[Dixielandjazz] Amplification

[Stephen Barbone]

List mates

Regarding amplification, each venue, circumstance is different as
precious posts have mentioned. In December 2002, I posted a note about a
gig we did for a University of Pennsylvania dance at the 23rd Street
Armory in Philadelphia. The room was approximately 50 by 80 (feet), and
fairly "live".

It was set up with our 6 piece band at one end, and the bar / food area
at the other end, 80 feet away. The rest of the space was mostly open
hardwood floor.

In the beginning, with less than 50 people there, we played acoustically
except for guitar and bass who were slightly amplified and it was fine.
Then the room filled up with approximate 400 people. Initially, I
started to use the mike, (clarinet) then they all started dancing and
talking, laughing, having a good time as we threw beads and went into
our normal "good time" mode.

The room noise was pretty loud as you might imagine and by the third set
(out of 4), the trumpet was blowing directly into a mike also. I have a
neat jpg of Paul Grant, trumpet, turned sideways blowing into a mike,
with the dancers in the background. (sideways to protect his chops as
the dancers were right up to the front line of the band) Even Glenn
Dodson, whose trombone is one of the loudest in the world, used the mike
as the night wore on.

So you do what you have to do. Were they there to listen to the band?
Yeah some were, maybe 20 people, and they stood right next to us. But
the rest were there to dance to the band. And when your audience is
between 18 and 23 years old, beautifully dressed, smiling, and dancing
to your "old fart" band, which is playing the hell out of the music it
loves, it just doesn't get any better than that. (We get rebooked by
them for two gigs a year)

Except when the girls give you a kiss for a string of beads and
seductively whisper in your ear that you are not anything like their
grandfather. ;-)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone