• If you were able to sit down with all the instructors in San Diego what would you ask them?
• What concerns about our scene would you express to them?
• What role should the instructors play in our scene?
• How should we promote our scene?
• Where do you see our scene going? Why?
• What role should we play in our scene?

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I feel your pain. I am from Omaha, NE and we are experiencing what you wrote
about. Last year we had a single swing club (The Stork Club) that was THE place
to go swing dancing. We had several national bands come through a few times
throughout the year and there were a TON of dancers, at the beginning that is.
As the year went on swing lost it's shine and soon on the Hard-core dancers were
showing up. Needless to say, the Stork Club closed last July and since then the
swing scene has gone down hill. Instructors are fighting over a small number of
dancers, each trying to recruit them to take lessons at their studio, the clubs
are split into factions that don't talk to each other and it's the dancers
themselves that suffer for it.
Just recently we (the core group of swing dancers) got together to try and
figure out what could be done to fix the swing scene. The biggest problems we
saw were communication and schedules. No one was telling anyone else what was
going on so we either had 3 events on the same night or nothing at all. All of
the dancers would go to their favorite band or studio and the turnout for each
event was pitiful. We had a large workshop this past weekend and figured that
would be the time to get all the major people together who have a stake in the
swing business. We had heads of studios, bands and clubs all together in one
room, which in itself was amazing. We presented our concerns and asked them if
they thought it was a problem that needed to be fixed. They all agreed that it
was a problem and they all said that what THEY were doing was going to fix the
problem, even though it hadn't as long as they had been doing it. All of them
had newsletters or mailing lists that they used to inform people about THEIR
events. I was on 2 of the 10 mailing lists and I am a rather active member of
the swing scene. We asked them what they thought about an "information
exchange" council. The council would be made up of volunteers from the swing
scene (mostly dancers) who would get the information about events for each
organization, compile it, and then re-distribute it. Each organization would
then have to post the information, even if it was about a "rival" business.
This went over with the expected results. "I'm not putting THEIR info up in my
studio because they won't put MY info up in theirs." After a LOT of talking, we
got everyone to agree that this was a start and we could try it out to see if it
works. This was Sunday. I don't know if this will change anything but at least
it is something.

Have you had any other responses to the letter posted on eSwing? I'd be
interested in hearing how other swing communities are working things.

-Jamie Sobczyk
www.omahaswings.com

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Whats up man-

I'm one of the guys from Blue Cat Mob. We're a 10 piece group out of the SF
area, actually just north of the Golden Gate. I'm going to have to agree
with you 100% on your letter-saw it on eSwing. Its harder than hell to get
booked anymore these days. The clubs are just not digging swing that much
anymore. And there is just as much stupid bitterness amongst the few
hardcores that have stuck through the trend. Bottom line: YOU want a
scene, YOU have to create a scene. We're trying to do the same thing.

Our band is fortunate enough to have some people involved with VERY deep
pockets, so as a throwback to all the clubs that are screwing swing in
general, we're trying to open our own club. Now, the last thing people want
is another silly little "swing club" with a bunch of Dj's. That is one
thing that people get tired of. Basicly, if you want a REAL scene like San
Francisco, you have to eliminate the factors that people will eventually get
tired of. Part of what makes SF so cool is that the entertainment in and
around the city is genuine. Dj music is not entertainment. A band that
happens to play swing music is not necessarely entertaining. The audience
has to leave an event thinking "holy shit, that was amazing". That is the
approach here. Most of the bands in San Francisco provide a full evening of
solid entertainment and don't just play music. They put on "a show".

The only band I have seen from San Diego is BTO, and to be totally honest,
their "show" was kind of dull. Musically, they haul ass. As a musician, I
loved them. But as far as getting people really into the show, they kind of
lacked. I also play with Lee Press On and the Nails from time to time.
Now, there is a guy that can entertain a crowd. People would pay just to
hear him talk for three hours. That is the kind of entertainment people
want. This is just as important as the music. When someone down in San
Diego starts performing at this level, the bar is raised and other bands
will have to come up to that level of performance as well. Then, the
entertainment is better, and more people will rejoin the scene because at
any given time, there will be something really good happening. That is what
SF is like. On any given night, someone bad ass is playing: LPN, Lavay
Smith, Steve Lucky, etc. This creates a demand for the entertainment, thus
more clubs host swing nights. But San Francisco has taken it a step
further, where some clubs are shooting for a "Cotton Club" atmosphere with
comedy, theatre, music, and dance that is all within a vintage genre. SF
swings-it always has, so unfortunatly it has a lot more to go with than San
Diego does.

So as far as anything YOU could do as a participant in the scene.....I don't
really know! Try getting in touch with some of the bands. and without
insulting them, stress the importance of the "show" theory. Try organizing
events that are more than just music. Try hooking up a regular weekly thing
somewhere, and getting it really popular. You have to think on a smaller
scale and let it grow-you are but one person. San Fran's swing scene has
been developing for 60 years. You can't change San Diego overnight, but you
can get a one or two joints really bumping so that it will attract lots of
people, and lots of good entertainment. Everything grows from there. If
more people get involved, more of them are going to want the scene to grow
and will do what you are doing right now; taking iniciative towards
progress. Its a chain reaction. That is why even after the swing
revolution, it is still popular in SF (though truthfully, not as much as
before). There are a lot of subcultures centered around swing like
rockabilly, lounge, strait ahead jazz, etc. These should be recognized too,
and will also broaden your audience. There is a ton of little shit you
could to, but I can't go over all of it.

Anyway, I hope that helps a bit. I wrote this huge manifesto on the death
of swing that you might appreciate. Go to www.bluecatmob.com and look for
"Ian's essay". There is a bunch of shit there that might be of interest to
ya. Anyway, I wish you luck.

Ian Dickenson

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*What role should we play in our scene?

If you see a need, fill it. It's a gamble sometimes, but I have never regretted it.

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*What concerns about our scene would you express to them?

Take care not to let your passion for the dance be clouded by your desire for personal profit. Furthermore, territorialism is extremely destructive.

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This is the beginning of us sustaining our scene!

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The hindrance is that Champion would be sponsored by an instructor.

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