[Dixielandjazz] Playing for the young - Swing Dancers

[Gary Kiser]

Steve barbone wrote:

>Just booked a wedding for a couple of swing dancers in their 20s. As you
>commercial jazz guys know, weddings pay the rent, but some jazzers look down
>their artistic noses at playing them, long green notwithstanding.
>  
>
That must be true the world over.  I do a half dozen to a dozen weddings
a year.  And, no, other musicians don't look down at us; they are
jealous.  We get around $400 per man (well, the $ is weak right now),
travel expenses, hotel if the gig is over 200km from Clermont-Ferrand
and we eat what the guests eat.  And about the food, the families that
can afford us to play their kids' weddings spend a FORTUNE on food.
Nothing like a wedding gig five course meal.

The next best gig -- pay wise -- are corporate dinners.  We do 15 to 20
of these a year (half for Michelin).  Very well paid, and well fed, but
not as well as at weddings.  Except, perhaps, the end-of-the-year
employee parties.  At these, they always order too much shellfish for
the apéro.  After the invitees go off to sit down and eat, you can find
the musos powering down the rest of the oysters, shrimp and smoked salmon.

But, nothing like a (mainland) European jazz festival to coddle the
musician's ego.  We usually have a crew of guys that will empty the van
and carry everything on stage for us.  The rest of the gig is rich with
this same kind of treatment.  Many musos that have played both sides of
the Atlantic remark that in the States, musicians are treated and
entertainers while in Europe we are artists.

I clarified 'mainland' Europe because I have found English treatment of
musicians much like what we get Stateside.  I will point out though,
that we have only done one tour of England (in 1998).  I guess I should
try to put together another one to show myself wrong.

>The OKOM that most band leaders on the list play was dance music when it was
>first played. How come it isn't now? What have we done to it?
>  
>
As for OKOM being dance music, I invite anyone traveling through Paris
to go to the Caveau de la Huchette to play or watch.  The place is 90%
dance floor and is full from opening to closing with kids to old farts
all hoofin' like crazy.  Even when the band takes a break, the kids keep
dancing to the ambiance music.

All the best, Gary

Gary Kiser
www.sacapulses.com
www.mojobrassband.com