[Dixielandjazz] Why the Chicken Dance is NOT Important

[BillSargentDrums at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/1/2007 3:56:26 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
banjomusic at charter.net writes:

The  excerpt from the 2007 commencement address at Stanford University 
provided  by Steve Barbone supplements the comments I made earlier (as well 
as  several others on the list) regarding performing (entertaining) such 
tunes  as "Chicken Dance" with the audience in mind.

In case you didn't read  the excerpt, here's part of it:

"Most [artists and intellectuals] . . .  have lost their ability to converse 
with the rest of society. We  have
become wonderfully expert in talking to one another, but have become  almost
invisible and inaudible in the general culture. . . If we could  reopen the
conversation . . ., the results would not only transform society  but also
artistic and intellectual life."


As i stated earlier, we have a "no play" list of songs that every other  band 
on the planet is more than willing to play.
 
Our choosing not to play those 10 or 20 tunes, and choosing instead to play  
one of the several hundred or thousand other equally entertaining songs has  
never made us less entertaining.
 
In fact, in every single case, our band has stood out over all the other  
"also ran" bands that played the same old tired list . . . not just in my, or  
our minds, but in the minds of the clients and audience alike.
 
Remember, playing great music does not mean it needs to be less  entertaining.
 
Also, every minute you spend playing a piece of crap, is one less minute  
spent playing a really excellent piece of music. Remember, you can only play so  
many songs in one gig.
 
Finally, "excellent" is not synonymous with intellectual or snobby, or a  
historical time piece.
 
Simply saying that we don't have it in our library has always  sufficed.
 
That all being said, there have been songs that I've played hundreds, if  not 
thousands of times in my career and never tire of playing them, and working  
to play them better each and every time . . . but they were quality songs to  
begin with . . . and you usually didn't hear them in every piano lounge and  
every hack band in the country.
 
Bill
414-777-0100
cell 414-305-6955
BillSargentBands.com
BillSargent.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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