Artist description The MayTricks was an Ann Arbor band from 1990-1995 or so with tons of influences among its 4-5 songwriters. The MayTrick ethic was this: Bands that restrict themselves to any particular genre are cheating themselves and their listeners out of vital parts of themselves. If the point of a song is to express something, and the style is supposed to somehow aid in this expression, then trying to fit everything that any given person is about into "funk" or "blues" will be a miserable failure. In fact, musical style should be used to express beyond the stuff that ordinarily needs to get expressed in normal life... Music should be used to explore your dark side, or your wussy side, or your idiot side, or whatever. Just about any kind of music (at least ones with a substantial number of fans) must have something to it, and if you want to experience music to its fullest, you've got to get in there and figure it out.

Music Style Eclectic, often psychedelic rock

Musical Influences Beatles (White album era), Stones (all eras), Pink Floyd, Camper van Beethoven, dippy and/or skewed pop from 60's-80's, classical, folk, tin pan alley, some 70's prog, a bit of metal, and various jazz guitarists

Artist History The MayTricks was the college band of bassist/singer/songwriter Mark Linsenmayer (Mark Lint) and drummer/singer/songwriter Steve Petrinko, and resulted from their ambitions in 1989 to form a songwriters' cooperative and make a gazillion dollars. Through most of its run (until '94, with occasional post-mortem recordings since then), the band featured guitar virtuoso Geoff Esty; the rhythm guitar slot was replenished yearly. The MayTricks played a spate of shows around Michigan and released 4 CDs of material (The MayTricks in 1992, So Chewy in 1993, and the double album Happy Songs Will Bring You Down in 1994), all of which are available for purchase. Though its members have gone on to more professional, marketable projects, the MayTricks were an inimitable band overstuffed with good ideas. This is exactly the kind of thing that college students should be experimenting with.

Group Members Mark Linsenmayer-bass/vocals/other stuff, Steve Petrinko-drums/vocals/other stuff, Geoff Esty-lead guitar ('91-'95), Cliff Kaminsky-rhythm guit/keys ('93-'94), Brian Drake-rhythm guit/harmonica ('92-'93), Matt Diaz-rhythm guit ('91-'92), Dave Roof-lead guit ('90-91), Josh Fielstra-keys ('90-'91)

Albums The MayTricks, So Chewy, Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (Parts 1 and 2)

Location Ann Arbor, MI - USA

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