Jon Tigert is our guest this month! He is a DJ, musician, emcee and international Lindy Hop instructor based in Baltimore, USA. The bandleader and drummer for the Corner Pocket Jazz Band, Jon very nearly spent his life in musical theatre and not the swing dancing community.If you'd like to find him online to nerd out about music, his handle across the platforms is @jontigert.If you'd like to enjoy our carefully arranged Instagram feed, you can follow us @desertislandjamsIf you'd like to help contribute to the costs of running the show, please see the link at the bottom.If you'd like to contribute to the ego of the host, then please leave a review if your chosen listening platform allows.You can find the Spotify listen along playlist hereYou can find the transcript by following this link.Support the show

Grey Armstrong, author of ObsidianTea.com and Blues instructor and DJ joins me for this episode.Some other key facts about Grey include that he was born in Ohio, has synesthesia, loves foxes (the country ones, not the urban ones), and loves his cat T'challa Panther Lily even more. Oh, and he has blue hair.Support Obsidian Tea on Patreon hereYou can listen along to the Spotify playlist hereSupport the show

It's only Jonathan Blimmin' Stout as my guest this month! (Not his real middle name)A Lindy Hopper since 1996, he grew up in the Southern California swing revival, learning from original-era Lindy and  Balboa dancers. He started playing swing music in 1999, and in 2002 started a band with Hilary Alexander, the Campus Five,  with the sole and express purpose of playing dance music for Lindy Hop and Balboa dancers. He's released 4 albums that are now pretty much standard issue for swing dance DJs and instructors around the globe. At the request of promoters for different flavours, he's started SIX more bands: the JSO, the Grand Slam Sextet, etc. They play the top swing dance events in the US and around the Globe: Lindy Focus, Camp Hollywood, ILHC, Lindy Shock, California Balboa Classic, and all the others.You can find the listen along Spotify playlist HEREYou can find the listen along YouTube playlist HEREYou can find the special Holidays playlist on Spotify HERE!The music license is sponsored by voicesculptor.comThe artwork is by @sazmy_designYou can find DIJ on instagram HEREJonathon Stout is the magic fingered man behind the original music for our theme song.Support the show

My guest this episode is Nicole Zuckerman, a DJ, dancer and software developer living in NYC.Nicole's first love was tap but lindy stole their heart in 2005.They have DJed at ILHC, Lindy Focus, Herrang and more. They have taught at LindyFest, Sweet Swingouts and more. They have competed and won lindy hop, balboa and solo jazz competitions across the US.Nicoles loves social dancing and acting like a goof, sharing the feelings that music gives them.As well as music and dance, they are deeply passionate about social justice, puppies and gardening and a voracious reader of fantasy and sci-fi.Nicole isn't mad on social media but you can try tweeting them on @zuckerpunchThey welcome one-on-one chats- so if you'd like that check out their website to get in touch: http://www.nicoleandcarl.dance/ You can find the listen along Spotify playlist HEREYou can find the listen along YouTube playlist HEREThe music license is sponsored by voicesculptor.comThe artwork is by @sazmy_designYou can find DIJ on instagram HEREJonathon Stout is the magic fingered man behind the original music for our theme song.Support the show

This month's guest is Albert Alva, a musician from Los Angeles, California. He's been a musician since he was a teenager, and has been a music educator for over 15 years. He's a multi-instrumentalist, a songwriter, a lyricist, and he has also been known to sing!Albert is best known in the partner dance community for his performances with swing jazz bands  for Lindy Hop dancers. His  “sideman” saxophone performances can be heard on the recordings of Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, Josh Collazo’s Candy Jacket Jazz Band, and most recently, Jonathan Ng's latest CD, The Sphynx.Podcast Instagram HEREMusic License sponsored by voicesculptor.comGraphic design genius instagram HERE Theme song artist- Jonathan StoutFollow this link for a transcript if the platform you're listing on doesn't automatically offer it.Support the show

Remis Rančys of The Schwings Band is my guest this episode!Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Remis is a musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and he likes taking pictures and is a nature lover and traveler.You can find accompanying playlists links for this episode on Spotify and YouTube.The Schwings band recently released a new album, recorded in the studio Remis was in when we spoke for DIJ. You can find the music of The Schwings Band on Bandcamp, on Spotify, and on Itunes. You can also find them on social media such as Facebook and Instagram.The transcript for this podcast can be found by following this link to Buzzsprout.You can learn a little more about the songs chosen by checking us out on Instagram.To support the podcast check out our Patreon here :)Please subscribe and leave a review if you're enjoying the show!Desert Island Jams is hosted and produced by Sarah SpoonGraphics designed by Sara AzmyOriginal theme song by Jonathan StoutMusic license from PRS sponsored by Andria Helm of VoiceSculptor.comSupport the show

My guest this month is huggable, loveable Laura Windley, and you can find Laura's music playlists here on YouTube and here on Spotify. (FYI Those affections are real but it also refers to a song we discuss in the episode, before you wonder why she gets special treatment)She's a family law attorney by day and musician/dancer/DJ by night.  She has her own band, the Mint Julep Jazz Band, but she also travels and sings with hot jazz and swing bands from all over the US.  She writes a blog called Lindy Shopper about swing dance clothing, shoes, and other things dancers may find useful. She's active in the swing community in many other ways, from organizing local dances/events to providing pro bono legal services to jazz musicians.www.laurawindley.comTwitter: @laurawindleyInstagram: @mintjulepjazzbandFollow this link for the transcript of the episode.Click here to support the podcast Patreon.Click here to find the podcast Instagram.Support the show

Accompanying playlists: click HERE for Spotify and click HERE for YouTube.Click HERE for the transcript of the podcast.Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/desertislandjams)LaTasha “Tasha” Barnes is an internationally acclaimed and awarded dancer, educator, coach and ambassador of culture from Richmond, VA - based in New York. I know the remit of the show is to meet mostly musicians and DJs- but Tasha is so engaging to talk with about music, that it was an obvious ask for me. She thinks about music in a visceral and emotional way which is so nourishing to discuss. I hope that comes through in this episode.LaTasha is globally celebrated for her musicality, athleticism, and joyful presence throughout the cultural traditions she bears, which include: House, Hip-Hop, Waacking, Jazz, and Lindy Hop. Her expansive artistic, competitive and performative skills have made her a frequent collaborator to Dorrance Dance, Singapore based Timbre Arts Group, Caleb Teicher & Co., Ephrat Asherie Dance and many international Jazz/Lindy Hop and Urban Arts festivals like LindyFest, ILHC, Summer Dance Forever, and Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival. In effort to further her service to her communities Tasha designed and received her Master's in Ethnochoreology, Black Studies and Performance Studies thru New York University Gallatin School to further community presence in cultural dance research, performance, preservation and pedagogy. In concert with these efforts she is also a part of the directing braintrust developing the ground-breaking stage production Swing 2020, set to premiere in New York (Joyce Theater) in August 2020. Accolades, endeavors and accomplishments aside, Tasha’s forever purpose is to inspire fellow artists and art enthusiasts to cultivate an authentic sense of self in their creative expressions and daily lives.Tasha's current projects:Guggenheim Virtual Commission Series,PaperBack Crew,Jazz Dance Continuum,Gibney DoublePlus Residency,Guest Lecturer/Residency University WisconsinSwing 2020,Nefer Global Movement (Nefer on FB and Nefer on IG)HellaBlackLindyHop/Black Brown & Beige,Ladies in the House Serieswww.latashabarnes.com ( launching soon)https://linktr.ee/tasha_b_vaSupport the show

Accompanying playlists: click HERE for Spotify and click HERE for YouTube.Click HERE for the transcript of the podcast.Ryan has been swing dancing since 1998 and started DJing for dancers shortly thereafter.  For the last 10+ years he has been the co-organizer, music coordinator and house DJ for Frim Fram Jam, the longest-running weekly swing dance in NYC.He has had the privilege of DJing for numerous Lindy Hop exchanges, dance camps, weekend workshops, and competitions, including events such as Stompology, Camp Hollywood, Uptown Swingout, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Swingout New Hampshire, California Balboa Classic, & Frankie100, and in NYC at events like Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing.Ryan also serves as head DJ at the International Lindy Hop Championships, LindyFest & Lindy Focus.In addition to DJing, Ryan was a founding member of Rochester's Groove Juice Swing, is an accomplished photographer, and is the creator and host of the popular swing dance podcast, The Track.https://www.ryanswift.comhttps://www.thetrackpodcast.comhttps://www.patreon.com/thetrackpodcast@ryanswift@thetrackpodcastSupport the show

Join your host Sarah Spoon as they explain a little more about the podcast, what prompted the creation of it- and most importantly, the name of the first guest for the next episode.Produced by Sarah SpoonGraphics by Sara AzmyMusic by Jonathan StoutSupport the show