Want to sound like an honest-to-goodness accordion player, but without all that pesky practice and hard work? Well, check out this accordion built by Hessmuller — it looks like a real button accordion but, in fact, it uses a small mini disc player and speakers to play over 100 Bavarian-German songs (including “Beer Barrel Polka”). Here’s the pitch:
“Have your own Octoberfest! You can convince them all that you are a musical wizard. This is a real button accordion built by Hessmuller of Morgenroethe Saxony (Germany), but instead of the usual reed sets it uses mini discs playing professionally sampled accordion solos of traditional polkas, marches, waltzes, tangos etc. played by real German accordion players… All the player has to do is move the bellows and play the buttons (keys are all functional) convincingly and people will marvel at your skills.”
Of course, becoming a “musical wizard” overnight has its price — typically $1,595 when it pops up on eBay. My advice: save your money and put it towards some accordion lessons. [Found via Squeezytunes]
I scanned in this photo from a recent issue of the University of Nevada-Reno magazine, Silver and Blue. (Thanks Ellen!) The photo was a contribution to UNR’s Oral History Program and is part of a project to tell the story of the influence of Italian Americans on northern Nevada’s history:
“If you were an Italian American growing up in the early to mid-20th century, chances are that you or a sibling or one of your friends was forced to play the accordion. So it was for 9-year-old Al Lazzarone, seen here (third row, third from left) playing with a band in Sacramento in 1932.”
Looking at this young accordion army, I’d like to think that they were the Those Darn Accordions or Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra of their day. What was their repertoire like? Did any of them go on to accordion stardom? How many of them kept playing later in life? So many questions…
Tucson band Calexico has built up a loyal following over the years, based on a unique, expansive sound that runs the gamut from mariachi to bluegrass to jazz and a few stops in-between. Their latest album, Garden Ruin, though, is a big departure from that sound, and sounds heavily influenced by their recent work with Sam Beam (Iron & Wine). Tired of being pigeonholed, Calexico singer/guitarist/accordionist Joey Burns talked to the SF Chronicle about the evolution of the “Calexico sound,” and how the nuances and subtleties of that sound have been lost on some people over the years:
“Here in the States we’ve been written off in reviews as white guys playing mariachi music… people don’t hear the Portuguese fado influence, or the Gypsy influence, or how the use of the accordion relates to Eastern Europe.”
If you’re in the Bay Area, you can catch up with Calexico tonight and tomorrow at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Otherwise, check out a minute-long snippet of “Praskovia”, a track from Calexico’s 2004 EP Convict Pool that prominently features Burns’ accordion:
It seems like every profession or industry these days has an annual convention in Vegas, and accordionists are no different. The Las Vegas International Accordion Convention runs from June 26 to June 29 at the Gold Coast Casino & Hotel. If you can manage to pull yourself away from the craps table, you’ll enjoy three full days of entertainment, special events, and workshops on topics as wide-ranging as “Bellows Shakes,” “Digital Accordion Voicing,” and “Slovenian Polka Styles.” There’s also a dinner/concert each evening during the convention — headliners include Art Van Damme and Dick Contino. And don’t forget all the opportunities to network with fellow accordion players from around the world. That’s priceless!
Well, actually, there is a price: $435 for individuals, $765 for couples, which includes all daily events, meals, and evening concerts (not including hotel). If you still need some convincing, check out some photos from last year and previous years.
Are your kids tired of the same old clown-and-pony show? Then check out San Francisco accordion player Enzo Garcia, who’s available for birthday parties and bills himself as “cheaper than a clown, cleaner than a pony.” He also holds a weekly “Breakfast with Enzo” (bring your own breakfast) every Saturday morning at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center in San Francisco, where he plays classic and original songs for children and their families.
In addition to performing professionally, Enzo’s been teaching music and movement to toddlers for the last few years. One of my coworkers takes his kids to see Enzo regularly (and even hired him for a birthday party) and raves that “he totally rocks!” So check out some samples and then let your neighbor know you won’t need his magic act this year:
Frank Cerebino wrote a great piece referencing Accordion Awareness Month in his blog for the Palm Beach Post. At first, I thought it was just going to be another excuse to make bad accordion jokes, but he instead writes about how he played as a youngster, abandoned the instrument, and then unexpectedly picked it up again after 25 years. Frank was lured back by his “accidental discoveries” of the instrument’s beauty, like strolling accordions in cafes, Yann Tiersen’s beautiful Amelie soundtrack, and the powerful tangos of Astor Piazzolla.
The whole piece is worth reading, but I wanted to share a fantastic Carl Sandburg poem he quoted. It’s called “Happiness” and was first published in Sandburg’s Chicago Poems in 1916:
I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work ofthousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though I was trying to fool with them
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.
Amen, Carl!
Posted June 10th, 2006 in News, Poetry · Comments off
After Lordi’s Eurovision 2006 victory, I’ve jumped head-first into the Finnish metal scene. I’ve grown my hair long, invited friends over for animal sacrifices… you know, the usual stuff. During my conversion, I stumbled across Korpiklaani, another Finnish metal band, but with fewer theatrics and more folk flavor than Lordi. Korpiklaani mixes a healthy dose of accordion and fiddle in their head banging music, as evidenced in this video for “Hunting Song” (from their “Voice of Wilderness” album).
I’d love to find more hard rock/metal bands that incorporate the accordion — leave a comment if you have any good ones to share.
Watch out ladies, Dick Contino, the “world’s most handsome accordion player,” is on the prowl. Contino performed in Chicago last night and the local CBS affiliate did a segment on him titled “Accordion-Playing Hunk Pushes The Right Buttons”. Seriously. Watch the accompanying video and listen to Dick talk about being an original “American Idol” and how Colonel Tom Parker used his moves to coach Elvis.
In related Dick Contino news, Anna and I recently received a VHS copy of his movie, “Daddy-O”, as a wedding gift. That’s right — the same film that was once featured, and mocked mercilessly, on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Needless to say, as soon as we can manage to sit through the whole thing, we’ll post our review here.
Even NPR can’t help getting excited about National Accordion Awareness Month. There was a segment on it yesterday during “All Things Considered,” featuring some friendly banter between Tom Torriglia and Gary Sredzienski (whose weekly polka radio show was profiled here previously). They talked about history, people’s reactions to the instrument, and their shared goal of bringing joy to people through the accordion. Check out the full clip here:
Culann’s Hounds at the San Francisco Accordion Festival uploaded by banjoheadIf you felt an earthquake in the Bay Area on Sunday afternoon, it was probably caused by the foot-stomping, booty-shaking good time had by everyone at the 16th annual San Francisco Accordion Festival. Here’s a roundup of audio/visual highlights from the weekend:
“Squeeze Play” is a juicy cover story about the 2006 festival from Sunday’s SF Chronicle Datebook (the pink section), with quotes from local squeezebox luminaries like Tom Torriglia (the festival organizer), Big Lou, and Paul Rogers of TDA. Be sure to check out the accompanying photo gallery, too.
Jan Sluizer from Westwood One Radio did an interview with Tom (MP3, 1.5 MB) at the festival.
Jamin posted a fantastic short video that includes an interview with Skyler of Accordion Apocalypse and some festival performance clips. (I love the shot of all the bemused onlookers watching from above the courtyard.)
Flickr user melastmohican also posted a bunch of festival photos, including shots of TDA, Kielbasia, and Bella Ciao.
I’ll update this list as I find more, but it sure looks like everyone had a fantastic time. Tom deserves a gigantic thank you from the local squeezebox community both for putting the festival together, and for his tireless promotion of accordions everywhere. Thanks Tom!
Want to sound like an honest-to-goodness accordion player, but without all that pesky practice and hard work? Well, check out this accordion built by Hessmuller — it looks like a real button accordion but, in fact, it uses a small mini disc player and speakers to play over 100 Bavarian-German songs (including “Beer Barrel Polka”). Here’s the pitch:
It seems like every profession or industry these days has an annual convention in Vegas, and accordionists are no different. The 
