DJs

Expect to be charmed and delighted when Amanda Feldmann is spinning for you. She constantly scours the blues radio stations to bring you fresh and exciting music from the blues world— both old but buried standards as well as cutting edge tracks. She has become one of Seattle’s favorite blues DJ’s, and you can hear her at Burn Blue, Blues Underground, Little Red Blues, and house parties. Amanda has been dancing blues and lindy since 2006 and began to DJ at the end of 2008. She lives in Renton, Washington, and is a fourth generation Washingtonian. She likes babies and chocolate, but not necessarily together.

Brenda has been Dj’ing since 2003 and is a house DJ at the Century Ballroom in Seattle. She started DJ’ing blues at local house parties, and regularly Dj’s at Burn Blue and Blues Underground. She did DJ Blues Night while in Herrang and most recently spun at Vancouver’s new venue Blues in the City.

While still enjoying jazz blues, she is working hard to expand her blues collection to include other genres.

target audience : folks who enjoy a wide variety of styles, from Billie Holiday to Stevie Wonder. Brenda likes to make people happy :)

As a dancer, instructor, and performer I listen to a lot of music. In fact I have always listened to a lot of music. I know what I like to dance to, and I listen and observe what others like to dance to.

I DJ as a community service, because I care. We need good DJ’s and I’m as qualified as most anyone. There are better DJ’s than me, and when they are available I step aside. I have a lot of varied exposure, and I take DJing seriously, I think those two things allow me to bring a good balance of music to the floor.

I am always learning and growing in areas of flow, reading the dancers, etc. I am thankful for all the great resources we have for increasing our skills as DJ’s in the dance community.

Carolyn likes to be made to want to dance. She has dabbled in many different dances (Blues, Tango, Swing, Charleston, West Coast, Soul, Belly Dancing, African, & hopes to add many more!), she loves & appreciates all of their qualities. One of her biggest efforts in DJing is variety, trying to play a little sump’in sump’in for everyone’s likes, from nitty-gritty to fun ’n frivolous. She is still developing as a DJ and currently trying to expand her blues library. Some of her favorites would be Sidney Bechet & C.W. Stoneking.

Chris Ransdell began playing music for Blues Dances almost 10 years ago. Whether it was a late night house dance party at the Austin or Chicago Lindy Exchange, or at one of the local Blues Dances in Tulsa, he always knew what the people wanted to dance to. His national-event DJ debut was the first “Cheap Thrills” (the first dance workshop weekend focused completely on Blues dance) in St. Louis.

Many people confuse a Blues DJ with a Blues Dance DJ; Chris is the latter. Since he is not limited to the confines of blues music exclusively, he is free to explore all genres of music to find the perfect selection for Blues Dancers. Each week he spends hours, sorting through artist after artist, to discover exactly what will bring the dancers to life on the floor.

Since his early DJ career, he has been honored to DJ at national events such as Blues Rising, Enter the Blues, and Denver Blues Summit; also including local venues such as Burn Blue (Seattle), Burn Blues (Portland), and Monday Night Blues (LA). Even though his greatest passion in life is teaching Blues Dance; DJing is a close second.

Dan likes blues music. Dan plays blues music. Dan hopes you like dancing to his blues music.

Daniel Newsome has been a professional dancer, dj and historian for the last 10 years. In addition to teaching tens of thousands of students at Denver’s Mercury Cafe Daniel has also travelled to learn, teach, compete and has won at major national competitions such as the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Midwest Lindy Fest, Reno Dance Sensation, National Jitterbug Championships and the Rhythmic Arts Festival. He also co-founded, choreographed and coached 23 Skidoo, Denver’s nationally recognized swing team, which placed 1st at every competition they went to in 2006 and 2007. Daniel’s lifelong pursuit is touching as many lives as possible with the beauty and artisty of Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa, Solo Jazz Dance and Tap. His goal is to bring music and dance to people in a way that inspires them and develops talent in anyone, regardless of background, age or ability.

David is a long-time Seattle blues DJ. While he’s not as active in
the blues scene as he once was, he was instrumental in establishing
the community. Many of Seattle’s dancers got their first lessons from
him. David has been djing from LPs exclusively for several years now.
When we can coax him out of the house, he digs deep to bring highly
danceable music from all eras with plenty, plenty soul.

From fast harmonica to sexy soul, Emily tries to play new tunes each time she spins a set. She loves to feel the energy of the room and keep the dance floor moving. She experiments with new vibes, while keeping the old favorites in the mix as well. She started to DJ blues after moving to Seattle 4 years ago. Some of her favorites include Brother Yusef and Janiva Magness.

When Emily DJs at weekend events, she posts her set-lists at www.djemilysmith.blogspot.com

Everett is passionate about blues music in its historical context and interpretation. He believes researching the African roots and American cultural context of blues is just as important as its modern interpretation in both dance and music. For the past 2 years, he has DJ’d for Burn Blue and blues house parties.

Heather was created as a result of $1.5MM in venture capital to a small software shop known as BasieSoft. She is a mashup of the best blues songs from various genres, with all unpleasant tones removed automatically. Heather’s blues software has industry-defining performance metrics, as she had the BluesMaster3500 module implanted in her cerebral cortex as a free add-on when receiving the HotLegsXT mod pack. Heather has been tested for compatibility with the following non-comprehensive list of platforms: bluesSHOUT!, Down Home Blues, Austin Blues Party, Enter the Blues, MezzJelly Blues Weekend, Blues Muse, CBUS, KLX, and ATLX. By dancing to the songs played by Heather, you give Heather irrevocable license in perpetuity to rock your socks off. All rights reserved. Satisfaction guaranteed, but not legally binding.

Ivy considers herself “just a girl with a lot of good music”. Both a dance addict and a music buff — it’s no surprise that Ivy is always seeking out new music to share with blues, lindy, fusion, and west coast swing communities. Ivy helps to run Tuesday Blues and Thursday Night Swing in Portland, OR. Ivy first gained DJ experience as a goth, punk and industrial DJ from 1993 – 1997 for KSJS 90.7FM in California. When she’s not DJing or dancing, Ivy is a bankruptcy attorney.

Though seldom DJing his own parties, Jeremy has DJ’d many parties and a couple exchanges across the country. Blues is his first love when it comes to spinning, and with his copious traveling, he has many different styles and aesthetics to pull from.

Expect some “ass” blues when he’s on the tables.

Jerry Warwick proudly claims the title of the Original Dallas Blues DJ, though he now shares his city with several other national Blues DJs. His love and passion for the music and the dance are evident in his sets. He manages to keep the music solid and entertaining, plus has been also known to throw a few curve balls into his sets. Jerry has DJ’d at Blues and Lindy events around the country to great reviews and he thoroughly loves playing his music for you, the dancers.

Karissa started blues dancing one steamy night in Seattle kitchen and knew the blues was for her! This music makes her weep, rejoice, praise, and melt all at the same time. With any luck, her sets will do the same to you…

Kevin Buster is a local Jazz, Blues, and Swing musician and dancer. Kevin has spun blues at the Herrang Dance Camp, Threw. He DJ’d at the first blues party in Zurich Switzerland, was a DJ and musician for some of the first blues party’s back in 1998-2004 when Janet’s blues house was the blues party of choice. He has seen blues trends rise and fall and has always stuck to his guns on DJing blues rooted in the older tradition of the generation, while using his 15 years of Dance teaching and professional music to meet the crowd.

Lessa started D.J.-ing at house parties way back when, and was really excited when the burn blue team thought she could be groomed as a “real D.J.” ;-) She lives and loves in the down-tempo and more contemporary blues styles, but tries to know what balance is between old and new, fast and slow, groovy and just downright kick-your-ass. Her one true goal in D.J.-life is to make it categorically impossible for you to sit still while she is on the boards.

Lizzy has been DJing since 2006. She has Dj’d numerous places such as the Century Ballroom, Sonny Newman’s, the Abbey Ballroom, and Herrang dance camp. She was the assistant DJ coordinator for Herrang 2009, and has been one of the few Seattle DJs who has DJ’d off of cds until very recently. She has a taste for anything Ella, and some of her favorite blues is by Count Basie and Gene Harris.

Mark Kihara has been spinning the blues from Seattle to Sweden for years. Mixing familiar classics with new discoveries, Mark loves dj-ing the blues. Learn more about Mark at www.swingjamproductions.com.

When Martin (aka LindyChef) steps into the booth and spins, there’s no hidden agenda, just a desire to get into the groove. It usually results in a fantastic blend of slide guitar, hot jazz and R&B, with a good amount of soul and gospel sprinkled in. Oh, and he likes to dance too.

Michael Darigol likes good music. And it’s that appreciation of music that makes him a favorite DJ of blues dancers and lindy hoppers alike.
Michael, commonly known as Dargoff in the dance world, has been dancing and DJing since 2002.
What makes his blues DJing stand out is the flow and the diversity in his sets. If you have a pulse and Dargoff is in the booth, then you can’t help but get up and dance.

Come join Orville on one of his moving excursions through music. Explore the highs and lows, fasts and slows and all the emotions in-between that can be found interpreting sound. “Close your eyes look deep in your soul, step outside your self and let your mind go.” -Tom Araya

Rachel was introduced to blues music shortly after her birth in Austin, Texas. In 2007 (less than half of your age plus seven years later) she became addicted to dancing swing and blues. Soon, she became a regular on the DJ rotation in Austin, including as a house DJ at Kick Butt Blues. She has spun tunes at dances and events in Pittsburgh, Montreal, San Francisco, Colorado, Boston, Portland, L.A., all over Texas, and at blues, swing, and fusion parties in many cities.

Solomon is well known as a musician, playing piano and leading bands at swing dance events throughout North America and worldwide in such bands as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and his own bands, Back Pocket, the Solomon Douglas Swingtet, and Corner Pocket.

Tina “Sweet T” Davis

Tina started doing the DJ thang in 2003 in the great state of Florida and now calls Dallas, Texas her home, after 3 years of spinning and dancing in Austin.

Sweet T has been a featured DJ at workshops and exchanges all across the nation (and Canada!) including the Emerald City Blues Festival, South Florida Lindy Exchange (SoFlex), Austin Lindy Exchange, ATLX (Atlanta), Austin Blues Party, bluesSHOUT, Fleur de Lindy Exchange, Toronto Lindy Exchange, and The Rhythmic Arts Festival (San Diego).

Tina spins a mix of styles for her Blues, Lindy and occasional West Coast sets, but it’s all gotta have a little “ass” to it. She also has a sick devotion to the University of Florida Gators and likes 80’s music, but don’t hold that against her.

-topher Howard plays distinctive sets of blues music traversing a diverse range of styles and eras. He lives here in Seattle where he helps run several blues venues, helps organize the Emerald City Blues Festival, teaches blues dance, and writes poetry. He plays his sets for you, and will keep you dancing hard all night long.