[Dixielandjazz] Uncle Yoke's Black Dog Jazz Band

[Len Nielsen]

Yes Tom. It is too bad you missed them.

When Tom Hook would stand up and say, "Alright!!!! Lets all get nekkid 
and party!!!! everyone was ready to party. You will have to ask all the 
others if they were ready to get "nekkid".

They added zing to the festival circuit and they along with The Titan 
Hot Seven could easily be the headliners that OKOM needs if they could 
only get some much needed visibility outside the circuit. Those kinds of 
groups and others, like the Wooden Nickel, who were always fan 
favorites, draw a lot of fans, but the fans have to know that they are 
performing.

I think that the Titan Hot Seven could still do the job but they really 
need to get prime time advertising as such. But, that kind of 
advertising is expensive and risky as you have stated many times before. 
Without it......??

The "Dogs" got you involved, on your feet, clapping, arm waving , 
dancing and howling.    Woof...woof.....woof...woof!!!!

Len Nielsen
PS. Heaven's to Mergatroid?  Did you spell that correctly? :) The spell 
checker had no suggestions.






TCASHWIGG at aol.com wrote:
> 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.