Being a part of album projects never gets old, so I’m delighted to announce that Keenan McKenzie and the Riffers have released a new album called Lakewood Jump! Recorded in August of 2023 at Magnetic Sound Studios in the Lakewood area of Durham, NC, it’s been more than a year in the making, with some planned and unplanned delays involved in its production.
The album is a mix of originals, classics, and some lesser known gems of the jazz world. It was an absolute pleasure to record this, less than 10 minutes from my house, and with Cocoa Cinnamon coffee across the street to sustain me. Available on Bandcamp, digital and (soon, as of the date of this post) vinyl, I’m singing on 7 tracks – enjoy!
[EDITED TO ADD that, after much effort, patience, and the kindness of friends of friends, I am back on Facebook. I’m leaving this post up for posterity, as I’m sure this lack of customer service will continue.)
The Nigerian/Australian/Alabamian* scammer/hacker must have hit the jackpot when they found the Balboa community on Facebook -a close-knit group of kind individuals with years of positive interactions that built trust and mutual respect. Just the kind of people who didn’t think twice about helping a friend, who turned out to be someone fraudulently accessing their friend’s account to gain access to their account so that the cycle could continue indefinitely. Please note that I would never send you a link to a business/investment scheme and I would never ask you for $200 via Messenger, as all my financial requests are done in public and usually involve supporting a non-profit, the arts, and/or a transaction in exchange for music/swag.
It might not have been as bad if it hadn’t occurred on a Monday morning. I subsequently had a busy day at work and didn’t get back to thinking about Facebook until around 8:00 p.m. that night. By that time, the hacker had changed my email, telephone number, and password. Facebook sent me emails after these changes with links to “secure your account,” but the hacker had already changed all information that I would use to secure my account, so this was useless. I spiraled, going through the steps on the Facebook Help Center page for Hacked and Fake Accounts over and over – sometimes it would be a Sysiphian loop going nowhere and sometimes it would lead me to a step that I thought would allow me access, only to deny the access because [insert one of several error messages].
I submitted a copy of my drivers license to Facebook twice in an attempt to recover my account. I attempted to re-set my password upon prompts from this submission and both times I received an error message that I had “entered too many codes.”
I had a brief moment of hope when I was taken through a loop that allowed me to add a second email to my account to receive recovery codes. The main issue with this is that, every time I requested a code, the hacker would also receive the email and be notified of my attempts to recover my account. None of the codes Facebook sent me worked – Facebook sent me five recovery codes via email and, every time I would enter a code, an error message would tell me I had an incorrect code.
In less than 24 hours, the hacker figured out what I was doing and removed the second email from my Facebook account. I received an email asking if I had removed the email from my account and was provided the same link to “secure your account,” which, again, asked for the hacker’s password and would only send recovery links to the hacker’s phone and email.
Thanks to Frankie Hagan for this absolute gem!
Meanwhile, I received text messages every 15 minutes from friends asking if my account is hacked or letting me know that they received a strange message from me on Facebook. This continued for four days. This was incredibly stressful, being constantly reminded that a stranger was in my personal virtual space on Facebook, impersonating me and taking advantage of the trust I built with my friends and the goodwill I built with my businesses and my various positions in the swing dance community.
Other things I did to try to get Facebook’s attention and/or recover my account:
Filed a complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General’s office – I received a generic email response acknowledging the receipt of my complaint. “We’ll review your complaint and work with you and the business to try to reach a resolution of your dispute.” It’s been two weeks, nothing more has happened.
Filed a complaint with the California Attorney General’s office – no email confirmation from this, but I did print out the screen I was told to print that confirmed my submission. No word from them, either.
Ranted on Twitter @laurawindley – this has worked in the past with other businesses who have blown me off for months, but Facebook is the honey badger of customer service, even when threatened with a small claims action and me personally showing up on their doorstep in California. It also had the unwanted side-effect of attracting bots and other scammers who claimed they could recover my account for me.
Ranted on Instagram @mintjulepjazzband – I have a more supportive community on IG than Twitter, so this was more for catharsis and to let my friends know I’m still alive, but had the same unwanted scammers/hackers/bots messaging me about account recovery.
Filed a copyright infringement claim with Facebook – this was denied. Hacker stole my IP and used it to defraud my friends out of money, but whatever, I get it.
Filed a trademark infringement claim with Facebook – I felt like I had a much more compelling argument here: “A hacker who has cut off access to my business Facebook account is using my trademark and its associated goodwill to ask for money from fans of the band. I am attaching photos of message I received, indicating that people received requests for money from the hacker. Several messages are sent by an intermediary/personal acquaintance because I have no other connection to them other than my business with the associated trademark. Please see attachments for screen shots of messages. Prior to the hacker, I had been asking publicly on the band website, Facebook page, and in the Facebook event for advance tips/donations for the Mint Julep Jazz Band sponsored event, the Orchard Park Jazz Picnic, so the timing of the hacker’s requests for money while posing as me/my band could seem legitimate. I have been using Mint Julep Jazz Band as a trademark for my band since 2011. The band has released 3 studio albums, our music has been aired on Sesame Street (the Jon Hamm episode), we’ve performed at Lincoln Center, and last month the band had 22,000 listeners on Spotify. Please get this guy out of my account so I can continue to run my business.” Facebook disagreed. The only resolution they offered was to terminate the Mint Julep Jazz Band Facebook page.
A friend who was also hacked tried the two phone numbers listed online for Facebook, both of which are recordings that direct you to the Facebook Help Center.
When friends texted me about being messaged by the hacker, I asked them to report my account as hacked. Facebook subsequently directed my friends to share the Facebook Help Center page with me.
I know that most people use Facebook casually or to share photos of their kids, but I use Facebook primarily for business and both disseminating and receiving information about the swing dance community, which is tied to both my personal joy and my business. Facebook is the primary means of communication for the swing dance community. Business metrics are important – people care about how many fans/likes you have, how many people you engage with on social media, and Facebook is a critical component.
Here’s what I need to be communicating and have been denied the ability to reach the broadest audience through (unfortunately) the most effective means of communication with friends and fans:
The Empower Foundation fundraiser – “The mission of the Empower Dance Foundation is to provide access to professional dance classes for all children and youth ages 2-18. Empower seeks to eliminate the barriers of economic inequality, racism and representation for young people.” I’m excited to be serving on The Empower Foundation’s Board and help in their fundraising endeavors. This is a chance to promote beauty, creativity, diversity, and opportunity – we are not powerless, we are stronger in numbers, which is why I believe in crowd funding. If Black American dance has brought you joy in your life, consider the value of that gift. The Empower Foundation was established to provide opportunities, scholarships, and outreach for underserved youth; to eliminate economic inequality, inherent racism, lack of representation, and barriers. It takes money, time, and resources to make all of this happen and we’d love for you to be a small part of making this world a more equitable and beautiful place and pay it forward to the next generation of artists. Please consider investing in this community and visit this link to donate.
Keenan McKenzie and the Riffers album Kickstarter – we’re recording in August, campaign runs through June 15, 2023. I’m singing on this album and completely missed that this campaign had launched until someone told me today, because Facebook.
Flying Home – Durham’s Lindy Hop workshop weekend with a killer instructor and band lineup, July 21-23, 2023
Integrated Rhythm Podcast, Episode 39: I LOVE Fabric – Chisomo Selemani, Bobby White, Donna M’Shanga, and I discuss the fashion industry in Zambia and cultural issues stemming from one of my sewing projects. I love love loved this discussion and hope you will, too!
Six Count Podcast – we are so incredibly lucky to have a podcast focusing on the jazz community here in Durham, hosted by Xara Wilde, and I am lucky to be her very first live podcast interview, recorded at a house party surrounded by dancing and music friends.
US Modernist Radio, Episode 301 – this is my second appearance on this architecture podcast and I was delighted to be invited back to talk about music.
There’s more I can’t even tell you yet, but if a tree falls in the forest, no one will know because Facebook won’t give me back my account from the hacker.
This is mostly for catharsis, just me screaming into the void.
My day job is at a company that has a huge customer service component, the calls are non-stop and we are just a North Carolina-based business. I don’t understand how a company as large as Facebook, who profits from our data and who is the custodian of so much of our time, energy, memories, and even our own business’s customer service can get by without any customer service at all.
In the meantime, I’ll just sit over here on my own virtual Elba and wait.
*Reported login locations; time zone consistent with Nigeria.
We were pleasantly surprised to find our vinyl records were delivered this week, as we weren’t expecting them until May. You can pick up a copy on our Bandcamp page or message us in advance if you’d like to purchase an LP at one of our shows. Thanks again to our Kickstarter backers who made this dream a reality!
1. CDs! We have them! If you would like a physical copy of our new album Watch the Birdie, you can order one from our Bandcamp page, in all its glory. We splurged for the eco case and we have actual liner notes for you to read about the making of this album. Shout out to CIH Studios for the incredible album artwork, it’s thematic perfection.
It’s finally here! After much pandemic and the regular trials and tribulations of creating a studio album, the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s 3rd album Watch the Birdie takes flight today, Halloween 2022. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. Available wherever you get your digital music – if you’d like for the most money to go to the band, we encourage you to pick up a copy on our Bandcamp page.
I had a few gigs on the calendar in the fall of 2021 that quickly evaporated once the COVID Delta variant hit. One of these was a Saturday gig with Keenan McKenzie and the Riffers, which left us without a gig and with a wide-open Saturday. Keenan decided to make lemonade with those lemons and set up a recording session for us at Butler Knowles’ studio, Worry Less Music, in Raleigh. We recorded three of Keenan’s arrangements and I’m singing on “When My Sugar Walks Down the Street” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”
The three recordings are available for purchase on Keenan’s Bandcamp page and you can watch the live footage on YouTube.
TL/DR: The Mint Julep Jazz Band is recording our third album, Watch the Birdie, and the Kickstarter launched today for pre-orders and swag!
Our incredible album artwork for Watch the Birdie by Durham-based artist Darius Quayle’s
When I was young, I wondered why each subsequent band album seemed to have more and more years between albums, but now I understand. When a band does well, they are busy, then the members are busy contributing to other endeavors, and then people need a break after being so busy, so the thought of a new album is definitely lower on the priority list, particularly when other work is steady.
In 2020, we decided that 5 years was enough time gone by since the release of Battle Axe and that we should record another album. You know how the rest of this story goes with the global COVID-19 pandemic essentially putting a halt to life as we knew it.
We scheduled this recording a couple of times during the pandemic and had to keep pushing it back, but we believe it’s for real this time, so we are launching a Kickstarter today for album pre-orders and swag. I know some of you have told me that you need a new tee shirt, so we got you! I’m also excited to add enamel pins, Burt’s Bees, a sponsorship option, and some quality time noshing with yours truly as rewards, in addition to some of our recurring rewards.
What will this album be? It’s a dance album, of course, but it’s also the culmination of efforts aggregated just prior to the pandemic that still feel new to us, plus some new-to-us arrangements created during the pandemic, and some old favorites that should be put on tape. The project feels fresh to us, so we hope you enjoy it as we slowly re-open our jazz dance and music community.
It’s also a celebration of our 10th anniversary as a band! Our first gig was in February of 2012 at the (now defunct) Hot Club of Durham weekly swing dance in the Trotter Building in Durham’s DIY district. I look at videos of that night and think about how far we’ve come, but also how we did a respectable job for a very first gig. It’s been a wild ride and we thank you for all the wonderful musical experiences we’ve shared since then.
Visit our Kickstarter page for more information about the tracks on the album, swag, and how to get your copy/copies of our recordings – we’re offering digital, CD, and vinyl this time!
Photograph by the wonderful Rebecca Strickland at Lindy Focus, December 27, 2021
Last month Lindy Focus released just about every song from the 2019 event as individual videos! If you’ve been wanting to hear something, but didn’t feel like scrolling through a 3+ hour live stream, head over to the Lindy Focus YouTube channel and browse the multitude of new content. I’m most proud of “I’m a Slick Chick,” featured on Lionel Hampton night and originally performed by Dinah Washington with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Dinah absolutely kills on this recording from a live performance, it’s so inspiring and I was excited to be able to perform it live. The transcript was sponsored by the incredible LaTasha Barnes, to whom I am so grateful for this!
Also new on the Lindy Focus YouTube channel are the live streams from this past year’s Lindy Focus – a little smaller lineup, a little smaller in dancer attendance, fully masked and vaccinated, but nevertheless a celebration of early jazz and swing!
Picking up where we left off, we cautiously move back into position, changed forever, but hopeful that our community can once again be together in a meaningful way. While Lindy Focus may more likely resemble a regional Lindy exchange this year, I have a feeling that the impact will still be strong, particularly for those of us who are still working from home and whose scenes are not running regular dances yet.
Per usual, I am most excited about the music – the musicians and bandleaders this year are all from North Carolina! Our state has a history of producing incredible jazz musicians (Coltrane, Simone, Monk, to name a few) and, for the modern swing dance community, you are already familiar with several bands based in NC – Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders, Keenan McKenzie and the Riffers, and the Mint Julep Jazz Band. We’ll have some new-to-you faces that we’re excited for you to hear (including bandleader Sean Mason!) and I’m sure there will be some new-to-you tunes that we’ve added to our books during the pandemic.
Above all, be safe – Lindy Focus will be requiring masks/vaccinations and we’ll have to do air hugs, but it will be so good to see any number of you and share in the collective and creative energy that has been missing for so long.
If Lindy Focus is not in your risk budget, we all understand and we’ll see you again in the future – if it is in your risk budget this year, registration is open, the hotel is taking bookings, and I’ll see you soon!
Fresh off the presses this past Friday, May 7, 2021, Michael Gamble has released a new EP of the tunes his regular lineup and the Rhythm Serenaders Orchestra recorded for CalBal Live. Featuring a lineup of incredible swing musicians from around the US (nay, the globe, if you’re counting Noah Hocker, expat in Beijing), I’m singing on three tunes – Born to Swing, Without Your Love, and When You’re Smiling. Bring a smile to your face this week and head over to Bandcamp to pick up a copy! 🙂
Laura Windley 