Rick Doogie Music Blog - May 2011

May 27 & 28 - Rick & Krys in Downtown Grand Haven -

Rick & Krys are in their comfort zone at Odd Side Ales
Odd Side Ales is like the best-kept secret in Grand Haven, but not for long. They have over 2,000 "Likes" on their Facebook page already , and they've only been in business for a little over a year. So, they're not completely unknown. But they are nestled away in a corner of the old piano factory building, and people stroll in, have a few brews, and go off to check out the other downtown activities. And there is plenty happening in downtown Grand Haven. It's our job to keep people hanging out for a while longer at Odd Side Ales. The main attraction at Odd Side Ales is the home brews. That's all you get. No domestics, no imports, ... just what they make there on site. I love that "niche" idea. Odd Side Ales doesn't try to be all things to all people. It's a true hard-core brew-lover's paradise. They have everything from Passionfruit pale ale, to Grapefruit Ale, to Peanut Butter Cup Stout.
Our Rick & Krys Show also has that same type of "niche" attitude. We try to match the adventurous brew offerings with some adventurous acoustic musical offerings. We don't try to be all things to all people. Our goal is to mostly avoid the same ol', same ol' tunes that you hear being covered on every street corner. Rick & Krys keep adding more and more classic rock and folk tunes, to keep things interesting and on edge. Some of our most recent musical additions are "For What Its Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, "Shanty" better known as "The Friday Song", "Two Of Us" by The Beatles, "Even It Up" by Heart, "Suitcase Full Of Blues" by Tommy Castro, "Tell Me Why" by Neil Young, "Stairway To Heaven" (Rick's acoustic version) by Led Zeppelin, "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who, "I Hate Everything About You" (again, the acoustic version you never envisioned) by Ugly Kid Joe, "Music Man" by REO Speedwagon, . . . All of these songs are big classics in their own right. Not necessarily "Top Ten" Hit Paraders that you get tired of hearing every day on the radio, but the more Long-Lasting cult favorites and "Deep Cuts" as they say.
Thanks so much to Chris the owner for having Rick & Krys back to Odd Side Ales. Thanks to our friends for coming out, especially cousin Meg, Heather & Matt, Larry & Ali, and Roger. We appreciate the travel time involved.
Fri^|Sat

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May 21 - Rick & Krys in Downtown Hastings -

Wild Night is Calling! At The Walldorff in downtown Hastings.
We have always liked Walldorff's Brewpub. Over the years, on many a trip to the East side to visit Krystal's relatives, Walldorff's was our lunch stop while we were on the road. And, many times Krys would go shopping in Hastings with her girlfriends, and they would stop at Walldorff's for lunch. So, we really love playing at Walldorff's Brewpub. Rick has played there several times for their Thursday night "bike night", and sometimes Krys came along to help sing a few. But, this Saturday was the first time that Walldorff's hired us as a duo, and it's the first time we ever played at Walldorff's during the weekend. Just as we suspected, Walldorff's Brewpub has a wild crowd on Saturday night. This was the night that was predicted to be the "end of the world", so we had fun toasting to the Rapture and Judgment Day. There was a big group of Hastings Class of 1980 there, celebrating the end of the world as we know it. This group couldn't be stopped. They were hard to keep up with. They wanted to dance, event though there was no dance floor. They made do with dancing in between the tables, and a few girls were even dancing on their chairs. Every time we did a song that was from the 70's or 80's (which is the bulk of our repertoire), they all started dancing and hooting and hollering like maniacs. It was all good clean fun on a Saturday Night in Hastings.
Walldorff's has great food, especially pizzas from their wood-fires stone ovens. And the brews are superb! Top all that off with a quality bunch of Party People, and you can bet on having a great time. Rick & Krys were supposed to play from 9pm until midnight, but we played a bit past 1am. No one wanted us to stop. Even after most of the 80's people left, just after midnight, it seemed like they got replaced by another group of bar-hoppers who were all lit up and ready to party hard into the night.
Thanks so much to Kenny Brown for booking us. We'd love to do it again soon. Thanks to the lovely staff and bartenders. You got it all going on there in downtown Hastings. It doesn't get much better than this. Walldorff's is the coolest place in town. We were honored to be the entertainment for this one great night. See you all again soon. Cheers!
And, you might want to "Like" Walldorff's at their Facebook page.

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May 19 - Rick & Krys at "Parks Alive Party" -

It looks like Rick is just singing to the tulips.
But really, there were a whole bunch of people and kids having fun in the park.
In the middle of a dreary wet week, we managed to have a few hours of nice sunny weather on a Thursday evening. Just right for a nice little "party in the park", put on by several Holland neighborhood groups. The entire ^{"Parks Alive Party"} event was less than two hours long. But, they managed to cram lots of activities into that short time frame. They had face painting, bag races, basketball contest, hot dogs & lemonaide, a bouncing "Galactic Jump" for the little kids, bicycle registration with the Holland Police and Fire Department, free bike flags. The whole thing was well put together. My only complaint is that it could have been longer, maybe on a Saturday.
Rick & Krys were only supposed to play a short half-hour set. But, the break-dancing troupe didn't show up as planned, so that gave more time for the Rick & Krys Show. We played for a little over an hour, right in the middle of all those tulips, kids, hot dogs, and firemen.
A group of Rick's Trendway friends showed up for a cheering section. That made it more interesting for us. Thanks for showing up, you guys. After the park party, a bunch of us went to New Holland Brewery for dinner and drinks. We had a blast.
Thanks so much to Sue Hardin for hiring us for the gig. Thanks to all the organizations who made it all happen, especially Cornerstone Ministries, Boarshead, and the Holland Police & Fire Departments.
Sorry, just a few photos -

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May 6 & 7 - Rick & Krys, Odd Side Ales -

Friday and Saturday were great party nights at Odd Side Ales
After a busy Feb, March, and April with the Tricks band, Rick & Krys finally got back to Grand Haven at Odd Side Ales. A place that is getting more and more comfortable to us. This was only the third weekend that we've ever played here. I think we're going to like the warm nights in downtown Grand Haven, if this 50˚F night was any indication of things to come in summer. Friday was a nice little crowd, very fun bunch, but nothing to write home about. But, Saturday was like a big party. Everyone was walking around downtown Grand Haven, and Odd Side Ales had a capacity crowd. I think that's about 55 people. A respectable party, especially if we're talking quality. These people know their good brew, and they know their good music. They weren't just passive listeners. We got constant feedback from the crowd sitting around the stage, up-close and personal. Other than a couple requests that we couldn't fill, there was nothing but positive comments all around. There is a warm and cozy feeling at Odd Side Ales. It feels like you're in someone's living room.
Rick & Krys were joined with occasional mandolin, bongo drums, washboard, and harmonica by our cousin Steve Weideman, who is a longtime resident of the Grand Haven area, and a local musical legend in his own right. We also were treated to some killer bongo playing by Steve's friend Wade. Steve told us that Wade could really hit those bongos, and he wasn't lying. I especially liked Wade's bongo drumming on Sheryl Crow's "Every Day Is A Winding Road", Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", and Dave Matthews "Ants Marching". Steve played some harmonica on our Blues Traveler song, and he played some great mandolin on several great classics, including the Stones "Dead Flowers", Tim McGraw & Faith Hill's "It's Your Love", and Eagles "Love Will Keep Us Alive". Unstoppable Steve played bongo drums and washboard until his fingers bled. No, really!
Thanks so much to Wade & Steve for making our musical adventure more exciting than usual. We'll have to do that again some time. I thought it was very cool. I'm not usually the type to do much of the "jamming" thing, but this was fully "Rick - Approved", if I say so myself. The crowd of party people sure seemed to approve.
Another very cool thing on Saturday was having our Hudsonville Tricks Fan Club there. It was good to have that inspiration to do Howie Day "Collide" for our friend Deb, and also Scorpions "The Zoo" for our friend Jane. Those songs are rare in our unplugged show.
Thanks so much to everyone for coming out to party with Rick & Krys. Thanks so much to Larry & Ali for coming in and bringing some friends along, both Fri & Sat. Thanks to the Donahue clan who showed up for a few tunes. Thanks to my friend Rick for the reunion, hope to see you again soon. Thanks to the Tricks fans who showed up. Thanks to Chris the owner and all the Odd Side Ales staff; you people are so nice and professional. I'm glad you like our "Twisted Hippy" music show. We really appreciate what you got going here at Odd Side Ales. As you dive into your second year of business, we wish you all the best.
Fri & Sat Give your "Like" to the Odd Side Ales Facebook page

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Rick Doogie Music Blog - February 2011

Feb 4 & 5 - Rick & Krys, Odd Side Ales -

Hot time in the old town Grand Haven!
We were excited to return to Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven. It was such a fun time when were there in December. Our music seemed to resonate well with the Grand Haven party people. This week, we had the "Blizzard of 2011", so we were wondering if that would keep people home because of lots of snow on the streets, or if that would bring people out to party away their cabin fever blues. Well, it ended up somewhere in between. We had good friendly crowds on both Friday and Saturday nights. Chris the owner said that the weekend before was Grand Haven's Winter Fest, and downtown was overloaded with crowds of merry-makers, and he thought that people were staying away a bit more than usual this weekend. It wasn't packed, but almost every chair and table was filled. They must be used to lots of people milling about, standing around socializing.
We had quite a bit of positive feedback from people in the Friday crowd. We kept telling them, "if you like us, be sure to tell Chris the owner, so he'll ask us back again." (Yes, we got asked back.) Our cousin and Grand Haven musician, Steve Weideman showed up with his wife Kathy. And we sang Happy Birthday to their friend Leslie. Everyone started clearing out by about 11pm. Chris the owner said that their music entertainment is usually done at 11pm, with just a 2 hour show. So, we had an early night Friday, after 2 easy hours of music. We barely worked up a sweat; we were just getting warmed up. But, we made up for it on Saturday.
On Saturday, we played until midnight, with plenty of people hanging out until past midnight. Besides lots of new local friends and fans who came back after seeing us on Friday, we also had a bunch of our friends show up. Heather and Matt came with some of their friends. Our pal Roger showed up out of nowhere. And, an even bigger surprise was our Tricks friends Rhonda and Todd, who never heard our acoustic show ever before. Thanks, you guys for making the trek over to Grand Haven to party with us. It's nice having some familiar faces when we're far from home. Thanks so much to Chris the owner for having us. What a great place you have, and great brews! Thanks to the Odd Side Ales bartenders and wait-staff for helping to keep everyone feeling warm and welcome.
Fri & Sat

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Rick Doogie Music Blog - January 2011

Jan 14 & Jan 21 - Rick & Krys at the Sidetrack -

There were some very Tiny Dancers at Sue's Sidetrack
A couple of very cold Friday evenings. Rick & and Krystal did their best to bring a warm glow to the Sidetrack. We had a wonderful time both Fridays. On the first Friday, the 14th, we only had about 10 people hanging out to listen to our Rick & Krys tunes. A few snowmobilers came and went, but just those 10 die-hard party people kept us company for most of the evening. It had been several weeks since our last Rick & Krys gig, so we really were in the mood. It was a wonderful musical night for us, with warm appreciation from our tiny crowd.
The second Friday at Sidetrack, we had big plans. Krys sent an e-mail to our Tricks mailing list (about 200 people), and she pestered lots of her work buddies at the Art Dept to come out to Sidetrack. She got "probably will be there" from about 50 people, so we were really expecting a packed little bar out there in Pearl. As it turned out for us, the weather was severely cold, (single digits and sub-zero windchills) and roads were nasty and icy. This sad situation translated to a much less "packed" bar than we planned on. The Sidetrack was a lot fuller than the precious Friday, but hardly any of our "probably" people showed up. Interestingly enough, we had about fifteen friends show up who were on the "probably not" list. Oh well, ... like we always say; we have fun with 1 or 100 or 1,000 in the audience. We had a blast. We really mixed up the set list both Fridays, always trying to make it a musical adventure for ourselves and our audience. My favorite memories are the Neil Young set that we did the first Friday, and the Tommy medley (including "Overture/We're Not Gonna Take It") on the second Friday.
Notables in attendance; Sue the owner's niece Lisa, who I worked with at Trendway and who introduced us to Sue's Sidetrack a few years ago. Lisa had her 3-year-old daughter Lisa, and her husband and her dad. Also, my friend Bob Wallis, another Trendway friend. Now that I think of it, Krys and I sang at both Bob's wedding and Lisa's wedding - both beautiful outdoor ceremonies. Our loyal "fans and friends" Rob & Jamee showed up both Fridays. Mark & Jen were there. And our buddy Scott Chendard and friends ... I shouldn't list names like this, because I'm gonna miss some. Chris & Char, and other Sidetrack regulars were there on both of our Fridays.
Thanks so much to Sue and the Sidetrack staff for the great drinks and food. We always feel the love at Sidetrack. Thanks to the Sidetrack regulars and our Rick & Krys friends who braved the nasty weather to come and sing and dance with us. If you didn't make it as planned, we look forward to seeing you again soon.

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