[Dixielandjazz] Communicating & Audiences

[Steve Barbone]

No doubt the various opinions about communicating musically and audience are
valid because whatever works for you, works for you. And there are
exceptions to every opinion and/or personal experience.

Example, Randy voiced some displeasure over dancers with a good example. Yet
others will enjoy playing for dancers as along as they are dancing to YOUR
music. Case in point, at Rehoboth for Pop's Birthday Bash, Barbone Street
had some young girls in the audience celebrating the 21st Birthday of one of
them. They were having a great time.

So trumpeter Vinne Borselli said to band, "lets play 'Shake That Thing'.
I'll do the vocal call, rest of the band respond 'Shake That Thing' every
time I say it." You can't imagine how much fun we had after I described the
"Funky Butt" dance and dance hall of yesteryear. We had 8 girls, all under
25, free dancing in front of the stand, bent over like at The Funky Butt,
circa 1910 shaking and slapping that thing. While Vinnie sang lyrics to our
version of this blues, like:

Jack & Jill Went up the hill
To Fetch A Pail Of Water.
Jill came Down With a Hundred Dollar Bill
Because She Shook That Thing.
Shook That Thing.
etc.

Blew the place apart.

So yeah, playing for dancers can be a lot of fun whether as above, or with a
tune like "Ain't Misbehavin" or "If I Had You" or (oh no) WWW. Softly, like
King Oliver said, so you can hear their feet sliding across the floor.

Regarding playing for oneself, once again, many different, valid, opinions.
Personally, Barbone Street employs professional musicians who play various
genres of music for a living. Some work as many as 14 gigs during a busy
summer week. So you can be sure that we/they do not just get together to
play for ourselves any more. They have all played an enormous amount of
music during their lifetimes and what they do for fun, is play Jazz with
Barbone Street, for money, in front of an audience. (Money being the
scorecard, not the primary motivator)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone