One cool Saturday evening, a central Iowa disc jockey was spinning CDs at a mid-sized wedding reception. A senior citizen couple approached the DJ table and requested “something they could swing to.”

The DJ was in trouble — he didn’t have the extensive collection of Glen Miller Band records the folks had in mind. So he popped in the best thing he could think of — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Much to the DJ’s surprise, everyone, including the older couples, rushed to the dance floor to swing.

Dead swing rising

Everywhere you look, swing is prevalent.

Punch in swing on an Internet search site and almost as many links pop up as if you had just typed the keyword “Leonardo.”

Swing has invaded Gap commercials, independent movies and MTV.

Thousands of nightclubs from the East to the West coasts have some sort of swing night involving swing bands or swing dancing.

The Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines is one of the nightclubs dedicating one night a week to swing lessons and entertainment and occasionally bringing in a national touring swing band on a weekend.

“Swing never went away,” Val Air Ballroom manager Jeff Tolan said. “The fact that young musicians are starting to play it is why it is becoming so popular, and that is also what will keep it going.”

Rusty Poehner, music coordinator of The Maintenance Shop, which has hosted many big-name swing bands in recent years, said the swing that is showing up on present-day record charts is basically reprocessed from what was around in the 1930s and ’40s.

“It all goes in a big circle,” Poehner said. “Everything has a limited life span. It seems to be taking about one year to wear something out.”

Iowa State dance instructor Valerie Williams has a different theory on the comeback of swing. She believes it is time for a new dance craze — something a little rebellious.

“The last big dance craze was line dancing, which involved no touching at all. Swing involves a lot of touching,” Williams said.

Swing music is also just really fun, said Jason Moss, guitarist for The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, one of the leaders in the recent swing revival.

“Swing is very ingrained in American culture,” Moss said. “People are getting sick of the same old depressing grunge music.”

Swing 101

Swing is a type of social/ballroom dance that comes from the black ballrooms of the ’20s. It is done in the company of a lot of people and is called an “expression of life.”

Poehner said swing music is a broad category and incorporates different genres, such as hot ’20s jazz, big band, ska and rockabilly.

“You can think of swing as a mixture of jazz and punk rock,” Moss said. “It has the elegant chord structures, but it has a really propulsive rhythm.”

Swing is set apart form other breeds of music because of the high potency set to more difficult music.

“We were really attracted by the energy of swing and musical complexity,” Moss said. “Punk-rock tends to be pretty simple, and we were turned on by the more intricate harmonies and chordal structures of swing.”

Zoot suit bias

The swing comeback can be attributed to three areas of appeal: music, fashion and dancing.

“Swing songs are very catchy, and the music is what catches the people first,” Tolan said.

One thing the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies try to do with its style of swing is mix it with other forms of music to draw in bigger crowds.

“We don’t want to just play traditional swing,” Moss said. “We’re trying to crossbreed it with different things like punk and ska and other stuff that we listen to.”

Then there is swing fashion.

The combination of fancy suits, two-tone saddle shoes, long, thin wallet chains and slick hair or flat hats is being seen more and more on streets and in the clubs.

“People love dressing up, and the kids love wearing cool ’40s clothes,” Tolan said.

And clothes aren’t the only fashion that is attracting people. The cool “Swingers” walk is also found within groups of swing groupies.

Williams said fashion goes along with any changing craze.

“A few years ago we were quick to see the cowboy hats and the belt buckles,” Williams said. “We have reached a time when people don’t mind dressing up again.”

Swing rejuvenation has also sprung an interest with the common single crowd that uses a dance floor as a showcase and a chance to meet people.

Tolan said swing has given people a chance to do dance with a partner again.

“Partner dancing was lost in the rock era,” he said. “All the show-off moves like the spins and the twirls have a really great appeal.”

“Swing is a dance that kids can do with their grandparents,” Williams said. “It can be done in a quiet way, or it can be done with lots of hard twirls and spins.”

Grandpa’s music’s cool again

The swing rage of the late ’90s is being brought on by Generation X. Kids who got bored with trying to bring back the hippie days have moved further back in time and have put some zing into swing.

Williams and Tolan agree the main fueling for the rapid movement is coming from young adults.

“The latest interest is from older high school students and college students,” Williams said. “But the older people never stopped doing it.”

Swing has proved to have the capability to appeal to a wide variety of ages.

“The music is very tuneful, which help makes it acceptable to all generations,” Williams said.

Even the biggest swing bands of late are seeing the generation range.

“We have been getting a lot of middle aged people, a lot of little kids and even grandparents,” Moss said.

The shows are also drawing a considerable variety of people.

“Lately it has been all over the map for us,” Moss said.

Poehner feels that the crowds that are coming in depend on the band that is playing.

“The Daddies have brought in a lot of punk and ska fans,” Poehner said. “Whereas the Atomic Fireballs have brought in more of a mixed crowd.”

Swing into the future

Music insiders and fans alike are joined by the common question of whether swing will last or fade out like past fads, such as grunge and new wave.

“People are saying it is getting old,” Poehner said. “I think it’s already dying out.”

Others feel that it has always been around, and therefore it won’t go away.

“People are to quick to say it is a fad,” Tolan said. “It never went away in the first place. Once you learn partner dancing, you never forget.”

Moss feels that in order to keep swing alive, artists must keep mixing it with other forms of music. Traditional swing just isn’t going to cut it, he said.

“It has to evolve and grow and incorporate more contemporary elements,” Moss said. “If it doesn’t, it’s just going to be nostalgia music for our grandparent’s generation.”

And when wedding DJs play Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, older crowds will be the only people swinging.

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Swingin’ in Ames

• “Grand Ave. Swing” will take place at the Memorial Union Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight. The event will feature the Grand Ave. Big Band from Chicago performing in the Sun Room and South Ballroom.

Please dress nice casual, no jeans. Suit coat not required.

The high-energy dances will include the fox trot, waltz, cha cha and tango. Refreshments will be available at a non-alcoholic cash bar.

Tickets are $8 in advance and can be purchased at the Ballroom Club’s Friday practice at 196 Forker from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. or over the noon hour at the Union on Friday. Tickets at the door are $10.

Lessons for these dances will be given throughout Saturday at the Union. Advanced swing will be from 10 to 11:20 a.m. taught by Valerie Williams. Beginner/intermediate tango is from 11:30 to 12:50 p.m. taught by Ken Wilson.

An intro to jive class run by Shri Amit will be from 2 to 3:20 p.m., and beginner/intermediate salsa with Ken Wilson will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

The cost is $5 per person for each workshop session without the evening dance and $20 per person for all workshops and the evening “Grand Ave. Swing” dance.

• The Boheme Bistro, 2900 West St., hosts weekly dance lessons that are open to the public. Argentine tango and swing will be offered on alternating Thursdays.

Beginner lessons start at 7 p.m. and last one hour. Dancing and tips for more advanced steps, which will run until at least 10 p.m. will follow.

Argentine tango begins tonight.

• The Scene, located at 124 Welch Ave., has switched to 21 and over but is still hosting a swing night. Lessons will be held tonight from 8 to 9, and all-night swing dancing will follow with a cover of $2.

The possibility of an all-ages swing night on Sundays is in the works, so keep your ears open if you are under 21.