Bio
"The WiseGuys" have arrived here today by way of lots of work, practices, rehearsals, coaching, late nights, big venue shows, small-venue shows, outdoor summerfest's, marketing, and advertising, and I think that we all can say that it has been well worth the outcome!
When I look back we were just a group of friends and musicians that would get together on most Friday nights and play cards, listen to music and enjoy some of their favorite beverages, that came together to form a band. We would jam some music for awhile, while some of the other guys played cards in the poker room. We then added more and more music, sound equipment, lighting, etc.. and before we knew it we had a full blown rehearsal studio set up. It was especially nice that friends & family would now come by to hangout and see us play. One of the guys then asked if we wanted to get serious and playout. Well, as they say in Texas hold 'em we were "all-in!" We picked up our first gig when Staci and George Amend asked us if we wanted to open for a Foo Fighters/Nirvana tribute band called "Smells Like Dave Grohl" at their Backyard Summer Bash. Needless to say we were all over it. So we got serious and began rehearsing a lot. But now we had to come up with a name for the band. We went back and forth, and in the end a last minute decision we decided on "The WiseGuys." This is due to the fact that at that time most of us were considered older and somehow "wiser."
Over the years we've had some band turn over, like the addition of some younger and really talented musicians join the band and I guess that counts for some good band cred, in addition to becoming somewhat younger in average age of the band members.
Since George and Staci's Summer Bash we've gone on to open for "Smells Like Dave Grohl" at the Cubby Bear in Chicago, as well as playing some outdoor Summerfest's, Farmapalooza and other music venues like The Brauerhouse in Lombard IL, Sugar Skull in Franklin Park IL, Penny Road Pub in Barrington, IL, RocHaus in West Dundee, IL and the historic Arcada Theatre in St Charles IL, just to name a few! There are too many to list but we have continued to play awesome music venues along the way.
We, "The WiseGuys," strive to be known as a versatile rock band (and not just a classic rock band). We pride ourselves in playing rock music by covering bands from 70's 80's 90's and even newer 2000's. We can play long 3 hour sets or short 1 hour sets. Our versatility allows us to adjust our "Set List" for a specific audience or type of show, whether it is an outdoor summer-fest or an inside smaller cozy venue. We like to say "If the audience can dance to it or sing to it we like to play it".
Quote: "If we play our cards right we'll keep rockin!"
Written by Lenny Puig
