One of the acts we caught last weekend at Smythe’s Accordion Festival was the incomparable Duckmandu, aka Aaron Seeman. Despite recently injuring his rotator cuff (he passed around a handout illustrating the injury), he played an excellent set, including one-of-a-kind solo accordion renditions of “Highway to Hell” (complete with flames shooting out of his Donald Duck hat) and “Rocky Mountain High”.

Duckmandu is probably best known for his album, Fresh Duck for Rotting Accordionists, a solo accordion version of the first Dead Kennedys album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Anyone who’s familiar with the original knows that a note-for-note recreation is no easy feat (especially on accordion), but he manages to pull it off. Original Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Fluoride even sings backup on a few tracks. Check out his cover of “California Uber Alles”:

Duckmandu: California Uber Alles (MP3 download)

Bay Area accordion legend Big Lou and her Polka Casserole have just put out their third album, Doctors of Polka-Ology. We’ve been listening to it constantly since we got our copy and, if variety is the spice of life, this is the spiciest polka album out there. It features a heady mix of originals, classics, Norte?o, French, Austrian and Finnish polkas and waltzes. There’s also a slew of guest stars rounding out the sound, contributing vocals, trumpet, tuba, bass clarinet, viola da gamba, sitar, and more.

The last Big Lou’s Polka Casserole album, Dogs Playing Polka, recently earned nominations in the Just Plain Folks Music Awards for Best Polka Album and Best Polka Song (for “Is Anything Better Than Beer”). And if you haven’t read our exclusive interview with Big Lou, now would be the perfect time to check it out!

Big Lou’s Polka Casserole will be performing this Friday, September 15, at Schroeder’s German Restaurant in San Francisco for the CD release party of Doctors of Polka-Ology. The party runs from 6pm to 9pm and there’ll be plenty of beer, schnitzel, and polka dancing (lessons courtesy of the Golden Gate Bavarian Club) to go around. Anna and I will be there, too, so come say ‘hi’ and we’ll give you some Let’s Polka stickers.

In the meantime, enjoy this Big Lou original from the new album:

Big Lou’s Polka Casserole: Never a Dull Moment (MP3 sample)

We’re big fans of Dan “Daddy Squeeze” Newton’s Cafe Accordion Orchestra, a Minneapolis-based band that (as their name suggests) evokes the sounds of French cafe music, but with shades of Latin, swing, and gypsy mixed in as well. They’ve just put out their 6th album, Cinema — a collection of songs featured in films from the 1920’s through today, including tunes from The Third Man, Singin’ in the Rain, and Kill Bill Volume 2.

If you’re in the Minneapolis area, you can catch the Cafe Accordion Orchestra performing music from their new album live tomorrow night at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul (home of the Prairie Home Companion). Otherwise, check out sample clips (like the one below) on their site.

Cafe Accordion Orchestra: Harry Lime’s Theme (MP3 sample)

Years ago, Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp worked together as repairmen at Hohner’s warehouse in Richmond, VA, fixing accordions and marveling at the strange instruments that crossed their paths. Today, the duo puts many of those offbeat instruments — including the claviola, vocoder, glockenspiel, and accordion — to work in the music they create together as One Ring Zero. Often categorized as “lit rock”, the band is best known for the critically acclaimed album As Smart as We Are, which was a combination book/CD featuring their music combined with lyrics contributed by authors like Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Neil Gaiman, and many more.

Their latest album, Wake Them Up, comes out today and includes songs about Siamese twins, marching mannequins, and decrepit trailer parks over music that’s alternatingly haunting and enchanting (and sometimes both at the same time). I highly recommend checking out The Morning News profile of the band, written around the time that As Smart as We Are came out (mid 2004).

If you’re in New York next week, you can catch the One Ring Zero’s CD release party for Wake Them Up at Joe’s Pub on Thursday, September 7th. In the meantime, enjoy this track from one of their earlier albums, Memorandum:

One Ring Zero: Stop Metric Madness (MP3 download)

Rock and roll had Elvis. Polka had Li’l Wally Jagiello, pioneer of the Chicago-style polka, who passed away yesterday at the age of 76. The son of Polish immigrants, Li’l Wally was a self-taught drummer and concertina player who revolutionized polka music by taking the frantic pace of traditional polka and slowing it down. In Charles Keil’s book Polka Happiness, Li’l Wally explained his approach:

“You see, a polka was never supposed to be played fast. If you play it fast, you modernize it. I went to Europe, all different villages. I never heard a fast polka there. So why should I hear a fast polka here? My beat is more ethnic. They used to tell me this is too slow… Actually, it’s not slow. It’s a bouncy beat, but not fast… Eastern style may be musicians’ music, but I don’t play for musicians, I play for the public. The public wants to hear melody, lyrics. They want to hear a song with a simple, real pretty story behind it that they can dance to. Real bouncy.”

Li’l Wally promoted his music tirelessly with live shows (as a trio — trumpet, concertina, and Wally on drums), a morning radio show, and his own record company, Jay Jay records. He wrote over 2000 songs — including his hits “Wish I Was Single Again”, “Chicago Is a Polka Town”, and “She Likes Kielbasa” — and during his 1950s heyday, he recorded between ten and twelve albums a year. Unlike most bandleaders, Li’l Wally eschewed sheet music; instead, he wanted his musicians to have room for improvisation and focus on their most important job: pleasing the audience.

One of the charter members of the Polka Hall of Fame (along with Frankie Yankovic), Li’l Wally was a polka legend and he will be sorely missed. To learn more about his life, check out this excellent in-depth feature from the Miami New Times, written in 1999. And make sure to drink a beer (or two) for Wally tonight.

Li’l Wally: In Heaven There is No Beer (MP3 sample)

This week, Anna and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine and as soon as the movie started I recognized the sound of one of my new favorite bands, DeVotchKa. It turns out DeVotchKa teamed with composer Mychael Danna to do most of the film’s soundtrack and their lush, dreamy sound adds the perfect backdrop to an already charming movie.

Devotchka is a Denver-based quartet with a smart, unique sound that crosses borders. Sometimes billed as Eastern European indie rock, the band blends gypsy, folk, mariachi, and rock influences effortlessly. No instrument is off limits, either: violin, sousaphone, trumpet, double bass, theramin, bouzouki, and, of course, the accordion (played by Tom Hagerman) all take turns on center stage. Meanwhile, frontman Nick Urata’s haunting voice soars above it all.

Their latest EP, Curse Your Little Heart is an eclectic mix of covers ranging from Frank Sinatra (“Something Stupid”) to Siouxsie and the Banshees (“The Last Beat of My Heart”). The Denver-based band is currently on a West Coast tour and are playing in Seattle tonight and San Francisco and Los Angeles next week. Their live show sounds like a blast, so catch them if you can.

Devotchka: How It Ends (MP3 download)

Little Miss Sunshine: Trailer

Few people have done more to promote the accordion than Anthony Galla-Rini. Born into a musical family, Galla-Rini started playing accordion when he was seven and, after years on the vaudeville circuit, opened his own accordion studio in San Francisco. Devoted to the serious and classical study of the accordion, he wrote hundreds of arrangements, published his own method books, and in 1941, composed his first accordion concerto which he performed with the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. A recognized virtuoso, Galla-Rini toured the world, giving concerts and solo recitals, and played on numerous movie soundtracks (High Noon, Laura).

Since 1990, Galla-Rini has held an annual summer accordion camp where he leads workshops and conducts ensemble pieces. Nearly fifty musicians from around the world have registered for this year’s camp, which will be held at the Dominican University in San Rafael starting on Sunday, July 23rd. The maestro is still going strong at 102 (!!!), but won’t be attending this year; instead, Bay Area teacher/accordionist Joe Smiell will direct the camp.

Galla-Rini’s solo recordings are hard to find, but here’s a track that was included on the 1995 compilation, Legends of the Accordion:

Liebesfreud (MP3 download)

If you’ve jumped on the podcast bandwagon and are looking for a good accordion show, check out Accordion Crimes Radio (not related to Annie Proulx’s book, Accordion Crimes). Hosted by Portland accordionist Mike Danner of Trashcan Joe, each episode features Mike sitting down with a different musician, chatting and recording a bunch of songs (with Mike on accordion). The music’s great and the attitude is laid-back — like a front porch jam session. You can listen and subscribe through Mike’s site or via iTunes.

Jo Basile (also known as Joss Baselli) was one of France’s most popular accordionists in the 1950s and 60s. Rising to fame as the principal accompanist to French chanteuse Patachou, Basile later put out his own records as well. Some were formulaic (Rome with Love, Rio with Love… I think you’re getting the picture), but others (like his album with Brazilian jazz legends Bossa Tres) show what a virtuoso he really was.

Accordeon 2000 was a departure for Basile — an album full of futuristic originals with bizarre titles like “Pas de Camembert sur la Lune” and “Galaxie Valse.” Recorded with an electronic Cavagnolo Majorvox accordion, the resulting sound is far more like an organ than accordion, and helps creates a groovy, spaced-out vibe. Picture yourself in a flying car while listening to this track from Accordeon 2000:

Missile a Domicile (MP3 download)

[Found via Whoops]