[Dixielandjazz] EXPANDING THE AUDIENCE

[Chuck Kercher]

Your success, Steve, is amazing and I wholeheartedly concur with your
opinions and advice. It is one thing to be aware of the success of your
group and another to emulate. There is a mix of personalities, talents,
geography, fans, etc. that can't be duplicated by only working mostly with
the desire. Thanks again for the tape.
    On a different subject: Comparing Clifford, Bird, and other players of
true genius begs the admission that Louis started his journey straight from
God's living room.The issue of the International Musician's publication at
the time of Louis's death had several pages of testimonials from jazz greats
of every type of pursuit concurred that there was nothing played that didn't
contain some part of Louis's original message from the Creator.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 5:47 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] EXPANDING THE AUDIENCE


> 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
>
>
>
>
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