Rockaboogie!

I’ve said this before, so I hope you’ll indulge me. I’m always amazed when I see Terry Lee in concert. Terry and his band never seem to have an off night. I’ve had the good fortune to see a number of long-touring big bands and in some great venues and many of them have come across flat. That doesn’t happen with Terry Lee. The band is fantastic, driven; they move you from your seats and onto the dance floor. If you love the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, rockabilly music, our just going out for a good time, go see Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band

Save Our Barn...

I'm not a guy for causes. Okay, scratch that, actually I'm not a guy for talking about my causes. I come from the particular branch of Indiana men who believe your opinions should be like your underwear - covered up while in public. This isn't because I have any less faith in what I believe, it's because the world has enough yelling and screaming in it and adding to the din won't do a thing to solve any of the very real problems we have. Now that I've said that, I'm going to violate my own principals and recommend you jump in to support a cause that should be dear to anyone who is an Indiana-based dancer.

This past week in my usual haul of email I got the schedule for upcoming events for Mike's Dance Barn in Nashville, IN. I gave it a look, knowing that one of my personal favorites Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band would be playing there in October. I read through the dates, noting events I might like to attend until I reached one particular entry on the calendar that caught my eye.

October 3rd, Save Our Barn Benefit. That got my attention - I read further:

"Mike is having a FUNDRAISER today to help in saving the Dance Barn from impending tax sale.


PLEASE HELP us keep our entertainment venue going for your enjoyment with all the great music and dancing that is done here.


Benefit starts at 2:00pm and a buffet will be served.


There will several bands to entertainment you for the day and a silent auction. Any donations of items for the auction will be greatly appreciated as well as any monetary donations.


Cover charge is $20 and will include the meal if you want to eat.


Thank you for all your patronage and support thru the years. - Billy and Carla"

There it was, another dance venue potentially going under. Personally I think the Dance Barn is one of the best spots to dance in Indiana. The floor's kept in excellent condition, the sound is good, and the bands fill a niche that isn't addressed anywhere else. Where else can you catch a band like Terry Lee, have a good meal on the cheap, and generally have a great time? There are a lot of ballroom spots in central Indiana but nothing that caters to the country-swing element while maintaining a good safe-feeling environment where the dancing is the main focus. Mike's place is one of a kind and I hope you'll read this and flood the building like George Bailey's living room in It's a Wonderful Life. After all, tis getting near the season…

Disappointment

Ever had one of those Official Red Rider BB Rifle moments? You know, the ones where you wake up early in the morning expecting that the gift you've been hinting after all year long will be waiting under the tree only when you rush down all you find is the horrible, pink bunny suit? Well, A Christmas Story references aside, we had one of them this past Saturday.

Through the day we'd planned on attending a rockabilly car show and dance in Nashville, IN. The car show was a bonus - something to while away an hour or so before strapping on the old suede soled shoes and working up a sweat. The real goal was a few hours on the hardwood at Mike's Dance Barn. In this part of the country it's hard to find a good, swinging dance where you can unwind to a little Jerry Lee Lewis or the likes. It doesn't seem like it'd be that hard to find rockabilly in Indiana - after all, half the country likes to think of us as hillbillies so you'd figure we'd at least have the appropriate music. However, quality bands and events are too few and too far between. So we were appropriately revved up when Saturday evening arrived and we headed south with visions of flat-hand pushes dancing in our heads.

And we arrived to find the dance hall closed. Well, not permanently closed but closed none the less. Dark and empty in spite of the fact that the fliers said dancing started at four o'clock and it was seven. I quick check revealed (to the best of my ability to translate) that the evening's acts had been cancelled (by who I couldn't decipher) and that there would be no dancing. We had dinner in Nashville and rode home in silence thinking of the dances in Indy we gave up in favor of travelling an hour south to the Dance Barn. It wasn't pretty.

So, Monday comes and here I am putting my disappointment on the web. I think we're swearing off events that seem as loosely organized as this past weekend's fiasco. I'd like to arrive with confidence that even if the bands aren't the best we'll have fun and get out on the dance floor. Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more obvious that there are certain events when you can't be assured that there'll even be a band!

A Week without Dancing…

Over the past week I've been travelling. I've been on a business trip out East, mucking about airports, stirring around in a hotel room, and generally feeling like a hermit. I enjoy travelling but when I do it along I always start to feel like an antisocial monk: when I'm out and about I want to be left alone and when I'm back in my room I just want to contemplate a little television or read a book. The upshot has been, for the last week I haven’t danced a step, not even practiced. When I got home (about 1AM this past Friday) I would have worried about being ready for a demanding dance event like the Rockin' the Barn if I hadn't been too tired to think about it!

Well, when I started dressing for yesterday evening the sneaking suspicion I'd be in trouble came over me. Rockabilly swing is demanding stuff and we don't even do the Psychobilly genre. I had visions of my knees giving out, breaking out in a flop-sweat, and spending the greatest part of the night sitting on the sidelines making excuses. I'm one of those doomsayers - you know the half empty glass and all that. When we pulled up in front of Mike's Dance Barn my fears grew - we were looking at the biggest crowed I've ever seen at the barn, the lot was full and we had to pull around behind the building just to find a spot to park on the grass.

The Makeshifts were on stage, tearing it up, when we walked in. They definitely had it going on! Anthony Ray Wright and Chris Girton were in great voice and their tunes weren't too country for those of us with rock n' roll sensibilities. Kell and I found our seats and then found the dance floor almost immediately.

You've heard that old saw about riding a bike? Once you learn you never forget? I'm not so sure about bicycles but dance fits the cliché - at least when the once upon a time involved is the span of a week. I think yesterday was our best night of rockabilly since we learned the dance. We pulled off every trick and move we tried and most went over passably. It's my contention you're never perfect but you can be good enough that nobody notices the flaws and last night nobody noticed any of our minor goofs.

Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band followed the Makeshifts performance. Terry and his band of geniuses are, for my money, the hardest working band in Indiana. They rocked the house, of course - nailing Jerry Lee Lewis' tunes in sound and energy. Kell and I danced until we were out of breath and when Terry finished his set we wanted more.

After a break, Art Adams has been laying down hot wax since the 50's and he's the genuine article. If you want to know if you like Rockabilly or not, check out Adams' work, its classic country driven, moonshine fueled rockabilly goodness. Interestingly, of the three bands that played the Barn last night, Art Adams' band played the fastest and the hardest ones to dance rockabilly swing to. Goes to show that your dance skill-set needs to be broad for you to get as much floor time as possible!

If you're in the mood for a hot time, see ANY of these bands. Kelly and I love Terry Lee and (as you know if you've read our blog) we'll see Terry every chance we get. The Makeshifts are young, hot, and real rockabilly with plenty of tunes you can triple or single swing. And Art Adams is one of those unsung national treasures you ought to take advantage of - not because some brainiac tells you to, because it'll do your soul good. We walked out of Mike's Dance Barn last night, beat to the souls of our feet, sweaty, and feeling like we ran a half marathon - and happy as hell for all of it!

Rockin' the Barn!

I'm so ready...

On the Road Again...

Tonight's going to be interesting. It's a 'smooth honky-tonk' night at Mike's Dance Barn. No Terry Lee tearing the place up - instead it'll be the house band and in a way they'll be playing me off the stage for a three-week hiatus. Business is taking me to the far-flung shores of Fremont, CA and Middletown, VA. In the span of three weeks I'll cross the country with only a brief stint at my Indiana Home between. I like traveling (especially when I can work in a visit to a great dance venue) but the first half of my travels promises to be way more business than trip. Maybe I'll get in a little surveying in Fremont, you never know.

During the second half, though, I'll be visiting a few venues in VA. One interesting fact about the town I'm staying in while in Virginia is that it's the birthplace of Patsy Cline. I guess that's a link between tonight's dance at Mike's Dance Barn and my traveling. Huh, synchronicity?

Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band

Nashville, Indiana is the kind of place you go to get an herb wreath for your front door, a gingham dress for the goose statue that sits in your garden, and maybe a bottle or two of Brown County or Oliver Winery Riesling. It's a touristy, quaint little burg where city ordinance still forbids businesses from having illuminated signs and in general the streets roll-up sometime around nine o'clock every night. You wouldn't expect to see The Killer - or even someone inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis' piano antics.

Take a bit of a drive south, though and you'll run into a place called Mike's Dance Barn and on the night of June 20th, the band playing that venue was none other than Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band. I got the feeling I'd stepped back into the 50's, right into the middle of some smoke-filled honky-tonk. Mike's is a simple place - no fancy lighting or grand façade…just a dance floor, a stage, and a few tables. On stage, Terry Lee is every bit the keg of dynamite as the man he emulates. His piano antics are damn entertaining - and if you can stop watching the flying fingers you'll realize the music is as good as if not better than the original.

Two hours of pounding the hardwood is a tiring thing - but you know, sometimes tired feels so right. If you get a chance to see Terry Lee - do it. I promise you, if you have any rockabilly in your soul you'll be glad you did it.