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 RONNIE MAGRI PROFILE:
BIRTH OF THE SHIM SHAM CLUB
Last month, I wrote about the music of burlesque, and referenced Ronnie Magri, of the Shim Sham Club, and a great musician in his own right: “My first taste of New Orleans burlesque was at a club called the Shim Sham, which is now One-Eyed Jacks. I had already been a fan of the Los Angeles burlesque scene, which grew out of the Swing and Rockabilly scene there in the mid 90's. What I was unaware of was that in moving to New Orleans, I had centered myself in one of the major birthplaces of the amazing Shim Shamettes and of what we now know to be Modern Burlesque. On stage at the Shim Sham were the amazing Ronnie Magri and his New Orleans Jazz Band, who played behind each performer as she did her act. With Magri’s perfect touch of New Orleans jazz thrown into them, these songs were classics, such as “Blue Prelude” and “Egyptian Fantasy”. I found myself trying to make every show, work permitting, not just to see the beautiful performers, but also to hear Magri and his band.” This issue, I interviewed Ronnie to find out more behind the scenes history of how he helped revive the modern retro burlesque movement in not just New Orleans, but also across the country...
By helping the famous Shim Sham Club get started, Ronnie Magri unknowingly became one of the founding fathers of the rebirth of the modern retro burlesque revival.
 I was happy to be able get an interview with Ronnie Magri, a musician whose career I admire. Ronnie was one of the founders of the rebirth of New Orleans burlesque through the Shim Sham Club. As you'll see, Ronnie Magri was very instrumental, no pun intended, in helping to revive the Burlesque scene here in New Orleans, which in turn was one of the birth places for the Retro Burlesque resurgence thriving today around the world.
The year was 1994, Ronnie Magri, a drummer from New York with lots of personality had been playing rock music for a living. Magri had recorded for Geffen Records in a hip little band "The Throbs". Ronnie was good enough to play with such greats as Joey Ramone & Stiv Bators, but it was when he was playing with “the architect of rock and roll,” Little Richard, that the “New Orleans bug” kept getting planted. Little Richard couldn’t stop speaking of his love for New Orleans. At that time, New York city had begun modernizing, and Ronnie complained to Little Richard that he wasn't at all hip to it. "Too polished and clean" was not the New York that Ronnie loved - it was the edgier old days that he remembered the most fondly. When Ronnie actually got to New Orleans in 1995, he expected to encounter a big blues and swing scene full of bands, but he was too late. Having been a long-time fan of great musicians such as the saxophone player Lee Allen, Ronnie soon discovered to his dismay that the R&B scene in New Orleans had dwindled and given way to the public’s hunger for jazz. So to feed his passion for great music,  Magri soon found himself hanging out at such world renowned jazz joints as Preservation Hall. He also started listening to such talents as producer/composer/bandleader Dave Bartholomew and sought out a lot of rekindled R&B music from the 40's.
Though Ronnie had always loved the vintage pin-up art and classic feel of the past, he hadn't expected to fall from R&B into the jazz scene, but like a grabbing a nectar snowball on a hot New Orleans day, he couldn't resist grabbing a taste of the best of it. It was also about this time that Magri met and started dating the beautiful Lorelei Fuller, a brilliant dancer and a fan of retro culture. He also met a local socialite named Suzy (the future Mrs. Suzy Black), who introduced him to Morgan Higby Night. Ronnie would end up spending a lot of time conversing with Morgan about music. Ronnie also started picking up a magazine with a very intriguing black haired model, called the "Betty Pages" from the local Tower Records (R.I.P.). He also grabbed "Tease" magazine which featured interviews from the burlesque greats of the past, such as Tempest Storm, who was rumored to have had an affair with President Kennedy.
One day out of the blue, Magri received a call from Morgan Higby Night, who was very excited and asked if he could come right over.
 Higby arrived enthusiastic about his recent purchase of a club that used to be called "Maxwell's Cabaret". Turned out Morgan had been having grand ideas for some time to start a swanky new club. He already had the new logo and concept with him, all drawn up for the spot at 615 Toulouse Street. He needed Ronnie’s skills and asked him to head up the music, and they needed Lorelei to direct the dancers, for what he excitedly said would be "the rebirth of Burlesque in New Orleans!" As a result of that meeting, the legendary "Shim Shamettes & Shim Sham Revue" was born. Magri remembers fondly with a laugh that they had absolutely no blueprint for what they were doing. Here's a problem - there were few if any other burlesque troupes to model theirs after back at that time, or at least nothing they could find for guidance. Ronnie, Lorelei and Morgan were flying literally by the seat of their pants. They would search through  vintage movies for scenes of burlesque, and they couldn’t find what they needed, so they had to order “B” movies that had burlesque acts in them from a company called “Something Weird Video”. This was the only research material that they could get their hands on, according to Magri, other than speaking to a few remaining old time strippers of the past, like the amazing Miss Kitty West. Granddaughter of a preacher and a cousin to Elvis Presley, Kitty is legendary for her popular "Evangeline the Oyster Girl" act, in which she rose out of a giant oyster shell on stage. (Editor’s note: In fact, Bustout Burlesque and New Orleans Burlesque Fest founder Rick Delaup, along with Catherine D’Lish and Dita von Teese, actually once searched from coast to coast to find a modern dancer who could bring that act back, but to no avail. Rick, Catherine and Dita, if you’re still searching, let us know here at Burlesque Scene. There is no known video ever taken of that act. If any of you performers out there think you can do the act, contact us or send the video and if it’s good, we’ll publish it.)
 Back at the Shim Sham, Magri asked Kitty West how the old clubs had the strippers of the past do their shows. Kitty said they would do three numbers. The first number was always a slow one. The next was a medium tempo, and the last was FAST. Then Magri asked Kitty what she felt had been the death of Burlesque, and she simply responded "the jukebox". You see, the jukebox replaced the live band. If the live band didn't play, then there was not really a show. If there was no show, then any bar could compete with the venues. Soon, it all blended together in the mind of the public and whoosh, modern technology killed another classic.
Well, opening night at the Shim Sham Club turned out to be a big hit - add to that the boost of having the late, great Sam Butera playing. This moment is still to this day, one of Ronnie's absolute favorite periods of all the shows he's ever run.
Who wouldn't be partial to performing with the burlesque diva herself, Dita Von Tease, who would often grace the stage of the Shim Sham, early in her career?
Ronnie has been living back in New York in 2008, after spending 6 months bouncing back and forth post-Katrina. His favorite burlesque style is classic burlesque. He still performs to this day on New York's lower east side, in clubs such as the Slipper Room. It's a classic one floor venue, at least until they renovate it to two floors of classic burlesque. He’s also played with a band called the “NYC Blues Devils” who gained some notoriety. What Magri is most proud of during his stint in the New Orleans Burlesque scene is the fact that ladies who performed the art here were able to know and be part of the history of the art they helped to create. 
Note: Ronnie Magri has agreed to join our Honorary Board of Advisors Here at BurlesqueScene.com. Glad to have you with us, Ronnie!
Visit Ronnie Magri’s website: www.ronniemagri.com
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