into pop culture
By Sarah Baker
Senior Reporter
Swing is more than just a Gap advertisement;
it’s a lifestyle.
And it’s beginning to jump, jive and wail it’s
way into Nebraska.
The history of swing began in the late 1920s,
but the trend failed to gam popularity until the mid
1930s. Originally it started as a form of music
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sections.
Swing dancing began as an offshoot of the
music and started in Harlem at a club called the
Savoy Ballroom. The original form of the dance is
known as the Lindy Hop and was widely recog
nized by the work of Frankie “Musclehead”
Manning, the first swing dancer to incorporate air
steps into the dance.
Once people saw' the dance performed, swing
became a worldwide dance craze and grew into
many different styles, including the West and East
Coast Swing, Rock and Roll and Boogie Woogie.
According to Amy Castro, owner of Dance
Sport USA, 237 S. 70th, the 1990s revival of swing
has much to do with an image.
“I think there’s a wide range of reasons swmg
has become popular again,” Castro said. “The
music comes from a time when life was good, and
swing is really fun and energetic.”
“Music shows a lot about where a society is at
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about wholesomeness expressed in a positive way.”
Dan Bauer, general manager of the Rogue’s
Gallery, 122 N. 11*, said he was considering start
ing a swing night at his club, but nothing had been
finalized.
Bauer said he thought a swing night would be
successful for one main reason: it was something
new.
“For about 109 years, people have been pum
meling themselves in mosh pits,” Brauer said. “It’s
just a matter of time until the swing movement hits
Lincoln.”
Brauer said he thought swing was something
college students were going to be interested in.
“Young people want new things,” he said.
“Even though this is something old, they’re going
to want to be the first ones to pick it up again. Kids
are going to be into this.”
Castro said she felt the popularity of the 1996
Mirimax film “Swingers” also contributed to the
resurgence in popularity.
“I think what people liked about ‘Swingers’
was the theme that went along with the music,” she
said. “I think there is a potential for swing to get
really big in a college town like Lincoln.”
Courtesy Photo
BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY, one of the bands responsible for the resurgence of swing music in
American pop culture, performed at Omaha’s Sokol Hall Monday night.
Castro started teaching swing lessons at her
studio three months ago, and said the response had
been amazing so far.
“I get two to three calls every day concerning
the classes,” she said. “There are many different
types of swing, and I teach them all.”
She said some people had the misconception
that swing dancing was too hard for them to learn.
“The lessons are really fun, and a lot of people
in the classes end up saying ‘this is not as hard as I
thought’,” Castro said. “The dance can be adjusted
to anyone’s level, there are no physical or age bar
riers. I have students ranging in age from 20 to 60.”
Castro said she was excited to see the revival of
swing.
“I think we’re on the tip of something big,” she
said.
Brauer agreed, and said he thought the time
had definitely arrived for swing to be back in style.
“It’s come of age,” he said. “It’s time for people
to learn to really dance again.”
Swing classes take place Wednesday nights at
8 p.m. at Dance Sport USA. For more information,
call Dance Sport USA at (402) 484-7255.
Beginning July 6, classes will also start in Omaha
at the American Dance Academy, 7631 Cass St.,
Mondays at 8 p.m. For more information on these
classes, call (402) 393-0455.
Band surprised
by neo-swing's
popularity
By Sarah Baker
Senior Reporter
Swing wasn’t a success overnight.
Neither was Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, one of the bands
at the forefront of the neo-swing movement,
has been playing their jumpin’ swing since
1992.
And according to saxophonist Andy
Rowley, they never thought their act would
come this far.
“Our success seems immediate, but it’s
really not for us,” Rowley said. “We’ve been
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went through two vans.”
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy took the stage
Monday night at Omaha’s Sokol Hall, 2234 S.
13th St., and played a two hour set to a sold out
crowd.
The band recently released their third, self
titled, album, which is also their first on a
major record label. Their first two self-pro
duced albums, distributed on the indie label
Hep Cat, were equally well-received.
Rowley said the band had always been
popular with audiences of all ages.
“We’ve always worn the suits, even when
we played at cowboy bars and backyard par
ties,” he said. “People would see us and freak
out because it was something new and they
didn’t know what to expect. It still is new to a
lot of people.”
Rowley said the band’s appearance in the
1996 Mirimax film “Swingers” opened their
act up to a much larger audience.
“We did the movie as a favor to Jon
(Favreau, actor and screenwriter for
‘Swingers.’),” Rowley said. “We shot it on a
regular night that we played at the Derby. We
had no idea what it was about, we just did it.”
Rowley said everyone in the band had
some background in swing music, whether it
was formal education or just family members
who listened to jazz.
“My dad was a huge fan of jazz,” he said.
“This kind of music attracts people of all ages,
from 8 to 80.”
Rowley said he hoped people left a Big
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their money’s worth.
“I want it to be a night they’re going to
remember, or at least the best night they’ve
had all week,” he said.
Many see the revival of swing as just
another fad, but Rowley said he didn’t neces
sarily think that was the case.
“The music has always been there, it just
got neglected,” he said. “Good music stands
the test of time, and it will still be around even
if people aren’t dressing up and doing the
dancing.”
“We try and put everything we have into
our shows,” he said. “When we get an audi
ence that includes three generations: grand
parents, parents and kids, that’s something
pretty cool.”
