SwingDJs

I was asked last night to DJ an "east coast swing" dance (specifically as opposed to lindy) in the next few weeks. I'm having a little trouble figuring out exactly what all they want though. Any specific suggestions? I know to stay away from slow bluesy stuff, but am blanking a bit on what classic big band stuff would be good for this..

for me

ECS= NeoSwing/Blues 12 bar blues works best IMO

Big Joe Turner etc.....

Kyle wrote: Big Joe Turner etc.....

Ahh right. All the jump blues stuff I bought when I first started dancing

thanks.

Jump blues (Wynonie Harris, Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Ruth Brown, the Risque Rhythms compilation) would be a great place to start, but also be prepared for requests for neoswing (BBVD, The Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Brian Setzer). You might cringe at play Setzer's "Jump, Jive and Wail", but you might be making the crowd's night. Much of the modern swing bands (Lavay, Indigo Swing, Lily Wilde) should give you a lot of material as well. You would probably do well with some Sinatra thrown in there and some 50s stuff like Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petit" of "Baby Workout". As for big band stuff, I'm sure "Sing, Sing, Sing" would be a hit as well as some other recognizeable numbers.

Stick to the songs with really strong and pronounced rhythms, stearing away from those songs with subtle rhythms. High energy is always good. When I was regularly DJing for ECS dancers, I was rarely playing anything below the 150-160 range, but also it was only the rare dancers who seemed to enjoy dancing upwards of 220-240.

If in doubt, ask yourself "would someone really enjoy doing 'step-step-rock-step' to this song?"

Jesse

Jesse, those are great guidelines...

I often times have been asked to mix in ECS in there. You'd be surprise though, that if you throw out Beyond the Sea, it's good for beginning ECSers, and Lindy people are ok w/ that.

I made the mistake of playing something really Bal sound, and that totally turn the ECS ppl off. So from here on, I only play fun Big Band as oppose of fast Jazz renditions.

I once overheard an ECS dancer in our community state "it isn't really a good dance until they break out the Elvis."

Also, don't forget stuff like Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters. May seem overplayed to the lindy crowd, but they are still the biggest requests I get from the ECS crowd.

Can't you just see Reuben reading this topic and fighting to stop from vomiting?

In my experience, ECS dancers around here (Tampa Bay) enjoy stuff by Cab Calloway and Lucky Millinder. Ella, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller (*cringe*), and the Andrews Sisters may be welcome if the beat is strong and fast enough. I've found that 180bpm is the threshold of fun ECS for people at my school.

Also, 50s/rockabilly is very popular among ECS dancers here. Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Ricky Nelson, Bill Haley, and Ritchie Valens each get a good response. The Cigar Store Indians are also popular, perhaps because they play here fairly frequently.

Specific songs I'd consider would include:

"Shotgun Boogie" - Cab Calloway (160)
"Goody, Goody" - Benny Goodman (195)
"Chew Tobacco Rag" - Lucky Millinder (170)
"Good Lovin'" - Rascals (195)
"La Bamba" - Los Lobos (155)
"Man with the Hex" - Atomic Fireballs (220)
"Bad Reputation" - Rev. Horton Heat (210).

Play the crowd and be prepared for anything. They may hate Elvis but go wild for the Stray Cats. Or vise versa.

GemZombie wrote:Can't you just see Reuben reading this topic and fighting to stop from vomiting?

Hey, it's not only Reuben

Rockabilly is, without a doubt, your best bet.

The best Rockabilly compilations are found on the Bear Family Record label- you will want to check out the "That'll Flat Git It" series- all 18 of them.

Rockabilly dj-ing is a skill unto itself, when youré playing for a rockabilly crowd, that is. There are three distinct (usually) types of songs- Boppers (bouncy, upbeat rythymn), rockers (fast tempo) and strollers. Strollers were played specifically for the 50's line dance, The Stroll. They are (strollers) also really good for Lindy tempo and feel.

examples: Boppers: Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes
Rockers: Gene Vincent: B-I Bickey Bi Go Go Go
Strollers: The Sevilles: Charlena

It ended up being an extremely strange experience, and one I've told them I don't really want to repeat. They'd asked for East Coast Music and had been advertising as music of the "40's, 50's and 60's". I found out when I got there from the guy who'd DJed the week before that the woman running it doesn't like big band. And didn't want neo. So I played a heck of a lot of jump blues with a little 50's rock thrown in. There were 10 people who showed up all night, none of whom would dance over about 170. They paid me more than they took in at the door, but today I found out their check bounced.

The one good thing is that the few people who WERE there stayed on the dancefloor pretty much all night and came up and thanked me before they left since they'd really liked the music.

That sucks that you had such a negative bad experience. Do these folks run a regular venue in your area? If so, you should spread the word about the bounced check. That's not cool at all.

Tina

gatorgal wrote:That sucks that you had such a negative bad experience. Do these folks run a regular venue in your area? If so, you should spread the word about the bounced check. That's not cool at all.

They're just starting out, but yes, it's a weekly thing. I've actually mailed them, and will give them an opportunity to fix the situation before I mail all the DJs in town.

kbuxton wrote:

gatorgal wrote:That sucks that you had such a negative bad experience. Do these folks run a regular venue in your area? If so, you should spread the word about the bounced check. That's not cool at all.

They're just starting out, but yes, it's a weekly thing. I've actually mailed them, and will give them an opportunity to fix the situation before I mail all the DJs in town.

Coolness. I hope it works out.

Tina