Let’s talk about bands! I fielded quite a few questions last night during the SmokeTone Swing Band show about how I find my bands and what my criteria is for booking them at Savoy Denver.
First up - how I find swing bands:
chance discovery - Jeremy Mohney in 2010 or 2011 busking on Pearl Street Mall or Daniella Katzir this year at Firefly Handmade
friend’s recommendations - LAPOMPE
deliberate outreach - when I first started Swingin’ Denver I spoke to several musicians about what I should pay and what musicians they recommend. Then I followed up with outreach.
being flexible enough to host band’s debuts - Royal Street Ramblers, Brittney and Her Moonshine Gang
reputation as a talent buyer and venue connector - Reid Poole, Secret Six Jazz Band.
providing paying opportunities with me or elsewhere so bands can grow and improve. Here’s a relevant Duke Ellington quote - “There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!”
All of this has helped me discover new bands or for musicians to direct bands to me. I’m very much into live music and supporting musicians’ however I can.
My criteria for booking bands this year at Savoy Denver:
they make me want to dance with spontaneous creativity and verve
they swing hard regardless of tempo
they’ll inspire driving triple steps through their own driving rhythm section creating that dance band sound
I can see their hard work whether that’s on social media, marketing, gigs they’re booking, recorded music they’re creating, anti-racism efforts, etc.
have media assets I can share and have at least one social media account. You need to be shared with prospective guests, whether that’s current or future swing dancers. And then I need to see that you’re social media savvy to share posts, stories, or be collaborators on Instagram.
This criteria was in the hopes it would take some of the burden off of me to market, advertise, spread the word individually. I’ll likely modify some of this criteria with how I end up measuring 2022’s success.
Now, an interlude. When I first moved to Denver in 2005, DJs were the scene’s music royalty. Our bands were simply hit or miss. Now the reverse is true and has been for quite some time. Denver and the Front Range has so many talented swing bands that ought to be hired more. Live music is where it’s at!
I would love to see more swing venues hire swing bands and start supporting our live music scene more especially the many talented younger smaller bands. If you need contact information, I have it. If you need help encouraging a venue to hire your favorite local band, maybe start off with an email and then move to a phone call or conversation if needed. Good luck!