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Free beer's S-M-R-T SUmmer Kickoff in Northville!
SUMMER KICKOFF!
Northville Eagles Lodge
Saturday, May 17th
Summer has to start sometime, right? Well, just like you we don't want anything to get in the way of our Memorial Day getaway. So we booked our gig at the Northville Eagles the weekend BEFORE the first weekend of the summer. S-M-R-T huh?!?
We'll polish off all of our Summer songs, throw some sand down on the dance floor, inflate a few beach balls and grab a couple of fake palm trees to get the Eagles Hall looking less like a dark bar and more like beachside resort. See you then!
Due to the astronomical cost of having Free Beer play at your venue, The Northville Eagles have requested a $5.00 cover charge from members and a $10.00 cover charge from non members to defray the costs. Fair enough. Kick off your summer right with Free Beer on Saturday.
The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the Summer so you might want to take the first parking spot you see.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479
Northville Eagles Lodge
Saturday, May 17th
Summer has to start sometime, right? Well, just like you we don't want anything to get in the way of our Memorial Day getaway. So we booked our gig at the Northville Eagles the weekend BEFORE the first weekend of the summer. S-M-R-T huh?!?
We'll polish off all of our Summer songs, throw some sand down on the dance floor, inflate a few beach balls and grab a couple of fake palm trees to get the Eagles Hall looking less like a dark bar and more like beachside resort. See you then!
Due to the astronomical cost of having Free Beer play at your venue, The Northville Eagles have requested a $5.00 cover charge from members and a $10.00 cover charge from non members to defray the costs. Fair enough. Kick off your summer right with Free Beer on Saturday.
The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the Summer so you might want to take the first parking spot you see.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479
Recent History
A FAREWELL TO MUDDY
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John Cowley and Sons Pub
Farmington MI Friday, April 11th Jim’s mother passed away on February 21st. It was sudden end to a life that was surprising to both Muddy, Jim and all who knew her. Why Muddy? There was “See-Store” (sister) Janel, ”Buddy” (brother) Jim and Muddy (mother). Each of our moms has seen the band but Muddy was the band mom who saw us the most times. She was a regular fixture at the Chili Cookoffs, for our “touring dates” in her hometown of Cleveland and often joined us at Cowley's with the gang. Free Beer will be a part of her post memorial service happening on Friday night April 11 at John Cowley and Sons. We’d love to have you join us at Cowley’s for a raucous joyful send off. Muddy will be missed at the events we played…and we know we weren’t her ideal cup of tea, but she loved to see that we were having fun and she loved seeing her son doing something he loved. See you at Cowley’s at 8pm. Remember, Free Beer puts the FUN in FUNeral. John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 8:00P so it will be an early night for all. |
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Free beer celebrates the "HOLIDAY" in Northville!
BEERMAS!
Northville Eagles Lodge
Saturday, December 14th
It's the most wonderful time to drink beer! BeerMas, our annual made up holiday that we use as an excuse to get together with the ones we love and enjoy to play some songs and knock one back. The location has shifted around over time from The New Way Bar to the Library Pub to Cowley's and this year to The Northville Eagles Hall.
We were set to play at Cowley's on the 7th but our personal schedules got in the way and Cowley's couldn't fit us in. Thankfully the Eagles came through so we can celebrate the most important holiday on the Free Beer calendar with you again this year.
We don't often practice but we do for this show since we are playing all of our Holiday classics along with the songs we already know. That takes practice!! The band has been rolling along for over 30 years now and this is just our way of saying Thank You as another great Free Beer Year comes to a close.
The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the holiday season so you might want to take the first parking spot you see. Typically it is $10 for non members and $5 for members but the Eagles felt the holiday spirit and waived the members fee for this special performance.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479
Northville Eagles Lodge
Saturday, December 14th
It's the most wonderful time to drink beer! BeerMas, our annual made up holiday that we use as an excuse to get together with the ones we love and enjoy to play some songs and knock one back. The location has shifted around over time from The New Way Bar to the Library Pub to Cowley's and this year to The Northville Eagles Hall.
We were set to play at Cowley's on the 7th but our personal schedules got in the way and Cowley's couldn't fit us in. Thankfully the Eagles came through so we can celebrate the most important holiday on the Free Beer calendar with you again this year.
We don't often practice but we do for this show since we are playing all of our Holiday classics along with the songs we already know. That takes practice!! The band has been rolling along for over 30 years now and this is just our way of saying Thank You as another great Free Beer Year comes to a close.
The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the holiday season so you might want to take the first parking spot you see. Typically it is $10 for non members and $5 for members but the Eagles felt the holiday spirit and waived the members fee for this special performance.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479
Free beer at COWLEYs in Farmington Saturday 9/28
Free Beer
BACK AT COWLEY’S!!
Saturday, September 28th
As most of you know, Free Beer “retireded” as a “working band” a few years back. Instead of 50 to 70 gigs a year we have reduced our workload down to 2 or 3 gigs a year, mostly based on our desire to play music. No other agenda. Not trying to build an fanbase. Not trying to make money. Not trying to be the best Free Beer of all of the Free Beer bands around the country, heck THE WORLD. We have nothing to prove. It’s just for fun and our friend's enjoyment. But we are not saying you can’t come and see us if you are not a member of the band or a friend of the band, or a friend of a friend of ... you get it, right?
Actually, this is our way of letting you know that we ARE going to play music, and we DO want you to come see us. If you have only heard the legend of Free Beer but have never seen the band, this is our call to you. If you saw us in our infancy back in the early 1990’s, come see us now. It will be an interesting juxtaposition. If you used to come to our monthly “First Friday” gigs at Cowley’s and miss it as much as we do, then this is the Free Beer Bat-Signal across the night sky.
If you are wondering ”Why do I keep getting these e-mails and messages from Free Beer?” maybe it’s because you know our singer Kurt Schwartz, or our guitar player Jim Edelman, or our Keyboard player Scott Brown. Maybe you know bass player Jeff Brookmyer or drummer Bobby White and just were not aware they were in a self legendary cover band from Detroit called Free Beer! They are!!
So come see us. Free Beer plays at Cowley and Sons Irish Pub at the corner of Grand River and Farmington Road in Downtown Farmington on Saturday September 28th. The LAST Saturday of the month instead of the First Friday. You might have a great time. At least, you will likely not regret it.
John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop.
https://johncowleyandsons.com/
(248) 474-5941
BACK AT COWLEY’S!!
Saturday, September 28th
As most of you know, Free Beer “retireded” as a “working band” a few years back. Instead of 50 to 70 gigs a year we have reduced our workload down to 2 or 3 gigs a year, mostly based on our desire to play music. No other agenda. Not trying to build an fanbase. Not trying to make money. Not trying to be the best Free Beer of all of the Free Beer bands around the country, heck THE WORLD. We have nothing to prove. It’s just for fun and our friend's enjoyment. But we are not saying you can’t come and see us if you are not a member of the band or a friend of the band, or a friend of a friend of ... you get it, right?
Actually, this is our way of letting you know that we ARE going to play music, and we DO want you to come see us. If you have only heard the legend of Free Beer but have never seen the band, this is our call to you. If you saw us in our infancy back in the early 1990’s, come see us now. It will be an interesting juxtaposition. If you used to come to our monthly “First Friday” gigs at Cowley’s and miss it as much as we do, then this is the Free Beer Bat-Signal across the night sky.
If you are wondering ”Why do I keep getting these e-mails and messages from Free Beer?” maybe it’s because you know our singer Kurt Schwartz, or our guitar player Jim Edelman, or our Keyboard player Scott Brown. Maybe you know bass player Jeff Brookmyer or drummer Bobby White and just were not aware they were in a self legendary cover band from Detroit called Free Beer! They are!!
So come see us. Free Beer plays at Cowley and Sons Irish Pub at the corner of Grand River and Farmington Road in Downtown Farmington on Saturday September 28th. The LAST Saturday of the month instead of the First Friday. You might have a great time. At least, you will likely not regret it.
John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop.
https://johncowleyandsons.com/
(248) 474-5941
Free beer at the Fowling Warehouse! Friday 4/26
Free Beer is Bonk!! er... Back!!
Second appearance at the Fowling Warehouse is April 26th
It went so well the first time that Free Beer decided to do it again!! Free Beer will be playing the Loading Dock in the back of the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor on Friday April 26 from 9P-11P. The first gig was an experiment to see if the sound worked, it wasn't too echoey, if the Fowlers would like it. Answers? It worked. It wasn't too echoey (though it did have a "Motown Reverb" sound out on the courts ... pretty cool we decided) and the Fowlers LOVED it! So we are Bonk ... uh I mean BACK at the Warehouse! No cost for entry to see the band, instead they just add a $1 to the price of your drink while the band is playing. If you want to go Fowling while listening to Free Beer (aka "Rock and Fowl") it's only $15 bucks. Plus the Fowling Warehouse will be having bands about every other Friday or so ... check out the lineup at www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
Oh yeah ... this might be our 500th gig if our History records are correct!!
The Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor is located on the Northeast corner of Washtenaw and Golfside in Ypsilanti, just about 1 mile east of US-23 and 2 miles north of I-94 at 3050 Washtenaw, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
734-499-3695
Second appearance at the Fowling Warehouse is April 26th
It went so well the first time that Free Beer decided to do it again!! Free Beer will be playing the Loading Dock in the back of the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor on Friday April 26 from 9P-11P. The first gig was an experiment to see if the sound worked, it wasn't too echoey, if the Fowlers would like it. Answers? It worked. It wasn't too echoey (though it did have a "Motown Reverb" sound out on the courts ... pretty cool we decided) and the Fowlers LOVED it! So we are Bonk ... uh I mean BACK at the Warehouse! No cost for entry to see the band, instead they just add a $1 to the price of your drink while the band is playing. If you want to go Fowling while listening to Free Beer (aka "Rock and Fowl") it's only $15 bucks. Plus the Fowling Warehouse will be having bands about every other Friday or so ... check out the lineup at www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
Oh yeah ... this might be our 500th gig if our History records are correct!!
The Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor is located on the Northeast corner of Washtenaw and Golfside in Ypsilanti, just about 1 mile east of US-23 and 2 miles north of I-94 at 3050 Washtenaw, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
734-499-3695
Free beer at COWLEYs in Farmington Friday 12/8
It's beginning to feel alot like BeerMas
Ever since we stopped putting the BeerMas show together at the New Way we started playing a show around Christmas at Cowley's in Farmington. We're technically retired, right? But we still want to hang around our Free Beer Friends and the only way to get everyone together for the Holidays is a show. So this is it.
We'll dust off the Christmas Diddies, heck we might even practice them before we play them in front of people. We cannot guarantee that.
John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop. https://johncowleyandsons.com/
(248) 474-5941
Ever since we stopped putting the BeerMas show together at the New Way we started playing a show around Christmas at Cowley's in Farmington. We're technically retired, right? But we still want to hang around our Free Beer Friends and the only way to get everyone together for the Holidays is a show. So this is it.
We'll dust off the Christmas Diddies, heck we might even practice them before we play them in front of people. We cannot guarantee that.
John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop. https://johncowleyandsons.com/
(248) 474-5941
FREE BEER AT THE FOWLING WAREHOUSE! FRIDAY 12/1
Footballs and Bowling Pins in Ypsi, Oh My!!
It was another first for Free Beer and the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor. We wanted to be the first band to set up in their loading dock and rock!! Yep, Friday December 1 was Rock and Fowl with Free Beer. It’s just $5 to come see the band or $15 if you want to Fowl and listen! We went on around 9PM, and was surprised how good it sounded in the cavernous space. Kinda like a Motown Reverb Machine, but live!! ... Lots of people showed up and we declared it a success!!
The Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor is located on the Northeast corner of Washtenaw and Golfside in Ypsilanti, just about 1 mile east of US-23 and 2 miles north of I-94 at 3050 Washtenaw, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
734-499-3695
It was another first for Free Beer and the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor. We wanted to be the first band to set up in their loading dock and rock!! Yep, Friday December 1 was Rock and Fowl with Free Beer. It’s just $5 to come see the band or $15 if you want to Fowl and listen! We went on around 9PM, and was surprised how good it sounded in the cavernous space. Kinda like a Motown Reverb Machine, but live!! ... Lots of people showed up and we declared it a success!!
The Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor is located on the Northeast corner of Washtenaw and Golfside in Ypsilanti, just about 1 mile east of US-23 and 2 miles north of I-94 at 3050 Washtenaw, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 www.fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor
734-499-3695
Free Beer HALL O WEEN PARTY / Eagles Hall Northville
Free Beer returns for our annual Eagles Hall Halloween party
We did it again. Free Beer toughed it out in the middle of a touch of the flu for a couple of the members to hustle our way thorugh another Halloween set. First of all, let's get this straight. The shiny "sexy mermaid" clearly had the best costume. She didn't win because our Keyboard Player pushed her candidacy so hard ... she was very shiny...
Anyway, always glad to play the Eagles. They get us. And Happy Birthday Lex Kuhne!
We did it again. Free Beer toughed it out in the middle of a touch of the flu for a couple of the members to hustle our way thorugh another Halloween set. First of all, let's get this straight. The shiny "sexy mermaid" clearly had the best costume. She didn't win because our Keyboard Player pushed her candidacy so hard ... she was very shiny...
Anyway, always glad to play the Eagles. They get us. And Happy Birthday Lex Kuhne!
Paul Bunyan Days in Oscoda MI
Free Beer played the Beer Tent at the Paul Bunyan Days festival in Oscoda at Furtaw Field, 4986 N State St in Oscoda, MI on Saturday September 16th from 6PM-10PM. Actually, we played in a tent right next to the beer tent at the Paul Bunyan Days festival in Oscoda at Furtaw Field in Oscoda, MI on Saturday September 16th from 6PM-10PM, but one side of the tent was opened up into the open side of the beer tent. And there was a 2 foot tall stage. So if you were in the other tent, you could see the legs and torsos of members of Free Beer as they totally rocked out a pretty descent set of tunes and some people danced in the open space between the open side of the beer tent and the open side of the Tent that Free Beer played under on a two foot stage while totally rocking at the Paul Bunyan Days festival in Oscoda at Furtaw Field in Oscoda, MI on Saturday September 16th from 6PM-10PM. They could see our heads and faces, but not the folks in the beer tent. They could only see our legs and torsos. We would totally do it again. It was a blast!!
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LAKE ST. CLAIR METROPARK
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Hey Eagles! We've Landed in NorthvilleFriday June 2nd at the Northville Eagles. We come to find out that there are TWO Lynns at the Northville Eagles and both of them have a birthday at the beginning of June. And guess who their birthday present to each other was. That's right, US! We played two sets, had some outstanding Goulash, blew out some birthday candles and had our first ever tip jar (not our idea) netting an extra $75. Covered our bar tab it did.
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Surprise! It's jim's 60th Birthday!I'm not sure how it happened, but Teresa Landino Edelman and Kurt (Kurt) Schwartz managed to tell everyone to show up at Cowley's on Friday May 6th, get all of his equipment out of the barn and set up on stage then got Jim to walk in for the surprise with him finding out. Maybe we should use this as a model for promotions for future gigs. NO PUBLICITY just tell everyone it's a surprise party for (fill in the blank from the band) and we'll have a great crowd.
Jim was surprised. We were amazed. |
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St. Practice Day at Cowley'sFriday March 10th at
Cowley's in Farmington! Free Beer was the house band for St. Patrick's Day for years at Cowley's. In our retirement we don't qualify for the title spot but we are one of the great warmup bands of all time. We proved that this year by playing exactly ONE WEEK BEFORE St. Patrick's Day and totally rocking it!! |
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BeerMASSaturday December 10th
Cowley's in Farmington! It's the most wonderful time to Drink Beer! And to listen to Free Beer do one of our very few "retirement" concerts celebrating one of our favorite made up holidays "BeerMas"!! It's that yearly pilgrimage to Cowley's in downtown Farmington to get the gang back together for one last hurrah in 2022. We celebrated that it was just slightly better than the year before it and a lot better than two years ago! We were on stage on Saturday, December 10th from 9PMish to just after Midnightish ... we played our Christmas songs. We practiced in advance of the gig!! |
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Free Beer Hall O Ween Party
Our annual Hall Party for the Spookiest Day of the Year is On!! Yes sir, ma'am. Free Beer is back at it this Friday. We have found a Hall that loves us, the Northville Eagles Hall at 113 S. Center Street in Downtown Northville. We bring back many of the staples that made the old home spun Hall O Ween Parties special. There will be the obligitory costume contest, all the spooky decorations and our Halloween Themed set (remember, this is where the Rocky Horror Picture Show set was born). The cover chage ($5) at the door is there and the excellent bartenders and not very expensive drink menu is in full play. Plus, there is FOOD this year. Yes indeed! Sliders and Fries starting at 6:30PM so it pays to get there early and soil your costume with a mustard stain. |
BEERMAS AT COWLEY'S SAT DECEMBER 4TH
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It's the most wonderful time to drink beer!!
Cowley's is still around and since our retirement doesn't seem to be sticking we might as well play at Cowley's for our annual "BeerMas" show. We don't know how long either of us will be around so we might as well take advantage of it! It's a good time for a holiday show. At 5:30 is the Farmington Holly Days parade and from 6P to 8P it's the tree lighting. After all that outdoor activity it will be nice to warm up inside Cowley's have a beer and a warm meal and listen to some Christmas songs from Free Beer ... then we will kick into our regular set so you can work off some of the holiday meal. Looking forward to seeing you there. John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop. |
Thanksgiving Eve
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Free Beer rivives "Amateur Night" Tradition at Northville Eagles
Every year Free Beer would play the night before Thanksgiving. It's as close to a "gimme putt" as there is in the bar band business. You open the doors and everyone looking for a way to get away from their family and have some drinks with their friends just shows up. A little different this year with the threat of a Pandemic looming, but results were still the same. Instead of the Library Pub in Novi, the site was the Northville Eagles hall, who booked our "Package Deal" of Halloween and Thanksgiving eves. All of our friends showed up, we drank, rocked and had a great time. Kurt threw a scare into as he was not feeling well, and this time Johnny Allen was NOT available. But Kurt got better and was ready to rock when the lights went on. |
Halloween Free Beer Style
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Why have a hall party when you can have a Hall O Ween Party?
Free Beer has a history of doing Hall-O-Ween parties. We did one at the Northville Eagles Hall in 2016 and 2019 with all the fixings...a few scary songs, a costume contest, 50/50 ... this year got a little weird when Jim announced two days before the gig on October 29th at the Northville Eagles hall that he might have the flu and was going to get tested for COVID. He didn't have the Rona, but was still not in shape to set up the PA and play guitar all night long. Luckily, we know Johnny Allen from the Love Junkies who knows almost every song ever written and was willing to sit in for Jim this night. Jim ended up feeling better and stopping by the gig long enough to play guitar for the three songs that Johnny didn't know. |
THE FREE BEER LUAU AT MAI TIKI Resort near Oscoda
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Free Beer headed north the weekend of Saturday, September 18
Every Year, Free Beer takes a vacation to the Mai Tiki resort just south of Oscoda. We drive in Friday night, have a campfire, get up and have fun in Lake Huron Saturday morning, then cook way too much food and feast. THEN Free Beer plays a set in the sands on the shore of Lake Huron! What a hoot!! Even if you didn't have a reservation at the resort, you were welcome to crash the tent on Saturday night and help us celebrate nothing!! This year, Bobby White brought his guitar and Scott, Kurt and Bobby did a fireside acoustic jam on Friday night. Saturday featured the usual silliness with a tent full of fans and 5 guys who clearly had not practice enough due to COVID. We made it through the show, made it up as we went along and had a great time ... we even stayed most of Sunday to take advantage of the unseasonably cold weather!! |
Free Beer Returns to Cowley's!!
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Free Beer recovers at Cowley's on Saturday, July 17th
Every time we think this Free Beer thing has run it's course, a great audience like Cowley's on Saturday July 17th reminds us how much fun this really is. Thanks to the Farmington Founders Festival, we had a great crowd to watch us set up! Dinner was a bit of a gamble as the labor crisis raised it's ugly head as the reduced waitstaff and kitchen crew, featuring mostly Cowley's family members came to the rescue. But who cares man, it was Free Beer night at long last. The first set went really well despite some memory lapses and a lot of our regulars from First Friday with Free Beer were in attendance. We took a nice long break to get a chance to chat with everyone then launched into set two. This is where it was a bit astounding. Usually the crowd thins out, but I swear there were more people there when we quit playing at 1AM than there was when we started playing at 11P! Thanks to all y'all, especially Jim's family from Cleveland who drove all the way up only to have the end of Cleveland Rocks feature our special Ohio State Sucks! ending. Note: Clevelanders did not take kindly to that an physically attacked our Keyboard player!!. Thanks to the Cowley family for a great night, surviving COVID and staying open until next St. Patrick's Day. Hopefully we get to play a part in that final weekend!! |
THE FREE BEER BLOG
So much stuff started piling up on this page it was getting hard to load. So every six months, we will push it back to the blog ... which technically our home page is ... since it tells the story of Free Beer in pictures, text and links in a chronological order ... that's kinda what a Blog is. So we're owning up to it. If you have read this far, why not go for the long haul? Click here to head down memory lane!!
The Last Waltz
THe Final Free Beer show after 23 years
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Free Beer shares the stage with ex band members
for one last jam There was lots of anticipation for the Final Free Beer show on Friday January 27, 2017 at John Cowley and Sons Pub. Ever since we annouced our retirement way back on Friday, September 18th, we have looking toward the date on the calendar. We picked Cowley's since it has been our home bar for the last 10 years. We've played more gigs there than anywhere. We picked the LAST Friday of the month because we have played the FIRST Friday of almost every month at Cowley's. Chatter about the show continued to get louder and louder as the show got closer. We knew it was going to be a pretty big crowd. Every single person we knew was either going, or wished they could be there. We went and set the PA system up the night before because we knew everyone would get their early to get a seat. And we were right. We were there early. Fans started showing up right away, and they kept coming and coming and coming until Cowley's was jam packed. |
Want to see all the pictures? Click Here
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Sadly, we were without our diligent Drummer Tom Daldin who blew out his hearing at the BeerMas show and was told by doctors that he could no longer be in places where there are loud noises. It was really sad that Tom couldn't be there. He's was the one ingredient that made Free Beer sound different than everyone else, and his "Crazy Ivan" stops can be replicated by no one. But we are a lucky band to have someone as talented as Steve Tocco sitting in the wings ready to man the kit who knows our entire set list without practice. Thank You STEVE!!
We even employed some new technology to make sure any out of town fans got to see the last show, we broadcasted the show on Facebook Live! Believe it or not, by the end of the night, 1331 people tuned into the feed including people in Ohio, St. Louis, California ... Even TOKYO!!
We even employed some new technology to make sure any out of town fans got to see the last show, we broadcasted the show on Facebook Live! Believe it or not, by the end of the night, 1331 people tuned into the feed including people in Ohio, St. Louis, California ... Even TOKYO!!
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Videos from the Final Show
PA System Set Up Fireworks
Facebook Feed Set One
Facebook Feed Set Two
Crazy Little Thing Called Love --
Sally O'Malley
Little Less Conversation -- Dee Dee Judy
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We started early at 9PM and kicked off the set with an introduction from Scott Vertical Sitarek, just like our first show in Kevin Yonker's Garage back in 1993. We kicked it off with Cheap Trick's Hello There and cruised through set number one. Packed dance floor, people dancing in the front, back and all along the bar. We did our "Most important 4 letter word in our English Language ... BEER!" cheer. Everyone joined in. It was an awesome feeling seeing everyone you know watch you do the thing you love to do the most.
Set two started and we brought up some of our past bandmates from the crowd. We kicked off set two with Kevin Yonker, Drummer #1 at the kit, playing the first 3 songs we ever played ... Rock & Roll Radio by the Ramones, Dream All Day by The Posies and Should I Stay from the Clash. Next up was Bass Player #5, Dewey Larkin. He'd been with the band for 10 years, replacing Jeff Brookmyer when he started his own band, then in turn getting replaced by Jeff Brookmyer when his Travel Schedule was too tenuous to continue last year. He sat in on a very special version of Little Less Conversation featuring Marcel Lim with his tap shoes adding to the rhythm section with some Irish Dance Steps. Next up was Jim's new daughter to be Julia. She gave another rousing rendition of "Suffragette City" with Dewey on Bass. Dewey finished off his set with Hash Pipe. Next up was Drummer #4 TJ Collica. We haven't seen much of him in the last few years. He surprised us with a visit to the final gig and played Pump It Up. Drummer #5 Stefan Raraigh popped up on stage next for Blur's Song #2. Last but not least was Bass Player #2, Marty Beem. He only played two gigs during his tenure after filling in for our original bass player Paul Sevigny a number of times. We rocked out Steppin' Stone. Then we got the five of us back up on stage to blow through the rest of our final set together. We did the dance songs, the show tunes, the Violent Femmes set, Brittney Spears for Laura C and ended it as we always have over the years ... The Doors "Love Me Two Times" into Cora's answering machine followed by a "We're Free Beer ... THANK YOU VERY MUCH GOODNIGHT!". And that was it. Were we sad? Naw. For 23 years, we've been able to do what we love to do in front of our best friends ... be they someone who was there at the beginning like Keith Tyler, our families who have known us for our entire life, or someone who just happened to stumble upon us at the bar and kept coming because they had as much fun as we were having that night. The best part about the evening is that almost everyone was there ... our old friends, our family and our new friends. It was perfect. Without you it would not have been. THANK YOU for 23 great years!
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Our Retirement Letter
AN OPEN LETTER TO FREE BEER FANS
If you're wondering how fast 23 years can fly by...let us tell you... It's seems faster than a minute waltz, quicker than the fade out on the career of Justin Bieber, and speedier than bananas to turn from green to squishy black. Free Beer has been Free Beer for a long time. We started our 23rd year in June and we just made the decision that there won't be a 24th. This has been a journey that has lasted far longer than any of us expected. We've had friends of the band pass away and others have just faded away. Leaving a memory of those times and us wondering: "...hey, remember that one girl who used to come to a lot of shows - - what happened to her?" |
Free Beer is Retiring after 23 years!
On stage at Cowley's during the Harvest Moon Concert on Friday September 16th, we broke it to the fans. Free Beer's last show will be on January 27th, 2017, the LAST Friday of January. Kinda symbolic that the band that plays on the First Friday each month at Cowley's is going to end it on the Last Friday. For those of you that are counting, that means there are only 2 public shows left. If you have been procrastinating for the last 20 or so years, it's GO TIME! Start making plans to see us before your that person who missed all 465 shows and has to fib about seeing "Detroit's Most Persistant Band".
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The same thing happened to her that is happening to us - - Life happened. We're all busier and stretched thin. We have commitments upon commitments and things to do and people to see.
All the Bar Gigs, backyard parties, Weddings, Edelfests, Ford Corporate Gigs, and the shows we can't remember and the ones we'll never forget. We played the Royal Oak Music theater on back to back new years eve shows. And that second year, we looked out at 1500 people who were looking back at us like WE were the ones who wrote that Foo Fighters song. Believe me, when that happens, you never forget that feeling. Oh, and we played a company holiday party that was scattered among 3 floors of a massive office building. At one point the last 5 people who were watching us, got on the elevator and left in mid-song leaving us all alone on our floor. You don't forget that feeling either. Our knees hurt, wrapping up cords at 130 in the morning gets old and it's time to sing Goodnight Irene. We still have a few more shows to play this year and we're going out with a bang on January 27 at John Cowley & Sons They've been our home bar for 10 years and we will miss them like Dorothy misses the Scarecrow. It's a poetic end that for all those years we played First Fridays, that the last Free Beer show there should be on the Last Friday of January. If you're reading this, you're part of the Free Beer legacy and friendship circle. Remember us as a band who played other people's music with vim and vigor, did our best when some days we were painfully aware that a few lessons would have really made a difference in our skills, but at the end of the song, we all stopped together - - and that's all that really matters. We love you more than you'll ever know, Kurt, Scott, Tom, Jeff and Jim |
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Random Free Beer Related Stuff
Free Beer on Under The Radar MichiganWhat a great episode of Under The Radar Michigan featuring Free Beer recording our video at Groove Box studios.
Here's a link to the episode on UTR Michigan that ran this morning Here's a link to the video we recorded of "Love Me Two Times". |
Nice Article By Gary Graff In the Oakland Press
We know good journalism when we read it ... Thanks to Gary Graff for digging up the dirt on Free Beer and putting it in the Oakland Press. Appreciate it!!
Finally, Someone Sets The Numbers Straight!!
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Free Beer?Some people will go through anything to get some Free Beer!!
How to Catch A Canadian
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Kurt does a Girly Shot!See what happens when Emily sticks something hard in Kurt's mouth, and then the end of it gets all creamy and white, so Kurt rears his head back and swallows all of it, wipes the residue off his chin, just to lean forward all satisfied.
Watch the video and see if we here at www.freebeernet.com have any part of this incorrect. Enjoy! 
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