NEWS & NOTES

Wally & The Beavs 2007 The Year in Review

2007 was another great year for the Beavs. However there were a few sad moments when two long-time Beavs left the band. Trumpeter, Brian Gray and guitarist, Eric Smith left the life of "Wallys weekend-warriors" to spend more time with their families. The surviving Beavs wish Brian and Eric much future joy. On a happier note, Jimi Goare and Ed Adams have taken over the duties on guitar and trumpet respectively. After a full season of dancin, drinkin, pickin and blowin with the Beavs, I can truly say Wally and The Beavs are better than ever.

After beginning the warm-up season in Huron, Ohio playing for the Huron Alumni fund raiser in February, we set our sights on the summer season ahead of us, which began early in May at the Beer Barrel Saloon in Put In Bay, our summer home-away-from-home. On the following weekend we provided the dance music for the Adams/Crandall wedding reception. The wedding-party table was gorgeous, with dozens of glowing candles arranged in tiers: and nobody asked us to "turn it down a little" or "play a polka." It was a great time: we even had to end the night one song early in fear that the moshing on the dance floor was getting a bit out of hand. After that, it was back to the island for the official opening of the vacation season with Memorial Day weekend performances at a packed Beer Barrel Saloon.

On June 1^st we got down with our biker friends at the Kickstart Party behind Roeder Harley Davidson in Sandusky. The night was made special by a unique pyrotechnic show. Flames shot 60 feet into the night sky from behind and at each end of the stage. Born to be Wild never looked so good. The middle of June and early July found us back at the Beer Barrel in our usual 6 to 9 p.m. time slot. The last half of July and early August offered the opportunity to visit some nice towns in northwest Ohio. After a few years absence from performing in Lima, we revisited the Rally in the Square, a special every-Friday-evening-throughout-the-summer event featuring a great many unique bands. Lima is Jimi Goares hometown, and he didnt disappoint his many friends and fans that were in attendance. The frenzied superhero-type dude in the makeshift-coalminers cap who never quit moving through the entire concert was the only one who came close to matching Jimis enthusiasm. On the following evening we traveled to Wapakoneta for the first time and provided the musical entertainment for the Summer Moon Festival. Despite being downwind from the pony ride we had a great time and the Wapakonetians were very gracious hosts; although it left us wondering if anyone is actually born in Wapak, since everyone we talked to started the conversation with, "Im not originally from Wapakoneta." Before returning to Put In Bay, we made a stop in Napoleon to appear at the famous "Rally In the Alley", sponsored by the Elks in downtown Napoleon, Ohio. The heat was suffocating that day; but, by nightfall, the beer drinkers were out in force and the as usual great dance party was on. Napoleon will definitely be on our schedule for 2008. At the Beer Barrel in August, we finally got to share the stage with the ladies from Mustang Sally: a nice bunch of girls with a great show. Of course, at The Beer Barrel Saloon, every band has a great show; and the Menus are certainly no exception. We reprised our Memorial Day collaboration with Tim and the boys from Cincinnati performing for another packed house at the Barrel on Labor Day weekend.

We finished out the summer season, playing every remaining Saturday evening in September at street festivals in Port Clinton, Clyde, Continental and Defiance. We huddled in the big tent at Waterworks Park in Port Clinton for the Hogs by the Lake. Despite the relentless rain, the event was well attended. Talking with the folks from Port Clinton, it sounds like they have some great future plans for the area along the river where the "Hogs by the Lake" event was held. We traveled to Clyde for the first time and had a wonderful time performing in the beer tent (a perfect venue for us). With Clyde located so close to Ed Adams hometown, there were many enthusiastic friends and fans present to watch our suave and debonair trumpeter perform. Eddie Forte didnt disappoint them: going so far as to don a zoot suit to recreate the roll of the trumpet playing Big Bad Wolf in the Looney Tunes cartoon classic "The Three Little Bops." The weather continued to be pleasant for our return to the Continental Fall Festival. There were a plethora of Putnam County partiers under the big top, as we danced until midnight accompanied by the rattle and roll of the passing trains. We finished the summer season in Defiance, Ohio, performing before approximately 5,000 people at that citys first annual Fall Festival and Rib Cook-off. Wow! The food was fabulous and the crowd was congruent (Im reaching here for the sake of alliteration)! What a perfect way to end the season.

Heres to you: our friends and fans. Thanks for your support and encouragement. We hope youll join us in 2008 for another great season of good time rock and roll with Wally and The Beavs.