[Dixielandjazz] "Mickey" Music

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

We used to call it the business man's bounce at 120 bpm.  I have been 
playing with a Mickey band that is at this point a rehearsal band and 
doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  Occasionally I pick up work from touring 
groups that come through.  I'm not real thrilled playing with them and have 
been turning down some work.  I prefer playing a little more (read a lot) 
laid back and that stuff is very rigid and you have to be very precise.   If 
you miss a dot or tiddle you are playing solos.  Mickey is just the opposite 
of swing.  While I know it's not good to generalize I think it's the 
opposite of jazz too.

Some of the guys that have played it for years do it naturally but for me 
it's too much like work.  The only place in the country that it seems to 
still be popular is from about Chicago through the upper mid west, Canada, 
Northern Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.   Then again you won't be able to 
find a polka band in St. Louis either.  Some of those bands occasionally 
touch the Ballrooms on the East side around St. Louis (Belleville, Staunton, 
Alton).  St. Louis is still a bastion of swing so far as ballroom is 
concerned.
Larry
St. Louis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 3:14 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] "Mickey" Music


> Given the recent "Mickey" thread below is musician Tony Agostinelli's take
> from the Stan Kenton chat list. Most of the OKOM Jazz Musicians in NYC and
> Philadelphia also played lots of "Mickey" with the Lanin brothers and 
> Meyer
> Davis in order to make a living 50 years ago. And, as many know, they 
> played
> a lot of 2 beat Dixieland which the Society folks adored as dance music.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
> "MICKEY" comes from Mickey Mouse...the music for those early cartoons was
> similar to the music of some of those early dance bands....hence, "Mickey
> Bands," or "Mickey Mouse Music."
>
> I played accordion at a gig, where the leader, a drummer (brushes only)
> called a trumpet player, a saxophone player, a bass player, and
> me...everything, he said in "2/4 or 3/4".  The leader would call the tunes
> and we play continuously, just some transitional chords to get to the
> standard keys.  First tune, first set..."S'Wonderful."  Few guest had
> arrived...after the first chorus, trumpet player plays a beautiful muted
> jazz chorus, I lay in eight chords per measure, bass player plays in four!
>
> The leader, brought us to a close after an out chorus...took us off the
> stand, and lashed out at us something fierce....no jazz, no multiple bebop
> chording within measures, and no 4/4 beat....got that?  Or you won't work
> with me again, says he.  The money was above scale for gigs like that...we
> went back to the stand, and for the next 3 hours, plus another (they liked
> us)....we played all the music "mickey mouse" style -- but walked away 
> with
> good bread, as we did many other times.
>
> The insufferable general business gigs (read "mickey"), kept us in good
> walking around money...so we could afford to play some jazz gigs.
>
> Oh -- I never gave up my day gig!
>
> All the best, stay well and in touch,
>
> Tony
>
>
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