Hat Trick
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
History
When Joe Riehle got his 4-track, he wanted to start bands with everyone, including Ben Judas. The resulting band was named Hat Trick because Ben Judas was both as diabolical as he was cute, and wore a mighty black hat from whence his power flowed. There's this awesome movie in which Ben is looking around all over the place for something and the viewer's like, "What could he be looking for that he's so frantic?" and then he finds his hat and leaves the house. The band name is also a hockey referrence.
Although Hat Trick only recorded three or four songs over its six years of existence, those songs encompassed a bold arc that bespoke volumes on the psychological growth of its component persons. Starting with the optimistic work-out song, "Little By Little," to the aptly titled "Straight Razors For Your Head," and ending with the gothic epic, "Pale Ghosts," the band's repetoir vividly portrayed the inverted phoenix of what puberty can do to an adolescent's dreams.
