The peak of the Swing Era came during America's World War II years, when bandleaders like Goodman and Glenn Miller and singers like Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters became superstars. Benny Goodman in the late '30s became the "King of Swing" by mellowing the rhythmic intensity of "hot" big band jazz to make it more danceable or "sweet." Until the craze came on in earnest, it both indicated the loping rhythmic feel of jazz-which lengthens the duration of the first of a pair of eighth notes and emphasizes the attack of the second-and referred to a specific era in jazz history. THE TERM swing itself is a little troubling. It will become less about fashion and more about the music." "We won't see other bands like us out on the road. "It's going to be back where it was like six years ago," Royal Crown Revue guitarist James Achor says of the future of the swing scene. The bad news is that swing just doesn't hold sway the way it did even six months ago, explains the Catalyst's Gary Tighe, who first brought swing bands to town two years ago with a string of shows at the Cocoanut Grove and a Royal Crown Revue concert at Palookaville. It's a savvy reflection of Gen-X attitude, leap-frogging Baby Boomer nostalgia for Motown and psychedelic rock to identify with the other great overshadowed generation of the 20th century, the "Silents," who came of age during the '40s while their older brothers were fighting the war in Europe and the Pacific. Walk on Fire, however, offers anything but a revival of popular musical styles from midcentury. In a crisply arranged, gorgeously recorded collection, the band moves between showy Havana mambo, cascading, midtempo bebop and (of course) gutsy swing. With the just-released Walk on Fire, Royal Crown Revue has easily the most compelling effort of its nearly decade-long career. Which is good news and bad news for Royal Crown Revue, the band that started the whole thing. Attendance at area swing shows is off for all but the biggest acts (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sold out its recent Catalyst show well in advance), and the shake-out has begun among lesser bands who jumped on the swing bandwagon and are now moving on to rockabilly-or whatever ends up as the next big thing. and San Francisco clubs for the past five years and local ones for the past two, has started to wane. LIKE EVERY DANCE CRAZE, the swing phenomenon, which has pervaded L.A. Though the dance craze is mostly done, bands like Royal Crown Revue keep jumping Roll Players: With a brilliant new album, swing-craze founder Royal Crown Revue has a shot at making it for the long term even though the swing scene is on the wane.
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