How Hogtown Zydeco Got Started and Got A Name

by Karin

Once upon a time (July 2003), Sandy decided we needed more dancing in Gainesville. She knew I was a "hog" (one of two in town, Bartman being the other) and would likely jump at the chance for more zydeco in town (and since there was no zydeco in town, it was not difficult to get more!). She was right. Soon we had a bar that would let us dance there on Wednesdays. All that was left was getting a regular dance instructor. That was easy, there was only one in town, Bartman. Luckily he is a great instructor and was interested.

We began calling ourselves Zydeco Wednesdays for obvious reasons. When we decided to create a website, we needed a domain name. We liked www.Zydeco Wednesdays.com, but what if we moved the dance to another day? What about Gaineseville Zydeco Club. Too boring, and zydeco is not boring!

Then one night Bart suggests, "What about HogTown Zydeco?" Oh. My. Gosh. It was perfect! A "hog" is someone addicted to zydeco. And Gainesville is informally called "Hogtown" (after Hogtown Creek, which runs through the city, or after the name of a town nearby which was incorporated into our ever expanding city, who knows?). So are website became www.HogtownZydeco.com, but we continued to call ourselves Zydeco Wednesdays.

A year later, we moved Zydeco Wednesdays to a wonderful little bar downtown, Fat Tuesday (typically no smokers are there when we dance, though that is not a guarantee). And soon enough, we moved Zydeco Wednesdays to Thursdays. So, now, what do we call ourselves? Some were adamant that we be Zydeco Wednesdays on Thursday at Fat Tuesday!

Fortunately, we decided Hogtown Zydeco was too perfect, and we are now....Hogtown Zydeco!

And Now for Some Email Addresses: The Adventures of 3 Little HOGS

We needed an email address for inquiries. Bart claimed imahog@hogtownzydeco.com. I said "But I'm a Hog Too! He said, So Bart says, "No, urahog." Told him I wasn't gunna be urahog. So he says, "Okay, you be imahog2@...". I liked that, although bosshog@... also appealed.

Sandy was next, suggesting sandy@hogtownzydeco.com which was quickly shot down as too boring. She refused to be urahog. We finally came up with weehog@ since she is the smallest of all, and the whole "we-ness" of it (all of us hogs...we...get it?). So she is weehog.

The treasurer (a very easy job considering our lack of money) went from treasurer@... to piggybank@... to moneyhog@....   Bart asked who was gunna be ms.piggy@....

Don, who was clueless to this hog/pig conversation, emails the next day suggesting a "pizza pig out" before the next dance. Does he have ESP or what? Ha!!!

Don then played with donhog@... , or retiredhog@.....(he's retired) which sounded like he was retired from being a hog, which would never do, so retirednowhog@.... Don also liked mehogtoo and nervanahog. Meanwhile, he has come up with about a million pet names, writing, "Good thing none of ushogs ate the special brownies before having a conversation with otherhogs about this hogname quest. We could have Spielberg do a trilogy about Lordesses & Lords’ of the Zydacohogs."

So, as Don says, "I’mboutallhoggedout." And youallhogs probably are too. 

Hope to see you at a pizzapigout and on the dance floor!!!!!