Music
On Friday, swing out to the music of the Fried Bananas! For Saturday evening we are pleased to introduce the Blue Vipers to CTLX!
Fried Bananas – Friday night
The Fried Bananas were created with the goal of providing music for swing dancers and plays a mix of blues, swing, and gypsy jazz. This Boston based band has played most of the local Boston swing venues as well as dances in Connecticut and Montreal. Created by Shawn Hershey, most of the members of the band are also swing dancers who want to make great music for dancing.
Blue Vipers – Saturday night
The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn are an early jazz, swing, and blues band, composed of acoustic guitar/vocals, upright bass, homemade washboard percussion, trumpet and saxophone. Their repertoire of witty songs from 1920’s and 30’s is augmented by original tunes with moving yet often bawdy lyrics and catchy 4 part vocal harmony.
DJs
Rayned Wiles – Baltimore, MD
Taught lindy/swing dance classes locally and at dance camps around the country including Beantown Dance Camp in Boston, MA, and Augusta Heritage Center at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, W.V. Worked as a DJ for numerous major dance workshops, exchanges, competitions and events across the United State and Canada. Looking forward to participating in the upcoming Frankie 95 celebration and CTLX again!
Loreto Agdinaoay – Cleveland, OH
Slow and moody, black ‘n’ bluesy. That’s how Lo rolls. One of the few beacons of groove in Cleveland, Ohio, an otherwise fast dance town, Lo welcomes any chance to play for dancers who want music with a little grease and a whole lotta soul. He promises to give you the “Blues Face” – you know, that look you get when you hear a song with so much stank, you wanna go home and slap yo’ mama. He’s no one-trick pony though, he’s as versatile as they come… If you want it, Lo’s got it; if Lo doesn’t have it, he’ll go get it; if he can’t find it, you probably didn’t want to hear it anyways 
You may have heard some of his stuff at exchanges in Connecticut, Florida, Atlanta, Columbus, Denver, and Waterloo in 2008.
Mike Thibault – Rochester, NY
Mike Thibault is Lindy hop’s best-kept DJ secret. He’s DJ’ed at exchanges, dances and workshops all over North America, in addition to organizing some amazing events like Stompology. If you ever visit Rochester, he will surely hold a rockin’ party in your honor at the famous Lindy Compound. Recently, he’s DJed at Lindy Focus, Swing Out New Hampshire, CCX in Montreal, and Midwest Lindy Fest. Check out his blog at www.mikethibault.com as well as www.groovejuiceswing.com. He is also a contributing writer for www.lindybloggers.com
Jay Provost – Boston, MA
A Massachusetts native, Jason has been DJing music for swing dancers since 2003. He is the house DJ/MC at Boston Swing Central, a dancer-formed, volunteer-run organization dedicated to promoting positive and fun swing dancing experiences in Boston. He’s worked to bring faster, more exciting music from the original swing era into the modern dance scene. His taste runs from the hot charts of the 1930s to soul to dixie. Aside from his weekly gig, Jason has appeared as a guest DJ at the Boston Tea Party, the Wicked Lindy Weekend, Providence Swings, the Connecticut Lindy Exchange, Swingin’ New England, and other local and national events and dances. He has also hosted radio shows for local stations spinning both swing and non-swing music.
Dhruv Bhargava – Norwalk, CT
Most dancers in the swing and blues CT scene cannot really pronounce his name, but they like it when he DJs. He gets invited to DJ at various dance venues throughout the state and New York city for evening dances and late nights and likes to keep his sets full of music that gets people on the floor and keeps them there. He does it by catching the pulse of the floor and by playing the good ‘ol favorites, by playing juicy songs that dancers may not have heard but hit the sweet spot and catch their fancy and by letting the music be mellow, badass, groovy, pacy in turn while keeping a flow going. He can’t wait for CTLX!
Chris Oksanen – New Haven, CT
Chris has been avid music collector and music listener for many years. He has a fine collection of jazz and blues and enjoys seeking out stimulating and fun music for dancers. He gives thoughtful consideration to song selection, the musical tastes of the dancers, and toward maintaining positive energy and excitement on the dance floor. His djing style leans toward jazz with a groovy soulful quality and blues (and any music that feels great to dance to). Chris is a Connecticut dj and a swing dancer of nearly ten years.
Wil Reed – Waterford, CT
Wil Reed has been collecting music since the 8-track craze. So his Swing CD collection, though large, is but a small portion of his music library. Wil has been dancing for over ten years and DJing for nine. In CT , Wil has DJed for Shoreline Swing, for CSDS, Vinnie’s Jump & Jive, for both Brown & Yale Swing Societies all three Mystic Blues and other local venues. He’s also DJed over most of New England.
Camille Fontanella – Northampton, MA
Camille has been a lindy hopper since 1998. Camille hosts regular dances, teaches, and DJs for the non-profit Lindy League of Western Massachusetts. She has been DJing since 2003 throughout the region for events such as CTLX, Albany Chill, Beantown, Swing Central, Providence Swings, and Vinnie’s Jump and Jive.
Kevin Caruso – New Haven, CT
Kevin Caruso began DJing in Chicago out of necessity. When he returned to the University of Chicago for his sophomore year of college, all the DJs had mysteriously disappeared… Nine years later, his collection has grown and his taste has improved (or at least that is what he will tell you). Kevin’s DJing philosophy can be summed up with three simple words “Play Good Music” (although sometimes you might hear the corollary to his DJ motto which is: “If you can’t play good music you should at least avoid playing crappy music”). You are not likely to catch him trying to explain what good music is, but he knows it when he hears it. Kevin moved to New Haven in September and has been regularly DJing for Yale Swing and Blue.