DJ Ryan Swift

My good friend and DJ inspiration Mike Thibault adds to the growing pool of original content on Yehoodi with this great piece on the late, great drummer, George Reed. He mentions discovering the great band that we both used to see starting out dancing at the same time in Rochester in the late 90’s.

As a green and eager young Lindy Hopper way back in 1998, I would do just about anything to get to a dance. Those were the magical days when nothing mattered in life beyond my next swingout. Naturally it made perfect sense to drive seven hours round-trip for a three-hour-long dance in Albany. I would get to dance to an actual live band! This was a big deal.

The band we heard when we arrived quickly became, and remains, one of my all-time favorite modern bands: Joe Salzano and the Blue Devils. The band swung hard; they had a grit to them that was palpable. Above all, it was hard to miss the presence of the man behind the drums, George Reed.

I still love that band and miss George Reed’s unforgettable drumming, singing, and personality.

It’s a great read, head on over and check it out.

Today the NYTimes published a great writeup about swing dancing in NYC, and heavily featured Yehoodi.com’s Frim Fram Jam, which you probably know I help run.

THERE are swinging parties in Manhattan nearly ever night. The trick is in knowing where to find them.

Take a recent Thursday: Sandwiched between a Blarney Stone and a liquor shop on Eighth Avenue just south of Penn Station and up four flights of stairs was a scene invisible to most New Yorkers. Wild and sweaty, loud and crowded, it featured scores of smiling, ever-shifting couples energetically executing the kinetic choreography of the Lindy Hop, the Charleston, the jitterbug , the Balboa, the collegiate shag. They danced East Coast and West Coast styles and bluesy New Orleans freestyle.

This party, the Frim Fram Jam, is a weekly event organized by the local chapter of a national swing dance network called Yehoodi, after “Who’s Yehoodi (Yehudi)?,” a song popularized by Cab Calloway. Held at a studio called You Should Be Dancing and drawing more than 150 people a week, the Frim Fram Jam is a popular destination within a throbbing, thriving urban subculture: Manhattan’s swing-dance demimonde.

The article quotes several NYC regulars and also features Swing46, Swing Remix, and the NYSDS and is some good visibility for the scene, even though it states the revival is 3 years old (?) and unfortunately gets Gordon Webster’s name wrong.

Check out the full piece on NYTimes.com, including my crotchety quote about feeling old (that I don’t actually remember saying), right before the description of a “trim and energetic” 63-year-old.

What a huge loss for the world. Terry’s contrubutions in the preservation & exploration of Lindy Hop across the world cannot be overstated.

From Yehoodi.com:

We regret to pass along the sad news that Mr. Terry Monaghan, longtime historian of lindy hop from the UK, has passed away. Terry was co-founder of the legendary Jiving Lindy Hoppers dance troupe in the 1980s and a long-time chronicler of the history of lindy hop.

This is what we received from Elliott Donnelly earlier today:

Terry Monaghan passed away yesterday from pneumonia caused by complications from treatment he was receiving for a brain tumor.

There will be a service on July 9th in London and another service sometime in the future in the States.

Terry is survived by his wife Aileen and daughter Jenny.

They are accepting letters and cards at the following address

Aileen Monaghan 35 Newton Avenue London W38AR United Kingdom

Please continue on to the Yehoodi thread to comment on Terry & all he’s done for the history and current community of Lindy Hop.

Yehoodi Radio is re-running Keith’s Guest DJ spot from back in October, 2009. Keith was a wonderful person, awesome DJ and an avid contributor here on Yehoodi. Sadly, he passed away this year. He will be greatly missed. Here is his bio from his previous show:

Related: The Commonwealth Blues and Swing Society is organizing a silent auction of event passes generously donated by organizers across the country to benefit the Keith Shapiro Memorial Fund.  Visit the Facebook event for more info.

DJing at Frim Fram Jam this Thursday night with George Gee!