[Dixielandjazz] Why the ORIGINAL POST on the Chicken Dance IS IMPORTANT

[David Richoux]

Good idea,

But for an audience that KNOWS and maybe even ENJOYS the Chicken  
Dance (like at an Oktoberfest sot of thing) - they will not accept a  
substitute! There is that certain non-subtle rhythm that makes that  
dance work. Just like the Hokey Pokey, Bunny Hop and a few other  
novelty dances that you might get asked to do on some odd gig - there  
just is no way you can fool 'em with "That's A Plenty" or even  
"Turkey in the Straw."

(I have played Oktoberfests - once in Munich and Blumenau, Brazil and  
many around California over the last 30 years. It can be a lot of fun  
or a total drag - just like any other gig -  but the beer is usually  
better ;-)

Sometimes I sit in with a San Francisco group called Polkacide - they  
are the original "Punk Polka" band (but an excellent group from  
Denton, Texas called Brave Combo started up at about the same time  
and are also classed as "Punk Polka") - Polkacide does a version of  
the Chicken Dance that gets faster on each chorus - quite exciting as  
the bodies go flying around the Polka Pit!!

When my regular OKOM band gets asked to do the Saints we sometimes do  
it as a rhumba (sort of like the traditional out chorus of Panama)  
and it makes it fun for us - and the audience. They might do a Conga- 
line anyway, this just gets them more in the mood.

Dave Richoux

On Oct 1, 2007, at 7:35 PM, Steve Barbone wrote:

> Perhaps I was too subtle in the original post?
>
> The point was that when you get a request for "The Chicken Dance",  
> if you
> have any sense of adventure at all, you can substitute a Dixieland  
> Tune for
> that arcane piece of music. And you should do so. And the people will
> Chicken dance to it, flapping their arms like a mummer or a  
> Chicken. And
> they will love you for it.
>
> Man, how many times have you seen some old farts hopping around the  
> floor
> flapping their arms like chickens when you play an old time 2 beat  
> number at
> a jazz society event? Or how many times have you yourself seen Jackie
> Gleason on TV between skits, bounce around the stage flapping his  
> arms like
> a chicken while the band, at his request, played some "Travelin  
> Music"?
> (That's A Plenty) Have you forgotten?
>
> Where have our imaginations gone? In short, a request for the  
> Chicken Dance
> is a golden opportunity to play some good old good ones for those  
> general
> audiences. In the case of the original post, WE USED DIXIELAND AS  
> THE MUSIC
> FOR THE CHICKEN DANCE for 5 to 10 year old kids and it was a huge  
> success.
> What a great way to get them excited about OKOM.
>
> All the talk about entertainers and/or artists, and/or the client  
> pays the
> bills etc., as nauseum, has nothing to do with the very important  
> point that
> you can introduce DIXIELAND in the above manner, to people who are  
> totally
> ignorant of OKOM. And just maybe, if you do it enough, you'll win a  
> few
> young converts instead of just existing and playing to a shrinking  
> group of
> people whose average age is dead.
>
> If you don't understand this, then by all means Gerald Biederman is  
> right.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland  
> Jazz Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
>
>
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com