Retro Swing
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Retro Swing
The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, but it was also greatly influenced by rockabilly, boogie-woogie, the jump blues of artists such as Louis Prima, and the theatrics of Cab Calloway. Many neo-swing bands practiced contemporary fusions of swing, jazz, and jump blues with rock, punk rock, ska, and ska punk music or had roots in punk, ska, ska punk, and alternative rock music. History The roots of the swing revival are generally traced back to 1989, which saw the formation of several of the scene's most prominent figures: Los Angeles' Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who often stuck close to playing traditionally-styled jump blues and rockabilly; San Francisco's Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, who showcased vocal jazz and blues infl ...
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Swing Music
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement. The danceable swing style of big bands and bandleaders such as Benny Goodman was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, known as the swing era. The verb "to swing" is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong groove or drive. Musicians of the swing era include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Django Reinhardt. Overview Swing has its roots in 1920s dance music ensembles, which began using new styles of written arrangements, incorporating rhythmic innovations pioneered by Louis Armstrong ...
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Ska Punk
Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardcore punk. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones, making the genre distinct from other forms of punk rock. It is closely tied to third wave ska which reached its zenith in the mid-1990s. Before ska punk began, many ska bands and punk rock bands performed on the same bills together and performed to the same audiences. Some music groups from the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as the Clash, the Deadbeats, the Specials, the Beat, and Madness fused characteristics of punk rock and ska, but many of these were either punk bands playing an occasional ska-flavored song, or are usually considered 2-tone ska bands who played faster songs with a punk attit ...
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The Deluxtone Rockets
The Deluxtone Rockets is an American band from Muskegon, Michigan. It began as a punk band, but by the time of signing to Tooth & Nail Records it had evolved into a swing revival outfit. Their first album, which was self-titled, was produced by Gene Eugene and Dennis Danell. They wrote their own songs, and their musical style and lyrics were often compared to The W's, but John Brown's lead vocals were likened to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Dicky Barrett or The Reverend Horton Heat. In their second album, ''Green Room Blues'', the group dropped the horn section entirely and shifted to a rockabilly sound. The album's title reflects the fact that both Eugene and Danell died in early 2000, during production of the album. Though Danell had not been involved in the production, Eugene had been, and was replaced by Chris Colbert. The album has a darker mood than their debut effort, though its lyrics still reflect the faith of John Brown. The album also contained a cover of The Cure ...
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The Atomic Fireballs
The Atomic Fireballs were a Detroit swing revival band led by vocalist/songwriter John Bunkley. The group was formed during 1996 with Bunkley on vocals, James Bostek on trumpet, Tony Buccilli on trombone, Duke Kingins on guitar, Shawn Scaggs on double bass, Eric Schabo on tenor sax, Geoff Kinde on drums, and Randy Sly on piano. Scaggs was replaced by Seán E. Harris on double bass and Bostek was replaced by Kenneth Ferry Jr. on trumpet. The band was discovered by former Kid Rock manager Michael Rand. After booking the band nearly 60 concerts, Rand began the process of introducing the band to major record labels. The band was signed to Lava by A&R executives Rick Goetz and Jason Flom. The Atomic Fireballs released two albums: ''Birth of the Swerve'', which was released independently in 1998, produced at Tanglewood Studio in Brookfield, Illinois, and '' Torch This Place'', which was released by Atlantic in 1999. ''Torch This Place'' was recorded at Armoury Studios in Vancouver, ...
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The Lucky Strikes
The Lucky Strikes is a contemporary swing band which achieved mainstream success during the swing revival of the late 1990s. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist and vocalist Craig Marshall with Milan Moorman (trumpet), Brian Copeland (bassist), and Freddie Mendoza (trombone). History Formed in 1993 in Austin, Texas, the group based its style on swing, jazz, and lounge music. Singer Craig Marshall was an avid fan of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin Nat King Cole and Harry Connick Jr. Mendoza, a native of San Antonio, Texas, had toured and performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Frank Foster, Bill Watrous, Rob McConnell, Bob Mintzer, and Harry Connick Jr. During the late 1990s swing revival, the Lucky Strikes toured and performed at premiere events in Hollywood, celebrating the release of the 1996 film '' Swingers'', which was written by Jon Favreau and directed by Doug Liman. In early 1998, the band visited Canada and performed several sold-out shows. In ...
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8½ Souvenirs
Souvenirs is an American swing revival band that is currently active, since 1993. The band was signed to RCA Victor and had two albums on that label, as well as two under indie labels in Austin, Texas. Souvenirs is named after the film '' '', directed by Federico Fellini, and the song "Souvenirs" by gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt The band appeared on ''Austin City Limits'' in April 1998. Personnel The band lineup evolved over the years. During different periods, the personnel included: * Olivier Giraud (guitar, vocals) The founder and key member of the Souvenirs. Now a member of the band Continental Graffiti. * Tony Balbineau (vocals, rhythm guitar) * Todd Wulfmeyer (bass) * Kathy Kiser (vocals) * Glover Gill (piano) * Adam Berlin (drums) * Juliana Sheffield (vocals) * Kevin Smith (bass) * Justin Sherburn (piano) * Rob Kidd (drums) * Chrysta Bell (vocals) Discography * ''Happy Feet'' (RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Mus ...
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The Mask (1994 Film)
''The Mask'' is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell and produced by Bob Engelman from a screenplay by Mike Werb and a story by Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden loosely based on the comics published by Dark Horse Comics. The first installment in ''The Mask'' franchise, it stars Jim Carrey in the title role, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a hapless, everyday bank clerk who finds a magical wooden green mask that transforms him into The Mask, a green-faced troublemaker with the ability to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. He starts using these powers to fight crime, only to become targeted by Dorian Tyrell, a gangster who desires to overthrow his superior. Filming began on 30 August 1993 and concluded in October 1993. The film was released on July 29, 1994, by New Line Cinema, becoming a critical and commercial success. The film grossed over $3 ...
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Swing Kids (1993 Film)
''Swing Kids'' is a 1993 American drama film directed by Thomas Carter and starring Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard and Frank Whaley. In pre-World War II Germany, two high school students attempt to be swing kids by night and Hitler Youth by day, a decision that acutely impacts their friends and families. Historical background In the 1930s, some young German teens favored American and British pop culture; they hung out in secret underground clubs where bands played swing music and listened to contemporary music by acts like Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. The film's screenwriter, Jonathan Marc Feldman, based the film on this eponymous Swing Kids ('' Swingjugend'') movement. Plot In Hamburg in 1939, Peter Müller and Thomas Berger join their friends Arvid and Otto at a swing club called the Bismarck. They have a good time, dancing and enjoying the music. Peter goes home to find his mother in an argument with the Nazi Blockleiter (block leader). Herr Knopp, head of the loca ...
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Brown Derby
Brown Derby was a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and best known was shaped like a derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner in 1926. The chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert K. Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson) in the 1920s. The original Brown Derby restaurants had closed or had been converted to other uses by the 1980s, though a Disney-backed Brown Derby national franchising program revived the brand in the 21st century. It is often incorrectly thought that the Brown Derby was a single restaurant, and the Wilshire Boulevard and Hollywood branches are frequently confused. There is a non-related chain of steakhouse restaurants founded in 1941 in Akron, Ohio, and franchised in 1962. This chain was founded by Ted and Gus Girves, and the full name of these restaurants is "Girves Brown Derby". , five of the Girves chain are still in business. Wils ...
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Cherry Poppin' Daddies
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30-year history, with only Perry, Schmid and trumpeter Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original founding lineup. The Daddies' music is primarily a mix of swing and ska, contrastingly encompassing both traditional jazz-influenced variations of the genres as well as contemporary rock and punk hybrids, characterized by a prominent horn section and Perry's acerbic and innuendo-laced lyricism often concerning dark or political subject matter. While the band's earliest releases were mostly grounded in punk and funk rock, their later studio albums have since incorporated elements from many diverse genres of popular music and Americana into their sound, including rockabilly, rhythm and blues, soul and world music. Initially drawing both ...
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Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture. The blues form is ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, and is characterized by the call-and-response pattern (the blues scale and specific chord progressions) of which the twelve-bar blues is the most common. Blue notes (or "worried notes"), usually thirds, fifths or sevenths flattened in pitch, are also an essential part of the sound. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect known as the groove. Blues as a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation. Early traditional blues verses consisted of a single line repeated four times. It was only in the first decades of the 20th century that the most common current str ...
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Lavay Smith
Lavay Smith (born 1967) is an American singer specializing in swing and blues. She tours with her eight-piece "little big band", Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. Biography The fourth of five children, Lavay Smith was born in Long Beach, California. Her father was a jazz fan, and she grew up hearing Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Helen Humes, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington, though she listened to genres outside of jazz. When she was twelve, she moved with her family to the Philippines. In her teens she sang in a rock band in Manila, performing for members of the American military. The family moved back to California, where she attended high school. After moving to San Francisco, she sang in coffee houses, accompanying herself on guitar. She formed the Red Hot Skillet Lickers in 1989 with Chris Siebert, who was a member of the washboard-jazz band Bo Grumpus with guitarist Craig Ventresco. Smith combined "red hot" with Gid Tanner's 1920s country band, the Skillet Licker ...
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