Skeedaddle
Durham, North Carolina, United States | SELF
Music
Press
I worked with Skeedaddle in my capacity as band booker for the Triangle Swing Dance Society. I love Skeedaddle’s energy and thought the band’s music would work well for swing dancers. At the time I booked the band, they had not played an entire swing dance; however, Hugh and the Skeedaddle crew not only took TSDS’s general advice about playing for dancers, but sought out more specific information from me and rehearsed the band to play the best possible performance in this format. Few, if any bands, have played a perfect dance, even after years of experience, but Skeedaddle was hot from the get go, playing the perfect mix of tempos, styles, and genres that pleased a group of dancers at varying skill levels and musical tastes – no minor feat! I personally love Skeedaddle for their song selection, their style, and their ever-changing instrumentation. - Laura Windley (Triangle Swing Dance Society)
Among the odd instruments played by acoustic quartet Skeedaddle during their vaudeville Americana performances:
Washboard, hatchback banjo, banjo uke, regular uke, tenor guitar, mouth trumpet, sweeping hand motions, hat gestures, kazoo, funny-looking guitar, lap steel, and suspenders.
As Rapunzel’s puts it, they’ll use “anything that can toot, or belch, or sing.” Looks like they’re in for 66.6% of a world of hurt.
More: This band is great fun to see and a totally refreshing change from the usual, predictable fare. The shear brain-power that fuels their foray into a realm of the ridiculous and slyly clever is impressive. I especially love the Hokum music - those old 20’s and 30’s players and partiers were hilarious. A big shout out to the Viper Man! - The Hook (Charlottesville VA)
Members of The Amazing Mittens and The V-Tones jam with local acoustic folk act Hungry Monks as an opening act for Durham's swinging jug/folk band, Skeedaddle, comprised of Anastasia Maddox, Steven Fishman: Vocals, Fred Levine, Hugh Crumley, and Dorsey Worthy. "This will be the night of a thousand strings!" - Charleston City Paper (Charleston SC)
Discography
The Ghost of Mose (2010) Produced by Joe "Joebass" Dejarnette from the Wiyos. Four tracks from the album on our website:
http://skeedaddleband.com/?page_id=7
Photos
Bio
Skeedaddle is a band consisting of good friends who started playing together at traditional Appalachian music festivals. We discovered, over the years, that the style of music we loved to play the most was the popular music from the 1920s and 30s including swing, Hawaiian, early hot jazz and jugband. We had all played in other bands that touched on these styles in the past, but since Skeedaddle formed in 2006 we have really blasted in this direction and have taken it to a unique and fun place.
Our influences are mostly from the 20s, 30s and 40s, ranging from Tampa Red to Cab Calloway, Cats and the Fiddle, the Memphis Jug Band, Willie Dixon, Sol Hoopii, Sam Ku West, Tau Moe, King Bennie Nawahi, Django, Howard Armstrong, Bessie Smith, the Mills Brothers and loads of other performers from back in the day whose music can be found on old scratched up 78s. Folks who have attended our shows have compared us to the Asylum Street Spankers, the Wiyos and the Cheap Suit Serenaders, but we like to think that we have our own take on this great music.
Our live shows are great fun for us as well as for the audience. We dress the part of 20s vaudeville players and we play hard and try to induce a carnival-like atmosphere that tends to motivate our audiences to get up and dance and have fun. We have recently played a number of swing dances, and Lindy Hoppers love us!
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