Bandstand Stories

Presenting the music of the Big Band era as well as the Big Band genre in general is what really makes the SJO tick. In short, we LOVE the music of the great bands. Miller, Dorsey, Shaw, Brown, Basie, Ellington and countless others, all are the source of our inspiration.

As one might expect, over the years our audience was composed primarily, of what is euphemistically called the "senior citizens." They didn't want the Big Band to disappear any more than we did. Hearing "Moonlight Serenade" or "I'll Never Smile Again" from a full-sized, live Big Band brought back the memories of their youth in a way that only music is capable of doing.

It became all too apparent to us as the years wore on that our audience would soon be dwindling as the "seniors" got older and older, and less able to venture out for a night of dancing. Then a strange and wonderful thing happened.

A few musicians who had been making their living playing in rock bands began to tire of the rock scene and began to look elsewhere. For who knows what reason swing music began to draw them in. They took the best of the swing era, added a few bells and whistle from their rock experiences and came up with what we know now as "Nouveau Swing." They put the music out there and soon the kids heard it. They liked it!

Nouveau Swing became a national craze, spawning bands like the "Cherry Poppin' Daddies," "The Brian Setzer Orchestra" and "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy" among others. The young kids began to seek out not only the "nouveau" but the original recording of the swing era bands themselves. Those of us who played in swing bands were amazed, to put it mildly.

Before long we got a call to play for a local college's Swing Dance Club (that's mindboggling in and of itself!). A contract was signed and we appeared on campus at the appointed time and place. Most of us feared disaster. We just found it hard to believe that an audience of 400 kids, none older than 20 or so, would find what we had to do as exciting as we did.

The doors opened, and through them came a stream of 17 to 20 year old college students. The first set began and we pulled up some of the Golden Oldies and did our stuff. The joint was literally jumping! We could hardly believe our eyes. Then, about half-way through the first set, a young man came up to our lead alto sax player and asked, "D'you guys do "I Can't Get Started?"

"Yes we do." our guy replied.

"Do you do the Bunny Berrigan arrangement where he sings in the middle?"

"Uh...yeah....we do!" Said our astonished sax player. Damn! These kids really ARE interested in what we're doing. They really know their stuff!

Later, as I was walking toward the Coke machine at our first intermission, a young lady about five feet tall walked up to me. Her hair was in mild disarray, and a thin film of perspiration shimmered on her smiling face. She looked up and me and said, "Man, you guys just ROCK!"

Ah yes...the ultimate compliment from the current generation! And I lived to hear it with my own ears. Will wonders never cease?

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The contents of this page will contain short notes of interest on a variety of
subjects, as the muse dictates. All of the stories will have something to do
(one way or another) with life on the bandstand...ours, theirs, even YOURS.
We'd love to add your favorite bandstand stories here as well!
Submit them to the SJO WEBMASTER.
Miss some of the past stories?
Check out our "Bandstand Stories Archive