Member Since: 09-13-2007
The Shanghai Woolies
http://www.gigsalad.com/shanghaiwoolies
- Talent Category:
- 1920s Era Entertainment
- Based In:
- Milwaukie, Oregon
- Travel Range:
- over 3000 miles
- Performance Fee:
- $750 - $5000 (plus lodging & travel,if needed)
- Experience:
- 7 performances in 2006
- 10 performances in 2007
- 20 performances in 2008
- Direct Contact:
- 503-317-5767
- www.ShanghaiWoolies.com
- Tell The Shanghai Woolies you found them on Gig Salad!
About The Shanghai Woolies:
The Shanghai Woolies is a wonderful 8-piece band for every situation. They can set any mood with great American pop and jazz from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Whether you want a romantic atmosphere for dining or a thumping dance party, they create it with tastefulness and ingenuity. Hear songs loved and performed by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Guy Lombardo, Paul Whiteman, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Bessie Smith, Helen Forrest, Raymond Scott, Tony Bennett, and Frank Sinatra. And if you want, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Tom Waits, and Etta James.
Biography:
Founded by Pink Martini trumpet player Gavin Bondy, the Shanghai Woolies puts a “new twist on the music of the flapper era: Jitterbug music. Big band. Swing. The raucous, slippery, foot-happy jazz you’d expect to hear at the legendary Cotton Club,” says The Oregonian.
Vocalist and songwriter, Mel (Melanie) Kubik, is the centerpiece of the show. Her early training in music (classical piano at age 3, saxophone at 9) and her traditional jazz and pop rock (Quarterflash) experience combine with her Bohemian lineage and down-home Kansas upbringing to give her versatility, personal accessibility, and musical depth and beauty that is rare.
Gavin plays trumpet and cornet, writes songs and creates arrangements for the band. Brought up in Portland, Oregon, he studied music from old-school horn players who showed him how it was made in the first part of last century. They had worked in live radio orchestras and in the bands of people like Glenn Miller and Tex Beneke. It became Gavin's task to reconcile this training with the newer sounds he enjoyed. Along the way, he discovered beauty in musical elements others had discarded in the name of progress. So, he chose the music of the 1920's when, in 1999, he began work in earnest on the material for the Shanghai Woolies.
In 2004, the band released their debut CD, Jungle Nights, to an enthusiastic house at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. National Public Radio later put the third track, Concerto for Trumpet, on their Open Mic web site where the public voted and gave it one of the highest ratings ever.
Soon after, though, various members’ schedules prevented the band from accepting most of the requests for bookings, until recently, when the line-up shifted and grew so that they can now accept almost all the dates that come in.
It is often noted that the Shanghai Woolies' live shows are the best: "That's the coolest band I've ever seen," said Marv Ross of Quarterflash, after seeing their performance at a Cycle Oregon show he had organized.
"Though Brian Setzer, Cherry-Poppin' Daddies, and others have paved this road, the fanciest, coolest machine on the highway is The Shanghai Woolies." -- Victory Review
Live Performance Overview:
The type of show one can expect from us depends on the type of event or venue we are in. We pride ourselves in our range and versatility and we respect the different roles our music can fulfill. The challenges brought by each venue and each customer’s taste make our craft even more interesting to us. We see music as a tool of communication between people and love the opportunity to do that beautifully.
So one can expect beautiful, subtle, and rich sounds, alternately soothing or rousing, all of which hearken to and refresh memories of decades long ago in a way that brings them very alive now. If this all reads a little geekish, just prepare yourself for an unusually good and unique time.
Typical Gig Duration: 30 - 240 minutes
Set/Song/Sequence List:
Louis Armstrong:
Basin Street Blues
Everybody Loves My Baby
I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
King Of The Zulus
Muskrat Ramble
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
Our Love Is Here To Stay
Russian Lullaby
Saint Louis Blues
What A Wonderful World
Tony Bennett: The Best Is Yet To Come
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Go Daddy-O
Bobby Darin: I'm Beginning To See The Light
Duke Ellington:
Black And Tan Fantasy
East Saint Louis Toodle-oo
Haunted Nights
Jungle Nights In Harlem
The Mooche
Mood Indigo
Benny Goodman:
How Deep Is The Ocean?
Puttin' On The Ritz
Sing Sing Sing
Why Don't You Do Right?
Harry James: Concerto For Trumpet
Juan Carlos Cobain: Nostalgias (tango)
Peggy Lee: Fever
Glenn Miller: In The Mood
Royal Crown Revue: Topsy
Artie Shaw:
Nightmare
Serenade To A Savage
Frank Sinatra:
Angel Eyes
It Had To Be You
The Way You Look Tonight
Paul Whiteman:
Charleston
Happy Feet
Ballads:
I Surrender, Dear
My Funny Valentine
Stardust
Summertime
The Very Thought Of You
Willow Weep For Me
Rock:
Ravel's Bolero
Led Zeppelin: Kashmir
Jimmi Hendrix: Manic Depression
Edgar Winter: Rock And Roll Hoochie Coo
Chicago: 25 Or 6 To 4
The Doors: When You're Strange
Rhythm & Blues:
Etta James: At Last
Elvis Presley: Can't Help Falling In Love
Otis Redding: These Arms Of Mine
Iz: Somewhere Over The Rainbow