Posted by lon [ 209.103.193.114 ] on January 10, 2005 at 15:48:54:
In Reply to: Re: Down at the vid store posted by Wayne Parham on January 10, 2005 at 07:08:13:
Yes Wayne, the title they actually use for this is called
"Gettin In The Mood" it includes a 'rap' verse done by
one of the band members and is an extended track.
I have a problem myself with these pushing 40 and older
folk trying to fein youth but I excuse it in Setzer's case
because the band cooks so hard.
Can't say the same about some piece of dreck I saw
with David Bowie and Mick Jagger. I saw the two of them in
some video clip (once again at the store) and I told
the clerk on the way out it made me want to puke. The
young clerk said, after looking around not to be overheard,
"Me too."
BSO does a number of covers including the old Ernie Ford
favorite "This Old House" and the first cd released had
some Al Jolson on it. But the originals and production by
Phil Ramone are all first rate.
Not long ago, I also got a chance to see LaVay Smith
and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers live at a local performance
theatre (The Meyer which I've mentioned here before.)
It's too bad that the revival of this music only has
a niche audience. While I was out on the net looking
for video clips, I saw a piece on Setzer interviewed in
which he says what he does with the band is a Kustom Lifestyle
like the hot rods used in his videos: combining a stock form
with a new and revved up presentation. I was glad I saw that
because I wondered how the unique combination of lead
guitar and singer fronting a big band could be expressed.
Apparently the original concept came about as a happenstance
and then Phil Ramone wrote and arranged the Guitar Slinger
album.
I go into all this detail because the big sound of the
music hold up over time. Some (or most of) the swing bands
of the post-Gap ad retro fad have faded from view. Some
have gone into film scores like The Bill Elliot Swing
Orchestra. Others play clubs like Lavay Smith.
But here's the knockout: The Kit McClure Band is an
all-girl ensemble that plays the songbook of the mixed
race all girl band of the forties called The International
Sweethearts of Rhythm. This was the only female band that toured
with the USO during World War II. There was a commemorative for the Sweethearts on the NPR program Riverwalk Jazz.
Kit Mclure and Redhot records is here:
http://www.redhotrecords.com/
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