I love Lavay Smith. I love listening to Lavay, I love looking at Lavay, I love dancing to Lavay. I think she, her boyfriend and bandleader Chris, and her band "The Red Hot Skillet Lickers", all come together and create a unique and spectacularly skilled group that plays some of the best music available today.
This style of swing and blues music is rapidly dying out. When I listen to podcasts or read about the artists, most all discuss having players in their bands who are well into their 80's. They still have their chops, but aren't being replaced with younger players at the pace at which they are passing on to the great gig in the sky.
My hope is that you will give a shot to Lavay, and to the other swing and neo-swing groups I listen to. They play a truly original and American form of music. While the sound will evolve, as all music evolves, I hope it continues to hold its own and continues to attract both players and listeners to keep it alive.
They perform constantly in the San Francisco Bay Area, and regularly show up at other jazz festivals and venues around the world. My wife and kids and I saw them at Enrico's Sidewalk Cafe in North Beach and had a great time.
The following links are for their first 2 albums. Sometimes on ebay you can find a 3rd and relatively unknown album that was only released in Japan. I have it and it's well worth a listen if you can find it. In exciting news, they are working on a new album that will hopefully be released in the relatively near future. Chris assured me in a recent email that the music is in the can but they are finishing up some artwork, so hopefully it won't be too long. I'll let you all know as soon as I hear. While we're all waiting, check out their official website and drop them a line to say hello. Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Cheers - Dan
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