Blog / News from Tricks - December 2009

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Dec 31 - Rocking New Year's Eve at Sue's Sidetrack, Fennville -

Tricks had the single honor of bringing in 2010 with a bang at Sue's Sidetrack. It was a party with close family and best friends; celebrating the good and bad memories of 2009, saying goodbye to the past, and hello to the future. The Sidetrack always gives us that cozy at-home feeling. It was all the usual New Year's Eve stuff; food, fun, drinking, dancing, hugging, kissing, champaigne and party hats.
Speaking of "at-home", Sue provided a home-cooked style meal for the New Year's Eve party crowd. Prime Rib / Chicken Dinner with all the Fixins! Yum! Lots of compliments to the chef, and her cooks, bartenders, and waitress staff.
The band was tight and relatively sober, despite the shots and "cups of kindness" circling round the place.
Thanks so much to Sue and the staff for showing us your kindness and affection throughout 2009. Thanks to our Tricks family & friends who came out to our little New Year's Eve bash. Thanks to Roger for pictures and video.
And Roger, we're gonna miss your big living-room this winter. One more night for Tricks 2009 schdule, then it's into Steve's little basement room to learn some more rockers.
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Dec 26 - A Single Saturday at Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

Tricks had a fantastic fun night at Sue's Sidetrack. (Where have I heard that before?) This might have a candidate for "party of the year", but we've had so many other fun nights here, it's hard to rate them on the fun-o-meter. I guess you'll have to look at the pictures and see what you missed while you sat home getting fat on the couch.
It was guitar-man Rick's birthday at midnight, so the shots kept on a-comin'. Ouch! We also had a birthday party going for Brandy, because she turned 30 on Christmas Day.(And drunk Rick kept calling her "Randy". Sorry.) And Steve was there celebrating his 40th birthday. The band was loud and proud, and the dancers were too hot to stop.
Thanks so much to Sue and her ever-friendly and professional wait-staff for all the help. We love you guys. Please go out to the Sidetrack for dinner to help support a great local business. They have good food at good prices.
And You! You have two more chances to see the 2009 version of Tricks, and then we'll be heading into Steve's basement to revamp and reorganize for 2010. We play New Year's Eve (see details below), and we play the "Day AFTER New Year's" just like this single Saturday after Christmas, last night. I wonder if we'll have another bang-up time next Saturday. Lightning can strike twice sometimes, after all, ... so I've heard.

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Dec 12 - Dorr Business-Owners' Association Annual Christmas Party, New Salem -

Tricks entertained for the Business Owners of Dorr, at their annual Christmas party. This was a semi-formal affair, with everyone celebrating the holidays with their business mates. There was a great dinner, music and dancing from Tricks, beautiful festive decorations, door prizes galore, a free bar, hip-hop dancing during Tricks break, ... a good time was had by all. What a great party. Very dangerous and slippery roads on this night, but we had a great bunch of dancers who hung out until the band was finished around midnight.
Tricks drummer, Steve Dutkiewicz, is the recently-elected president of DBA, so we're going to let him say the "thank you's" and "honorable mentions". . .
^{Steve's DBA Party report:
I knew we were in for a helluva party when Mark & Elise told me before the band even started that we had to run to North Dorr because we were already out of vodka!
So…. Dorr folks like to party, that’s no surprise. In attendance, and staying quite late were members of the Gun Lake Tribe. Also Bruce the new owner of Stan’s (told Tammy he liked the band). Many more stellar members of our great little community of Dorr. The group of 20 from Dick’s behaved relatively well until later in the night when they became a major distraction to the drummer. Memorial service for longtime Red Cross blood drive volunteer as well as service to her church and community - Marilyn Fifelski.
Hall of Fame inductees:
• Harold Schumaker, current Fire Chief achieving many new goals of the Dept. including A+ certification that effectively lowered all homeowner insurance rates in the township. Longtime Dorr business owner/operator (Village Auto Body)
• Mike Kelly, brother of hall of Fame alumni Dennis Kelly. Active for many years and wearing many hats with Dorr Rec. ball teams and Wayland high school teams.
• Jim Maynard stepping down as President of DBA after many very effective years.
Steve takes over for 2010. Melodie Niemczyk handing her duties as Treasurer to Marcia Halloran.
Door Prize - Grand Prize winner was the Devries’ Tax service folks who took home the $100.00 gift certificate to Dick’s. There was another $100.00 gas card that I can’t recall who won that. Many, many winners of all the gifts provided by those “salt of the earth” business owners.}

See pics for the fun moments. ^-

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Blog / News from Tricks - November 2009

Nov 27 & 28 Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Friday was the big shopping day for lots of people, and we had an almost full house at the beginning of the night. A low-energy bunch, still recuperating from the sugar & triptophan poisoning from all that turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and pie. We had fun with everyone; Tricks regulars and Hotel regulars, plus a few new friends. Nice to meet ya!
Saturday was special because it was our last night at the Hotel for 2009. It was also drummer Steve's birthday, so we had fun getting him a little tipsy and wild on those drums. We also had Lynn there with her birthday party.
It was an extra-extra special night for Rick, because he got a surprise visit from several Trendway pals. And their big bunch stayed all night, dancing and drinking and having an all-out good time. Thanks to Nancy, Cherie, Jen, and Denny for stopping by. I miss you guys; it helps to have the internet, with Facebook and e-mail to help all of us stay in touch with our loved ones.
Thanks to Mary Kay and the Hotel staff for making the Wayland Hotel a great place to party. See you next year.
Thanks to Roger, Debbie, Krystal and Nancy for pictures.
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You Tube video from Friday Night at Wayland Hotel:

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Nov 25 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland

Friends and family are home for Thanksgiving weekend. Mom is cleaning house and baking pies. Where can we meet up to kick off our 4-day weekend? Let's meet at the bar and have a few drinks. - That's the scene played out in every city, town, and village in America. - That's why this is the biggest bar night of the year, especially for college-aged party people. Tricks played to a full house at the Wayland Hotel. The Thanksgiving Eve crowd usually thins out by last set, because everyone has to get up and go to grandma's house in the morning. The emphasis is on the chit-chatting, but Tricks had plenty of dancers for most every song.
Thanks to everyone for bringing your party to the Wayland Hotel. Tricks is happy to give you the rock & roll show that you deserve.
Thanks to our regular helpers and supporters. Only 5 more Tricks gigs left in '09. Pretty soon, we'll be hitting the basement to expand our repertoire of songs. We'll be thinking of you when we start picking good party songs and dance songs for 2010.
Check out the pics from Thanksgiving Eve.

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Nov 20 & 21 Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Tricks had some more good times at the Wayland Hotel. Surprise, surprise! Good crowds on both Friday and Saturday. These Wayland folks like to chit-chat a lot, so it's our job to get them loosened up and out on the dance floor. That's where most of the best fun is at! On both nights, the crowd thinned out after midnight. Everyone must be saving their strength for the big Thanksgiving weekend coming up.
We had plenty of good old Tricks fans from way back this weekend. I won't mention names, because you know who you are. Good to see ya! No big b-day or other parties this weekend; just a bunch of good-looking people out for a good time. I always like to say, "you work hard all week, now you deserve to play hard". And there was plenty of hard "playing" going on. And the band was hot, like usual. This would almost be like a routine if it wasn't so much fun. Thanks to Mary Kay and the staff, thanks to our picture-taking helpers.
I'm keeping this short, because I gotta rest up for Thanksgiving Eve, coming up this Wednesday. That's gonna be some scary fun!
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Nov 13 & 14 - Wayland Hotel Bar & Grill, Wayland -

Two great Tricks party nights at the Wayland Hotel. Lots and lots of birthday parties . . . Sarah on Friday and Mary on Saturday. Those were the biggest gatherings, but there were a couple other birthday parties happening. Tricks hasn't been here for a few months, so it's nice to know that people in Wayland haven't forgotten how to Party Hardy!! When we get together with a good crowd of rock & roll party people, we go into "show-off" mode, ... in a good way. The adrenaline gets flowing and everything gets focused like a laser beam. The lively Tricks music show takes on an intensity, and it feels like "hang on, here we go"! Anything goes! And we all go out on the musical limb together, taking chances as we go. Some Tricks friends like to call it "firing on all 8 cylinders".
When we have such a great weekend for starters, it's hard to expect the following weekends to keep up that intensity. But Tricks is going to do all that we can to keep that good thing going strong.
We thank all the Tricks family, friends, and fans - we couldn't have much fun without you giving us the inspiration. We thank Mary Kay and her staff for all their hard work. Be sure to stop in for lunch or dinner when you get a chance - support the local "Bar & Grill" that is the best weekend rock & roll venue - Use it or lose it!
Thanks to Roger for everything. Thanks to Debbie for pictures. Thanks to our friends from Hudsonville area who always travel to party with Tricks - they know where the guaranteed fun is gonna be on Fridays and Saturdays.
Check out the pictures.
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Nov 7 - American Legion Annual Harvest Fest, Dorr -

You know Autumn is finally here for certain when it's time for the Annual Dinner / Dance / Party at the Dorr American Legion. Tricks drummer Steve and his wife Tammy are both active members of the American Legion, so Tricks plays the yearly benefit dance for a bargain price. We had the usual crowd this year; Legion members, die-hard Tricks party people, and some Tricks fans from way back. We get the "way-back" Tricks fans because Dorr is the hometown of both Tricks guitarist Rick and Tricks drummer Steve. These people remember when Rick and Steve were starting out in separate bands back when they were in high-school. Dorr folks can tell tales of many a back-yard or back-field Rock & Roll kegger from the 70's and 80's which featured music from Rick or Steve's early bands (back when we used to "party 'til the PO-lice come").
This year's Legion party was a "quality not quantity" crowd, thanks to competing parties at St. Mary's Hall, St. Stan's Vegas Night, and an oil-wrestling night at Hilliards Corners. It must be time for Fall Festivities, because everyone is having parties at the same time. The 70-some people who attended the Legion party were there to party with the band, because the dance floor was hardly ever empty. We had a great time. Good food! Good inexpensive drinks! Jello shots! The band was tight and hitting the songs hard, especially Steve on drums - he likes to show off for his Dorr crowd! We even had the cops show up to tell us that neighbors were complaining about the "noise". Reminds me of a song lyric - "you can be loud and be proud".
Besides all the eating, drinking and dancing, we also had some prize drawings. The Browning Semi-Automatic Shotgun went to Alisha Norman from Allegan. Sharon Bartz won the gift basket. And Margi Farmer won the 50/50 raffle.
Thanks to Steve and Tammy and all the helpers at the Legion. Thanks for having Tricks for your entertainment. We sure love doing it.
Thanks to Roger and Krystal for pictures.

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Blog / News from Tricks - October 2009

Oct 30 & 31 - Mulder Benefit & Halloween at Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -



We did good! All expectations were exceeded! Tricks held a benefit at Sue's Sidetrack on Friday night for the Mulder Family, our friends from Holland whose 5-year-old son, Colin is undergoing treatment for brain cancer.

Thanks to everyone who donated items to the Auction .
The Auction brought in about $4,500, and ran about two and a half hours.
It was remarkable when we tried to take a break from the auction after a good hour, to give the band a chance to play a set. But the Auction crowd booed down that idea, because they wanted to keep the auction going. That was pretty darn good, considering the amount of money that had already come out of their pockets. Very cool! Tricks played late to make up for a late start.

Thanks to Joel, John & Denise Eding for a remarkable job on the Auction!!!
Thanks to Ann, Linda, Sue, and Tammy for all the support and for collecting donated auction item.
Special thanks to Sidetrack owner, Sue for being the most generous restaurant / bar owner anyone could imagine.
Special thanks to Fred for all his work, especially for his collaboration with some Holland companies. Thanks to Boar's Head, Grassmid Trucking, AD Bos, and Trendway for their contributions and donations. Thanks for giving over and above. (I don't use the phrase "giving back to the community" because these companies already give jobs, products, and services to the community. Their Charity is Above and Beyond! 'Nuff said!)

Thanks to the great friendly staff at the Sidetrack, for helping to keep everyone happy while they poured out money to help a family in need. Sincere and heartfelt Thanks to all attendees and helpers!
There was nothing in the Auction that got much lower than what we expected, 
and several things got way more than we expected.
We also took in about $1,500 from the raffles and Sidetrack jail.
For a total of just under $6,000.
That money will go to help the Mulder family's personal expenses while they care for Colin 24/7. Colin's Grandma, Aunt Mary Lou, and Mary Lou's fiancé Keith were there until about midnight. Surprising to see Grandma stay so late, with the loud band and smokey bar. But she had tons of appreciation and emotion.
^{Friday Mulder Benefit pics -
Fred Pics Benefit Auction Action -
Saturday Halloween Pics - | Debbie -}
Update: We are sad to report that Colin passed away Sept 11, 2010,
a few days before his 5th birthday.
Here is an article about Colin's short life.

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Oct 23 & 24 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

Slow but fun night on Friday. Big party crowd on Saturday. You can always tell a slow night by the pictures - there are lots and lots of pictures of the band. You can always tell an extra fun night by the pictures - there are lots and lots of crazy crowd pictures.
We celebrated Brandy's birthday on Saturday night. Glad to see everyone, thanks for coming out to see Tricks! We appreciate your party attitude!
I'm going to let the pictures do the talking, in order to leave room for the Mulder Benefit announcement. And don't forget that Saturday will two parties in one - the benefit activities continue, and Tricks & Treats for Halloween. Costume prizes and lots of goulish fun. Thanks to all our regular helpers and partyiers. Thanks to new Tricks fans and friends. Thanks Sue for having such a great place.
^{- Fri|Sat |Debbie}

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Oct 16 & 17 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

Out near the backwoods of the Allegan State Game Area, there is a little town called "Pearl", and it doesn't even have a post office, so its address is "Fennville", even though Pearl is about 4 miles south of Fennville. Pearl doesn't have a grocery store or a gas station, but they have a cemetery, a fire station, and a pretty busy railroad passes through Pearl. And, oh yeah, my main point; right alongside those railroad tracks, you'll find Sue's Sidetrack Bar and Grill. You have to see it to believe it. It has everything you would never expect on the edge of the Allegan Forest. The Sidetrack has a big nice parking lot, a great kitchen, spotless restrooms, friendly staff, outdoor picnic area, a huge dancefloor and a great stage. And they know how to rock at the Sidetrack; better than downtown!
Far from the city lights, the Sidetrack is a major party place that ranks right up there with the best venues Tricks has ever played at.
This weekend, Tricks had a relatively slow Friday at the Sidetrack, with the exception of one big tableful of Allegan partiers - thanks for hanging out and dancing with us all night!! I'm not going to add glitz and hype to my story; nothing but the honest truth. When Krystal got in the car at the end of Friday night, and we started down the road for home, she said to me, "that's what I like about the Sidetrack; no matter how big the crowd is, they always have fun there. The same 25 people who were there at the beginning of the night were there at the end of the night." The Tricks band feels the same sense of fun at the Sidetrack. You can let your hair down and nobody looks at you funny. We always feel at home there.
Saturday was a more respectable and more wild crowd, and we were celebrating a few birthdays, including our friend Erica. We even put a few girls in the Sidetrack jail - fund-raising for the American Cancer Society. See our pictures!
Thanks so much to the Sidetrack regulars, Sue and the staff, Don our bartender, Roger for pictures and breakroom.
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Oct 9 & 10 - Hilliards Corner Lounge, Hilliards -

"Tricks Kicks" is what we used to say back in the old days at the Hilliards Royal Knight. Now we say "Premium Rock". Maybe it should be "The Screaming Grandpas". However you want to say it, Tricks can still keep up with the best of them. These two weekends at the Hilliards Lounges is a testament to that! We had good crowds every night, and there was nothing but miles and miles of smiles all around. This weekend was our final weekend at Hilliards for 2009. But we have plenty of weekends booked here for next year.
We were happy to see lots of our regular Tricks fan club coming out to hang and bang with us at Eric's place. Joann came out Friday night to celebrate her birthday with Tricks and friends. Pam & Gary brought out the clan from Hudsonville. Dave Bassbeast had a group of highschool buddies there on Friday night. It was Paula & Mark's anniversary weekend, and it was also Krys & Rick's anniversary weekend, so we had some great reasons for cheers and beers. We even had our old friend Kevin show up on Saturday night, from long ago and far away. It was quite a wild couple of weekends, all told.
Saturday end-of-night, about 10 minutes after Tricks was shutting down and packing up, Rachel decided to try and coerce the band into doing one more song. And it worked! We said a big "amen" with "Crazy Train" and a dancefloor full of headbangers. You had to be there to know how much fun that was.
Thanks to all our music-loving friends; you know who you are!
Thanks so much to Eric and his crew for taking such good care of the Tricks crowd. They are a handsome and lovely bunch, aren't they? We appreciate the friendly and helpful wait-staff. Thanks to Debbie, Roger, and Deb for all the camera handling. See you here again next April. (And, we're trying to talk Eric into having a Tricks Party for 2011 New Year's Eve party, but he hasn't decided on that yet.)
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Oct 2 & 3 - Hilliards Corner Lounge, Hilliards -

Tricks is back at the Hilliards Corner Lounge. What can I tell ya? It's Tricks in the Sticks, and everyone's feeling fine! We had a good crowd on Friday and a grrrrreat crowd on Saturday. This is Tricks Country! Hilliards has a lot of history with Tricks. I can't even begin to tell you some of the stories from the good ol' days. Tricks has played many a barn party in this neck of the woods. Suffice it to say - those Tricks parties were the place where we got our motto: "We're gonna play 'til the po-lice come".
We had the Diaz family here on Friday night, all the way from Holland. Good to see you guys! Junior got Rick all liquored up so he would sing a solo rendition of Counting Crows "Mr. Jones". That was interesting.
Saturday! OMG! Packed to the walls with Tricks fans and friends. Just what we like to see; a bunch of dancers and head-bangers! Groovy Baby!! Thanks to the people who traveled from Hudsonville, Allegan, Middleville, etc., to hang and bang with Tricks. We like to see you with a designated driver. No one wants to bail you out in the morning. So party smart. Tricks loves you!
Eric the owner has been continuing his fix-up work on the the old place. I know he must be just about finished renovating, because he did a fantastic job fixing up the old stage. (The stage is always the last thing to get fixed up.) If you check out the pictures, you'll see that Eric did the works on the stage area; new black walls and ceiling, new curtain, new carpeting, new electric outlets, and even bars for hanging lights. There are not enough words to say how much Tricks appreciates the stage renovation. Thanks Eric! You're the best. For such a young bar owner, Eric does a professional job with everything. And, our thanks goes out to the great and friendly wait-staff.
BTW, we were here setting up on Wednesday and Thursday, and I gotta tell ya; the food is very good at the Hilliards Corner Lounge. Give Eric some business during the week; stop in and eat some dinner. We need places like this to stay in open through the shaky economic times, so that we can get out and shake the cabin fever once in a while.
Thanks to Bassbeast for toughing it through the two nights. Dave just had some surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday. So, I bet that thing is a bit sore this Sunday morning.
Thanks, like usual, to Roger for pictures, chocolate , break-room, and other go-fers.
Looking forward to another great weekend, next week at Hilliards Corners.
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Blog / News from Tricks - September 2009

Sept 26 - Rick & Krys at 3rd annual Lex & Pete Neighborhood Party -

Block off the streets, tap the keg, roast the pig, get out the guitars, set up the yard games, ... it's time for the last Indian Shores party of the summer. Indian Shores is the community where Rick & Krys live, on the small peninsula in the middle of Lake Allegan. Summertime is filled with outdoor fun; swimming pool fun, boating and fishing fun, hiking and biking fun. And no one comlains if you have some late-night singing around the campfire fun.
This party is one of those that started very small and grew like it had a life of its own. And now it's the 3rd year of partying, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, playing, and basically celebrating life on good ol' Lake Allegan. We had several dozen neighbors show up for a fun time in Lex & Pete's big yard, with kids and dogs also welcome to join in the fun. Rick & Krys did some singing by the campfire from around 8 until past midnight. The crowd came and went, just like everyday life on the lakeshore. Plenty of good food and drinks and songs. Rain was threatened in the forecast, but it never materialized. It turned out to be perfect campfire weather.
Thanks so much to Pete and Lex for hosting what's turned into an annual event. Thanks for the pig, the keg, the tent, the yard games. And thanks to John Bishop for helping with wood (I know there's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm not going for it). Thanks to everyone who brought a dish to pass. Thanks to Fred for the camera work. There are a couple "Sing around the campfire" videos on Krystal's page.
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Sept 11 & 12 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

Tricks was happy to help our buddy Doug to celebrate his birthday on Friday night. Doug likes that Les Paul guitar sound, so Rick "had to" play his 1974 Les Paul all four sets on Friday, leaving the poor lonely Fender Stratocaster standing in the corner. Happy birthday Doug! And thanks to his wife Darcy for being designated driver.
On Saturday, it was the benefit Motorcycle Run for Miss Wheelchair Michigan, Amber Marcy. What great weather for a bike run! And what a great turn-out! I don't know the numbers, but I'm sure the Sidetrack raised a few thousand dollars for Amber to go to the nationals. The run started at noon, and when everyone got back after 5, there was a big chicken barbecue. Sue had camping for anyone who wanted to bring their camping rig. And there were several dozen motor homes parked out behind the Sidetrack.
Yes, we even got the Sidetrack Jail going for a while. Our Krystal got put in jail by someone who donated 50 dollars, and they made Krys raise 100 dollars to get out. It took about 10 minutes, with Amber on the microphone coaxing the crowd to bail Krystal out of jail so she could get back to her Tricks duties; singing, running lights, drinking, socializing, and dancing. (It's a tough rock and roll life for Krystal, but she wanted to play with the big boys . . .)
Tricks was honored to be part of another fantastic fun Sidetrack charity event. Thanks so much to Amber's family and all those who helped organize this event. Special thanks, of course, to Sue. I don't know anyone who works harder at pulling together dozens of charity events every year. Many times, it's a thankless job, with nothing but one problem after another. But, when you see the smiles on everyone's faces as they're forking over their money for a good cause, you know that Sue has something special. She knows how to make the giving fun, even though Sue's Charity Causes seriously and deeply touch the lives and hearts of the needy, the sick, the handicapped.
Thanks also to the wonderful staff at the Sidetrack - You Guys Rock!!! Thanks to our regular Tricks fans and friends; Dave & Debbie's family and friends; Rick's friends Doug & Darcy, Pete & Connie; Krystal's Allegan buddies. Thanks to Roger for cameras, t-shirts, break-room, and chocolate.
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Sept 4 & 5 - Sue's Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Fennville -

Beautiful weather for Labor Day weekend, I'm afraid it's not the best weather or weekend for a huge bar crowd. Friday had to be our slowest night of the year, but it was still very special. We partied with a few of Rick's old Trendway buddies; Rodney, Marybelle, Bob, Sherri, (and Tina couldn't stay). Best of all, we helped Bob & Sherri celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. Rick & Krys & Richie played for Bob & Sherri's beautiful back-yard wedding reception on Sep 4, 2004 . So, we had some special songs for Bob and Sherri to dance to on Saturday, and they were there dancing All Night Long!
We also appreciate the Sidetrack regulars who hung out with Tricks while we banged out one good drinking song after another. Like I always say, those Sidetrack people like their Rock and Roll. We always have fun at the Sidetrack, no matter how many people are there . . . It's even fun on set-up night, doing soundcheck at the Sidetrack; they have such a great small-town, rocking, down-home, biker attitude going on!
On Saturday, we had a party for Krystal's Perrigo buddies. Their ex-workmate Sherri was back visiting from Arizona. We had a little pre-party at Krys & Rick's house, and then we had fun drinking and dancing with Tricks at the Sidetrack. We had a ride in Roger's Magic Bus, so there was lots of leeway to drink too much. You might notice a few of the pictures were taken by drunk people. Thanks for the help.
Tricks sends out our thanks to Sue and her whole crew, including all the regulars who love their rock music.
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^{to Mid 2009
to Early 2010}

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