For today's Mmmmmmmmmmmusic, I'll share with you one of the songs I'm currently digging on: Happy Feet! I keep hearing this pop into my head, and every version I hear just makes me want to dance! It's ridiculously catchy.

The version I've included in the youtube video below is done by Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers, a Dixieland-styleband from around Albany, NY (I believe). The video also includes dancers Amy Johnson and Chance Bushman, who I've talked about several times before. Excellence all around!
 
 
I'm on a productive roll today--today, of course, being these hours surrounding midnight, which is apparently when I do some of my best multitasking. And I've definitely got plenty to do before I head to Austin this weekend for the Lone Star Championships--so excited! I hope I'll see some of y'all there.

So I thought I'd share some more music with y'all, this time from an artist I've been completely diggin lately: Spike Hughes! He's got a great old-school chunky sound that I just love, probably influenced by folks like Adrian Rollini, Red Nichols, and Bix Beiderbecke, who Mr. Patrick "Spike" Hughes purportedly enjoyed listening to. And really, who can blame him?

Spike Hughes seems like a very interesting character, at the very least, so for those who are curious, I recommend checking out this site, which is a detailed and well-researched look at the artist. Didja know such an American sound could come from a British composer?

I'll leave you with this recommendation, for a song called Six Bell Stampede. You can find it on emusic (I've linked it below) on the album 1933 - The Complete Set, which I also recommend. Check out the great syncopations throughout, especially in the intro, and the sweet horns, all laid over that chuggy beat that just makes me want to dance. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

You can find Six Bell Stampede here, on emusic.
 
 
"For this week's post, I'm feeling kind of music-y. At the moment, I'm in New Orleans for ULHS--only, it's Saturday afternoon, and I'm procrastinating on a test that I have to complete before the weekend is out, instead of watching prelims and dancing at the French Market. The event thus far (one day in, for me) has been amazing, as expected. The organizer really pulled together some great musicians and bands, the quality of dancers here is through the roof, and the combination of the two has produced great energy and relationship between the dancers and the musicians. That's one of those things that is so amazing to be a part of, but that rarely happens, because the environment has to be just right to facilitate that interaction. Well done, Amy!

Anyway, in the spirit of New Orleans, I wanted to let you all know about a band that I'm currently digging on, called The Jazza Band. There's little information out there on them, but they have a great street/New Orleans jazz type of sound, with plenty of uniqueness to set them apart. I think one of my favorite things is that they play versions of some great songs like Diga Diga Doo and Undecided, but they play them at tempos and with an energy that makes them accessible to dancers of many different skill levels.  Check out this version of Washboard Wiggles, off the Jazza Band's album New Orleans--I played it recently at an exchange to start off a DJ set, and the whole room enjoyed it enough to applaud afterwards. Never had that happen before, but I think you'll understand after you take a listen :)

Washboard Wiggles: http://www.emusic.com/samples/m3u/song/11282378/17451778.m3u

You can find the Jazza Band on emusic, here: http://www.emusic.com/artist/Jazza-Band-MP3-Download/12043160.html
They also have a myspace pagethat you can check out, here: http://www.myspace.com/jazzaband

Note that the formatting of this post may be a little bit weird; I'll fix it after my site editor has decided to stop being a jerk :(