If time becomes timeless, they may be the fairest of the fair, in this case the one for all of St. Croix County held in Glenwood City all this weekend.
The Memories are back there, again, and again, such as this Saturday at 7 p.m. with their musical variety show. (The following is an interview, slightly edited for timeliness, that ran on this website in 2016.)
Just how long ago does such recognition throughout the region and beyond, well, go? As far as The Memories, they were inducted to the Wisconsin Association of Fairs’ Hall of Fame way back in 1995.
— In last weekend’s square off between the popular pair of River Falls Days and New Richmond’s Fun Days, which merited a one-two placement on the front page of the Hudson Star-Observer, Hudson between bergs was otherwise left out in the cold, for nightlife traffic. Of those few out, two of them (solitary?), a woman and man, were complaining at length of much more than a minute, that someone was following them. Should be easy to spot the guy.
How many were out in RF, not to mention NR? One guy put it this way, if you ventured just outside of any bar or business, there were so many people crowding onto the sidewalk to take their smoke, that no one else could find the sidewalk. Bookends too, for the Marlboro and Mainstream Manly Morris Tobacco booths. Haha. —
As many groups do, The Memories got their start singing and playing music while in high school choir and band in Boyceville, not far from the fairgrounds. In summer 1972, they were asked to perform for a friend’s wedding dance and 44 years later Warren Petryk and Tim Stevens are still making music together. They now have performed at the county fair for 37 straight years.
In what started out as a very part-time adventure, Warren and Tim, along with classmate and fellow founding member, John Lynch, performed anywhere and everywhere they could: village halls, golf courses, high schools, community festivals, wedding dances, night clubs, bowling alleys, street dances, ballrooms, barn dances, supper clubs and even ski resorts included.
There have been many highlights through the years. Among them are:
– In March 1975, the group won first place at a regional talent contest held at the Black Steer Supper Club in Eau Claire, the first of many such contests captured.
– In 1979, they performed the entire six-day run of the Northern Wisconsin State Fair, serving as its Goodwill Ambassadors.
– Appeared as the opening acts for several nationally known artists, such as Merle Haggard, Alabama, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ricky Nelson, Ray Price and a special show with Barbara Mandrell at the 1979 Barron Farm and Feather Fest.
– In 1983, they took first in the country band contest of the Rhinelander Hodag Country Music Fest, and the same year were winners in the Wisconsin Country Music Band Contest sponsored by Wrangler Jeans and Dodge Trucks. That’s Old School.
– Produced over (now more) 30 different recordings, which include 45s, albums, eight-track tapes, cassette tapes and compact discs.
– Performed annual Christmas concerts at the Mabel Tainter Theater in Menomonie for 30 years, (back in 2016) and counting.
And, the seed that planted the whole entertainment bug: Being runnerup in the Boyceville Cucumber Festival talent contest in 1971 for a cash prize of $10.
At their peak, “The Boys from Boyceville” were full-time entertainers and traveled from coast to coast for 200 days a year. In 1995, they scaled back to a part-time schedule, and in September 2000, Tim and Warren began a new phase when they started performing as a duo. Today, they continue the tradition of their trademark, “Music, Laughter and Wonderful Times,” by appearing at a select number of events each year, obviously including the county fair.
“I think there a few things that make us ‘different.’ We try our best to make sure our shows feature great songs, performed well from a musical standpoint. But also, that our shows are entertaining, interesting and fun for our audiences,” Tim said, adding that the band members were fortunate that they were best friends before they started performing together. “We have been told many times through the years that our friendship really comes across to our audiences when we are on stage.”
Growing up together in western Wisconsin, they not only know each other extremely well, but also their audiences and the people and history of the area, even beyond the pandemic. “We bring that to the stage with us,” Tim said.
“As far as what is different with our show as a duo, it may sound basic, but I think we have continued to develop a tighter performance ….and that comes from being on stage with the same guy for thousands of performances for nearly 44 years,” (now 52), Tim said, adding that for the last 16 of those years, there was actually the involvement of “two friends – Warren and myself.”
A half hour following this 7 p.m. show, there is more free live music, across the way and part of the midway.
The Weekenders then will bring it with honky tonk classic country with an attitude! This could be the reincarnation of Willie and Waylon and the Boys, and Hank Williams, the original one, combined. Sure to be train songs.
Also fittingly, this is held at the Tiffany Creek Pavilion, north of Horse Arena, so gallop in. They may sing, save a horse, ride a cowboy, like them.
If that’s not enough, at 9 p.m. there is something dreamingly different, if you are not spreading yourself too thin, that in Lizzy the Dream Girl, who is a very entertaining hypnotist.