[Dixielandjazz] There's Hope for The Young & OKOM

[Steve Barbone]

Hopefully, Marek, some of us are. OKOM has not been presented to the young
audiences with any regularity in the USA for quite a while. The swing dance
revival, started here in the 1980s but not many OKOM bands took advantage of
it. And swing dancing is still viable for OKOM bands here.

>From my experience, those of us here who play where the kids are find that
there is a viable young audiences segment that adores OKOM. It may be small
in comparison to those kids who like current pop, hip hop, rap etc., but
then, out of the more than 30 million Americans who are over 65, how many
attend pure OKOM festivals? About 1/10th of 1 percent? <grin>

All we band leaders need to do is lose the funny hats, old fogy clothes and
start playing with the fire, energy and strong dance beat that Ellington
found so successful at Newport in 1956. Then, play where the kids are. It
just might re-ignite a few careers.

We could learn a lot from Europe and Israel about young audiences.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

>>marekboym at gmail.com wrote (polite snip)

>>Are the States catching up with the Netherlands?


> Original Message: Steve Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Did a Swing Dance at the old High Street Ballroom (circa 1928) in Pottstown
> PA last night for 200+. Mostly young dancers plus a few foxtrotter oldsters
> who circumnavigated the floor around the outside edges. The dancers paid $15
> each to be there. (Usual charge is $10)
>
> It was interesting to note than when Cindy Leiby, our trombonist, sang
> vocals like "They Can't Take That Away From Me", there were quite a few
> young girls mouthing the words along with her.
>
> And when I sang "I Want A Little Girl" and "I Can't Get Started", directly
> to young ladies, I was astonished to see some of them mouthing the words
> back at me, smiling all the while, especially when I updated the lyrics to
> include references to Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole
> Ritchie and Halle Berry. Yes, the audience included blacks.
>
> Best of all were the "Jam" tunes. This is where the kids form a large circle
> on the floor. The band then goes into a 260 beats/min song like Avalon, or
> Thats A Plenty and the more experienced dancers strut their stuff. First one
> couple gets in the middle, dances for a while, and then they leave and
> another couple challenges, and so on. About 12 really great dance couples
> vying for small prizes and recognition. Some amazing throws and intricate
> steps. The winners were extraordinary.
>
> So don't write off the younger generation just yet. Some of them are quite
> hip to OKOM as I'm certain the other bands doing swing dances know well.
>
> Pottstown PA? A small town about 50 miles from Philly. For more info about
> the dance organizers and events, see:
>
> http://www.swingkat.com/