[Dixielandjazz] The Dixieland or Jazz Look

Wed Apr 25 15:30:07 PDT 2007

What to wear is the question my wife asks a lot - is it formal or is it 
casual and if so how formal or how casual?

Musicians need to ask the same question too.  Red suspenders and or fire 
hats might be out of place at a Junior League party where the diamonds and 
jewels are out in force or at the local country club unless the customer 
OK's it.

Park concerts, picnics or the like would call for the red suspenders etc. 
and a jacket would be out of place.

Most OKOM bands won't be doing many formal parties but if they do their 
outfits should be capable of being formal.  I have red, fairly expensive 
paisley vests and can wear a tux shirt, cummerbund, probably tux pants and 
bow tie.  We can always easily slip on the jacket if necessary.   If someone 
asks me to mix a drink I ask for a tip.  My advice is don't stand behind the 
bar if you think you look like a bar tender.   I feel that what we wear can 
go either way easily.

Is this right for the college crew?  Probably not and Steve makes a valid 
point but It seems to me that with the instrumentation (Guitar, Electric 
Bass) that Steve has that his group is more of a crossover group that would 
appeal to the non OKOM buyer also.  It's a good business plan to be 
versatile.

I guess it depends a lot on what your market is.  I could even see where 
this kind of band would wear sandals and shorts and a T.

Last summer I worked most weekends with a guy that has pink T's with bone 
khaki pants and White Tennies.  It really looks gay.  Some lady drove by and 
hollered at us "You Look Gay".  Do you think its the outfit or that the band 
was all holding hands?
Larry
St. Louis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 4:40 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The Dixieland or Jazz Look

> David Dustin <postmaster at fountainsquareramblers.org> wrote (polite snips)
>
>> I agree with Ted?s point, but the standard for professional dress depends 
>> on
>> where you are in the world.  .  .  .  . snip to
>
>> If you want to score with audiences, most of whom are not jazz critics 
>> who
>> fly around the world to attend the latest OKOM festival, you have to
>> consider yourself an entertainer first and a musician second.  To do 
>> that,
>> you have to adopt some sort of a band look, and yes, take a cue from some 
>> of
>> those OKOM LP covers in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.  This is what your 
>> audience
>> remembers and expects. Looking like Miles (in either early OR late
>> manifestations) or Monk ain?t going to help sell your band to any 
>> normally
>> distributed OKOM crowd (in the USA) these days outside the major urban
>> areas.  The old folks who pay our fees want to see the snappy (or
>> mismatched) socks, the bright vests or jackets, the loud suspenders 
>> (braces,
>> to our listmates in the former British Commonwealth) sleeve garters, the
>> straw boaters/skimmers or panama hats, derbys/bowlers, or maybe even the 
>> New
>> Orleans classic style fireman?s hats worn in the early bands.
>
> I agree with Dave's points above.
>
> 1) Depends where you are
>
> 2) Depends on your audience.
>
> I would only add a perspective from the point of Barbone Street Audiences.
> We seek and find a broad audience of young people who were not around in 
> the
> 40s, 50s, or 60s. So they do not relate to straw hats, red striped
> shirts/jackets, suspenders and the shtick that we normally associate with
> Jazz Society members and/or old folks memories.
>
> They were brought up on what went on in the musical scene after Elvis and
> The Beatles. They don't know a hell of a lot about Dixieland.
>
> Since we seek to bring a new audience into the OKOM orbit, we dress like 
> we
> normally dress walking around. Casual, different, current fashion, relaxed
> etc., etc., etc. And we play a brassy, loud, high energy style of 
> Dixieland
> and/or Swing.
>
> At jazz society gigs, usually a couple of old folks come up and tell me 
> the
> guitar is too loud. I politely listen and then ignore their suggestion.
> Because the majority of the people there are quite happy with our sound.
>
> Our band sound is different from the usual OKOM played these days. Yet we
> book several Jazz Society Concerts a year as well as grammar schools, high
> schools, colleges, swing dances, private parties, Society events, public
> park concerts, Modern Jazz Festivals, Gambling Casinos, Corporate events
> etc., etc., etc.
>
> Yesterday, we played the final three numbers at The Curtis Institute of
> Music in celebration of Glenn Dodson monumental classical and jazz
> contributions to the music world. We followed a couple of numbers by 13 of
> the finest classical trombonists in the world. They were superb. We 
> dressed
> for that audience in jackets and ties. We brought the house down, playing
> the third number as an encore because of the prolonged cheering and 
> applause
> and an audience that would not let us leave after our scheduled two.
>
> When you have an audience like that, with educated musical ears, who give
> you that kind of reception, you can't help but feel you've brought a few
> more new people into the OKOM fold. Most of them were classical music 
> lovers
> or classical musicians, except for a group of about 20 of Glenn's young 
> fans
> from the Jazz and Swing world who came to say goodbye.
>
> Ask Doug Finke, leader of of Independence Hall. He was there. Or ask list
> mate Nancie Beaven. She saw us a few days earlier at a Tri State Jazz
> Society Concert in New Jersey dressed in our usual casual clothes. Nobody
> really cared how we dressed. They cared about what we said to them and how
> we played. Same for the classical players on the Curtis program who 
> dressed
> as individuals, dark suits, light suits, sport jackets, slacks and shirt,
> etc. The musicians looked exactly like the audience.
>
> Barbone Street shtick is not clothes. It is patter with the audience and
> making them feel comfortable with what we do. (and beads when appropriate
> which seems to infuriate some on the DJML who can't buy a gig)
>
> Point being, whatever works, works. Which goes right back to Dave's two
> points above. Where you are, who your audience is. I would only add that 
> who
> YOU are is also part of the equation.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
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