I used to be in to this band called Victrola that played in Austin a lot, they were pretty straight-ahead jazz/swing/big band. Man… I used to sit in this smoky jazz club listening to this awesome swing group with some friends, always picked me up. Plus, there is nothing in the world sexier than watching men swing dance with one another, one of them taking the “female” role. That band is no more, and they don’t even relate directly to my question, it just sort of seemed important. I cannot recommend their more recent album enough… listen to samples and consider purchasing from here.
I’m listening to Loveline on the radio, and Jewel is the guest. She was just talking about how her latest album incorporated a lot of influence from swing and big band stuff, and they played a song. It had a techno breakbeat, but a definite swing feeling to it… it had this really sexy vibe, like you could imagine a lot of smoke and red velvet and circular microphones and people swing dancing, and it had this really sexy modern edge to it as well.
Aimee Mann’s last album very successfully incorporated a lot of influence from the 30’s and 40’s, as far as the silky smoothness of the sounds, but the influence on that album was more spiritual and conceptual than in the actual sound.
Basically, I find the whole vibe so delicious and alluring, great stuff. I’d be really interested in buying some music that recreates that wonderful swing feeling, and also has a distinctly modern feel to it? Does anyone know of some good bands/albums/songs I could look in to in order to satisfy my sexy swingin’ urge?
There’s quite a few modern bands, such as Cowtown, who do a country swing thing, playing the traditional 1940s style swing-inflected big-band country style.
Less recommended is Robbie Williams’ “Swing When You’re Winning” album, a modern pop take on the rat pack legacy, although some people seem to really like it.
And from the bizarre files, Vic Godard, who used to be in supreme punk nihilists Subway Sect, produced a brilliant album called “In T.R.O.U.B.L.E. Again” in the early 1980s, which was based around influences like Sinatra, Noel Coward, Oscar Hammerstein, crooners and the big band sound.
Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra are some bands that wear zoot suits and fedoras, have horn sections, and rely on retro “hipster-swinger-gangster” themes. You could also count the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, although they play all styles of music, from hardcore punk to country ballads.
Those bands all reached the pinnacle of popularity around 1997-98, when swing was trendy again. Though the fad has passed, they’re all still around, and all very good. Some of the lesser-known neo-swing bands were the Mighty Blue Kings, Indigo Swing, the New Morty Show, Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, and the Camaros (with dueling girl singers).
The Squirrel Nut Zippers are decidedly more old-fashioned in their sound, harkening back to Dixieland-style jazz, with instruments like banjos and ukuleles and the Billie Holliday-meets-Betty Boop vocals of Katherine Whalen.
Asleep At the Wheel is best known for Western swing, like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys played back in the '40s. Lyle Lovett and even Willie Nelson have done some country-influenced big band recordings.
Chris Isaak has been heavily influenced by '40s crooners and '50s rockabilly, as has Brian Setzer with his Orchestra, the Stray Cats, and as a solo artist. There is lots of crossover between rockabilly and swing, particularly with the newer swing bands, but I don’t want to derail your thread too much listing rockabilly acts.
It’s not precisely swing-style like Squirrel Nut Zippers or Brian Setzer, but Adam Ant had some big-ass drums and some horns, and sure sounds like he was influenced by swing. To be honest, I prefer a gentleman who was merely informed by swing over someone who feels the need to actually wear a zoot suit any day, but I’m crotchety. The only album with which I’m familiar is Friend or Foe, but damn, is that a good album.
Spoke - I am very familiar with the Asylum Street Spankers. Lux has the right idea… stuff that’s more informed by than imitating the music. Not so hot on bands that wear zoot suits, either, although I do recognize that Brian Setzer has a whole lot of talent.
Hey Spoke, mildly related, you ever hear the Austin band Shorty Long? They play at Flipnotics every Sunday night, IIRC, and they’re a great sort of vaudeville style cabaret/medicine show act. They attribute a bunch of their songs to “legendary” musicians that obviously never existed, or say things like “This is a song that was found in the tomb of the world-famous King Tut, adapted by scholars to today’s modern musi-cal styles!” I think they’re a hoot, but for some reason my more serious musician friends just freak out over them. Every show they play there are a bunch of people enjoying the show and chilling out, the inevitable few who aren’t too in to it (as at any show), and a surprisingly large group whose jaws are on the floor. I guess I’m not cool enough to get it…
Ever hear of 8 1/2 Souveneirs from Austin? They are a jazzy, sexy lounge act with a gorgeous lead singer (Miss Christa Bell, replacing another girl), and a wonderful French lead guitarist, who was heavily influenced by Django Reinhardt. I have their album “Happy Feet” and I love it, and it sounds like you would too. Always wanted to see them live, especially to see Christa Bell up close.
They also have a more recent album, Soul Caddy, that’s very good and very swing-influenced, though with just a little more range than Zoot Suit Riot. Very fun CD!
If you can find it, check out an album called “10-Cent Freaks” by an Atlanta, GA band called Donkey. They never hit it really big outside of the local clubs & radio stations, even though they had near-perfect timing; I think they got the most attention just a couple of years before Swingers came out.
Anyway, they’re the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. It’s swing-“inspired” rock/pop music instead of a slavish recreation like BBVD and Royal Crown Revue.
8 1/2 Souveneirs is long gone, but about half of Victrola was about half of 8 1/2 Souveneirs. May I recommend you follow the link in my OP and check out what they were up to? It’s ludicrously cool.