Lindy Shopper

April 2020 COVID-19 Update

It’s amazing how time has seemed to stand still, yet fly by. I have remained busy, as my day job is deemed essential, but I have also been busier than I thought I would be with various music and other projects. Here’s a recap of the past month’s projects:

Gordon Au’s Tribute to Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars – Live at Lindy Focus was released on April 15 – this was such a special night of music and we are all very pleased with how this album came out, particularly since none of us had anticipated releasing the recordings from that night and we had only really run through half the tunes in rehearsal that day before performing Gordon’s wonderful arrangements. This album is full of joy, so if you need some of that in your life right now, this would be a great investment in happiness. Visit Bandcamp to download this digital release.

Keenan McKenzie put together a virtual collaboration of video/recording of his lovely song The Dwindling Light by the Sea, with yours truly reprising vocals, Lucian Cobb on trombone, Jonathan Stout on guitar, James Posedel on piano, William Ledbetter on bass, and Dan Faust on drums. Here’s another recording, this time with visual, to add some joy to your day. If you’d like to see more collaborations organized by Keenan, please consider donating to his virtual tip jar at VENMO: @keenanmckenziemusic OR
PAYPAL: paypal.me/keenanmckenziemusic

On another musical note, Bandcamp is doing musicians affected by the pandemic another solid and reprising their waiver of the revenue share for all sales on Bandcamp – this is in effect May 1, June 5, and July 3 (the first Friday of each month) from midnight to midnight PDT on each day. If you’ve been planning to buy music, you can do the most good for musicians by purchasing on these particular dates.

On April 9, 2020, I DJ’ed (along with several of my fellow swing band leaders- Jonathan Stout, Michael Gamble, Brooks Prumo, Jonathan Ng, and house DJ Rickard Johansson) for the Global Online Social, a DJ’ed virtual dance party on Zoom and Twitch organized by Paul Riding that features new DJs every Thursday, playing swing music for a good portion of the day. Maybe you dance, maybe you just need some swing music to keep you motivated as you work, but it’s a lot of fun – consider tuning in!

Finally, I’ve released three more episodes of Lindy Shopper’s Closet, the YouTube series spinoff of my Lindy Shopper blog, covering the topics of moth prevention, my favorite swing dance shoes, and dance undergarments, all posted below – please subscribe to my YouTube channel (I’ll eventually get back to posting music, too) and enjoy!

The Track Podcast Episode 14: Laura Windley

I sat down with podcaster Ryan Swift in December at Lindy Focus for an interview for The Track, which features in-depth interviews with pivotal persons in the swing dance community, and the fruits of that interview appear in Episode 14 of The Track! I’m flattered and delighted to join the ranks of people I admire as a dancer and vocalist who have been featured on the podcast before me, including my DJ mentor Rob Moreland, Renaissance woman Naomi Uyama, the unparalleled Sylvia Sykes, and the inimitable Dawn Hampton. Take a listen, Ryan is an intuitive and fun interviewer and the topics always swing. 😀

International Lindy Hop Championships – August 22-25, 2013

As always, I am very excited to be attending the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington, DC – this year I will reprise my role as guest commentator on Yehoodi’s live stream broadcast of the Open Balboa competition (in HD!) and look forward to seeing all the wonderfully creative competition outfits and pairings the competitors put together. I will also be on hand to report about all the wonderful vendors at ILHC and I am hopeful for a few new faces this year in the vendor area.

I am also excited to announce that the Yehoodi broadcast will use “Miami Boulevard,” a tune off the Mint Julep Jazz Band‘s new album “Durham on Saturday Night,” as their theme song for the broadcast!

See you there or see you online!

All Balboa Weekend 2013

It’s that time of year – the time every year where I drive 8 1/2 hours to my Mecca-of-sorts, All Balboa Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. There will definitely be a vintage shopping excursion (with a report), with some old favorites and perhaps a new shop for Lindy Shopper. And cupcakes.

I’m looking forward to working with the many of you who volunteered to participate in All Balboa Weekend’s 1940’s fashion show, as well as seeing all the wonderful clothing that you are bringing and that Val and the vendors are providing for the show!

I am also looking forward to performing with my band, the Mint Julep Jazz Band, at the Friday night dance and to singing with the Boilermaker Jazz Band on Saturday. This is really a dream come true, to be able to have my band perform at my favorite dance weekend of the year, and I’m just…over the moon right now. EXCITED!

Last, but certainly not least, I am one of the main DJs for the weekend, along with head DJ Kyle Smith and fellow blogger Christian Bossert of Swing DJ Resources.

Yes, I will be doing ALL THE THINGS. Including dancing. 😀

I hope to see some of you there, please come up and introduce yourself if we are not already acquainted.

Onward to Cleveland!

Be My Jazz Baby, January 20-22, 2012

I am excited to be performing at the very first Be My Jazz Baby, a weekend of workshops and dances in Norfolk, Virginia, January 20-22, 2012. Bill Speidel and Victor Celania have put together a fantastic schedule, featuring instructors Michael Gamble, Jaya Dorf, Adam Speen, and Abigail Browning, with Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society of Philadelphia bringing their raucous jazz age tunes to both Friday and Saturday night dances. I’ll be singing a few tunes with Drew and the boys!

Bill and Victor have also made arrangements for a number of vendors to attend Be My Jazz Baby, so Lindy Shopper will be on hand to get the scoop. 😉 Looking forward to Be My Jazz Baby!

Eastern Balboa Championships 2011

This weekend, November 3-6, is the Eastern Balboa Championships, the epic Balboa workshop and competition weekend that takes place in Raleigh, NC every year. I’m pleased to be a part of the DJ roster again this year, along with head DJ Kyle Smith, DJ Kristy Milliken, and DJ Abigail Browning. I am also excited to be a featured vocalist with Russ Wilson’s Nouveau-Passe Orchestra on Saturday night.

On Saturday, I have made arrangements with the Raleigh Vintage Collective to have a trunk show at EBC from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. that will feature clothing and accessories for men and women from the 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. This is an exciting prospect because everything offered will be era-appropriate for swing dancing! Lindy Shopper will be reporting, of course.

All Balboa Weekend 2011

This weekend I’m heading to Independence, OH for the eleventh annual All Balboa Weekend. I’ll be pulling triple duty at the event: DJ’ing for my favorite group of dancers, co-coordinating a fashion show based on whatever credibility the Lindy Shopper blog has given me, and two performances by The Carolina Fascinators. Needless to say, it will be a busy week! Looking forward to all the wonderful dances, old friends, and some serious vintage and repro shopping in Cleveland and from vendors at the event.