The Derby’s Loyal Following

In “It Don’t Mean a Swing” (by Joe Sehee, So SoCal, Nov. 15), the author explains that the swing band profiled performs occasionally at the Derby in Los Feliz--the club featured in the film “Swingers,” which, according to Sehee, “no longer draws many of the top-name swing bands it helped establish a scant few years ago.”

Not so. The Derby, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, enjoys national and even international media coverage and is one of L.A.’s most popular venues for swing music and dancing. And the club is still heavily frequented by bands it helped launch, such as the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, the Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, among others. Brian Setzer and even Bruce Springsteen have been known to jump up and jam on the Derby’s stage.

Steve Levesque

Beverly Hills