Hi Everyone!   Hard to believe, but it's now been 5 years since we started publishing the Swing News, and a little over 5 since swing started making a comeback in Tampa Bay.... and what a long way things have come!  We won't bore you here with nostalgic details, but do check out the 5-Year Perspective article at the end of this issue for a quick & dirty look at swing, then & now.  Before moving on to this month's great lineup of events, I'd like to ask for your participation in the Swing News Annual Membership Drive.  Since 1998, we've brought you the best swing happenings in Tampa Bay, and swing in Tampa Bay has grown steadily.  But since then, numerous swing enthusiasts (whose email addresses went bad) have also disappeared from the scene.  If you know someone who likes swing, whether they've been into it for years or have not yet started, see the Membership Drive section in this newsletter for details on how you can get them started and also be eligible to win free prizes!  See you at this month's events!  --Sam

Swing Time is gearing up for another huge event this Friday (May 2nd) at Centro Asturiano in Tampa.  Join us for an incredible evening of live music & dancing, surprise dance exhibitions, prize giveaways, and Swing Time excitement!  We're bringing Jacksonville's favorite swinging band, Pretty Boy Freud, to Tampa to get the party started!  See you there!  --Sam & Rachel

Pretty Boy Freud, Jacksonville's hottest band, has been creating the swing experience for their audiences for over 15 years.  The band's foundation is the Hot Club Jazz style of music (the acoustic swing or Gypsy Jazz created by Django Reinhardt in the 30's).  To this hot style of music, they add a twist of jump, jazz, blues, and contemporary swing, plus a dash of audience participation and a touch of humor.

What makes Pretty Boy Freud unique is their full range of string instruments, including violin, acoustic guitar, and upright bass.  Add to this a drummer, and female & male vocalists, and you get a recipe for a night of auditory & swing-dancing excitement!  Numbers range from uptempo Hot Club standards (such as Sweet Georgia Brown, Honeysuckle Rose, & Darktown Strutters Ball), to the famous Ella & Louis duets, to a sultry & bluesy version of Fever, to jump-blues classics (such as Caledonia), to the band's original music.

Pretty Boy Freud hails from Jacksonville, where they're regarded by many as not just the best swing band, but the best band, period.  A 7-time winner of Folio Magazine's Best Band in N.E. Florida award, Pretty Boy Freud was also voted the Best Jazz Band and the Best Blues Band on two separate occasions by Jacksonville Magazine.  The band has played from Seattle to Key Largo, including the 2002 Seattle Jazz Festival.  Each year, bandmembers Ed Cotton (acoustic guitar & vocals) and Rebecca Zapen (violin & vocals) make the annual pilgrimage to the Django Reinhardt Festival in France.  The band has performed in concert with the likes of Harry Connick Jr and Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 the day of event.  Advance Tickets are available online at www.SwingTime.info (until midnight Thursday 5/1/03).  You may also purchase them in person this Wednesday (4/30) at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night. 

Swing Time favorites, Jennifer & the Venturas, are joined by special guest saxman, Mark Gould, for a swinging evening, Friday May 16th, in the spectacular waterfront ballroom of the Gulfport Casino.  The evening features tons of live music & dancing, an intro swing-dance lesson, prize giveaways, a dance show, and more!

Jennifer & the Venturas have made a big impression on the Florida music scene since their 2001 debut.  The band has received rave reviews from press & fans alike, has won "Best Band" awards, and has just released their first CD!  Each time they've played Swing Time, the band has put on a smash performance for a huge audience of fans.  The band is well known for their versatility:  their swing repertoire alone includes a variety of musical styles such as jump blues, jazz, jive, sultry blues, and classic rhythm & blues / rock & roll.

By now, you should have heard (at least dozens of times) about the Frankie Cruise, a 7-day & 7-night Caribbean swing cruise that sails May 25th from Miami Beach.  Between 250 & 300 swing dancers from across the globe are taking the cruise, which features nightly swing dances with George Gee & the Jump, Jive & Wailers, plus the world's premier Lindy Hop instructors/personalities and Frankie Manning's 89th Birthday Party!  If you haven't yet signed up, there may or may not be room on the ship at this point:  Click Here for Details and call the travel agent to find out.

Whether or not you're going on the cruise, you're invited to attend a Pre-Cruise Bash in Miami Beach on Saturday May 24th, put on by our South Florida friends at Swing Affair.  Saturday will feature a Pre-Cruise Dance Party, 8pm-3am, with hundreds of dancers expected from South Florida and the rest of the world.  The party features a live band, DJs, a late-night breakfast buffet, a swing room, a blues room, and all the dancing you can handle, all for $15.  It takes place at the famous Dezerland Hotel on Miami Beach.  Click Here for Details.

During the day on Saturday May 24th, renowned instructor, Bill Borgida, will teach an all-day Workshop with classes on lindy hopping and blues dancing.  Registration runs $30-$45. Click Here for Details.

Join us every Wednesday in the St Petersburg area for one of the hottest swing nights in the region!

Swing Sundays are put on by the Suncoast Swing Gang.  The Zendah Grotto features a large floating-wood dance floor, and you may BYOB or buy soft drinks at the door.  Map or More Info.

Saturday, May 10th, and every 2nd Saturday of the Month, Swing City hosts a swing night with Lindy Hop in one room and West-Coast Swing in the other room!  Dancing starts at 8:30pm and is $6.  Before the dance, Don & Haley teach a beginning-to-intermediate-level Lindy Hop workshop at 7pm ($12 admission includes dance).  Or join a West-Coast Swing class in the other room at 7:30pm.  More Info.

The Swing Session is a class, practice session, and dance rolled into one.  It happens every Monday, 8:00-10:30pm, at the Bay Vista Center, 7000 4th St S in St Pete (727-893-7124).  Learn to swing from other dancers, meet other dancers, share/exchange ideas, try new moves, and get comfortable with your dancing in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.  Whether you're a novice or have been dancing for years, the Swing Session will expand & improve your dancing!  Admission is a mere $2 for St Pete residents ($5 the first time), or $3.20 for nonresidents.  Directions:  From I-275, head east on 54th Ave S, turn right on 4th St, and continue south until you reach Bay Vista.  The Bay Vista Center will be on your left.

"Hey, we really want to invite everyone out to the 'Swing Session' on Monday nights.  There are two classes (Fundamentals of Swing, and Progressive Swing... ie beginning & advanced).  The material is very exciting and because we have practice time built in, anyone can get help with anything.  It's just like a bunch of dancers sharing what they know and growing together.  We also hope to enlist the help of those already teaching locally as well as some outsiders.  Hope to see you there!  And yes, currently we are offering a Lindy Hop series."  --Brendan

May 1 (Thu):  Kimberly Kaye's Swinging 5-Piece Band:  This top-notch band includes Kimberly Kaye on vocals, an amazing pianist, vibes & sax, plus bass & drums.  The band will play an assortment of swing, foxtrot, and ballroom music, with dance lessons provided by Arthur Murray instructors.  Admission ($40) includes dinner & dancing, 7-10pm, in the banquet room of Maggiano's Little Italy, located at WestShore Plaza Mall in Tampa.  No partner is necessary.  Phone 813-288-9000 for more info or reservations.

May 3 (Sat):  WMNF's Tropical Heatwave, an eclectic music festival with dozens of bands, takes place in and around the Cuban Club.  More Info.

May 18 (Sun):  Swingin' South Florida singer, Lorri Hafer, is the guest vocalist at the 10:55am Community United Methodist Church's Joyful Jazz Service in Holiday, with Shirley Taylor on piano, John Lamb on bass, and Jerry Schlossberg on drums.  For more info, call 727-937-3268.

May 31 (Sat):  Roomful of Blues @ Skipper's:  Celebrating its 35th Anniversary, this swinging band has been nominated for four Grammies and twice won Blues Band of the Year from Downbeat Magazine.  Though the lineup has continually changed, the music remains in a class by itself.  Opening the show will be Jennifer & the Venturas.  Starts 8pm; tickets $12/adv or $15/door.  More Info.

Mondays in May (May 5, 12, 19 & 26):  Swing Class in Clearwater/Largo:  East-Coast Swing at Dancer's Rendezvous, 4445 E Bay Dr, 7-8pm Lesson, 8-10:30pm Dance, all for $7, Vivian Wright Instructs.  More Info.

Every Sunday & Monday:  CitiJazz swings in Orlando:  The CitiJazz club at Universal Studios' CityWalk has now expanded its swing night to twice a week, on Sundays and Mondays.  The night features live music, a decent dance floor, and a jazz club atmosphere.  More Info.

Do you have friends who might be interested in swing, but haven't yet started?  Do you know regular swing-dancers who never seem to know when the next event is?  Then turn them on to the Swing News!  If you reply to this message with a friend's name & email address, we'll send them a sample issue and invite them to subscribe (subscribing is free), plus we'll enter both you & your friend in the prize drawing!

Free Ticket Drawing!  For every new person you refer by May 31st, we'll give you one free entry into a prize drawing.  We'll then draw from all entries to award the winner a free ticket to a local swing event!  We'll also hold another prize drawing for those new people who subscribe to the Swing News by May 31st.  The winner also gets a free ticket to a local swing event!

What if your friend has no e-mail?  Occasionally -- whenever an event sponsor is willing to pay for the mailing -- we send announcements of swing events out by US Mail.  To get on the Swing News postal mailing list, a person just needs to give us their address.

Congratulations to the following winners in the Florida State Swing Dance Championships, held April 19th-20th in Orlando:

Lindy Hop Division:
1st: Adam & Marcie (from Orlando)
2nd: Erik & Christy (from Orlando)
3rd: Haley (from Tampa Bay) & Jason (from Orlando)

Freestyle Division:
1st: Jim & Cindy (from Tampa Bay)
2nd: Adam & Christy (from Orlando)
3rd: Marcie & Erik (from Orlando)

By now, you've probably heard the sad news about the passing away of Gilbert Flojo.  For those who knew him, Gilbert was an avid swing dancer and a friend to all in Tampa Bay's swing community.  He brought an unequaled level of energy and enthusiasm to the dance floor, and was always eager to share the dance with newcomers.  He died April 9th (at the age of 30) in an auto accident while stationed in Kuwait.  He will be missed....

We're dedicating a special web page to Gilbert on the Swing News web site.  (Click here to see the preliminary page.)  Anyone with pictures, video clips, or a few words to contribute, please e-mail them to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX .  Thanks!

Some old-timers might find it strange that someone would write a five-year perspective on Tampa Bay's swing scene, when swing has in fact been around for 75 years.  Even in Tampa Bay, swing has been danced since the 1930's & 1940's at some of the same venues we dance today -- places like the Gulfport Casino, the St Pete Coliseum, and Centro Asturiano.  Other folks who've been West-Coast Swinging these past 20 years in Tampa Bay might have a similar reaction.  But this "5-Year Perspective" is about Tampa Bay's "neo" swing scene which, although it shares some of the same roots as the local Ballroom Dance & West-Coast Swing scenes, started pretty much independently of those other scenes.

But let's start at the beginning, which goes back to the 1990's and even the 1980's in California, when swing bands -- that is, NeoSwing Bands -- started making a comeback.  As the bands made a resurgence, swing dances such as lindy hop surged in popularity.  Now all this was on the West Coast of the US, but the NeoSwing craze slowly spread to places like New York City and about a decade later -- in 1997 -- to Tampa Bay!  The NeoSwing craze peaked in 1998, with the in(famous) GAP commercial, and band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy scoring a platinum album and a Super Bowl appearance.  Soon after its peak, the NeoSwing craze disappeared, as the media quickly disavowed any & all things swing.  So our local swing scene got its start near the peak of a nationwide media swing frenzy, and continued to thrive on its own afterward with little to no media attention.  Anyway, here's a quick & dirty comparison of local swing back when it started 5-6 years ago, with local swing now.  I hope you enjoy it!  --Sam

The Music:  In 1997 & 1998, the most popular music was NeoSwing, a fast-paced & distinctive sounding Jump-Lounge combination, which also incorporated a touch of big band, rock & roll, jazz, rockabilly, and pop styles.  Today, you hardly ever hear that jump-lounge neoswing sound.  Instead, swingsters prefer to hear the purer roots of that sound, whether it be jump blues, big band, rockabilly, jazz, blues, R & B, rock & roll, or modern pop.

The Dance:  Five years ago, very few locals could swing dance or even do the basic steps.  This did not stop them from trying, but the music was simply too fast for most people -- you often saw a dance floor full of folks who were dancing, but not in time to the music.  Most weren't that interested in dancing, anyhow, but more interested in learning to flip, lift, and throw their partners.  Often, an entire dance floor would become a huge aerials practice session.  Today, you see lots of people actually dancing (from beginners to experts) and hardly anyone trying to lift their partner.  People have learned all sorts of swing dances, from East-Coast to Lindy Hop to Collegiate Shag and Balboa.  Some swingsters have even branched to dances outside the "neo" swing community, picking up dances such as Latin & Ballroom, West-Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, Contra, Cajun & Zydeco, Tap, Belly Dance, etc. 

The Venues:  In 1997 & 1998, there was one dominant club where most of the swingsters would go -- first it was the Masquerade, and then it was the Sugar Palm Club.  Many other swing nights tried to start up, but quickly failed.  Even the dominant club couldn't make a go of it for long, when they realized to their surprise that the swing crowd did not drink.  Today, there are multiple organizers and several established swing nights that have been going for years.  New swing nights still come & go with regularity, and the established swing nights still all struggle to stay afloat.  They must deal with heavy competition from both swing & nonswing events, a fickle crowd with highly irregular attendance patterns, plus international disasters that keep that crowd glued to their television sets.  On the positive side, organizers no longer rely on drink revenues to stay open, the quality of many current venues has become top-notch, and on good nights, crowds are bigger than ever!

The Dance Floors:  A few years ago, at busy venues like Masquerade, Sugar Palm, and Storman's, it wasn't uncommon for the whole crowd of dancers (say 100-300 people) to pack themselves onto the small dance floor...  and many people were doing aerials!  Today's venues have several times the space, yet many of today's dancers are spoiled by that fact and some even complain of a lack of space -- they've seemingly never danced on a truly crowded floor or had to minimize their dancing space.  Visitors from outside Tampa Bay tell us, even on our most crowded nights, that we're so lucky to have such grand venues and such huge dance floors.  So travel to any popular swing dance outside of Tampa Bay; or go to any popular seniors dance in Tampa Bay to see what a crowded floor is truly like!  It'll be great practice in minimizing your dance space.

Smoking or Non?  A few years ago, seemingly no one cared whether a dance venue was smoking or nonsmoking; in fact, dancers and even instructors at the Masquerade swing night would carry their cigarettes onto the dance floor.  Well, the Swing News cared!  We locally pioneered the concept and actively campaigned for smoke-free dance venues...  and today, we have them!  A lot of people are paying attention, nationwide, to the issue of smoke-free restaurants, clubs, and other indoor spaces.  It's the wave of the future, and we're glad to do our part to make it happen all the quicker.

Size:  It all started with a handful of swing enthusiasts.  Today, there are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of folks who attend local swing events on a regular or semi-regular basis.  And the Swing News circulation has grown from a few dozen to a few thousand people!

The Bands:  In 1997 & 1998, popular local swing bands included Rocket 88, Dan Electro & the Silvertones, and the Swingin' Mooks.  Both locally and nationwide, musicians jumped on the NeoSwing bandwagon and formed new groups to try and make a quick buck; unfortunately, many of these groups lacked in quality and experience, and quickly disbanded when their gigs dried up.  Even the most popular and talented swing bands had trouble surviving, and many went under when the NeoSwing craze faded in 1999.  Many of the swing bands you see today were around before the NeoSwing craze, but didn't participate much in it.  Regardless of when they started, today's swinging bands are proficient in one or more musical genres that are the roots of what we now know as swing music: genres such as blues, jump blues, jazz, big band, rock & roll, rhythm & blues, and rockabilly.  No band today makes a living by playing only swing events.

The People:  When swing first started, the crowd was a fairly typical club crowd that wasn't used to the concept of human interaction; but it was slightly friendlier than that, because people began to realize that you had to actually talk to other people, and interact with other people, and touch other people in order to get into swing dancing.  Not as many people were into dancing back then -- many were just out to "make the scene".  Luckily, a handful of cross-over dancers from established dance communities (such as contra) set out to bring some of the friendliness of those dance communities to the swing scene.  Although it was a long and sometimes painful process, swingsters gradually loosened up and learned to socially interact with others, leading to today's pretty friendly swing dance community.  And today's swing-dance community has expanded to include all ages, from newborns to age 90+.  Tampa Bay's dancers always get compliments from visitors on their friendliness and their welcoming of newcomers.  We're not perfect, by any means, but we have as a group come a long way!

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