SwingDJs

Campus Five wrote: I feel like if there's no tuba or washboard, or if there's no organ nobody's interested.

actually its more like, if there is a Hilary Alexander involved, nobody is interested.

don't get on your high horse about people caring about swing when you ruin perfect songs by adding a vocalist that sucks the swing right out of it.

You know what..I never felt compelled to join until today. I just read Mike's post and I have to agree with him. Not all vocalists suck the life out of swing tunes, but most do. it's sad..especially Hilary Alexander.

Man, I really try not to bust on singers I know because I can't sing at all. Zilch. But I completely skipped every track Hilary sang on. It got to the point where I stopped the CD, looked up all the vocal credits and only listened to the instrumentals.

I heard some loose pieces of Campus 5 material that kicked ass - all instrumental. Regardless, I'm glad I bought the CDs. It just happens sometimes - the New Orleans Jazz Vipers have a similar concern.

Kalman

Wow, I was wodnering why I went to Swing events, I got Dixieland or Hot Jazz, and very little if any swing music. I'm sorry if you though I was lumping things together, but since I don't go to lindygroove, I feel like everything lately has been very trad-centric.

I wasn't asking anybody "why don't you hire me?" I wasn't trolling for compliments or gigs. This is a "DJ" forum. And besides we've been getting plenty of work.

Also, I was making a non-specific complaint about a trend that I think has swung too far in one direction. Where do you get off insulting my work? What do you contribute other being snarky on a board? Its one level of artisty to DJ bunch of other people's music for swing dancers, its a much more difficult feat to put a band together and actually play music.

I wasn't on high horse, and certainly wasn't asking to have my work attacked. I didn't realize you guys were such jerks.
I'm just glad when somebody reads though this tread, it does look like you guys are being jerks. Thanks for ambush.

Campus Five wrote:...but since I don't go to lindygroove, I feel like everything lately has been very trad-centric.

You need to get out more. Most of this forum (and most events) doesn't reside in Southern California.

Campus Five wrote:Where do you get off insulting my work?

Well... for one you were pretty straight up bashing Titan Hot Seven, but that said... no one insulted your work... they insulted Hillary's. Most of us here love Campus Five and your big band, but honestly, you need a new vocalist or none at all.

Campus Five wrote: I wasn't on high horse, and certainly wasn't asking to have my work attacked. I didn't realize you guys were such jerks.
I'm just glad when somebody reads though this tread, it does look like you guys are being jerks. Thanks for ambush.

I think a lot of posters on this board agree with you and many of them, like me, were tempted to write a response.

We are not all jerks.

Campus Five wrote:Wow, I was wodnering why I went to Swing events, I got Dixieland or Hot Jazz, and very little if any swing music. I'm sorry if you though I was lumping things together, but since I don't go to lindygroove, I feel like everything lately has been very trad-centric.

You must be missing my sets then, because they still feature mostly Swing music. I must admit, I really don't pay much attention to what others have been playing these days at the venues and events I go to, but I could swear I've still been hearing plenty of Swing music. (It's to note that that last comment is based on the fact that I avoid "groove"-centric venues and events, mainly because they are void of Swing music.) Yes, there is an influx of Traditional Jazz, but it's been mixed in nicely and it certainly isn't dominating.

Campus Five wrote:Also, I was making a non-specific complaint about a trend that I think has swung too far in one direction. Where do you get off insulting my work? What do you contribute other being snarky on a board? Its one level of artisty to DJ bunch of other people's music for swing dancers, its a much more difficult feat to put a band together and actually play music.

Like you said this is a DJ board, where people discuss music they like or dislike, and why they like or dislike certain things. As a musician with published work you are fair game for both criticism and praise. It's no different then someone posting: "Wow, this Count Basie album really sucks." "I can't believe how bad the mastering is on this Goodman album." "What the hell was Ella thinking when she recorded that song?" That's where they get off insulting your work.

And yes, I'm sure it's certainly a difficult feat to put a band together and actually play the music. I'm sure it's also a difficult feat to put a cast and crew together and put a lot of time, money, and hard work into producing a movie just to have the critics rip it apart and have consumers call it crap. It sucks, but that's the nature of exposing your art to public opinion.

For the record, I have not criticized your work in this thread and I'm not going to.

Nate Dogg wrote: We are not all jerks.

Unless you count those that feel it's okeh to trade burned collections, stiff artists, micromanage musicians, browbeat other posters, take any kind of stance on any kind of music or complain about events.

On second thought, we are all jerks.

Kalman

Going back to the orginal question....

...try their website: http://titanhot7.com/

Looks like Howard Dean in Iowa!

Kalman

I have not heard Titan Hot 7 live, but my friends who have really enjoy dancing to them. The tracks I've heard Dj'ed I've enjoyed also.

IMHO a whole night of trad is ok once in a while, all the time it's overkill. A lot more trad jazz is being played in Seattle than it used to be and I've been starting to hear some backlash -- i.e. "I'd like to hear more big band music"; "one more charleston song and I'm going to puke". So most of us have pulled back and not gone too overboard.

Jonathan - your band sounded really great in San Diego and much improved to me since I heard you guys last year up on the Strip. To me Hillary sounds ok live, but on your first CD I can't play the tracks she sings on; they are much worse than the instrumental tracks. Perhaps this is something about how the CD was recorded? I haven't listened to your new CD yet, so I will have to check it out.

Everybody I know loves dancing to classic big band; unfortunately most of the bands are pretty cheesy or as others pointed out with a post-modern rhythm section.

I think it's great that you are focusing on a classic sound. Everybody I know respects you as a musician, a band leader, and a DJ (and all us girls love to dance with you). Hopefully you can use this thread constructively.

Constructively my ass. Even the people trying to be nice come off sounding aweful.

Campus Five wrote:Constructively my ass. Even the people trying to be nice come off sounding aweful.

Well if you can't take criticism then learn to ignore it. If you feel applying it compromises your standards and thus won't or just plain don't want to change anything, you'll in turn never change the opinions of those criticizing you.

I wasn't asking for criticism. I was asking why I don't hear more Swing music - hell I wasn't even talking about live music. Then a couple of people started attacking me and my band. It's just petty and low. Fuck this.

I never ask for criticism either, but boy do I get it... and boy do I ignore it.