ECS/Lindy/WCS - Bridging the Gap

[Greg Avakian]

One of my goals, being that I'm from Kansas City is to bridge the gap between ECS and lindy through music...
...My goal is to build the lindy hop base in Kansas City...

Just want to point out that the topic is not "how to get more newbies to the dance". When I read comments like these:

Even better, those same beginners still come to me with requests from 5+ years ago.

Can I hear Zoot Suit Riot? No? Then Jump, Jive & Wail? No?? Then something by Brian Setzer? Aw jeez, nothing?

Kalman

And

In my 5 years of Djing I have never heard a newbie request Harris' version of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", Rod Stewart's "Having a Party" off his Unplugged disc, or any other "with a rich, deep, hard-grooving swing".

What I have heard requests for from newbies:

Sing Sing Sing
Jump Jive and Wail
Jumpin at the Woodside
Shout and Feel It
Zoot Suit Riot
Go Daddy-O
"That song" off of the Swing Kids Soundtrack
etc....

So I have to ask, how many of those requests came from Lindy dancers?

Since Buddy Johnson came up, I'd like to suggest something like "Shufflin' and Rollin'" as a of a song that newbies love (in my experience), but that says 'Lindy' more than it does 'ECS'. At 156 BPM it is accessable for the beginning Lindy Hopper.

Other suggestions are tunes like C-jam blues (either Duke's BD version or LCJO), Bli blop (LCJO), Exactly like you (McRae, not BG), Fly me to the moon (FS w/ Basie @Sands), etc. You all know the genre.

[Nate Dogg]

Just want to point out that the topic is not "how to get more newbies to the dance"

True, I was off topic on some of my posts. I was writing about newbies who don't dance at all, people who don't what lindy hop is. Encouraging solid ECS dancers to lindy hop is different. Aside from all the other factors, good cross over music helps, music that you can ECS and Lindy to.

As others have pointed out, at the beginning of the thread, before it wandered, if you go back to the source music that inspired a lot of neo-swing bands (jump blues, stuff like that). Since bands cover Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, Buddy Johnson, O'Keh R&B Box stuff, you can play the originals. Once you are in the era, you can slowly make things jazzier and add more swing.

I also guess this is also a reason to make your sets flow. The less aprupt the style change, the more comfortable people will feel dancing to songs that are outside their comfort zone.

Funny thing about my set to the ultra newbies in San Antonio this past weekend. I did play "Shufflin and Rollin." It actually flopped. The one experienced lead was the only lead who bothered to get out there. It was at that point, I reverted to a little neo-swing. But, that is a different topic, why neo-swing does not always suck.

[Mr Awesomer]

My goal is to build the lindy hop base in Kansas City

Just want to point out that the topic is not "how to get more newbies to the dance".

Building the "Lindy Hop base" and getting more "newbies" to the dance are closely related.

[Lawrence]

In my 5 years of Djing I have never heard a newbie request Harris' version of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", Rod Stewart's "Having a Party" off his Unplugged disc, or any other "with a rich, deep, hard-grooving swing".

What I have heard requests for from newbies:

Pardon the sarcasm, but when did this thread change from playing the music that people new to the scene would enjoy to playing the lousy requests by a few ignorant, newbie swing dorks who missed the boat five or six years ago?

The point is to play accessible music that people unfamiliar with Lindy music would enjoy without resorting to Neo crap: music that is the same or similar to music they would hear at a PRESENT-day blues club or on the radio.

Also, I frankly don't want to encourage more hipster daddy-o swing dorks who creep all the good-looking girls out and chase them away. I want to recruit "normal" people; normal guys who will bring in normal women, who will bring in more normal guys, who will bring in more normal women.

[Mr Awesomer]

I want to recruit "normal" people; normal guys who will bring in normal women, who will bring in more normal guys, who will bring in more normal women.

And what exactly is your perception of normal?

[Nate Dogg]

In my 5 years of Djing I have never heard a newbie request Harris' version of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", Rod Stewart's "Having a Party" off his Unplugged disc, or any other "with a rich, deep, hard-grooving swing".

What I have heard requests for from newbies:

Pardon the sarcasm, but when did this thread change from playing the music that people new to the scene would enjoy to playing the lousy requests by a few ignorant, newbie swing dorks who missed the boat five or six years ago?

The point is to play accessible music that people unfamiliar with Lindy music would enjoy without resorting to Neo crap: music that is the same or similar to music they would hear at a PRESENT-day blues club or on the radio.

Also, I frankly don't want to encourage more hipster daddy-o swing dorks who creep all the good-looking girls out and chase them away. I want to recruit "normal" people; normal guys who will bring in normal women, who will bring in more normal guys, who will bring in more normal women.

Yes, you have the laugh out loud emoticon. But, you words have a lot of bite. The wording comes across as mean.

You are assuming a lot about somebody based on the fact that they make a request that you don't like.

Who are these hipster neo dorks trying to invade the scence which you speak of? I mostly see "normal" people showing up at the dances. Good people people who are often uninformed of jazz music, the history of swing, the current lindy hip culture. It is perfectly logical that many of them are somewhat unenlightened in that regard.

[Greg Avakian]

Building the "Lindy Hop base" and getting more "newbies" to the dance are closely related.

Hehehe: Not if we're talking about requests...

[falty411]

A. Since when do the words "normal" and "lindy hopper" go together? Please tell me when you find a "normal lindy hopper", I have yet to meet one.

&

B. Music that would be the best for starting a Lindy Hop scene would be the type with a strong rhythm section and great musicians who are playing their music intentionally to inspire dancing. Not bands where the emphasis is on Vocalists or the Solo artists where the rhythm section is hardly even audible. "You all know the genre"

also Lawerence

"hipster daddy-o swing dorks who creep all the good-looking girls out and chase them away"

there are more than enough groove lindy dorks and original era lindy dorks who creep girls out. You shouldn't judge people like that unless you are willing to be judged yourself.

[Soma-Guy]

A. Since when do the words "normal" and "lindy hopper" go together? Please tell me when you find a "normal lindy hopper", I have yet to meet one.

I couldn't agree with you more Mike. Vive la freaks!

[yedancer]

In my 5 years of Djing I have never heard a newbie request Harris' version of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", Rod Stewart's "Having a Party" off his Unplugged disc, or any other "with a rich, deep, hard-grooving swing".

What I have heard requests for from newbies:

Pardon the sarcasm, but when did this thread change from playing the music that people new to the scene would enjoy to playing the lousy requests by a few ignorant, newbie swing dorks who missed the boat five or six years ago?

The point is to play accessible music that people unfamiliar with Lindy music would enjoy without resorting to Neo crap: music that is the same or similar to music they would hear at a PRESENT-day blues club or on the radio.

Also, I frankly don't want to encourage more hipster daddy-o swing dorks who creep all the good-looking girls out and chase them away. I want to recruit "normal" people; normal guys who will bring in normal women, who will bring in more normal guys, who will bring in more normal women.

Wow. This post just floors me.

[julius]

i agree with though that there's alot of fluff in the basie recordings. i ripped about 1500 songs and less than 600 will make my book. Actually i'm hoping to get it down to less than 400.

Hey, uh, can I have those 900 you're not using? :)

[Lawrence]

there are more than enough groove lindy dorks and original era lindy dorks who creep girls out. You shouldn't judge people like that unless you are willing to be judged yourself.

My God!! We agree!!!

Brilliant use of ironic juxtaposition between those two sentences, btw. (You did the very thing you claim I shouldn't do! )

There obviously was just a bit of blatant sarcasm in my post, as well. (Not sure how much more clear I could be than "Pardon the sarcasm...")

[kitkat]

*giggle*
I'm going out east coast swinging tonight!

Hey, when in Rome...

[Yakov]

Lawrence, you really outdid yourself with that "normal" line.

[mousethief]

So I have to ask, how many of those requests came from Lindy dancers?

Several. The thread is about promoting lindy hop right? But we can't do that if we're always thumbing our nose at newcomers.

Kalman