Music
We pride ourselves on hiring the best swing bands and regional Lindy, Blues, and Balboa DJs to keep you on the dance floor throughout QCLX 2012.
THE BANDS
The Numb Fumblers, with Ethan Uslan! (Friday Main Dance)
QCLX is proud to introduce the Numb Fumblers! With a traditional swing sound, they’re sure to keep you on the dance floor all night long. Although members of this quintet, composed of Charlotte’s finest jazz musicians, have played together in the past, QCLX 2012 is their first official gig as The Numb Fumblers.
If you joined us for QCLX 2010, you’ll recognize at the piano stride/swing expert Ethan Uslan, who was crowned winner at the “World Champion Old-Time Piano Playing Contest” (Peoria, IL) in 2007. He has also been featured on A Prairie Home Companion and has given concerts all over the USA, England, and France. (Check out Ethan’s Website >>) On vocals is Eric Simpson, who performed with the United States Army Chorus in Washington, DC for 6 ½ years and was featured on the PBS special, “The Big Band Sounds of WWII.” Mark Richards on trombone and Doug Burns on trumpet provide the brass appeal. Mark Richards has been playing for over thirty years, performing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Larry Elgart, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Henry Mancini Tribute Orchestra, and Lou Rawls, as well as being the musical director at the Greenbrier Resort for twelve years. And Doug Burns has performed with world-class performers such as Natalie Cole, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Josh Groban, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, and many others. Rick Hodges is the icing on the cake with his swinging drum beats.
The Mint Julep Jazz Band! (Saturday Main Dance)
With their little big band lineup of four horns, rhythm section, and vocalist, the Mint Julep Jazz Band recreates the hot jazz sounds of the 1920s and 1930s through arrangements based on original recordings from the jazz age and swing era.
Influences include Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Artie Shaw, Jimmie Lunceford, the Boswell Sisters, Annette Hanshaw, Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Fletcher Henderson, Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, and many other wonderful and talented jazz artists of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Mint Julep Jazz Band was created by Lucian Cobb and Laura Windley of Durham, NC, who have worked diligently to create a songbook that will swing your socks off. Laura’s voice is to die for and reminiscent of the great female singers of the Jazz Age. And because they’re dancers, they know how to keep dancers happy.
THE DJs
Chris Owens – Head DJ and Event Emcee – Raleigh, NC
Chris has a love for all things Swing, and you’ve seen his spikey hair behind the microphone or DJ booth at many events and swing dance/competition weekends. Chris has a particular love for high-energy Traditional Jazz and Big Band sounds, as well as sweeter Gypsy Jazz, but also DJs from a wider slice of the Swing music pie. Mmmmm, pie. Chris also runs the Eastern Balboa Championships and helps behind the scenes with various other national and regional events.
Laura Windley – Raleigh, NC
Laura began DJ’ing in Greenville, NC in 2001 for the yet-to-be-formed ECU Swing Dance Club, chosen by default because she had the most swing CDs (which, at the time, was about 10). Since then, her music collection has expanded greatly to become a joyous selection of swinging music. She loves female vocalists, bouncy instrumental tunes, songs with lyrics that make her laugh, and, above all, hot trombone solos. Laura lives in Durham, NC.
Mike Guzzo – Greenville, NC
Mike started getting serious about dancing in 2000 and he helped co-found the ECU Swing Dance Club in 2001. Since then, Mike has brought his love of dance and music across North Carolina and Virginia, DJing for a variety of local groups in Greenville, Raleigh/Durham, and Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC, and Virginia Beach and Charlottesville, VA. He has been seen and heard at events such as VBLX, Dirt Cheap Blues, the Lindustrial Revolution, Big X, and most recently, the Eastern Balboa Championships. Mike’s music is based on great rhythm sections, high energy horns, and getting the dancers out on the floor.
Tim Korkuc – Orlando, FL
Tim has been DJing for over a year and has developed a real passion for it. His musical tastes are diverse. He learned an appreciation for a broad selection of music from his dad, who was a musician, and started playing drums at the age of twelve. Throughout the 8 years he’s been swing dancing, Tim has collected music, and as his collections grew, his friends encouraged him to try DJing a dance. His first night Djing, he realized playing the music that got people out on the dance floor was just as much fun as dancing to it. From then on, Tim has been honing his ear (and his hard drive) towards the mastry of the art of DJing. Always eager to debate which songs are the most Swingin’, he hopes to keep the dance floor packed, and keep a smile on your face.
J. Michael “Moose” Cobb – Atlanta, GA
Michael (better known to the Lindy Community as “Moose”), started DJing back in 2005. In that time, he has become one of Atlanta’s popular Swing Music Providers. Playing a wide variety of classic swing, neo swing, jump blues, rockabilly, and R&B, he has created a “broad stroke” style of musical performance. His style is based on the philosophy of providing “a large slice of the American Musical Art Form” and a somewhat eclectic sense of social personality. Michael has provided music across the Southeast – including the Charleston Exchanges CHEX 1 & 2, as well as Atlanta Lindy Exchanges 3, 4 and 5; “Enter the Blues,” and has been a House DJ for Atlanta’s very popular “Hot Jam” weekly dance. He has also played for several college dances – Kennesaw State University, Emory University, Agnes Scott University, and Georgia Tech.
Raewyn Lowe – Greenville, SC
Raewyn started her formal dance classes when, at the age of 4, she was discovered dancing to TV commercial music. Off she went to ballet class, and she’s been dancing ever since. She discovered the joy of swing dance in 2003. After finally admitting her addiction to Lindy Hop (and Blues, Charleston, Argentine tango, Balboa, and even the really crazy vintage dances like the Turkey Trot!) a couple of years later, she started compulsively downloading dance songs in order to always have good music around to fulfill random urges to dance. Since then, she’s been putting her ever-growing collection to good use by regularly DJing at local dances and occasional regional events. She’d happily play an odd mix of Gypsy Jazz and soul-stirring Blues all day and night, but welcomes requests whenever possible. After all, the music and the dance are intertwined, so she wants her set to make you want to move! Now, if she could just come up with a really cool DJ name…
John Rooney – DC
John grew up in the DC area, spent some time in Florida and then Charlotte, and is back again in the DC area. This, along with the twenty-odd cities he has danced in over the years, contributes to the wide variety and unique feel of his DJing. Being inspired by and learning from the absolute top dance historian and period music collector in the world, Lance Benishek, helped him become the dancer and DJ he is today. His favorite tunes to groove to are from the Godfather of Soul.
