[Dixielandjazz] The Bands at Ocean Shores in Nov 2011

[Stephen G Barbone]

Hey Bob Ringwald:

Don't let the naysayers give you a load of nonsense about a lot of  
alternative styles of music at Ocean Shores. killing the festival.  
Unless I am mistaken, (and I have been before so no one is getting a  
cherry) there were 9 bands at Ocean Shores in November 2011.

MOST WERE DIXIELAND BANDS, OR SWING BANDS. I can only find 2 out of  
the 9 that were alternative styles and perhaps one of those two is  
Dixie or Swing (Slipped Disk?)

So anyone who tells you that the trad fans stayed away in droves  
because of alternative styles is simply blowing smoke and ignoring  
reality. Especially since Black Swan, Hume Street and Tom Rigney were  
there. They are all EXCELLENT BANDS AND PROVEN DRAWS,

Here is the 9 Band List at Ocean Shores 2011 and where possible, how  
they describe themselves.

1) SHANGHAI WOOLIES“….a new twist on the music of the flapper era:  
Jitterbug music, Big band, Swing. The raucous, slippery, foot-happy  
jazz you’d expect to hear at the legendary Cotton Club. … hard to  
resist …” -The Oregonian
They may be heard at Ocean Shores on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZumysU6iodE
NOTE THAT THE ROOM IS ALMOST EMPTY 2 old dancers and 2 old listeners

2) NO INHIBITIONS JAZZ BAND - We are a fun-loving seven piece jazz  
band specializing in Dixieland, Swing and Big Band styles of music.   
We perform at numerous venues and events throughout the Northwest.

3) ELECTRIC PARK JAZZ BAND - No description on the event site, but  
their myspace page indicates that they are a DIXIELAND BAND with songs  
like "Shine" & "Deed I Do". And i listened to "Shine" which was indeed  
Dixieland.

4) SLIPPED DISK ?????? - I can't find info about them

5) HUME STREET PRESERVATION JAZZ BAND - You know who they are. They  
may be heard at Ocean shores at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtGvMXXtVoI&feature=related
NOTE again that while there are only a few shots showing it, THE ROOM  
IS ALMOST EMPTY. PEOPLE IN THE FRONT ROW ONLY.

6) BLACK SWAN - You Know who they are.

7) TOM RIGNEY & FLAMBEAU - You know who they are.

8) COMPANY B - Company B Jazz Band, a Vancouver-based 6-piece group in  
the style of the Andrews and Boswell Sisters, rouses crowds for  
dancing and smiles with their cheerful renditions of classic  
repertoire from the 1920s through 1940s (with a little bit of the '10s  
and a little bit of the '50s in there too!). Loaded with personality,  
the harmonies of the female vocal trio are well-complemented by top- 
notch instrumentalists. The band makes it their mission to capture the  
style and the spirit of the music of the first half of the 20th  
century, but there is also an undeniable youth and freshness to their  
sound and their stage presence.

The are at Ocean Shores at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5t3bQbCppY&feature=related

NOTE THAT WHILE THEY MAKE SOME MISTAKES MUSICALLY, THEY HAVE A LARGER  
AUDIENCE THAN HUME STREET.

9) KLYNTEL - Soul Jazz / Funk / Rock  They do play venues like the  
Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle and I think they may be based in Seattle and  
would guess that they have some followers.

Did Klyntel and Slipped Disk (if they are not  swing band) discourage  
Dixieland Fans from attending? I think not and if that were so, it  
insults bands like Hume/Swan/Rigney

If anyone out there thinks that the key to getting audience at a  
Dixieland Festival  is MORE TRAD BANDS, they are living in denial. The  
audience is dying. Why is that so hard to understand? And why do trad  
bands/fans keep beating a dead horse? Again, if you missed it: THE  
AUDIENCE IS DYING. That is one reason why nobody shows up. Another  
reason is the economy.

Yes Bob,  a festival with some Dixieland Bands is MUCH BETTER than NO  
FESTIVAL AT ALL. Hang in there and don't be intimidated by disgruntled  
trad musos or fans who do not know how to analyze the jazz business,  
even as festival after festival dies out there.

If you cannot bring dead people back to life,  FIND A NEW AUDIENCE.  
And if that audience doesn't like the kind of classic jazz we are  
playing, then find another venue. Nothing lasts forever. Finally,  
realize that: "IT IS WHAT IT IS"

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband