[Dixielandjazz] EXPANDING THE AUDIENCE

[Stephen Barbone]

Great thread. Some thoughts.

(1) Of course 2 beat Dixieland, played the old way,  will never be
popular again. Very little music in any genre, played the old way
becomes popular again does it? (popular meaning "mass appeal")

(2) Dixieland can evolve just like anything else can evolve. (don't
quibble with the definition of evolve, use "become modernized" if you
don't like evolve.

(3) As John Farrell says, Barbone Street has made Dixieland acceptable
to the music lovers in our territory, But to suggest that we haven't
done so world wide and so it doesn't matter, begs the issue. It is not
our mission to do so.

(4) John also seems to "hate" bead throwing and the other ways in which
we connect with our audience. To that I can only ask, why do we all
claim we learned to love this music because of Louis Armstrong, and then
totally ignore the manner in which he presented it? He might not have
thrown beads, but he did indeed put on a show for the audience. The show
is important (Titan Hot 7 in the USA, for example)

(5) AUDIENCE. . . . KEEP REPEATING THAT AS A MANTRA. Want to make the
music popular? Satisfy the audience. If Beads do it, then throw beads.
If jokes between numbers do it, then tell jokes between numbers. Why
look down on anything concerning the presentation? After all, musical
presentation has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. Change with
it.

(6) Don'ts. By the same token, if playing old style Dixieland, not
announcing tunes, not talking with the audiences, daring them to like it
all keep the music loving public away, and/or shrinking. Guess what?
Stop doing those things.

Dixieland Jazz should change with the times. 2 beat Dixieland evolved
from 4 beat New Orleans Jazz, which spawned Condon Style, etc. The music
changed up until about 1950. Then, it stopped.

John Farrell and Bill Gunter are right that Dixieland as they know it,
will not become popular. However Dixieland as Barbone Street plays it,
or as Kash's Canal Street plays it, or as many other bands can play it
will certainly appeal to a much broader audience that that which belongs
to the various Jazz Societies around the world.

AUDIENCE is the goal. Play where the audience is. Play to the young
people. Bring back the sex and naughtiness that first attracted us old
farts when we were young. Get the hell away from old people, and/or
those with closed minds who think old. Stop insulting your audiences
either in words, or by playing music exactly like you heard it 50 years
ago when you were in College. You are not in College anymore.

Jazz is, after all, entertainment. Just like Louis entertained, or
Gillespie entertained. It is neither an intelligence test of complexity
nor of obscure tunes that weren't any good the first time around.

All a band has to do to get popular is provide 10 % of what Louis
provided.

Come see us 80 miles from our homes in Rehoboth this weekend,
celebrating Louis Armstrong's Birthday at one of America's top jazz
nightclubs. The audience will be a mix of Politicians, Wealthy
Businessmen, Jazz Lovers, Music Lovers, Party Goers, some 80 year olds,
lots of 20/30 year olds, Straights, Gays, Artists and regular blue
collar workers on holiday.

We'll not be insulting them. We'll be entertaining them. With some of
the best Dixieland they've ever heard. They will yell scream and cheer
and we'll think we are at a rock concert. We'll sell a ton of CDs, sign
autographs, get free drinks, get propositioned by ladies half our ages
and have a generally awesome time. It doesn't get any better than that,
especially when playing music that we love, making no compromises.

Doesn't that beat sitting quietly and listening to your average
Dixieland Band with an audience whose average age is dead, shushing some
poor dope who talks while your average musician (or below average) is
bleating out what some other band or player made popular 50 years ago?
Especially when most of today's bands just do not compare with those of
the past?

Why then ask the kids today to latch on to "our" music as now played by
inferior bands? Records won't do either, that who industry is rapidly
declining just like OKOM. So it has to be done live or on MTV.

Dixieland is not dying. The current audience is dying. But there is a
very large crop of new listeners out there if a band really wants to
become popular. Barbone Street does it with players averaging 70 years
old. And so, John Farrell or Bill Gunter, or any other competent
musician out there, can you.

Cheers,
Steve