Stepping lively on band’s behalf
Dick Van Dyke lends a jaunty presence to a video for a Dustbowl Revival song.
L. A. roots jazz- folk- gospel- country band the Dustbowl Revival has gotten more than a little help from a friend: 89- year- old actor- comedian Dick Van Dyke, whose sprightly performance in the video for the first single from the band’s new album has helped it generate more than 2 million views in less than a month.
The clip for “Never Had to Go” f inds Van Dyke with his wife, Arlene Silver, in a kitchen, and he’s trying to persuade her to dance, engaging in some impressively f leet- footed steps as the band performs outside the house.
Van Dyke reportedly became a fan after hearing the group perform at a wedding, and the former star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Mary Poppins” turned up at the Ford Amphitheatre last summer when Dustbowl Revival opened for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans.
The group’s new album, “With a Lampshade On,” is due July 24 and was recorded live primarily during performances at the Troubadour in West Hollywood and San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall.
Dustbowl Revival is part of a vibrant scene in the Southland, of musicians using sounds from the 1920s and 1930s for inspiration but bringing updated takes that incorporate elements of post- World War II rock and pop music as well. ( Calendar profiled that community in a 2012 article.)
The ensemble kicked off a national tour on Monday and will be back in Southern California for a July 4 show at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena and an Aug. 2 date at the Skirball Cultural Center in L. A.