The students, staff, instructors and food were outstanding. The evening dancing was top notch, and the music was incredible (even excluding my own personal music). David puts on a top notch camp!

Exclusive to this years camp was the first ever Music Madness. A celebration and competition of high quality swing music (complete with Sponsors!). The setup is easy, 64 of the best songs to dance balboa were pitted head to head in a single elimination tournament, where one song took the home the Chick Webb Memorial Trophy.

(The tournament is modeled after the popular NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament)

The idea of Music Madness came about from the classic big band battles of the swing era. Chick vs. Benny; Fletch vs. Goldkette. And the idea of both recreating those classic battles, and battles that never happened was exciting. Put that together with the eternal debate of “what is balboa music?” or “This song is better than that song” and you have the recepie for a down and dirty, knock out drag out music battle!

Now, I do realize that the Experiment is only 30 or so people, and that the music was selected by me, however, I am not here to claim that this is the answer to all your questions, concerns, hopes and dreams. This was purely my own little “experiment” and something that was fun and …come to find out… very popular among the dancers.

On to the battle!

There were some deviations from the tournament in order to accommodate the large field of music and the limited amount of time. The 1st and 2nd round of the tournament were held before the Experiment as it was determined that there wouldn’t be enough time to run those rounds given the other events that take place over the week at the Experiment. Those rounds were “scientifically” (a.k.a. I chose the winners at home, with a scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other). Be sure to check out the full bracket PDF at the bottom for full event results, including some of the big upsets of the tournament (Did Sing, Sing, Sing really beat out Jonathan Stout? How and the hell did Bie Mir Bist Du Shein beat White Heat?) Since I was there for two different weeks of the camp, we were able to run it for both weeks and potentially crown two different winners. The audience at the Experiment started to weigh in on their favorites when the tournament arrived at the Palomar Ballroom and Hollywood Palladium.

How did it go?

Each pair of songs were played back to back. At the end of the second song, the audience was asked to cheer for their favorite. After a few seconds of voting a winner was announced and moved on to the next round.

Here are some highlight winners from week 1 and week 2 from the 3rd round.

• Organ Grinders Swing came away with a big upset against the #1 seed Honeysuckle Rose (If you ask me, this was the biggest upset of the tournament)
• In both weeks, Willie Bryant’s version of Rigamarole beat out Mora’s Modern Rhythmists version. Well done Willie!
• Turns out that Swingin’ The Blues might have bought their way into the #3 seed, getting beaten by Jam Session both weeks, and I must say, by a WIDE margin each week.

Final Four:

The Final Four and ensuing championship round were played out just the same as the previous rounds, however, there were a few duels where additional voting was required as we were unable to determine a winner from the initial voting. It was a tight match up for some.

Championship

Both a surprise and a “duh” was that the winner of Week 1 was also the winner of Week2, Man From Mars by Artie Shaw. A classic big band track, with plenty of twists and turns throughout the song, Man From Mars was the clear winner in both weeks. It really is no surprise that such a classic, recognizable tune would dominate the tournament. Not only does the song deliver great energy, it also delivers a wonderful amount of audio interest for the dancers to play on.

Winner of the Chick Webb Memorial Trophy 2011: Man From Mars, Artie Shaw

You can download a PDF version of the brackets here.

Week 1 Bracket PDF

Week 2 Bracket PDF

Thanks to everyone who participated and help drive the energy of Music Madness. I am extremely excited to have already been asked back to the Experiment next year, and hopefully I will be able to hang around for all three weeks, and hopefully we will see a return of Music Madness.

I would love to hear what you guys think about this whole thing. I was really stoked with it from start to finish and can’t wait to do it again.

*** Correction: Kim Smith (my wife) was a critical part of the success of this project. Without her guidance, passion, assistance and critical thinking skills, none of this would have been possible.

Invitational

• Warm Up
  • Kingdom Of Swing – Benny Goodman

• Spotlights
  • I Want To Be Happy – Benny Goodman – Jacob/Kate
  • I Gotta Swing – Blanche Calloway – Matt/Dominique
  • Blues In The Groove – Fletcher Henderson – Marty/Jen
  • Zig Zag – Casa Loma Orchestra – Nick/Patricia
  • Down South Camp Meeting – Charlie Barnet – Fred/Krista
  • Jimtown Blues – Fletcher Henderson – Jeremy/Kelly
  • Jumpin At The Woodside – Alix Combelle – Jason/Laura
  • Hollywood Jump – Count Basie – Adam/Andree-Anne
  • Minnie The Moocher’s Wedding Day – Henry ‘Red’ Allen – Bebby/Nelle
  • Eeny Meeny Miney Mo – Benny Goodman – Joel/Val
  • Lafayette – Hot Lips Page – Nick/Heather

• All Skate
  • Digga Digga Doo – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

Intergalactic

Prelims

• Warm Up
  • Tain’t What You Do – Jimmie Lunceford

• Heat 1
  • Song 1 – Dancing With A Debutante – Les Brown
  • Song 2 – Big John’s Special – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
  • Song 3 – Special Delivery Stomp – Artie Shaw

• Heat 2
  • Song 1 – Riffin’ The Blues – Lil Armstrong
  • Song 2 – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Song 3 – Chimes At The Meeting – Willie Bryant

• All Skate
  • Doggin’ Around – Count Basie

Finals

• Warm Up
  • Swingin’ In The Promised Land – Edgar Hayes

• Jam
  • Song 1 – Floogie Walk – Cab Calloway
  • Song 2 – Stampede – Fletcher Henderson

• All Skate
  • Sugarfoot Stomp – Ella Fitzgerald

Amateur Open Classic

Finals

• Warm Up
  • Oh! So Good – Glenn Miller

• Spotlights
  • Song 1 – True Blue Lou – Boots & His Buddies – Seth/Caroline & David/Jennifer
  • Song 2 – Jumpin – Hot Lips Page – David/Sandrine & Robert/Carol
  • Song 3 – Jubilee Swing – Ella Fitzgerald – Jaredan/Nina & Robert/Carol
  • Song 4 – Christopher Columbus – Willie Lewis – Frankie/Kristy & Tim/Ulla
  • Song 5 – Downhome Jump – Lionel Hampton – Brian/Linda & Robert/Kathleen
  • Song 6 – House Hop(Take-2) – Benny Goodman – Dabe/Janelle & Andrey/Lian
  • Song 7 – King Porter Stomp – Teddy Hill – David/Nikki & Martin/Alicia

• All Skate
  • Swingin’ The Blues – Count Basie

Open Classic

Prelims

• All Skate
  • Song 1 – Breakin In A Pair Of Shoes – Benny Goodman
  • Song 2 – Ball Of Fire – Roy Eldridge
  • Song 3 – Jamaica Jam – Teddy Powell
  • Song 4 – Traffic Jam – Artie Shaw
  • Song 5 – Shout And Feel It – Count Basie

Finals

• All Skate
  • Tea For Two – Bob Zurke

• Battles
  • Song 1 – Drummin Man – Gene Krupa – David/Chelsea & Matt/Krista
  • Song 2 – The Counts Idea – Charlie Barnet – Jason S/Heather & Naru/Nao
  • Song 3 – Jumpin At The Woodside – Count Basie – Fred/Pat & Jacob/Val
  • Song 4 – Swingtime In The Rockies – Benny Goodman – Javier/Mary & Jeremy/Dominique
  • Song 5 – We’ll Git It – Dorsey Brothers – Marty/Teni & Jason/Kelly

• All Skate
  • Dark Eyes – Jonathan Stout

Open Jack & Jill

Prelims

• Heat 1
  • Song 1 – King Porter Stomp – Kenny Baker
  • Song 2 – What A Shuffle – Chick Webb
  • Song 3 – Ring Dem Bells – Charlie Barnet

• Heat 2
  • Song 1 – The Vamp – Boots & His Buddies
  • Song 2 – All Is Not Gold That Glitters – Kenny Baker
  • Song 3 – Rigamarole – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

• Heat 3
  • Song 1 – Goody-Goody – Benny Goodman
  • Song 2 – Main Stem – Duke Ellington
  • Song 3 – Digga Digga Doo – Ella Fitzgerald

Finals

• All Skate
  • Song 1 – Rose Room – Bill Coleman
  • Song 2 – Sing Sing Sing – Fletcher Henderson
  • Song 3 – Blow Top – Count Basie
  • Song 4 – Honeysuckle Rose – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

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• What makes one song better than another
• How to determine the amount of suck a song has
• What to do when the song has too much suck
• 10 Steps you can take to remove the suck from your local music scene
• and more…

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Hopefully I will see all of you at my talk on Saturday. Bring your lunch, a notepad and a strong desire to rid your dance scene of musical suckage.

P.S.  Music information from this year’s EBC competition will be posted on this site. Keep checking in, it wont be too long after EBC.

One of the most important responsibilities for a DJ is to pay attention to the crowd and respond to the energy the crowd is giving off.  This means speeding up the tempo and energy of song selections when the mood of the crowd demands and knowing when to change the mood of the music to flow with the ebb and flow of the evening.  This is not an easy thing to do, it takes hours of practice and a little instinct.  To become a great DJ there are three main responsibilities.

DJ’s have a responsibility to play music that is:

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• danceable
• enjoyable
• inspiring

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Playing music that is danceable.

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This is a highly subjective phrase. A song that one group or individual may consider to be the holy grail of dancing could turn out to be a song that is the bain of the dancing world for another group or individual. How does a DJ successfully interpret this? First, you do not have to only play songs that keeps the dance floor full. I have never subscribed to this philosophy. Playing a song where only 10% of the dancers are on the floor is not necessarily a failed song. If that 10% are having a great time, fully enjoying 3 minutes bliss, then the song is a success. It’s ok to let those others who aren’t excited by that song sit and rest a bit; get some water, socialize with friends, and get ready for the next tune. Now, this does not mean that a DJ should be happy filling the floor with 10% of the dancers the entire night. Not by any means.

A successful DJ will find a balance throughout the evening, playing songs that fill the floor, then on occasion, play a song that cleanses the dancers pallet. Know your community. Satiating the minority with their preferred musical selections is an acceptable practice. That 10% minority can grow to an 80% majority from being exposed to alternative tracks.

[warning_box]**Disclaimer:  There are some venues that specialize in specific types/styles of music. I am not advocating a DJ to play a 280bpm Big Band tune at a Blues venue and vice-versa. Understand your venue and pay attention.[/warning_box]

Music should be enjoyable

There are some really amazing songs out there. Being a Classic Big Band Swing fan, I am a huge fan of Duke Ellington. One of my favorite albums is The Duke at Fargo, 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition. That album has one of the most amazing versions of Cottontail of all time! However, the recording quality is quite…interesting. It was as if they recorded it using a potato and a jar of marbles. The song sounds amazing in my headphones. But I would hesitate to play it at a dance event because of this poor sound quality. Poor sound quality can turn into an unenjoyable dance experience, despite how much awesomesauce the song has.

Let’s further consider song quality.

Just because a song isn’t recorded in HiFi doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play it. There are plenty of LoFi tracks that have some cracks and pops, and are wonderful to dance to. Dead Man Blues by Jelly Roll Morton, is by no means a modern marvel of exceptional recording technology. However, these pops and cracks add a rich, vintage quality to the song that translates into a highly enjoyable dance. Again, the DJ needs to understand their community, the tolerances of their crowd, and playability of their music.

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DJ’s should be inspiring.

First and foremost, the DJ has to encourage dancing. Play music that the crowd loves and enjoys dancing to. You are not out there to stream your ego directly into the PA.

Second, a DJ has the ability, and when used wisely, to inspire the community to try new dances. Is balboa new to your scene? Play a balboa song to encourage it’s growth. Don’t just satiate those moaning bal dancers with a song that is 300bpm and is technically ‘jazz.’ Play a great balboa tune that is in the danceable range for the entire crowd.  This will inspire and encourage your community to get on the dance floor and help grow the community.

Great swing music is exciting, dynamic, and most of all inspiring to its listeners.
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DJ’s have the responsibility to be responsible.

[fancy_box]There is one reason, and one reason only, that you were asked/hired to DJ a dance event :To play music for people to dance to and have a good time.[/fancy_box]

That it’s it. It’s simple, understated, and possibly the most abused. You are not there to try to show off your musical prowess with ultra rare B-sides from artists that no one has ever heard of. You are not there to flex your e-peen to your friends and stump them on a game of ‘Name That Tune.’ If dancers wanted to play a game, they would be at home playing Farmville. They are there to dance.

You have a responsibility to play danceable music. Playing standards isn’t the end of the world nor your career. They are called standards for a reason. I most certainly wont get tired of hearing Swingin’ The Blues, Segue In C, Blue Drag or Business In F. Nick Williams will never tire of Rigamarole by Mora’s Modern Rhythmists, and Chris Owens will never be seen sitting while What A shuffle by Chick Webb is being played. Sure, play your rare tracks, they could be the next Joshua Fit, or At Sundown. But what if they aren’t? Are you ready to come back with a solid tune? Do you have a recovery plan?

One of the first lessons I got in the school of DJing was from a local DJ in San Francisco, Marc D’Olimpio. To paraphrase:

Ok, you have a song that you want to play, but aren’t sure if the crowd will respond to it. This is what you do: Have two tracks ready to go. One track that is the risky track, its not a standard, but you like and hope the crowd will too.  The other track should be a solid go-to standard (in his case it was Now You has Jazz by Louis Armstrong). Be prepared so that if the first song fails, you can immediately play your go-to song, and quell that rising tide of disgust from the previous track. So if your new song missed, you can immediately erase that bad taste, and move on.

The whole DJ process is about learning. As a DJ, if you are not learning and educating yourself you are only doing a disservice to your community and your venue probably won’t be around for long, and neither will your career.

As a DJ for too many years to count, I have embarked on a never ending quest to perfect the art of DJing. So I ask of you: What are your thoughts? What do you think are the responsibilities of the DJ? How do you define a ‘danceable’ song?

AM Jack and Jill Prelims

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• Heat 1
  • Shivers – The Ramblers
  • Community Swing – Glenn Miller
  • Jubilee Swing – Ella Fitzgerald

• Heat 2
  • Take It – Benny Goodman
  • Flyin’ Home – Charlie Barnett
  • Lafayette – Hot Lips Page

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AM Jack and Jill SemiFinals

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• Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho – Sidney Bechet
• Jumpin’ – Hot Lips Page
• In The Groove (At The Grove) – Ella Fitzgerald
• Carioca – Artie Shaw

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AM Jack and Jill Finals

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• Hocus Pocus – Fletcher Henderson
• Everybody Rock – Ella Fitzgerald
• I Want To Be Happy – Benny Goodman
• Jumpin At The Woodside – Count Basie

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OPEN Jack and Jill Prelims

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• Heat 1
  • Mr. Ghost Goes To Town – Mills Blue Rhythm Band
  • Jumpin At The Woodside – Alix Combelle
  • Rose Room – Boots and his Buddies
• Heat 2
  • Troubled – Frankie Trumbauer
  • All Is Not Gold That Jitters – Kenny Baker
  • I’ve Found a New Baby – Willie Lewis

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OPEN Jack and Jill Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Breaken ‘Em Down – Chick Webb
• Spotlights:
  • Joanna/Joe – Smoke House Rhythm – Benny Goodman
  • Matt/Vanessa – King Porter Stomp – Tommy Dorsey
  • Naru/Teni – Digga Digga Doio – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Andreas/Nao – Madhouse – Benny Goodman
  • Jason/Carla – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Adam/Jen – Jamaica Jam – Teddy Powell
  • Javi/Stocks – Super Chief – Count Basie
  • Jacob/Heather – Let’s Get Together – Chick Webb
  • Patricia/Fred – Man From Mars – Artie Shaw
  • Nelle/Davis – Swingin’ In The Promised Land – Edgar Hayes
• All-Skate
  • Honeysuckle Rose – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

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AM ACBC Prelims

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• Warm Up
  • Rock-A-Bye Basie – Count Basie
• Heat 1
  • Christopher Columbus – Willie Lewis
  • Dancing With A Debutante – Les Brown
• Heat 2
  • Man From Mars – Artie Shaw
  • Jim Town Blues – Fletcher Henderson
• All Skate
  • Swingtime In The Rockies – Benny Goodman

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AM ACBC Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Minor Swing – Django Reinhardt
• Spotlights:
  • Andrew/Lisa – Big John’s Special – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
  • Jason/Shana – Smoke House Rhythm – Benny Goodman
  • Rudolph/Katherine – Don’t Be That Way – Chick Webb
  • Tim/Ulla – Jamaica Jam #2 – Teddy Powell
  • Tamoko/Daniel – Dinah – Count Basie
  • Jeongwoo/Crystal – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Corey/Susan – Diga Diga Doo – Artie Shaw
  • Andre/Tina – Christopher Columbus – Don Redman
  • David/Chelsea – Madhouse – Benny Goodman
  • Laura/Jason – King Porter Stomp – Jimmy Dorsey
• All Skate
  • We’ll Get It – Dorsey Brothers

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OPEN ACBC Prelims

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• Warm Up
  • Cherokee – Charlie Barnett
• Heat 1
  • New Orleans Twist – Gene Gifford
  • Rigamarole – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
• Heat 2
  • I Surrender Dear – Lionel Hampton
  • The Last Jump – Charlie Barnett
• All Skate
  • Casa Loma Stomp – Casa Loma Orchestra

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OPEN ACBC Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Uppercut – Artist Unknown
• Spotlights:
  • Andreas/Joanna – Clarinet Marmalade – Benny Goodman
  • Jeremy/Mary – Harlem Jump – Jack Teagarden
  • Patricia/Fred – Jam Session – Benny Goodman
  • Adam/Nelle – Business in F – Gene Kardos
  • Nick/Laura – Slip Horn Jive – Glenn Miller
  • Naru/Nao – Walk Jenny Walk – Benny Goodman
  • Bobby/Kate – Stampede – Fletcher Henderson
  • Jason/Andi – Let ‘Er Go – Fletcher Henderson
  • Matt/Krista – Rock and Rye – Earl Hines
  • Jacob/Jen – Diga Diga Doo – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
• All Skate
  • Traffic Jam – Artie Shaw

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10:00am Main Ballroom Django Reinhardt: 100
This year we celebrate the 100th birthday of Django Reinhardt. Wake up Sunday morning, grab a cup of coffee, and learn about the exciting and dynamic legacy of Gypsy Guitarist, Django Reinhardt. Learn what the difference is between gypsy jazz and swing jazz. Learn what made Django a legend of jazz guitar. Sunday morning, 10:00 in the main ballroom.

1:30pm Main Ballroom Musicality for everyone
Grab your lunch and head into the main ballroom for an hour of musicality with Nick Williams, Bobby White, Kate Hedin and myself as we talk candidly about personal expression and music interpretation. Learn from dance and music experts what musicality is, and how to successfully incorporate it into your dancing. Break down the music to its purest form and learn to listen to the music, listen to what it is telling you, listen to those musical cues, and learn to make your dancing even more intertwined into the music you love. Sunday afternoon, lunch time in the main ballroom.

4:30pm Main Ballroom The musical journey.
Take off your shoes, and hang out with me for an hour on Sunday afternoon as I run the gamut of what it means and what it takes to become a successful swing DJ. From song selection and equipment to play-lists and requests, I will take you on a joyful ride of what it is like to DJ a national event. Learn what it takes to create an evening that everyone will remember. Even if you aren’t a DJ, drop in and share your thoughts on what a great evening of recorded music is. This is a fully interactive class, but dancing is not required Stop by Sunday afternoon, 4:30, in the main ballroom, for an hour of music, education, interaction, and fun.

It is a recording from that concert, Swingtime In The Rockies, that is at the top of my 10 favorite Benny Goodman tracks of all time. But after the top spot, it gets pretty difficult to narrow down my next 9 favorite Benny Goodman tracks. So with a note of apprehention, I list out my 10 favorite songs from the King of Swing.

1. Swingtime In The Rockies – Live at Carnegie Hall 1938
2. St. Louis Blues – On The Air 37-38
3. Bugle Call Rag – Chronological Classics 1936 Vol. 2
4. Caprice Paganini XXIV – Chronological Classics 1941 Vol. 3
5. Moonglow – Chronological Classics 1936 Vol. 2
6. House Hop – Live at the Madhattan Room 1937
7. All The Cats Join In – All The Cats Join In  
8. Roll ‘Em – On The Air 37-38
9. Sweet Georgia Brown – The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings  
10. Mazel – Benny Goodman ’45 & ’47

What are some of your favorite Benny Goodman tracks?

1. Fluency

I like the default admin screen, I think WordPress has done a great job in creating a friendly, pleasing UI.  However, change is always good, that’s where Fluency comes in. It streamlines the admin navigation, turning the dropdown navigation into a flyout menu system. It might seem small, but I like the reduced vertical height of the flyout menus. Fluency also modifies the main panel of the admin screen: to me, it feels more streamlined, as if the fluff was removed and made modern, and the font change, albeit scarey at first, is rather nice once you settle in.

2. Post Ideas +

Based off of a deprecated plugin, Post Idea, Post Idea + moves the old plugin into the modern era, just by making it compatible with the newest versions of WordPress. What it does is pretty simple, it keeps a list of all the post ideas you have, and puts that list on the dashboard — simple. Somehow, I find myself coming up with post ideas at the most inopportune time. Times when I do not have an hour or so to craft a well thought out post. With Post Ideas +, I can jot down the post topic and then when I have time, come back to it and create the full post.

3. Google Analyiticator

A lot of themes are including this plugin by default now since its so popular, but just in case you don’t have it, go get it immediately. The ability to examine the traffic to your website at such granular levels might sound overwhelming, but once you get a handle on the interface, it’s quite exciting to see who is coming to your site and where they are coming from. I have enjoyed the upgrades that the plugin has made, like, adding the ability to track outgoing links.  They have also added a dashboard feature so you no longer have to login to google.com to retrieve some basic data. Excellent plugin.

4. Database Size Plugin

This might not apply for everyone, but I was previously on a host where there was a database size limit.  This simple plugin displays the total MB count of your database at the top of the admin page.

5. Custom Admin Branding

If you are building a WordPress blog/site for a customer, or yourself for that matter, and want to add a bit of personalization, this plugin is great. Custom Admin Branding allows you to simply change the login and header images on the admin side to anything you want.  Customer brands, developer brands, blank for that matter.  Simple and effective.

6.Cincopa

One of many many WordPress photo gallery plugins. At this point, I’m not sure that there is a superior plugin for photo galleries, but rather a plugin that does what YOU want.  And for me, this plugin does what I want. Multiple layout options and configurations, based on a simple UI.

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