Castlewood Lake Preston Nov09
Welcome to White Creek News! T’was the night
before Turkey day and all through the land, turkeys were nervous
of about the ax in the hand… Ok then, if you didn’t
make it to Flinners in Castlewood on Wednesday evening, you missed
out on some great food and some great fun!
Mike & Lori do a great job with their business in Castlewood.
We had most of the tables full, but there were a couple left available
which isn’t usually the norm for Castlewood. I guess considering
it was the night before Thanksgiving, there could have been some
folks out of town etc.
Anyway, we ended up bringing a fleet of vehicles to the gig as
T-man had used the trailer to go out west deer hunting. SS and
the Levi-guy packed most of the smaller stuff into the van and
headed for Castlewood. T hooked up to the trailer which had some
of the speakers etc inside. Rockin’ Rod took the Expedition
from Volga to Castlewood as he had all of his gear in his truck.
Speaking of Rockin’ Rod, if you were at the gig, you would
have noticed him playing a new (new to him) Gibson Les Paul guitar
that has some of the sweetest tone you can imagine. This baby
is in mint condition and Rod thinks the former owner kept it as
a collector. At any rate, it sounded awesome coming through his
newly acquired Marshall amps. G force and I drove too because
I had the DW’s in my Envoy so we figured it was just as
easy to take a road trip.
Speaking of guitars, RR also bought a Taylor acoustic guitar
and I’m really not sure how he gets such great leads out
of an acoustic but I guess that’s what makes him The REAL,
Rockin’ Rod! A few months ago, T-man bought his new Takamine
guitar and that is sounding pretty darn good also.
I know I’ve mentioned the food at Flinners before but WOW,
was that good. SERIOUSLY, it is definitely worth the trip to Castlewood
if you are not from there. I just ordered a burger and fries but
the burger was HUGE and tasted just like steak. It was awesome!
So what I’m saying is “Get your BUTTS over there and
take in VERY good food and fun!
Three days later, the band entertained for the re-grand opening
of Four Lakes supper club in Lake Preston, SD where Lana the new
owner had some really good grub as well. Wow, what a crowd at
Four Lakes!
OK, so here’s the deal. You’ve got two new owners
of both of these existing businesses. Make sure that you keep
them in mind when you are looking for places to go out and eat
or when you are ready to go out for a drink and socialize. Please
support your local businesses so that they are there when for
you.
This editions Thanks! goes out to both Flinners in Castlewood
and to Four Lakes in Lake Preston for hiring White Creek to entertain
at your events. We had a GREAT time and wish you well in your
endeavors. Thanks to Neal Farrin for helping set up and tear down
drums and equipment. Next time I’ll need to have him sit
in on more songs. It’s neat to hear what everything sounds
like from the fan view. Thanks also to the owner of Billy Bob’s
Texas for the great seats at the Josh Turner and Travis Tritt
concerts while my bride and I visited Ft. Worth, Texas. The words
largest honky-tonk is definitely something you should not miss!
Thanks to Andrea and Steve for informing us of the NASCAR race
at Texas Motor Speedway. Everything from the concerts, the race,
the tours of Cowboy Stadium and Ranger Stadium were a blast! It
was an awesome trip!
“Live for the moments you can’t put into words.”
..Unknown
November 29,2009
P
Falls Park Cafe SiouxFalls 10/10/2009
Welcome to White Creek News! Ladies and gents,
boys and girls, if you were looking for the band last weekend,
you would have found us in a new venue that we have never had
the pleasure of entertaining in before and it really was quite
fun. We made our way to the Falls Park Café’ In Sioux
Falls last Saturday evening for a surprise birthday party for
Micah. His bride Lindsay hired the band to entertain their private
party and they do know how to have a good time!
With food catered in from Chef Dominique and an open bar all
night, how could you NOT have a good time! At any rate, we showed
up at the given time of 4 PM to get all our “STUFF”
hauled into the Café’. We basically took over the
front corner of the Café and got everything set up and
did our sound checks just in time to be out of there by 6:30 when
the guests started arriving.
The band actually took off for a while and went to grab ourselves
some grub before we had to start entertaining at 8PM. We ended
up having a little fun with T-man who was driving. As we went
passed restaurants, we said maybe we should go to _____ and would
say the name of the restaurant we had already gone by. Finally
he caught on and decided we were going to Taco Bell. I ordered
a chicken quesadilla but it sort of tasted like it may have had
a little Chihuahua in it. Whatever happened to that little pooch
we used to see on the commercials anyway? Ok seriously, it was
really good.
I tell you what, you get some guys together and you know already
where most of the conversations will eventually gravitate to.
Why is it that farts and other bodily functions are so funny?
It was an interesting van ride to Taco B’s talking about
what you go through when your body tells you it’s time to
go. We’ll leave it to your imagination what happens with
cold hands, coveralls, zippers, fishing and/or hunting and waders.
“Sharts” and “Racing stripes” were not
out of the question.
So back to the party… The folks at the party were very
nice and we greatly appreciated all of the awesome compliments
that we received during and after our show. I spoke with Tom K.
there and actually found out four of his daughters were there
and it was his family that hired the band. Tom sure knows how
to grow ‘em if you know what I mean!
This editions Thanks! Goes out to Lindsay for hiring the band
to entertain for your party. We also would like to thank Terry
Church for sitting in with some extra percussion and playing a
couple songs on the DW’s. It is pretty cool to hear what
the band sounds like from the spectator point of view once and
a while. We would be remiss if we didn’t say Happy Birthday
to Micah and also to our very own T-Man (Travis Denison). Evidently
T-man shares his birthday with Vikings new quarterback Brett Favre.
Happy Birthday guys!
“Actions cannot deny where your loyalties lie.”
October 10.2009
P
Welcome to White Creek News! If you happen to
be keeping score, the band entertained at a couple of different
venues over the last couple of weeks but for some reason, the
guy writing the newsletters has not been keeping up very well.
The band should probably fire the bum!
White Creek could be found on September 18th and 19th at Finner’s
in Castlewood. It was formerly known as the Castlewood Steak House
and Lounge. We have entertained at this location many times in
the past but it had been a while since we had been there.
We actually made it to this gig without too much extra drama
happening like some sort of vehicle problems etc! Imagine that!
The gigs went really well both nights. Saturday night there
sort of a competition and people were going back and forth between
two bars as there was a 40th birthday party in town and another
band at the other bar down the street.
I would have to say that the food was excellent like usual.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat before starting the show and everyone
was pretty happy with the food. We would like to thank Jeff and
Lori for having us entertain for your re-grand opening. We had
a great time.
Skipping ahead a week to Sept. 25th, we were to have been entertaining
for a surprise birthday party at a farm place near Clear Lake,
SD but we woke up to rain and it never stopped all day. The farm
evidently was mostly mud so they moved the party to the hall in
Goodwin, SD. This would be the first time we ever entertained
in Goodwin. I guessing there is a dairy farm somewhere close to
Goodwin or else some farmer hasn’t bathed in a few years!
At any rate, the family told Deb, (the birthday girl) that there
was a huge rummage sale going on at the hall. Evidently someone
knew Deb was looking for a certain piece of furniture and so they
told her that this sale had exactly what she was looking for.
I think they buzzed down to Royal River first to give the rest
of the party time to set up the food and decorate. When Deb walked
in to look at the furniture at the made up rummage sale, she got
a surprise Happy Birthday” instead! Yes, she had no idea!
This editions Thanks! Goes out to Jeff & Lori (hopefully
I got names and spellings correct, it’s been a week ago
already!) in Castlewood and also to Eric for hiring us to entertain
for Deb and your party. It was a great time. Thanks also for allowing
us to partake in your excellent and endless supply of food at
the gig. It was all very good in BOTH locations!
Thanks also to the party crashers, Lori, Stacy, Billie Jo, and
Richard, and Nancy & guest (sorry, didn’t catch a name).
By the way, Happy Birthday to Richard too.
“Sometimes we can’t see the big picture. At times
we have to re-focus and repaint it!”
September 18,19, & 25, 2009
“P”
The White Creek Band
Welcome to White Creek News! Hello White Creek Fans! You know
it’s getting pretty bad when the guy who writes the newsletter
can’t remember when the last one was! Actually, I will take
the heat for not getting one out to you in a while. Life can find
its ways of getting away from you at times.
First off, I’d better say CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. & Mrs.
Roland Trottier on their recent wedding. Also, CONGRADULATIONS
to my daughter Nicole on her high school graduation and CONGRADULATIONS
to my daughter Haley on her graduation from 5th Grade at Hillcrest
Elementary. Yes, I’m getting to be an old fart I guess and
I’m going to blame that graduation on my not getting to
the newsletter. We spent a couple weeks insulating and OSB sheeting
the garage getting ready for a graduation party so I apologize
for not getting to the newsletter on a timely basis. Now that
we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Roland’s
wedding!
May 9th brought about a hitchin’ party. Roland & Diane
joined together in marriage and we celebrated by having a dance
at the Montrose, SD American Legion Hall. It was a little stuffy
going in but it was nice enough for the most part to leave the
doors open, even through the occasional showers to air it out
some. G force bass man Graslie was in the wedding party so SS
(yep, the “sound stud”) Dave Ford played bass part
of the night for us.
Roland, Diane, and the wedding party came cruising up in a really
long limo. It appeared that they were having a pretty good time
already. We let the party begin and cranked up the tunes after
a quite tasty meal. Most of the wedding party and the guests hung
out in the back room by the back bar. Heck, we would have too
but the stage was on the other end of the building. To say the
least, it was hard to pull them away from the bar! We did have
some dancers right away which always helps. Like usual, they finally
came to dance once the liquid courage started kicking in and of
course, you can’t get them to stop but for Roland, what
the hell…
On June 6th we could be found entertaining at the New Horizon
Bar on Main Street of Lake Preston, SD. By the way, Happy Anniversary
to my dear bride. Anyway, it was supposed to be an outdoor gig
but crappy weather forced the event to be held inside. I’m
ok with that anyway. I’m not fond of having $’s worth
of drums sitting outside anyway. Hey, did you check out T-man’s
brand spankin’ new Takemine? Pretty Sweet!
Turns out we had better than 160 people in that small bar. We
appreciate our fans that drove from Castlewood, Bruce, Watertown,
Brookings, Hetland, and White to see the show. Of course, I probably
missed some towns so thanks to all the rest too!
This edition’s Thanks! goes out to the folks at the New
Horizon Bar for having us out. It appeared that you did well.
Thanks also to the awesome crowd who stayed “into”
the party all night long. The show you give us is as much fun
as the show we give you. It was a great time and was really fun
for the band too.
Hey, come check us out at “The Lanes” in Clear Lake,
SD. The Crystal Springs Rodeo is just around the corner and we
all know how much fun that is!! It’s guaranteed to be a
great time. See ya there… Thanks Winstock for some AWESOME
shows again this year. Hopefully we can entertain for you next
year!
Peace and perseverance be to the monkeys in the tree…
June 21, 2009
P
Welcome to White Creek News! Hey Rodeo fans, what
did you think of the performances at the Crystal Springs Rodeo
and at The Lanes in Clear Lake, SD the week end of June 26 &
27? I don’t know about you but the band had a great time
crankin’ out some tunes. Friday night was about as expected
for crowd but when the bus rolled in from the camp ground on Saturday
night is when the real party started! The place went from a so-so
crowd to a packed house and the people hit the dance floor. As
long as we are talking about the folks, we need to say thanks
to the fans from surrounding towns for making the trip to see
us. We apologize to those who tried to see us from Watertown but
were turned away at the door. My brother drove up and tried to
get in but had his teen-agers with him. His kids had friends with
and they wouldn’t let them in the door. I would not have
imagined that since it’s a bowling ally but I guess you
have to have some rules too with the alcohol sales etc.
I must give Kudos’ to our sound man Dave Ford for doing
an excellent job getting the music dialed in. The sound was excellent.
The acoustics in at The Lanes were good and that makes a huge
difference. As far as drums go, “something must have been
aligned right with the stars because they sounded “GOOD”
according to Dave.
Rockin’ Rod also sounded good as he was running two amps
in stereo. Of course he thought that was pretty cool and it looked
pretty kick-ass on stage as well.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the quality of the food
at The Lanes in Clear Lake. Wow, what a great burger and fries.
I tell you what, if you walk out of that place hungry, it’s
your own fault because it was AWESOME!
July 3rd found the band entertaining on a gloomy, rainy afternoon/evening
at Lake Norden, SD. We had set up in a semi trailer that had a
side that folds down to create a stage. Even though we set up
back in the trailer part, the rain which we had hoped would stop,
proved our decision to be futile. It was almost stopped, just
a few sprinkles, so we decided to go ahead and set up. Unfortunately,
the rain got worse after set up. I ended up putting a tarp around
my drums so they wouldn’t get wet. Now, there aren’t
too many bands who would continue on in a situation like this
but we did. It made me think of Trace Adkins at the Winstock Festival
a few years back. He kept playing for quite some time until lightning
closed the show. At any rate, it was interesting watching the
few dance in the rain. As the show went on later into the night,
some more folks came out of the Bullpen and joined us. Well, you
know what happens when T-shirts get wet. We’ll just leave
it at that… So, other than being a miserable night, I’d
say that I would recommend watching the first step off stage and
the rest will be fine.
On July 11th, the band made history by entertaining at Ray’s
Corner in Brookings. This was the first time a live band entertained
in this establishment due to its size. It was an interesting venture
to say the least. We entertained for Brian & Kris in celebration
of their wedding on July 5th. Brian and Kris both work at Ray’s
and Brian or “G” is our bass player so our gift to
them was a couple hours of music. We set up with a limited amount
of equipment and entertained for a little over an hour. Then,
Jeff Reed took over with some DJ tunes. This was actually planned
this way and it worked great. See, T-man and Rockin’ Rod
are into the UFC fighting and the Brock Lesnar / Frank Mir fight
was on last night. Turns out it wasn’t much of a fight.
I hadn’t watched too much of this sort of thing in the past
but it was sort of neat watching Brock fight as our band entertained
for him at his wedding celebration.
Anyway, after the fight, which was over only about a minute into
the second round, we went back over to Ray’s corner and
took over for Jeff and provided music up until about 1:45 AM.
Of course the place was packed and our security helpers Lucky
Leroy, Dan’l Denison, and the Roland-meister had to keep
people backed up so that T, SS, and the famous Mr. Smith had room
to play.
If you haven’t been to Ray’s Corner, it is a neat
bar. Lisa, the owner is about the sweetest gal you could ever
meet. So when you get a chance, make sure to stop in for a beer
or two! The rest of the staff was also very nice and Darla was
our bartender most of the night. She also kept an eye on our stuff
when we weren’t there which was very cool.
This week’s Thanks! goes out to The Lanes in Clear Lake,
the Bullpen and the city of Lake Norden, and to Ray’s Corner
for hosting the White Creek Band. We appreciate entertaining for
you. Maybe next time the Lake Norden event will be a little “dryer!
Thanks also to all the fans both long time and brand new who came
out to see us at our shows. I know there were many new faces at
Ray’s.
What’s better in life than having the peace
of the good Lord, a great family, awesome friends, and some favorite
tunes?
P