[Dixielandjazz] Why the Chicken Dance is NOT Important

[Marek Boym]

Ever heard of the Gospel according to Trummy Young - "It ain't Waht'cha Do..."

On 02/10/2007, BillSargentDrums at aol.com <BillSargentDrums at aol.com> wrote:
>
> 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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