DJs tend to play the part of the band at the majority of dance events, and DJ’s music selection really can affect how a dance community flourishes.  The song selection, variety and tempo of music each DJ chooses shapes a dance evening. Fortunately, in the swing community most often the DJ is also a dancer, giving them the advantage of knowing which kind of songs are ‘danceable.’ But being a good DJ and creating an enjoyable dance evening is about more than just playing songs the dancers enjoy.

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:

• danceable
• enjoyable
• inspiring

Playing music that is danceable.

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.

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.

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.

DJ’s have the responsibility to be responsible.

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?

So after several years of being the Head DJ at ABW, I thought I would finally release the song names and artists for the competition music.  Have fun, enjoy, and if you hear that song next year, which you probably will, don’t suck.

AM Jack and Jill Prelims

• 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

AM Jack and Jill SemiFinals

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

AM Jack and Jill Finals

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

OPEN Jack and Jill Prelims

• 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

OPEN Jack and Jill Finals

• 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

AM ACBC Prelims

• 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

AM ACBC Finals

• 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

OPEN ACBC Prelims

• 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

OPEN ACBC Finals

• 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

]]> http://www.euclidsfifth.com/music-and-dance/abw-2010-contest-music/feed/ 9 http://www.euclidsfifth.com/music-and-dance/three-exciting-lectures-this-year-at-all-balboa-weekend-2010/ http://www.euclidsfifth.com/music-and-dance/three-exciting-lectures-this-year-at-all-balboa-weekend-2010/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:57:35 +0000 Kyle Smith http://www.euclidsfifth.com/?p=991 Give those weary feet a rest and come hang out with me and my friends throughout the day on Sunday. History, expression, and the joy of music at All Balboa Weekend 2010.

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.

Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho – Sidney Bechet

Central Avenue Shuffle – Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra

At The Clambake Carnival – Cab Calloway

A Viper’s Moan – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

Community Swing – Glenn Miller

Learning balboa? What songs do you like to dance to?

MyBlogGuest is a unique community that is based on one simple principle: if you provide quality, you don’t need to pay to be heard. It unites bloggers who are interested in connecting to other bloggers, journalists and other content creators in any niche and publish their high-quality articles on their blogs.

After a short registration, you will find two simple forum sections, one for bloggers looking for guest posters, and the other section providing writers a forum to find blogs to post their content on.

Started at the end of last year, the community is still young, but definitely growing.