[Dixielandjazz] Rae Ann and YouTube

[Katie Cavera]

Good morning DJML and greetings from "Sunny California".  (That's a joke right now...it hasn't stopped raining since Sunday!)

I just wanted to comment on Rae Ann and her YouTube postings because I've been the happy beneficiary of her work for some time now.  Ever since I met Rae Ann she's been bent on doing *something* to promote traditional jazz.  First she created her list which is just a one page flyer she prints up and hands out to anyone that is interested in seeing traditional jazz live. I've seen her leave large stacks of these flyers at jazz festivals only to have them vanish in a day.

Then about a year and a half ago, she started posting her list online:
http://www.sfraeann.com/

This is an even better resource because she has included links to the jazz clubs and band websites when available.  She still has the paper list too so that non-computer people aren't left out.  

Finally about a year or so ago she started making YouTube videos and including them on her 'list' so that people could get an idea of a band or a venue before they went to see them. The video taping took on a life of it's own, and now her page on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/SFRaeAnn) has over 800 videos and over 100 subscribers.  Her videos have been lauded and discussed on multiple occasions by Michael Steinman in his Jazz Lives Blog (http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/) and Michael lives on the east coast so I'm sure he appreciates this 'connection' to the west coast scene.  And more then a few of the bands and bandleaders use the SFRaeAnn videos as a promotional tool (myself included).  

Having been in several bands that Rae Ann has filmed I can assure everyone that she is overly cautious about who and what she films.  She always makes sure she has proper clearance and then she'll tell us something to the effect of "I'll be posting these in the next day or so, please look at them and let me know if there are any you want removed." And if for the slightest reason we don't like any of them - even if it was just a "bad hair day" - she'll take them down with no problem.  I'm kind of surprised at some of the videos she's posted - and maybe this is where the confusion comes in - because musicians that typically don't want to be filmed at all, allow Rae Ann to film them. And I think that's because she *is* so overly cautious about all of this.  That - and she makes a really nice video.  

The only thing I don't like is that we don't have a Rae Ann here in LosAngeles.  Or Chicago or New York for that matter.  I'd love to see other people in other places do the same sort of thing.  And I had to laugh at her post because even though I think her videos are very very good, she's still trying to get a new mike or a new gadget or something to make them even better.  So if any of you listers are coming to the Bay Area please check out her site and visit some of her advertised venues.  And please tell her 'hi' and thank you for everything she does to support trad jazz.  She'll be the one with the camera.

- Katie
http://www.katiecavera.com
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera