OMG.

[bjarvis]

Last night was lots of fun, but a square dancing disaster in the mesmerizing style of a slow moving train wreck.

It felt like not a single person (except for newbies Gordy & Deb) was awake. I've never seen so many people find novel new ways of mangling "acey-deucey." Hell, "circle left" was a challenge. Still, everyone seemed to be in a happy, giggly mood. We did several tips of Plus, two of class-level MS and I did one of A2 (which I think was the most successful tip of the night).

I was personally gratified to receive several comments about my selections of non-traditional music, esp. an instrumental version of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" used for the A2 tip. I've been searching for up-tempo music not in the old bluegrass/country hoedown style and it looks like some choices are paying off. My quest for more singing calls continues though, as I have no more than a dozen I really like so far. I figure I need at least 25-30 in my repertoire to avoid repetition and provide variety of style & mood.

The latest eBay acquisition of 25 records arrived yesterday afternoon and I was able to scan through the lot in about an hour. If a recording isn't going to work for me, I can usually tell in the first 64 beats or so; the ones with promise are allowed to run their full length before I skip to the next. In all, there were two potential records out of this stack, although I can't recall which ones they were at the moment. We'll see if I still feel the same way after reviewing them again in a couple of days.

Comments

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

definition clarification: singing calls.

are you looking for ones you make up yourself or some of the more traditional ones from, say the '30's and '40's? I grew up on the traditional square singing calls like "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" and "Just Because" (the two I can think of off the top of my head).

Just for fun I should make a copy for you of a book my father found for me years ago of bawdy square dance calls collected in the Ozarks. Some of them are more racist than bawdy, but it might be fun just to have in the collection. Let me know.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Mostly, I make up the figures on the fly. I have a handful of memorized figures which I'll use on a brain-dead night or when nothing else seems to be working right, but for the most part, I improvise at MS and Plus.

The singing calls I'm looking for are selections of music which have the standard seven blocks of 64 beats and:

1. aren't overtly offensive in nature (not misogynistic, homophobic, racist, etc.);
   
2. aren't excessively hokey (admittedly subjective);
   
3. are in my vocal range;
   
4. are somewhat professionally recorded (no cheap Casio keyboard, aural clarity, good musical balance);
   
5. have no background singers/lyrics (I don't want to complete to be heard);
   
6. aren't already signature pieces of our other club callers (this is a tough one).
   

Almost all of the records I do use were pressed in the past 15 years; it seems that most recordings made before 1990 were done with a single microphone 20 feet away from the musicians: they lack depth and even occasionally have background sounds which shouldn't be there. Poor quality sound and poor quality instruments are a big turn-off for me as a dancer so I'm trying my damnest to keep up the standards as a caller.

Of course, since we're new kids on the local block, the other established local callers have their own selection of preferred pieces which, although they meet my quality requirements, are so associated with individuals that I can't realistically use them myself without inviting comparison. I could never use "Eastbound & Down," "I Love New Orleans Music" or "For What I've Been Thinkin' About You" locally as they're solidly associated with Dayle's club nights. (Not that I'd particularly want to... they're not my style anyway.)

Anyway, the quest continues. New issues are available monthly, there's still a vast inventory of older recordings to audit and every now and again, I change my mind & attempt to redeem a recording I had previously rejected.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I'll still send you the dirty calls book, just for your library :)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

That would make a dandy addition to the Gay Callers Association (GCA) professional library! :-)

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Hell, "circle left" was a challenge.

I've had days like that.

[beartalon.livejournal.com]

"I've been searching for up-tempo music not in the old bluegrass/country hoedown style"
I thought you were supposed to "Load the Boat", not rock it :)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Most of my days are like that, at least to 11 AM. I'm not a morning person.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Last club night, the boat clearly capsized. I'm still in awe. :-^