7 Jun
2016
7 Jun
'16
2:40 a.m.
Tricky. But a couple of things come to mind. Be sure and tell the band
not to break in to a vocal while you're calling. (This might seem to be
a given, but it's NOT.) Pick tunes that the band might be familiar with
(and not really need the sheet, which is bound to be a better result
anyhow.) I'm thinking Turkey in the Straw, Red Wing (if they've ever
eaten ice cream from a truck, they already know half of it), Arkansas
Traveller maybe (I'm a Little Baby Bumble Bee). That should be enough.
Forget the jigs.
Also, make sure that you work on starting and stopping. And make sure
that the band knows that they can't stop until you give them the signal
(whether it's foot up or whatever.) Make sure it's clear that you're in
charge of the tempos (and give them a clear tempo at the beginning), and
the endings (the dance is not over till I say it is). Yes, you have to
take charge. It'll be better for everyone.
And more likely to be a success for both you and the band.
--Chris Kermiet
Denver, CO.
Kalia Kliban kalia.kliban(a)gmail.com [trad-dance-callers] wrote:
Hi all
I'm posting this to several different callers' lists (ECD,
trad-dance-callers and shared weight) in hopes of some speedy advice.
I'm heading off shortly (Weds. evening, 6/8) for an event that is not a
dance event, but at which I've been asked to lead a short community
dance session on "honky tonk night." The band for this is _not_ a
traditional dance band. They're more of a garage band with bar-band
aspirations. I wrote to them several weeks ago to check in about music,
and when I didn't hear back, wrote again about a week ago. Then again,
and finally heard back right as I was getting ready to leave for the
airport for a weekend gig, from which I've just returned.
Their contact person tells me that sheet music would be useful, which
puts me in the position of trying to figure out a very small assortment
of tunes to send them. We're doing about 1/2 hour of dancing, so at the
most it'll be 3 dances. With 2 jigs and 2 reels I can make this work.
The question is "which ones?" And that's where you all come in. I'm
looking for recommendations for a small assortment of simple, enjoyable
tunes for community dancing. As a non-musican, I have no idea which
tunes are easy to pick up quickly and which aren't, so I'm hoping some
of you can help me out.
Kalia Kliban