[Dixielandjazz] Commercial Dixieland

[Steve barbone]

The ongoing New Orleans Jazz Gig at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City is
perhaps best described by the term "Commercial Dixieland".

High Energy, up tempo, marching around, get the audience involved Dixieland
and New Orleans Jazz. In preparation for the Showboat's shift to a 4 venue
House of Blues entertainment site as well as a gambling site.

Interesting Observations:

1) About 90% of the people we play in front of love this music. The are
   regular folks.

2) About 20% of them strut along in 2nd Line(N.O.) or Mummer (Philadelphia)
   fashion when they hear us coming or see us at one of our locations.

3) The folks in the Buffet, get up and dance in front of us, and that
   includes some of the restaurant staff who are passing out beads. It
   becomes a "Mardi Gras" event. (we play there 10 minutes, 4 times a day)

4) The folks waiting at the busses pick up lobby also get up and dance for
   us when we are there twice a day at departure times. Yesterday we had a
   70 year old, bump and grind for us, much to the delight of about 300
   people, while we played 2nd Line there, followed by "Just a Little While
   To Stay Here." Just like Ellington at Newport in 1956 except this babe
   was older. :-) VBG And why not? Old folks need love too.

Point being that this music is beloved by millions and millions of people.
To be sure, not the esoteric, highly arranged Artsy Dixieland, but the
regular balls out dance like nobody's watching Dixieland. You know, like it
was originally. Since we've been at the Showboat, we've brought smiles to
thousands of ordinary people, kids in strollers, to old folks in wheel
chairs.

But perhaps the upshot of it was a remark by a substitute trombonist we used
yesterday. Young man, professional musician, no day gig, works constantly in
commercial forms of music and occasionally in Dixieland. (like maybe he
knows 50 Dixieland tunes)

Said he somewhat in wide eyed innocence. "You know, I've been playing
Dixieland in a lot of places for the past 9 or 10 years." (corporate gigs,
parties, restaurants, street fairs etc) "It is the music that I'll be able
to retire on, because there is so much demand."

NOW THAT'S AN INTERESTING POINT OF VIEW. ESPECIALLY WHEN MANY OF US ON THE
DJML WHO PLAY DIXIELAND, GO BEGGING FOR GIGS. DO WE NOT SEE THE FOREST FOR
THE TREES? OR PERHAPS WE ARE JUST NOT WIRED INTO THE WORKING MUSICIAN SCENE?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone