Collegiate Shag please?
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Collegiate Shag please?
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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPTmqw_92ZE
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.
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.
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
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
Last edited by Gong-Oh on Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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?
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I think it's Glenn Miller, from this CD: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?
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fyxqwgldfe
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Whoops forgot to follow up. But yes, I will attest to the fact that's that it's Glenn Miller.Haydn wrote:I think it's Glenn Miller, from this CD: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?
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fyxqwgldfe
Jesse (Los Angeles, CA/Hampton Roads, VA)
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- tornredcarpet
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Why don't you use vegetable oil instead of motor oil to lubricate your car?HepcatswingJJ wrote:Why not???
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.
Jesse (Los Angeles, CA/Hampton Roads, VA)
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1) Neo-swing is based off of a rock rhythm, not a swing rhythm,HepcatswingJJ wrote:Why not???
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.
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Re: Collegiate Shag please?
BTW, I'm the one in the white coat in this clip.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
- tornredcarpet
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Re: Collegiate Shag please?
And you and karen were awesome! congrats again!Capt Morgan wrote:BTW, I'm the one in the white coat in this clip.
Jesse (Los Angeles, CA/Hampton Roads, VA)