Seattle Lindy Exchange 2004, Aug 6-8

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djstarr
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Seattle Lindy Exchange 2004, Aug 6-8

#1 Post by djstarr » Wed Jun 16, 2004 4:17 pm

The dancers of Seattle are proud to announce the launch of registration for our 2004 Exchange! A weekend of fun, fantastic dancing at the low, low, low price of only $40!

The weekend of August 6-8 will be Seattle’s 5th Lindy Exchange and we hope to see you all there!

What can you expect?

1 Fantastic Weekend
2 Rooms of Late Night Dancing
3 Nights of Live Music
4 Bands from the Pacific Northwest, all at the
5th Seattle Lindy Exchange


The website and registration are open now, so head on over to http://sealx.org now to register before we run out of room!

If you have any questions, please email us at SeattleLindyExchange@yahoo.com!

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djstarr
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SLE details

#2 Post by djstarr » Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:54 pm

Hope you all can make it out to Seattle this summer - several of us on the board will be spinning over the weekend - here are some details:

Friday we will open the exchange with local band Lunch Money, lead by dancer Kevin Buster. Late night that evening will feature hometown girl Brenda Starr and Kevin Schaper of Portland, OR in the main room with Iain McBride of Vancouver BC spinning in the Annex from 2-4

Saturday will start with our annual picnic, this year held at the famous Gas Works Park in the middle of Seattle. Afterward we will all head to the Seattle Center for a FREE dance to be held in the Seattle Center House. There will be a two hour break between the Dance and Late night for you to grab a bite to eat so you can be on time to enjoy the music of the Solomon Douglas Trio from 2 until 4. DJs that night will all be locals, including Hep Jen to open the night, Kevin Tamura to close the night and DJ Travis Whetman spinning in the Annex.

Sunday starts with another tradition, the dance at Westlake Park, share your dancing with the masses while enjoying the summer sun of the Pacific Northwest. Once you’ve warmed up your tan, head on over to the Century Ballroom to check out a group of Seattle Legends, the Ham Carson Quintet. Sunday night’s late night will feature two of the Pacific Northwest’s favorite DJ’s, Adam Noble and Dave Mortenson.

All that at only $40, we know we’ll see you there!

http://sealx.org

Questions? Email us at SeattleLindyExchange@yahoo.com

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djstarr
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#3 Post by djstarr » Mon Aug 02, 2004 3:02 pm

I am so excited about the exchange coming up! We have 270 folks pre-registered; 2/3 of those are out of towners. And it will be 80 degrees and sunny next weekend.

For those of you on the board who will be there I'd love to get some feedback on the music - we have made a very concerted effort to provide a wide range of music and to provide more live music - I'd be very interested to hear what people liked and didn't like about the music.

Hope to see some of you soon!

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#4 Post by Toon Town Dave » Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:45 pm

I'll be there! The awesome lineup of bands and DJs made the decision easy, can't wait till the weekend!

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#5 Post by djstarr » Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:14 pm

Here's some info from our co-director Carla; we are trying to get the word out to folks who may not have registered but are still planning to show up - some of the venues may have limited attendance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone! (Locals & Visitors)
As some have you may have noticed from the SLE Website (or heard announced at a dance in town) Registration for the 2004 Seattle Lindy Exchange is closed.

As of Sunday morning we had nearly 270 people registered, which was just 30 short of our pre-determined cap. We tossed around the idea of keeping registration open for another few days, but we wanted to make sure as many people were able to attend as possible

So what does this mean to you?

If you've registered on the website (whether you've actually paid or not) this doesn't mean much at all, show up to the dance Friday or to Late night on Friday and pick up your wristband (and pay if you need to) you'll be all set for the entire weekend!

If you haven't registered, please plan to show up early for the Friday night and Friday late night dances. The Saturday night dance at the Seattle Center is Free and open to the public, so you have nothing to worry about there. For the remaining late night dances, we will be evaluating how much space there is on friday night, then adjusting the number of tickets available for Saturday and Sunday late nights. The Sunday dance is being hosted by the Century Ballroom and I'm sure they will handle ticket sales with their usual excellence.

If you have any questions, or would like to volunteer, please email us at seattlelindyexchange@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Carla

http://sealx.org

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djstarr
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#6 Post by djstarr » Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:15 pm

Toon Town Dave wrote:I'll be there! The awesome lineup of bands and DJs made the decision easy, can't wait till the weekend!
Looking forward to seeing you there Dave!

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scowl
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#7 Post by scowl » Mon Aug 09, 2004 12:42 pm

What did folks think of the quadra-monophonic sound at the late nights? That was Kevin's speakers plus my speakers all at medium volume. I think it worked well since you could dance in front of any speaker and not lose your hearing, yet the volume was pretty consistant all around the floor.

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#8 Post by djstarr » Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:11 pm

I liked the speaker set up - it was a good idea on your guys' part.

I got a lot of positive compliments about both the bands and dj's -- everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. One specific comment about the late night dj's was the quality level -- my guest from DC told me he heard many great songs he had never heard before, plus different creative versions of songs he knew - he really enjoyed listening to the different versions.

Some of the critical comments I received about the bands: the band Friday night was a little too "jazzy" and the songs were way too long (which I agreed with); the band leader on Sat evening talks way too much during songs (which I also agree with). We were planning on a trombone player for the hot jazz quintet on Sunday night, but because of some family committments we got a vibraphonist instead --- totally different sound, but still great to dance to.

Everybody really enjoyed Solomon Douglas' trio Sat late night.

My only regret is not giving the band leaders direct feedback during the dj breaks for both Friday and Saturday, I think I could have said something tactfully that would have improved their second sets, but live and learn - I think on the whole it's probably better to not micro manage the bands!

I thought all the dj's did an outstanding job - I was very pleased with the variety of styles and tempos we had through the weekend.

Thanks to everybody who came out and participated - it was a great experience for me!

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#9 Post by scowl » Wed Aug 11, 2004 2:13 pm

djstarr wrote:Ithe band leader on Sat evening talks way too much during songs (which I also agree with).
Oh Pete. :roll: We've told him so many times. At the Portland Exchange I told him "We can't hear a damn thing you're saying! Not one single word! GIve it up!" It was even worse in the Seattle Center because the echo turned his mumbling into a continous hum which didn't even sound like a human speaking.
Didya notice that he spoke very clearly whenever he was plugging his CD. :D

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#10 Post by Toon Town Dave » Wed Aug 11, 2004 9:08 pm

I didn't really notice the sound setup (other than to see the speakers in the back) which is probably good. The sound level was pretty homogenous around the room.

I liked the variety of music, I think all styles/tempos were represented.

I though Kevin B's group was good to listen to but I'd echo others' sentiments that the songs were too long for dancing and could have used a little more swing in the rhythm section.

Ham's music was awesome. Walking up to the Century and hearing the music outside felt like various descriptions of the Savoy. My only suggestion would be to play a little more mid-tempo stuff when the room is that crowded.

I enjoyed Pork Pie despite the redundant plugs for the yet to be released new CD. I thought they were good and the appropriate band for the venue.

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#11 Post by jmatthew » Thu Aug 12, 2004 12:10 am

Gonna go with a higher capacity next year?

I've been hearing horror stories of people who travelled across the country thinking they could get tickets at the door and then got stuck outside. :(

Everything else I heard was great though, wishing I'd have gone. :/
I'm not an obsessive personality. I just happen to pick hobbies that seem to consume my life.

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#12 Post by main_stem » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:40 am

jmatthew wrote:Gonna go with a higher capacity next year?

I've been hearing horror stories of people who travelled across the country thinking they could get tickets at the door and then got stuck outside. :(
Probably not. We are using the biggest venues we can afford that allow us the leway to do the things we need to do. That's why we limited the numbers.
As far as I know everyone who wanted to get in did, eventually.
"We called it music."
— Eddie Condon

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#13 Post by main_stem » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:50 am

Toon Town Dave wrote:I didn't really notice the sound setup (other than to see the speakers in the back) which is probably good. The sound level was pretty homogenous around the room.
That's because Kevin S and Holle busted their asses making sure the set up was right. They went far beyond what was asked of them. and had to miss some events to make sure things were set up right.
Toon Town Dave wrote:I liked the variety of music, I think all styles/tempos were represented.
Thanks that was our goal .

Toon Town Dave wrote:I though Kevin B's group was good to listen to but I'd echo others' sentiments that the songs were too long for dancing and could have used a little more swing in the rhythm section.
Kevin B really seemed more intent on goofing around than playing and leading his group. I'm sure this will be a big topic when we meet up to talk about the weekend. Personally, I wouldn't ask them back
Toon Town Dave wrote:Ham's music was awesome. Walking up to the Century and hearing the music outside felt like various descriptions of the Savoy. My only suggestion would be to play a little more mid-tempo stuff when the room is that crowded.
Funny I though it was just right. Granted I had to leave early to run sound for afterhours so I missed the end. I'm always amazed at the power and energy this group is able to produce.
Toon Town Dave wrote:I enjoyed Pork Pie despite the redundant plugs for the yet to be released new CD. I thought they were good and the appropriate band for the venue.
Everytime Pete opens his mouth we should doc his pay.
"We called it music."
— Eddie Condon

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#14 Post by LindyChef » Thu Aug 12, 2004 1:06 pm

I had a fantastic time. The variety of music was great and it was a treat to have live music at the late night.

I can see why some people would have had a problem with Buster's band. I didn't dance that much because the songs were too long, but I did enjoy watching them play. I particularly enjoyed their version of A-Train and I thought the drummer was right on ...

And yeah, I understand about PorkPie ... it's part of why I snuck out early to go dancing at the Pampas Room before latenight :D

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#15 Post by djstarr » Thu Aug 12, 2004 1:34 pm

Toon Town Dave wrote:Ham's music was awesome. Walking up to the Century and hearing the music outside felt like various descriptions of the Savoy.
I wasn't quite sure what the instrumentation was going to be, so as I was walking up the street to the Century, I was surprised to hear vibes. I thought maybe Travis was doing a dj break already since he's a big fan of Lionel Hampton. I thought it was quite a treat - I haven't danced to a live vibraphonist before.
Toon Town Dave wrote: My only suggestion would be to play a little more mid-tempo stuff when the room is that crowded.
Ha - that's what Bal is for Dave! You should try dancing to them at the New Orleans when it's crowded ;-) Personally, I really like how Ham mixes up tempos - he has had so much experience that he knows how to control the feel and he talks just the right amount - I think maybe we should drag Pete up next time to a couple of his shows first....

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