was compelled to call my Dad to brief him about a swing video that just about knocked my socks off.
Sounds like Brian Switzer's "Jump for Jiving" Video. I dance with the kids in the Video.
Who are the favored swing bands/orchestras of the present day?
They are all "Jump Blues" bands, with a rockabilly background. The Hottest bands are "Royal Crown Revue" who have a great "prison" video out now, and "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy" has a good video out. The hottest band in the San Francisco Area is "Indigo Swing", they are touring now. The best new "Big Band" swing is Bill Elliot, out of LA. Bill is a musical genius who writes 40's swing songs that would have been smash hits back then. Look in the stores for "Calling all Jitterbugs". He tours SF, Seattle, and Portland, and I will "roadie" along with him on his next trip. Others are "The Jive Aces", "The Big Six", "Jumping Jives", and, of course, La Vey Smith. The lead dancer in the Gap khaki commercial, Christian, is a good friend, and you will see Eric and Sylvia, the National Lindy Hop champs, in the Voodoo Daddy Video. I have done a movie, (Winchell), and have been on "Hard Copy" with tape from Merv Griffith's "Coconut Club" nightclub, But I am too old for the Videos!
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