party back to Hilliards, and we plan on having many fun weekends with Eric and the Hilliards crew.
Here's our pictures from Weekend One at Hilliards:
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^{to Early 2009
to Late 2009}