 by Cyn Collins
The Hat Trick Lounge lives up to its name. Bookers Larry Englund and Robin Shaw pull many surprise rhythms and grooves out of their hats, bringing life and vibrant sound to this bar located in the heart of downtown St. Paul. They balance a very eclectic mix of new and established talent in this old bar which feels as intimate and cozy as the inside of a velveteen hat lined with neon and pinhole stars.
One side is an old Irish-style bar while the other features a stage with nearby seating. Regulars at the bar can hear the music and still hold a conversation; show-goers pay a small cover to fully indulge in the music spectacle and eat free chicken wings, veggies and other barfare.
From bluegrass to blues, from surf to swinging jazz, the Hat Trick does it all
regardless of familiarity. The popular local old-timey all-girl stringband the
Ditch Lilies have played there. Shaw said, “We have some great bluegrass
and old-time bands here. I had no exposure to that kind of music or country
music when I was growing up. I’m always amazed at the new stuff I see
here. I wonder how did they get into that groove? I think of [surf guitar goddess]
Ronnie Lake ... how did you all of a sudden decide you were going to get into
this niche of surf music?”
Besides innumerable local artists such as swing jazz guitarist John Kolstad
and blues regulars Curtis and the Kicks, The Hat Trick bookers pull bands out
of their hats from afar. Madison’s The Dorothy Harolds brought their fans
with them, and Shaw said Des Moines’ Wu Li Masters “pack the place
like a Trampled by Turtles show.”
One such far-out band, Chinese Fingertrap—a really hot sax-led funky jazz
band from Milwaukee—moved fluidly from Latin rhythms into a techno percussion
funk jam session to postmodern electronic pop like a dream amalgamation of Frank
Zappa, the Doors, spy music and P-Funk rolled into one. It was the perfect ear-popping
backdrop to hearing the story of the Hat Trick Lounge’s emergence as a
strong music venue.
Englund and Shaw, who came from Philly 35 years ago, have both been involved
in the music biz for decades. They go way back to 1976, when they met working
for the Whittier Globe. They continued their publishing adventures and “misadventures”
together working at alt-publications Machete and Metropolis, during the days
of Hundred Flowers, which was headed up by Pulse publisher Eddie Felien.
Englund and Shaw got their booking chops in the early ’80s, booking reggae
band Shangoya, one of the most popular West Bank bands of the late ’70s
and early ’80s. Englund said they got Shangoya from playing five nights
a month to 20 during the six months they booked them. They continued to successfully
book other musicians as well. Englund also contributes his nearly 25 years of
experience programming his KFAI “Rhythm and Grooves” show Tuesday
nights.
The Hat Trick, owned by Mike Fish and his son John, formerly hosted music once
or twice a month. Englund became aware of the Fishes when they provided food
for St. Paul downtown neighborhood meetings Englund attended.
 Shaw
said, “Larry and I were talking about kind of a mothership type of place
like this. We kid about this and say we would like a toy club, like a train
set. As a matter of fact, one of us has that, too. Anyway, it’s a serious
business; we were strategically looking for a venue.”
“Then the bell went off in my head,” said Englund. “Bing!
I know a club!”
The Hat Trick was in transition, and downtown was also transitioning to more
of a residential community. Shaw added, “With the impending smoking ban,
[the owners] were like, ‘How are we going to transition the business?’
They had been doing music, they just wanted to tighten up how they did it. They
had to have somebody who had experience booking music.”
John Fish said of the musical transformation, “I like the diversity of
music. It draws a good mix of people from their mid-20s to mid-40s. It was more
of a rock ’n’ roll crowd. It’s a different deal having more
blues and jazz now, a more mature crowd, a lot more sophisticated people.”
Their booking approach is pragmatic and relaxed. Shaw said, “All these
little clubs are like microenvironments. What works in one club won’t
necessarily work in another … you can’t just transpose what works
on the West Bank to Northeast to Downtown St. Paul. You have to start running
things through the pipeline and seeing what works and what doesn’t. We’ve
had nights bomb; we’ve had nights do well. We’ve learned which bands
can fill up the club and which can’t, and we still have to take chances.”
Booking only one genre wouldn’t work, said Shaw, adding, “We can’t
get away from experimenting. If we had a band that didn’t do great the
first time—we give them a second chance. If 60 – 80 percent of the
nights are successful, we can experiment.”
 Shaw views the Hat Trick as an incubator. “Bands get better as they play
here. It’s surprising to see how much progress bands make.” He added,
“There’s a cross-pollination between [the bands]. We get Curtis
and the Kicks here and Curtis will say, ‘I’ve brought a friend with
me, who also has a band,’ so inevitably we’ll give it a try and
see what happens.”
Ed
O’Brien, lead singer for regulars Enchanted Ape, said, “This place
seems to inspire rowdiness. It reminds me of a neighborhood bar but it’s
downtown—it’s very intimate—there’s not much of a line
drawn between us and the audience. The staff and booking people are much more
supportive than most.”
Englund cited one of his favorite reasons for booking: “We get to hear
a lot of great music—it’s amazing how much talent there is in town.
The Silly Little Nothings are like the Ramones but then they do a song like
‘In Heaven there’s No Bar.’”
What’s one of Shaw’s favorite things about booking the Hat Trick?
Englund and I watched as Shaw impulsively leapt up to join Enchanted Ape on
harmonica for a song as he often does with various bands.
Shaw’s most highly recommended shows for the near future include Saturday,
June 10: Dee Miller Band, with LA and the Timekeepers, Friday, June 16: Papa
John Kolstad, and Saturday, June 24: Out of the Blue. ||
Hat Trick Lounge is located at 134 E. 5th St., 651-228-1347. For more
information, go to RobinCommunications.com/hat_trick_lounge.htm.
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