Early 2005 Tricks

May 2005

May 28 - Polly & Nick Wedding

Tricks doesn't play at many wedding receptions. It has to be for very special people; family, close friends, and people who say "please, please, please, we just gotta have Tricks play for our wedding". We're no wedding band, we don't even know how to spell Markarina, Magaritta, Margareena. . . Anyway, Polly just HAD to have Tricks play at her wedding, and the bride gets her way, right? Polly is lead singer of the band Vertical Smile - a local band that Tricks crosses paths with in the local weekend rock bars. For this fun musical wedding celebration: First we had Tom Northrup singing some very nice dinner music, then Tricks played a set, then Vertical Smile played a set (Polly in full bridal gown get-up and Mother-Of-The-Bride Mary on co-lead vocals in full MOTB fashion). Tom helped out on keyboards with VS, then Tricks played a few songs, then Tom and Frank joined Tricks onstage, then Polly and Mary came up and sang a few with the Tricks/VS band. . . You get the picture. A gang of musicians mixing it up for a fun jamming Wedding Ballroom Blitz. Thanks to Polly and Nick for inviting Tricks to be part of your special day. This day will always be near and dear to our hearts.


May 20 & 21 - Ye Olde Woodshed in Douglas - Weekend 3

Last big 2005 weekend at Ye Olde Woodshed in Douglas. Tricks always has fun at the Woodshed. It's a very comfortable and good-sounding room. We had tons of fun on "Saturday night Blow-Out" where no holds are barred and wild behavior is encouraged. Welcome to a few new faces. We're always happy to show a good time to the Tricks virgins. Happy Birthday to Grace. Happy Anniversary to Ann & Chris.


May 13 & 14 - Ye Olde Woodshed in Douglas - Weekend 2

We started out nice and easy on Friday night. The crowd kicked our collective asses on Saturday. What a wild bunch. See the pictures if you don't believe me. Lots of "Tricks virgins" got broken on Saturday night. Thanks to all the Perrigo people who came for Sherri's Farewell Party! The dancers were showing off and showing up the band. Tricks did their best to keep up, but the crowd demolished us and showed us just who's in charge of the party - - YOU ARE! "You are the music, We're just the band".


May 6 & 7 - Ye Olde Woodshed in Douglas - Weekend 1

Tricks at the Woodshed in Douglas. YOW! We had a quality crowd on both Friday and Saturday. I had fun, I don't know about you, especially if you stayed home with the TV remote in hand. Some Tricks virgins got a good taste of the band getting down tight with good rockin' and dancin' tunes. With the winter break far behind us, Tricks is really hitting our stride; cruising through the set list, taking chances and having fun with it all. And, yes, we love you guys, you know who you are, the regular bunch. We appreciate seeing you there - We always put more into it when we see those regular smiling faces. Thanks so much!


April 2005

April 22 & 23 - Stan's in Dorr, Michigan - Weekend 2

Stan's Tavern in Dorr, what can I say? When this place starts rocking out and partying down, they really know how to have a good time. Tricks was firing on all eight cylinders, but the best thing was the great crowd of friends and fans who came out on a cold and snowy April weekend to get all heated up with Tricks at Stan's. Gr-r-r-reat crowds for both Friday and Saturday. FUN!!


April 15 & 16 - Stan's in Dorr, Michigan - Weekend 1

Tricks is back at good old Stan's Tavern in Dorr. Great springtime weather makes for good drinking and dancing. The new Tricks songs went over very well at Stan's, where they like their music hard and fast. Lots of hooting and hollering and headbanging in the Stan's tradition. My neck is still sore. We've been trying out a couple cameras, so excuse the inconsistent quality in the pictures right now. We're shopping for a new camera so we can put YOUR picture here online, so your mother and everyone else can see where you were and what you did over the weekend.


News from TRICKS - March 2005

March 25 & 26 - Wayland Hotel - Weekend 3

The 3rd Tricks weekend at the Wayland Hotel was the best weekend by far. We had several birthdays again, this time it was the boys celebrating: Willy, Craig, Sam. - The weather is finally getting a bit warmer, so people are in the mood to bust a move on the dance floor. Tricks is glad to help out with the danceable tunes. And the Wayland Hotel has a nice big dance floor for shaking your booty all over the place. Check out the pictures.
Steve and Dylan both took over 70 pictures each. I had to do some sorting.
Lots and lots of great band and crowd pictures.


March 18 & 19 - Wayland Hotel - Weekend 2

The Wayland Hotel seems to be packed every night on Tricks weekends. Mary Kay and her girls do a great job with the food and drinks - we appreciate the friendly staff. Thanks, girls!!
Saturday night was an especially energetic crowd. Lots of dancing and head-banging with Tricks. The band is starting to get nice and tight with the new songs that we brought out of the basement with us


March 11 & 12 - Wayland Hotel - Weekend 1

Tricks got back to the bars for 2005 with a bang-up time at the Wayland Hotel. We had several birthday parties happening on both Friday and Saturday. A special Happy birthday wish goes out to Ali. Another "honorable mention" birthday was 21 year-old Marcus. It was so-o-o-o cold outside, yet it was cozy inside the Wayland Hotel. Lots of people came early for the great food. About half of our song list is new material for Tricks. The new songs are working out as well or better than we expected. "Misty Mountain Hop", "Here For The Party", "Cold Hard Bitch", "Heavy", and "Vertigo" seem to be the top new dance songs. But let's see what this new Tricks Season brings.


Saturday, March 5 - Roger's 51st birthday party, Tricks-Style

Tricks came out of the basement for 2 windup rehearsals in Roger's living room, at his humongous and beautiful house, north of Byron Center. Friday was a private rehearsal for one last cram-and-tweak session working on our 15 new Tricks tunes, and 5 songs revived from the Tricks Graveyard.
Saturday we had an "invitation only" final rehearsal / party with the crême de la crême of the Tricks inner circle. Roger was celebrating his 51st birthday, so we had lots of good food and drinks, and carpet-dancing in the Great Room. And, best of all, Tricks did a great job with the new songs, rising to the occasion.


News from TRICKS - February 2005

February 12 - Tricks Lite Benefit Party - Lake Doster Country Club
Happy Valentines Day from TRICKS! Loves you all!

Krys, Rick, and Tim played a fun gig at the fancy Lake Doster Country Club, about 4 miles east of Plainwell (near guitar doctor Dale's house). The event was to raise money for Allegan County Crisis Response Services. They had fancy food, they had fancy drinks, they had a fund-raiser auction with lots of cool stuff, and they danced to our acoustic music with no drummer. (Steve was not happy to hear this.) Our good friend, Grace, hired us for the gig. Thanks, Grace!


January/February winter "break". - Tricks In The Basement - Steve and Tammy's House
This is the time of year when Tricks takes a few weeks off to learn a bunch of songs to add to our repertoire. Back in our young and foolish years, we used to have rehearsals now and then, whenever we had several weeks off during our year's schedule. So, we constantly were hauling our gear in and out of someone's basement, just so we could add 2 or 3 songs now and then. Around the mid 90's, we got the wise idea of just taking one big break during the time of year when ice and snow create a hazard for hauling gear around. We could just hibernate for the winter and stay away from carrying speakers and amps in the snow and ice. And we could learn 15 or 20 songs all in one shot. And we don't rehearse any other time during the year because we stay tight by playing out, not by hiding in the basement. We like it this way.


to Late 2004
to Mid 2005

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Rick is webmaster, with graphics help from Krystal.

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