Jackson Free Press

Jackson is home to many cover bands, but only one of them plays the memorable music of Chicago (the band). The eight members of Dialogue, who are all from the Jackson area, got together in February 2012 to try to recreate some old tunes from their childhood.

Chicago came back to Mike Weidick's radar after a performance on the coast at one of the casinos back in 2001.

"I liked the tunes when I was younger, but when you see them live, it's a full house," Weidick says.

Weidick has always been in bands—from school bands to hard rock bands in his youth. Today, he says, there doesn't seem to be as many horn bands around. Because of this and Dialogue's select setlist, the band is limited in where and when it can play. Weidick doesn't mind, though.

"You're not going to get as many gigs. You can't just roll up into a club and play this dance music for four hours," he says. "But that's OK because when people do come out to see us, they're there to actually see us. They're not just out drinking and a band happens to be playing. People deliberately come to the shows."

The members of Dialogue are John Powell on lead vocals, Paul Weidick on bass, Steve Cook on drums, Richard Smith on keyboards, Mike Weidick on trombone, Rick Moreira on guitar and vocals, David Battaglia on saxophone and flute, and Richard Beverly on trumpet.

In all, the band knows about 17 of Chicago's songs, ranging from hits such as "Colour My World" to more obscure ones. The men usually take about four practices to completely nail down a song and make it sound like the original, which is what they always strive to do.

"Chicago's music is all upbeat with a positive message," Weidick says. "Let's spread some of that around."

Dialogue will perform the music of Chicago on June 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7121). Cocktails are at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Purchase tickets at ardenland.net, Babalu Tacos and Tapas, or Morningbell Records. Visit dialoguetheband.com for more info or find Dialogue the band on Facebook.