[Dixielandjazz] Uncle Yoke's Black Dog Jazz Band

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

How in the World did I miss this act,  Heaven's to Mergatroid!

Oh I remember, I was touring in Europe in their heyday, and our paths never 
crossed as we were playing two different circuits.

Somebody kept them hidden from the rest of the World no doubt, The 
disappearance of great acts like this is what in my opinion is wrong with the OKOM 
market.   We all Must take this Music to non Dixieland Events and play to much 
larger audiences to expand the base for this music to ever sustain the 
possibilities of anybody making a decent living in it.

Yes, keeping all that talent together on a stage night after night and 
touring is indeed a major job if not impossible to sustain for the long haul.   Too 
bad because when it drops off the map, so man many potential OKOM converts who 
would run to embrace OKOM just don't get exposed to acts as great as these 
guys sound to be.

Once again folks I will preach my Sermon from the Revival Tent,

Take this music to the Jazz Oblivious, they are who need and want it but have 
no idea where to find it.  All of us in the know folks on this great list are 
simply Preaching to the Choir, and we should all be out preaching the Dixie 
Swing Trad Rag Time Jazz to the rest of the world.

Sounds to me like these guys in The Black Dogs might have had more fun than 
we do With Saint Gabriel's Celestial Brass Band.  I am really sorry I never got 
the chance to see and hear them.

There are many musicians who DREAM of becoming successful and MAKING IT but 
somehow along the way they let their personal Ego's get in the way even after 
they have started to become very successful and then self destruct everything 
they worked so hard to achieve.

I have encountered countless players like this in my career, who simply seem 
to be Deathly Afraid of Success and when it starts to come they go on a 
rampage to self destruct and run back to the constant insecurity of being obscure 
and starting all over again with yet another group of unknowns or with a couple 
of almost were's .

Not only in OKOM but all aspects of the music business.  We are indeed a very 
malcontent bunch most of the time with no concept at all about looking at the 
BIG PICTURE of our industry outside our little comfortable circle of friends 
and fans.

Folks, Louis didn't do it that way, nor did Benny Goodman, Artis Shaw, Bix, 
or any of the other Greats that we like to go on and on about and adore for 
their contributions to Jazz.

They went out on the Road and worked their asses off playing to new people 
every night, spreading the Gospel of Jazz and Swing and they met a growing 
audience of converts in almost every place they went.

You can bet they suffered the same problems many of the later groups did too, 
such as willingly and unwillingly sharing girl friends and wives, underwear, 
shoes, toothbrushes, razors, and many other items no doubt.  Swapped true 
stories on each other and lied to and about each other and about others they met 
on the great highway. 

When the journey gets rough many bail out and jump ship for many reasons, 
usually however for a woman :))    Others develop their own demons along the way 
trying to fill the void of not having roots in one place and being settled 
down with a routine safety net life of familiar surroundings on a daily basis 
giving some semblance of order to their otherwise chaotic lifestyle.  However 
many who find and embrace that serenity soon tire of it and go start all over 
again with yet another group of musical gypsies and go chasing that shooting ever 
evasive Star of happiness that they grasp on stage with every standing 
ovation, but just can't seem to hold in their eternal grasp.

To many musicians the Gift of Music is indeed more a curse from which they 
cannot free themselves, hence their constant leaving the business and coming 
back over and over again.

To spend so much time and energy to build and deliver a great act like the 
Black Dogs seem to have been is something that the members should have seriously 
considered for the long haul and worked harder to settle their personal 
differences for the sake of the Business that was being good to all of them 
collectively and apparently from what I have read about them only today on this list, 
would have grown to even bigger rewards Internationally.    

And no doubt they were not the first to fall prey to this game nor will they 
unfortunately be the last to do so.

Now I have to find some legitimate product on these guys so I can hear it for 
myself.

I suppose now they all play in that famous group "The Formerly With 
All-stars" and the up and coming new act "NEXT."

:))

Cheers,

Can I get an AMEN?

Rev. Tom-Bob Wiggins

Tom Hooks seems to be my kind of preacher man too.