Page 1 of 2

Collegiate Shag please?

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:14 pm
by vintagefreak
So after the Hot Rhythm ball in Austin I have once again caught the shag bug so please some one what is the first song in this clip and can someone give me some other good shag suggestions. I know all the popular ones so more rare than Mr ghost goes to town, Caricoa, man from mars, or oh lady be good artie shaw version.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPTmqw_92ZE

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:40 pm
by lipi
I have no clue what "the popular ones" are, as I've never been to an all-shag event and I've never DJ'ed a dance with more than the occasional shag dancer.

That said, as a dancer, it seems to me like tunes that work for lindy and are in the 180-230 range work well for shag, too. The board is full of suggestions along those lines.

Given the tunes you mentioned, Artie Shaw seems like the obvious place to start for you. "Diga Diga Doo", "Back Bay Shuffle", "Free Wheeling", and "Bird Calls" all come to mind.

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:21 pm
by Gong-Oh
I picked some of the songs listed below for the preliminaries of a Collegiate Shag contest, after a discussion with Sailor Mike Mizgalski (two time NJC Shag Champion). The general guideline to pick a good Shag is to look for a bouncy feeling.

Cheers,
Lorenzo

Steamboat Bill, Mora's Modern Rhythmists (1996) - 200 bpm
Darktown Strutter's Ball, Sidney Bechet (1945) - 220 bpm
Too Wet To Plow, Cliff Bruner (1944) - 230 bpm
You Just Take Her, Bob Wills (Tiffany Transcriptions 1947) - 210 bpm

Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 5:14 am
by mr. e
You can dance Collegiate Shag to a lot of songs, actually. Just look for a bouncy feeling. I remember that one song we used a lot in the classes was actually an Ella tune (Sorry, which one exactly has slipped my mind). These may be a bit on the slower side, but I figure you're fine with training tempo and not contest speed?

Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:26 am
by tornredcarpet
I don't think anyone answered what song it was... It's "Everybody Loves My Baby" -I can't think of who the band is off the top of my head. Maybe Harry James?

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:59 pm
by HepcatswingJJ
Here are a couple of neo swing tunes that are great for shag.

Man with the Hex - Atomic Fireballs
Go Daddio - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
The Boogie Bumper - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:14 am
by turin
Nick Williams always use to play "Mr Ghost goes to Town" in his Shag classes. He used the Hudson-Delange version, but I prefer the Mills Blue Rhythm Band version personally

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:48 pm
by Haydn
tornredcarpet wrote:I don't think anyone answered what song it was... It's "Everybody Loves My Baby" -I can't think of who the band is off the top of my head. Maybe Harry James?
I think it's Glenn Miller, from this CD:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fyxqwgldfe

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:12 am
by tornredcarpet
Haydn wrote:
tornredcarpet wrote:I don't think anyone answered what song it was... It's "Everybody Loves My Baby" -I can't think of who the band is off the top of my head. Maybe Harry James?
I think it's Glenn Miller, from this CD:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fyxqwgldfe
Whoops forgot to follow up. But yes, I will attest to the fact that's that it's Glenn Miller.

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:31 pm
by Capt Morgan
HepcatswingJJ wrote:Here are a couple of neo swing tunes that are great for shag.

Man with the Hex - Atomic Fireballs
Go Daddio - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
The Boogie Bumper - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
:x

No, no, no, no and no!

Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:07 pm
by HepcatswingJJ
Why not??? :?:

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:27 pm
by tornredcarpet
HepcatswingJJ wrote:Why not??? :?:
Why don't you use vegetable oil instead of motor oil to lubricate your car?
Why don't you use guitar pedals instead of bicycle pedals to propel your bike?
Why don't you use a bonfire instead of a space heater to warm your apartment?
Why don't you use neo-swing instead of jazz?

Because it doesn't fit and it doesn't work.

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:37 am
by Capt Morgan
HepcatswingJJ wrote:Why not??? :?:
1) Neo-swing is based off of a rock rhythm, not a swing rhythm,

2) The swing rhythm (or pulse) is essential to the feel of the collegiate shag basic,

3) A "fast" tempo doesn't mean a song is automatically a shag song (or a balboa song, etc.). Shag can be done comfortably at around 180 bpm.

In the end, it's all about the feel of an individual recording that dictates how you dance to it, although this is completely subjective. For example, Hal Takier (famous Los Angeles Balboa Dancer) has stated that "Flying Home" is a balboa song. I used to think it was a Lindy Hop song, but after listening to most versions, the song does have a "shuffle" feel to it that does make me think of balboa now.

Collegiate Shag is a dance from the 30's, and is inherently connected to the music of this era (more so than Lindy Hop). Dancing to Neo-Swing, or Rockabilly, or Bebop just doesn't fit.

Re: Collegiate Shag please?

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:39 am
by Capt Morgan
vintagefreak wrote:So after the Hot Rhythm ball in Austin I have once again caught the shag bug so please some one what is the first song in this clip and can someone give me some other good shag suggestions. I know all the popular ones so more rare than Mr ghost goes to town, Caricoa, man from mars, or oh lady be good artie shaw version.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPTmqw_92ZE
BTW, I'm the one in the white coat in this clip.

Re: Collegiate Shag please?

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:16 pm
by tornredcarpet
Capt Morgan wrote:BTW, I'm the one in the white coat in this clip.
And you and karen were awesome! congrats again!