When you were a kid, did you ever spend a Saturday trying to set the Guinness World Record for “Longest Time Balancing a Broom on Your Chin”? Okay, maybe that was just me. But this past Thursday, aspiring record holders around the world attempted everything from Largest Tea Party to Most Rattlesnakes Held in Mouth during Guinness World Records Day.
Buried deep in news stories about the event, though, was a line about someone in Dublin, Ireland, attempting to become the world’s fastest accordion player. I haven’t been able to track down much information about the attempt other than the photo above, and that the attempt took place at an Eason’s bookstore. Anyone know who this guy is? And how exactly do you measure such a feat? Most notes per minute? Do you have to play a particular song or can you just flail aimlessly? Is it easier to play fast on a button box or a piano accordion? So many questions!
Classic Texas Accordion uploaded by -DonsWhile I can’t to make it to this year’s Wurstfest, I can live vicariously through this excellent slideshow I found on Flickr. For a minute, I thought I was actually in New Braunfels, TX — listening to the accordions and tubas, watching the dancers in their authentic German garb, and eating all of that tasty, tasty sausage. Mmm…
This Friday and Saturday is the 9th annual NE Accordion Festival in Minneapolis, MN (the “NE” stands for “NorthEast” Minneapolis). This two-day festival has it all: concerts, workshops, jams, dances, and a massed band event (called the “Squeez-in Orchestra”) in which all attendees, regardless of skill level, are invited to participate. Performers include Twin Cities favorites Dan Newton, Machinery Hill, Hank Thunander, Orkestar Bez Ime, and many more. There’ll be a festival preview Friday morning on KFAI Radio in Minneapolis, so even if you can’t make it to the festival you can still listen online.
Posted November 8th, 2006 in Events · Comments off
The 2006 Latin Grammy Awards were held last Thursday in New York and a handful of accordion-toting artists walked away with awards. A few of the highlights:
Julieta Venegas One of our recent favorites, Julieta won Best Alternative Album for Limon y Sal. She was also nominated for Album and Record of the Year, but lost to hip-shaker extraordinaire Shakira. Julieta Venegas: Me Voy (video)
Los Tigres Del Norte The Mexican music legends (and fellow Bay Area residents) took home the award for Best Norteño Album for Historias Que Contar. This is the first track off that album: Los Tigres del Norte: Señor Locutor (MP3 download)
Los Hermanos Zuleta The sons of Emiliano Zuleta (the “King of Vallenato”) won Best Cumbia/Vallenato Album for Cien DÃas De Bohemia. This track isn’t from that album, but don’t hold that against me: Los Hermanos Zuleta: Mi Hermano y Yo (MP3 download)
I don’t know where to begin with this one — it’s a video for a Slovenian (I think) group named Skuter. The song is called “Na Pomoc” and can best be described as cheesy polka-pop, featuring accordion and synthesizer melodies over a thumping 2/4 beat. The video, though, takes a page straight out of the hip-hop video playbook — a pool party with bikini babes gyrating around fancy cars — but adds a twist in the form of… tractors. Yup, tractors.
A handful of Let’s Polka stickers to anyone who can provide a English translation of the lyrics, or just explain what the hell is going on here.
When it started in 1961, Wurstfest was a small, one-day affair. It capped a week where the restaurants and meat markets of New Braunfels, Texas showcased the sausage-making techniques their ancestors brought from Germany over 100 years earlier.
Today, Wurstfest is more than just a sausage festival. Drawing over 100,000 people from around the world, Wurstfest lasts ten days and pays homage to all things German: the food, the music, and the culture. Naturally, amidst the sausages, strudels, and beer, there’ll be plenty of accordion and polka music (and dancing). Featured performers include 15-time Grammy winner Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra, the Al Meixner Trio, the Seven Dutchmen Orchestra, Die Schlauberger, Alpenfest, and many more.
Wurstfest kicks off tomorrow and the official “biting of the sausages” will take place at 5pm. Good Morning America will be doing a live preview of the festival early tomorrow morning though, be warned, it’ll probably make you hungry for pigs in a blanket.
While I spent my Halloween stumbling around as a drunken Santa Claus, Anna was playing accordion at her library’s Halloween party. The video may not win any MTV awards, but I love how her co-workers really get into the chorus of “Roll Out the Barrel”…
There are only a handful of American cities that you could honestly call “accordion hotspots”; places like Cleveland, San Antonio, or Lafayette, for example. But if Hoosier Squeeze is any indication, the number might be on the rise.
Founded in 2000, Hoosier Squeeze is a group of passionate accordionists in the Bloomington, Indiana area whose goal is to “promote the current renaissance of the sublime accordion.”
Led by Sophia Travis (who moonlights as President of the Monroe County Council) and made up of accordionists of all skill levels, the group meets regularly to play and share music. They’ve performed at numerous community events and even sponsored an accordion workshop last month at Bloomington’s annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.
With Hoosier Squeeze’s help, it sounds like Bloomington is well on its way to becoming one of those famous accordion hotspots…
Always wanted to write and record your own album, but find yourself scared away by the time and effort involved? NaSoAlMo (National Solo Album Month) is for you. Inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) — an annual event where aspiring writers attempt to write a novel in just thirty days — the idea behind NaSoAlMo is to let loose, silence your internal critic, and just do it.
The rules are pretty simple: albums should be at least 29:09 long (same as the first Ramones album) and, like that album, can include one cover song. Anyone who finishes their album by November 30 is a winner. Anna is taking part in this year’s NaSoAlMo and has already started work on a couple tunes today, so hopefully we’ll have an album of original accordion music to share by the end of the month. Go Anna go!
Want to build a kickin’ polka collection overnight? Or just want to add some new tunes to your existing library? I’ve found a few eBay auctions that fans of polka vinyl might enjoy:
30 Different Used Polka LPs A collection of 30 LPs, including multiple titles by Marion Lush, Eddie Blazonczyk, and Happy Louie. Ends Wednesday.
Lot of 65 Midwest Polka LPs If you’re a Midwestern polka fan, this might be the mother lode: 65 polka albums from hard-to-find Minneapolis-based labels. Includes tongue-twisting artists like Matt Vorderbruggen, the Chmielewski Brothers, and the Deutschmeisters. Ends Thursday.
Lot of 20 Polish Polka 45 Records Prefer 45s? This is a lot of 20 Polish polka singles “straight from Hamtramck” (apparently they belonged to a bar owner there). Includes records by Frank Yankovic, Gene Wisniewski, and Lil’ Wally. Ends Wednesday.
So dust off your old turntable and start bidding! And if you win one of these auctions, be sure to invite us to the listening party.
Posted October 31st, 2006 in eBay, Polka · Comments off
When you were a kid, did you ever spend a Saturday trying to set the Guinness World Record for “Longest Time Balancing a Broom on Your Chin”? Okay, maybe that was just me. But this past Thursday, aspiring record holders around the world attempted everything from Largest Tea Party to Most Rattlesnakes Held in Mouth during Guinness World Records Day.
When it started in 1961, 
There are only a handful of American cities that you could honestly call “accordion hotspots”; places like Cleveland, San Antonio, or Lafayette, for example. But if 