We’d like to thank the River City-zens for the incredible blowout gala concert at George Floyd park in River City, CA on Valentines Day ! We never imagined that after diverting into Ardmore, OK that Dick would be able to take off, fly across the country, and keep it up until 4 AM the next day but Dick and the boys are full of surprises. Hope you made it there and if not caught the wonderful music on KDIK 570 AM clear channel 50,000 watt. We’ll be posting the MPEG and discography soon but it was incredible. DOGE ‘Whiz-Kid’ Lester “Big BALLS” McGuffin was FANTASTIC on trumpet during his dueling trumpets on both “Well Git’ it” and “Bill’s Bounce” and we thank him for the surprise appearance of “Big Balls”. Seeing “Big Balls” going at it with Harry P. Ness is something no one in River City will ever forget. And Harry’s no limp dude; although “Big Balls” held sway Harry P. Ness held up his end of the bargain by driving at their trumpet duel to the delight of the ladies in the audience. And of course that romantic interlude with trumpeters Big BALLS and Harry P. Ness driving Lou Skunt (saxophone) was something that had to be heard to be believed. The party went until 6 AM the next morning and we thank the good police force and city of River City for keeping things going and well in hand.

The party in Thackerville was pretty extreme as well and one might have thought Dick would have gone limp with all the activity ! But as you know you can’t keep a good American Dick down and not only did Dick play the concert there but also got it up in the air, flew to River City, and stayed up all night ! While the limp Europeans and Canadians might’ve looked for an excuse, Dick and the boys are All-American and in America we deal with it and make it work.

Dick and the crew had a wonderful visit in Oklahoma and having Harry Bolz on the Bone next to Dick was a superlative feat and once in a lifetime experience ! I mean, how often does one have Harry Bolz next to Swingin’ Dick ?!? Harry is a true virtuoso and really makes things flow when the rest of Swingin’ Dick and the crew kicks in.

The only thing we can say is if you weren’t there you should’ve been.

The only glitch was the rooms for the band were promised by the Casino (who unfortunately will remain nameless to protect the name of the guilty) but weren’t available. While the rest of the staff was cheerful, wonderful, and pleasant (and wonderful at customer service), the manager at the hotel desk was not and Dick and the boys were left in the cold despite assurances that rooms would be available. But a good Dick can always find a home so arrangements were found and all was well. So all we can say to those headed towards Thackerville is enjoy the wonderful efforts and cheerful staff of the Casino and Restaurants, but when it comes to the Hotel and Hotel Management, be prepared to have a tent. You won’t get alot of help.

Fortunately, Dick and his best gal enjoyed the time and had a wonderful time regardless and while waiting. And had a 1-in-6-million run at the craps game with a 50-roll hand.

(For those thinking about playing REAL money at a casino–for anything other than something like entertainment like going to a movie–and/or other than a couple hundred bucks–please don’t. Given consistent play at ANY casino, you will NEVER win; the odds on EVERY game are against you. Slots are the worst. Yes there is ‘luck’ and a few ‘lucky’ people. But you ain’t one of them. The mathematics are simple. The closest odds games are craps and blackjack; you will typically lose around 20-100 dollars per thousand at blackjack and 10-100 dollars at craps per thousand which has the most even money odds playing the pass line–it’s not unity but perhaps 98-99 percent. Meaning that you can play for hours on 50 bucks at a 1-dollar craps game. And everyone has a ‘system’ that doesn’t work)

You’ll never ‘win’ at a Casino. But you can have fun. Chalk it up to entertainment expense and leave it at that.

BUT you’ll ALWAYS have fun with Swingin’ Dick !

Three cheers to all in Thackerville, and it was wonderful to see you there ! And stay tuned for the next zany adventure of Swingin’ Dick and the crew. No matter where you are; no matter where you live, it’s likely Swingin’ Dick will be coming to you soon !