Serial killer sentenced to 408 years
By Lindsay Redifer Argonaut Senior Staff
"There is an inherent joy in swing music," said Lee Press-On, lead singer of Lee Press-On and the Nails, (LPN). LPN will play in the Cougar Union Building Ballroom tonight from 9 p.m. till midnight.
Press-On said that he and his band "don't care if there's a scene or not, we just want to play music." Press-On also said that his band has fans as far away as Lebanon who may never actually see the band perform, which is why the band's new album, Playing Dirty, will be live.
"We're nuts," Press-On said, claiming that flying instruments and other visual novelties are regular happenings with the band once they're on stage.
Playing Dirty is a collection of live recordings from a club called The Derby, in the band's hometown of San Francisco.
Also, according to Press-On, the band's biggest audiences are either under 20 years old or over 50, a crowd that he calls the "hard-core swing fans, whom we prefer."
Press-On attributes their new attraction to swing music as a result of a need for lighter, happier music in a time when boredom seems to prevail.
LPN prefers to hunt for old, unique songs that aren't normally played by the swing bands of today. Songs like "Shadow Man" and "Big Pants Dance" come from the original swing artists of the '30s and, according to Press-On, still get a good response from swing artists.
Press-On is one of the lead singers of the band, the other being his wife, Leslie Presley. He claims that the two try to promote a very romantic, happy image for their audiences, not the "bickering couple" like that of Sonny and Cher.
"I'm a little spooky," Press-On said, who performs in white and black face makeup and was described as "a very nice Marilyn Manson" by a the owner of a club that the band is booked at for New Year's Eve.
The last album the band released, Swing is Dead, shows Press-On posing with an open switchblade on the cover to match his vicious smile.
"I love it when an 80-year-old woman comes up to me and says that we've just played the best arrangement of "Sing, Sing, Sing" she's heard since she saw Benny Goodman on stage," Press-On said.
Tickets are $10 at the door or $8 when purchased from the Idaho Commons. Lessons in swing will be given from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m.NEWS | OPINION | ARTS | SPORTS | OUTDOORS
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