Aug 30- Our 7th and final summer Un-Tricks gig; Another great party at Indian Shores, the beautiful Lake Allegan community where Rick & Krys live.

We spent the early part of Saturday setting up sound gear and getting food ready. Big thanks to our neighbors, Steve & Julie, who always help us co-host this big party. Steve & Julie provided the great big turkey and cooked the roast pork. Lots of other neighbors stopped by for the pre-party set-up activities. We tapped the keg around 2 o'clock. Thanks to everyone who brought food - there was lots of good food! Thanks to brother Bob for all the campfire wood, and thanks to brother Mark for cutting up campfire wood.

Thanks to Dan and Tom for helping with setting up the band equipment. Thanks to Roger for an extra power amp. Huge thanks to Bill Roelofs for the use of his beautiful Ayotte drums. Thanks to Tom Hudson for the Conga set. Thanks to Bassbeast for the bass amp rig.

The Common Good took the stage a little after 5. Being the youngest of our musician friends, we let Chris, Toman, and Jeremy bravely test out the sound system. They served up a great long set for us. You can hear several of their original songs at their MySpace page.

Thankfully, we had our soundman Dave keeping things sounding good. Dave Lopez worked his butt off running sound all day long, and did a remarkable job mixing an eclectic bunch of musical sounds. Thanks, Dave!

After The Common Good, we talked Bill Roelofs into playing some of his jazzy numbers with Darl on guitar and Shaun on bass. They only did 3 songs, but it was good to hear these guys doing their thing. This was the only chance Bill got to play his drums, and we appreciate that he let everyone else play on his awesome drum kit. Thanks Bill!

Next came the highlight of the day. Allegan's favorite sons from the 1970's rock scene, back when the drinking age was 18 and America's southern states were dishing up their own style of rock, laced with tons of double-guitar-leads and bluesy hammond organ. I'm talking about the Opus band, famous in these parts for covering songs from The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and so on. Darl Lane & Dale Boysen on guitars, Dan Hitchcock ..boards, and Tom Hudson on bass. Steve Dutkiewicz sat in on drums. Of course, Opus is more than just Southern Rock; they dip into all kinds of great music styles. Tom, Dale, Dan, and Steve get together regularly at Tom's "Barn Fly" studio to write and record songs together. They were kind enough to share a couple of their self-penned songs with us at the Patio Party.

It was getting dark by the time Opus was finishing up, so the pictures get kinda dark. But this is what happened then - The 1980's version of Tricks (Dale, Tom, Rick, Steve) played "Midnight Rambler" by the Stones. A nice long, dramatic song.

Then we finally got Bassbeast up there, injured hand and all, and it was Tricks-Time. Rick, Krys, Steve, Bassbeast - The current Tricks line-up played a nice long set, with help from Dale on guitar and Toman on Congas. (Part of the day's festivities was a dual "Happy Birthday" for Dave our Tricks Bassman and Dave our Tricks Soundman, both of whom have August 17 for a birthday!) Tricks cranked out the AC/DC and other rousing rockers to wake everyone up.

Our entire sound system was actually shooting out across Lake Allegan, and we had reports that you could hear the music over 3 miles away - but it's all about Labor Day weekend and the last big blow-out party of the summer. We had no complaints, no visits from the PO-lice.

Tricks took us past 11pm, and then we did a miscellaneous jam until a little past 1am. Steve was wiped out from all that drumming, so we did several songs drum-free. Most notably, an acoustic version of "Sultans of Swing". And we ended with a long jam-version of Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe". Thanks for some impromptu drumming from Bill Staton and Dylan Witt at the drunken end-of-night.

Thanks much to the photographers. Roger ran video cam; we'll see how that turned out and maybe we'll get a couple YouTube-worthy clips.

Fred Patchett took about 250 pictures - I have some here, but you can view all of Fred's pics at his MySpace page, but first you have to sign up to be Fred's "friend" (you'll need to enter "Patchett" for his last name in order to sign up and view all Fred pics). Fred's MySpace page has pictures from other Tricks gigs as well. Thanks Fred!

Our professional photographer friend Denny brought his good SLR camera, so be sure to check out Denny's quality pictures. Thanks Denny!

Here are pictures from our day-long party.

R&K pics | Fred pics | Denny pics

May 10 - Dylan's Party, Plainwell -

Tricks had a blast from the past in more ways than one last night.

For 1, we had a Party On The Patio, just like in that good ol' ZZ Top song.

For 2, we went through exactly 2 Kegs of Bells Oberon Ale - A good ol' Rock & Roll Kegger, just like in the old days; with neighbors calling the cops and little neighbor kids coming over to see what was going on, and old school friends, and buddies from work (Dylan is a Graphic Design Arteeest Extraordinaire with Krystal at Perrigo Art Dept).

For 3, we had a special guest appearance from Dale Boysen, Outstanding Guitar Doctor and massively important Tricks Alumnus. Wish we had been rolling video for this set. Dale lived up to his nickname "Whaler" and added some great guitar lines to our 4 ZZ Top songs, and a handful of other guitar-heavy tunes.

We had plenty of party food - dogs on the grill and a deep-fried turkey were the main course. Noteworthy dishes-to-pass were chocolate-covered Strawberries, yummy cheesecake, cocktail wienies, cheesy potatoes, and a cheese & meat tray from Dick's Market. We also had a drawing for a couple Tricks t-shirts and a couple of the new Tricks Keychains. We also might have had a 50/50 raffle, but I don't recall; that would be illegal without a permit from our government nannies.

If I had my way, I'd dump the bar scene and do nothing but parties like this all year round. There, I said it! To be sure, there are nights at the bar that feel like a fun fantastic party, but there's nothing like invading a neighborhood and dishing out free beer and food to a bunch of music-loving party people.

There's nothing like a Tricks party where we say "we're gonna play 'til the po-lice come" - and really mean it!

Thanks to Dylan for a super fun party. Thanks to Fred, Debbie, and Roger for taking a ton of pictures to preserve the fun moments. Thanks to Debbie & Krystal for running the drawing thing. Thanks to Gilbert for helping with sound EQ & mixing. Thanks loads to Krystal's dad Don, for cooking the turkey.

Tricks started jamming around 8pm, the cops showed up at 11:30, then we closed the garage doors and we played until just past midnight. The 2nd keg of Oberon ran out just as we were wrapping things up.

For the last couple songs, Dale got up again and Rick grabbed Dave's PRS bass and we hacked out "Rock n Roll Hoochie Coo" and "Mr. Skin" - 2 old Tricks faves from the 80's.

If you want a peek at what we were doing with Dale back in the early 80's, here's video.

Dylan Party Pix - Pics1 | Pics2

Debbie Pix - Fred Pix

March 28 & 29 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill - Tricks had tons of fun with friends, fans, and family on this last weekend at the good ol' Wayland Hotel. Party crowds, Party people, Great drinkin' & dancin' fun. An especially wild and wooly time on Saturday night - something was in the air . . . could it be Spring Fever?? Combine that Spring Fever / Cabin Fever syndrome with a Tricks Saturday Night Blow-Out and you've got one wild night at the Wayland Hotel. It doesn't get much better than this. Several birthday celebrations were happening. We had Cap'n Craig and the gang there for his big birthday (we won't say which one, but look back at last October)

One more big "THANK YOU" to Mary Kay and staff. Tricks doesn't take it for granted when we have such a great sounding room, a big dance floor and stage, very friendly staff (and good-looking), nice friendly rock & roll crowds, great food and drinks at good prices, . . just an all-around fantastic place to hang out with Tricks and Friends. It takes a smart owner to create that atmosphere and to keep it going strong. Other bars come and go, but the Wayland Hotel is your HomeTown Rock & Roll Party Place. Even if you're not from Wayland, they make you feel At-Home here at the Hotel. Thanks so very much for having us, Mary Kay.

Thanks people for coming out to party with Tricks - we'll keep working hard to be the best we can be - for YOU!

Words from the New Guy; Dave BassBeast:

I asked Dave to give us his impressions after his first 3 weekends with Tricks.

"My impressions are that I couldn't be much happier with how this has all played out. I hate to use the words "gel" or "clicked", but there I go.
"Also, we continue to find that there are less than six degrees of separation as far as people we all know. It's pretty amazing how all of our friends' paths have crossed over time.
"I'm not gonna gush like I would if I got all introspective and what not. Let's just suffice to say that the folks who know me best and know how I feel about playing say it better than I do":

"Dave, you were meant for this band or this band was meant for you - I don't know which, but it's really f****n' cool"
"Man, it's like you've been with these guys forever, what's up with that?"
"Did you play with these guys before?"

"You guys really sing so good together, it's kinda like you've found your spot somehow"
"That's about it really. I'm happy, Debbie's happy - I'm home.
All we need to do now is bring it up to the standard only we know we can produce."

^{Friday pics}
Saturday - pics 1 | pics 2

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.
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I finally got the pictures up, for what it's worth. Our camera is completely dead, I think.
Thank goodness we had Deb Gibson there with her camera. She was nice enough to get me her pics on CD.
There were some nice ones in there. It's good to have a memory of this one.
Not the party of the year, but maybe the Tricks concert of the year.
I haven't looked at it yet, but Roger shot video for the first 2 sets.
It would be cool if there was a song good enough to put up on YouTube.

BTW, If you haven't seen it yet, Roger took a great video of Tricks doing "Radar Love" at the Wayland Hotel on Krystal's birthday, June 16. It's the coolest Tricks YouTube video yet CLICK.
Roger was right in our faces with the camera for the entire song. Pretty funny, and very cool looking, the lights up close and all. It even sounds good at that close range - I'm pretty amazed by it.
Oh yeah, at the very very end of the Radar Love video, Roger is backing away from the band, and he falls with the camera still running, and just manages to straighten his shot out for the big crash at the end. That Roger... what a character. We really appreciate his hard work and dedication to rock and roll. (He let us use his big speakers for the Dorr park show. - We love ya, man!)
Next bar gig is Wayland Hotel, last 2 weekends of August.
See the Tricks website for more info and pictures.

May 5 - Another awesome Tricks party at Craig and Jane Bykerk's place. To be precise, it was Cap'n Craig's Tricks party #7! How cool is that?
Although we've had one Tricks anniversary party and one Tricks wedding for the Bykerk bunch, Cap'n Craig specializes in Surprise Parties for Birthday Boys and Girls. This time the party was for two of our all-time top Tricks fans from the Tricks Inner Circle - Deb Peck and Sam Weidner.

The best part of the surprise is that Deb and Sam each knew about the party, but thought that it was only for the other one; Sam thought it was Deb's party and Deb thought it was Sam's party. Well, SURPRISE!! Both Deb and Sam have been heavily involved in past surprise parties, so we couldn't hide the fact that a party was in the making. In fact, Deb was there to help with band set-up on Tuesday, and she also helped with the food.

Deb said "this surprise was one for the books". She had no clue until she walked in the door and heard "Happy Birthday, Deb". Same with Sam; it was a great look on his face when he walked in the door. But the surprise wasn't even the best part. The best part was all the family and friends who came from near and far to celebrate with two of our favorite people.

Tricks had a hot time playing Craig's barn, because Craig has us all set up for good AC power, good light hanging poles, good drum riser, and everything a little band needs to get through a fun night of rock and roll without a hitch. Lots of great help setting up and tearing down as well. Thanks to everyone who helped make it "easy in and easy out". And need I mention that there were lots of dancers all night long?

Like usual, Cap'n Craig had the mouse game going during band breaks. Fun stuff! We had 4 mice escape - that was almost as fun aa playing the game. You should have heard the screaming.

Thanks to everyone who helped with food. There was great food. Yummy! Lots of good beverages. Special thanks to Jane for being the hostess with the mostest. We love ya! Thanks so much. We know you work hard to get your place ready for a party like this, and then you get to clean it all up when it's over. Thanks to everyone from Tricks!

Serious contender for Tricks Party of the Year 2007!


See you all at the Sidetrack.

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Here's the Party Pictures.

Dec 31, Happy New Year 2007 - Tricks and friends rang in 2007 with food, fun, drinks, and lots of dancing the night away! I mean it! The dance floor at St. Mary's hall is huge, and there were dancers out there dancing All Night Long! These people came to dance, that's what we like to see.

Special thanks to Lynette, the lady in charge of this annual fund-raiser. Thanks for having Tricks as a part of your celebration, We appreciate all the hard work that Lynette and her crew put into the job of throwing this big dinner/dance party. Great work from the cooks, the bartenders, the planners, the decorators, the clean-up crew, and all the other volunteers, Tricks says "Thanks so much"! Also, special thanks to Diane VerHey. And, happy birthday to Nicole and Sue.

Just before midnight rolled around, Tricks did their Grand Prize drawing for our year-long celebration of Tricks' 30th anniversary. The prize is 2 tickets to a concert & a night out with the whole Tricks band. All of the entry forms for the entire year of Tricks t-shirt and Tricks cooler cup nightly drawings were including in the Grand Prize drawing - hundreds and hundreds of names from every single Tricks gig of 2006. It's only fitting that the winner ended up being our best friend, Deb Peck - Deb is one of our most fun and loyal fans, she comes to see Tricks with her husband Willy almost every weekend (many times both weekend nights). She is our music-loving, dancing fiend, cookie making, dog-sitting, party girl, best rock and roll friend who we are honored to have as a TOP TRICKS FRIEND AND FAN!! We love ya! Deb, and we're glad you were the winner - (of course, I'm sure no one else had more pieces of paper in there than you did!)

Tricks wishes a Happy New Year 2007 to one and all, whether you were there or not. Best wishes for 2007 to all Tricks friends and family! Auld Lang Syne. Check out the pictures to see what a fun crowd we had on this last night of 2006.
pics 1 | pics 2

Tricks Cooler Cups Winners - Marge McBride, Sue Kelly
Tricks T-Shirt Winners - Bob Mohn, Susan Paauwe, Robin Deur, Katie Coon

Grand Prize Winner !!! - Deb Peck

Added Sunday, Dec 17 - Party Report from Hangover-Land!

Dec 16, Party of the Year! - With a huge helping hand from our "Show-Fur" Roger, Tricks put on a 40th birthday bash for our good friend Rod Overway. Roger cooked up a heck of a feast, with help from many people who brought dishes to pass. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the great spread of party food. Tricks took up the main living room, running sound through Roger's little tiny-weenie Sonic speakers (about 12 feet tall - see pictures) - with room left over for dancing. And we danced the night away, did we not?! See pictures for lots of people having fun. Man, Steve's drums sounded good in that room. We're negotiating with Roger to spend our winter "Tricks basement days" here in his living room, instead of Tammy's basement. I'm sure Steve's girls will appreciate the peaceful and quiet winter evenings.

This was our final Tricks fling for 2006 - a happy birthday to Rodney and a Tricks "thank you" to all our best fans, family, and friends. The only thing left to do this year is one helluva New Year's Bash. Hope you can make it. Get tickets at Dick's Market when you stop in for your Christmas Kielbasa - I'm serious people!

Party Pics

For pictures of our last New Year's party at St. Mary's Hall (and to understand the "show-fur" reference for Roger), click here.

What about this NEW YEAR'S EVE 2007? Info

Check out old and new Tricks videos at Rick's YouTube

Tricks is back in Tricks country at the Country Lanes in Dorr. We had lots of fun with our home-town crowd. Thanks to Roger for shooting video and recording digital audio each night. Thanks to Denny V. for taking some still photos on Saturday. Thanks to all the dancers and party people who braved this nasty ice-stormy weather to come and keep Tricks nice and warm with your hot bodies.

We're selling tickets for our 2007 New Year's Eve TRICKS bash at St. Mary's Hall in New Salem (see here for party details and ticket info). I noticed Steve selling tickets to a few people. Stop at the Lanes next weekend and get tickets from Steve.

We plan on shooting lots of video at our 2 upcoming Tricks parties: the small intimate party at Schrag Manor, and the big huge blow-out party on New Year's Eve. Hopefully we'll find some quality moments to share on our YouTube page, especially for the far-away Tricks friends and family - you can be there with us. If you want to really be there with Tricks at our last bar gig of 2006, we have one more weekend to go at the Country Lanes in Dorr. (map info) Last Chance, People!! Let's Go!! Get off your ass and jam!! You won't regret it!!

Click on "calendar", and check out next year's Tricks schedule - we're all set to GO for 2007.

Fri Pics | Sat Pics

Check out old and new Tricks videos at Rick's YouTube