• All About Jazz: Accordion Three-Fer
  All About Jazz reviews three recent jazz accordion releases by Angelo DeBarre/Ludovic Beier (Paroles de Swing), Lola de Valance (Eaux Troublés), and Richard Galliano (If You Love Me (L’Hymne à L’Amour)).
• Idi Amin Playing Accordion
  After The Last King of Scotland was released, I read how Forest Whitaker learned to play accordion as he prepared for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. But, until now, I’d never actually seen a clip of Amin playing. (Probably not the ideal poster boy for the accordion, though…)
• How Being ‘There’ at Right Time Paid Off for State Farm Musicians
  The Monkees have nothing on the made-for-TV band Los Felinos de la Noche. Advertising Age tells the story of how they met during the filming of a State Farm commercial and became a successful, touring band.

Today’s links are sponsored by the great state of Texas, home of Flaco Jimenez, Brave Combo, and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

• Big Squeeze Semifinals Video
  Fox 7 in Austin did a short piece on the semifinals of Texas Folklife’s “Big Squeeze” competition, held in Austin on Sunday. The two finalists will face off at the Accordion Kings and Queens concert in Houston next month.
• Tejano Conjunto Festival Photos
  Flickr user thegiantagave has a great set of photos from last weekend’s Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio, including shots of Eva Ybarra, Mingo Saldivar, and Santiago Jimenez, Jr.
• PopMatters Review: Joe Ely and Joel Guzman
  PopMatters reviews Live Cactus! a new, live release by a pair of Texas music legends — Joe Ely and accordionist Joel Guzman. The review includes a blurry video of the pair performing “Letter to Laredo” at Town Hall in New York City.

One of the benefits of having a MySpace page for Let’s Polka is it helps us keep tabs on tons of artists that might otherwise fly under our radar. Here’s are a few that have recently caught our ear:

• Piñata Protest
  We’ve seen a few punk/polka bands, even some punk/zydeco, but San Antonio’s Piñata Protest is the first punk/Tejano band we’ve come across. An answer to the traditional Tejano music its members grew up hating, this is what would happen “if Ramon Ayala and Sid Vicious had a baby.”
• Amber Lee and the Anomalies
  Accordionist Amber Lee Baker, accompanied by banjo and fiddle, sings of rodeo clowns and whaler’s wives while leading this charming acoustic group from Anna’s old stomping grounds (Santa Rosa, CA). Their debut CD, Estuaries, is due out next month.
• Accordion Death Squad
  Armed with an excellent name, the Accordion Death Squad plays “gypsy music from Ratsylvania,” which is apparently near Charlottesville, Virginia. Swirling accordion and violin guaranteed to keep you dancing.

Are you in a band we need to hear? Add us on MySpace.

No matter how many times the accordion is counted out, it just keeps coming back. Here are some recent articles highlighting the brave souls who just can’t stop squeezing.

• Still Squeezing By (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
  Part of the Journal-Sentinel’s “Vanishing Wisconsin” series — a look at Wisconsin traditions on the verge of disappearing — this piece focuses on the Milwaukee Accordion Club’s efforts to keep the accordion alive. “The accordion is a secret handshake,” says Don Turner, 43, a board member for the club. “If you play accordion, and someone else plays, well, you’ll help one another.”
• Accordion Revival (Calgary Herald)
  North of the border, the Accordion Association of Calgary promotes accordion awareness and provides a venue for performers young and old. According to Association president Beverly Fess: “The last five-plus years we’ve seen a steady increase in people picking up the accordion. It’s seen more use with more young people picking it up and not just adults that have had it in the closet.”
• Putting the Squeeze On (Prague Post)
  Even in the Czech Republic, the accordion had been pushed out of music schools and concert halls by the communists. But the tide is turning, as evidenced by the return of the European Accordion Festival to Prague late last month. According to the article, “at least 70 percent of festival participants are under 16 years old, suggesting a widespread and growing interest in the accordion among adolescents and young adults.” Watch out — the next generation of accordionists are on their way!

• Weltmeister Accordion Factory
  In this excerpt from Steve Mobia’s accordion documentary, Behind the Bellows, our friend Kimric Smythe visits the Weltmeister factory in Germany and gets a fascinating look at accordion production.
• Accordion All-Stars at NAA 2008 Convention
  Missed the National Accordion Association’s recent convention in Texas? Luckily for us, YouTube user limbery has uploaded several videos of the event, including this jam by the Accordion All-Star band.
• Russian Skydiving Bayan Player
  How do you combine your love of skydiving with your love of the accordion? By doing both at once, of course! Or maybe this is an elite Russian commando unit that parachutes into hostile territories and subdues them with accordion music…

After posting about the mysterious pianaccord earlier this week, I ran across some more examples of cutting-edge accordion technology:

• Roland FR-2 V-Accordion
  Roland unveiled their latest MIDI accordions, the FR-2 and FR-2b, at last month’s NAMM Show in Anaheim. Their biggest advantage over other Roland digital accordions is weight — each are about 10 lbs. lighter than the FR-7.
• South Branch Inventor Presents Twinkling Accordion
  Newfoundlander Wallace Gale has modified his Hohner Corona so that each time a button is pressed, a corresponding light illuminates. Much cooler than the battery-powered Christmas lights I used to attach to my accordion.
• Big Accordion Worked With Pedals
  Reader S.A. Heistand pointed out this possible precursor to the pianaccord — shown here in a December 1933 issue of Popular Science. It’s basically an accordion set up so you can play while sitting down and manipulate the bellows using foot pedals.

Maybe it’s a testament to the joy they spread, but newspapers love talking about accordion players. It seems like I stumble across a glowing feature on a local accordionist almost every day. Here are a few I found this week:

• Steve Albini and the Accordion: That’s Amoré
  The Marin Independent Journal profiles Steve Albini, a singer/accordionist with a penchant for Italian tunes. After a brief career detour (he joined the priesthood), Albini now plays clubs and restaurants throughout the Bay Area.
• Musician Played for a Hungry Crowd
  Unfortunately, some of the profiles are obituaries, as is the case with this tribute to Barto Ungaretti, a popular strolling accordionist at the Italian Village restaurant in Chicago. Regulars would often request him to come in and play even on his nights off. “We’d always rev him up, give him a little more amaretto… Especially on those cold nights.”
• It’s Happy Music
  Elba, Nebraska, recently held it’s annual “Kolache Shoot-Out” and where there are kolaches, there’s polka music. The soundtrack was provided by the Friends Czech Band, featuring 75-year-old Eddie Stepanek on accordion.

This edition of “Quick Links” is focused entirely on the future — some young accordionists making their mark on the music world.

• Kalei Dodson
  Kalei is a 9-year-old up-and-coming conjunto accordionist who has already played with the likes of Joel Guzman, Los Padrinos, Los Texmaniacs, and more. Check out a video of Kalei jamming at home.
• Phillip Nadvesnik
  Phillip is a young accordionist and polka enthusiast from Melbourne, Australia, who even runs his own online polka radio show. Again, check YouTube for videos of Philip in action.
• Hunter Hayes
  Hunter is a 16-year-old Cajun singer/songwriter/accordionist. Hunter is probably best known for this performance with Hank Williams Jr. back when he was just five years old.

A tireless promoter of Slovenian culture and button accordion music, Frank Vidergar passed away late last month. Vidergar started the Far West Button Accordion Jamboree, an event that drew hundreds of button accordionists to Fontana, CA, every year for a weekend of spirited music and dancing. The Jamboree recently evolved into the National Button Accordion Festival, now held on Memorial Day weekend in Yukon, OK.

• In the Fontana Herald-News, Philip Rue remembers a past Jamboree where Vidergar “directed a patriotic program as 30 accordions and button boxes en masse played ‘God Bless America’ with the audience singing along.”
• The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin has an excellent article on Vidergar’s life, focusing on his Slovenian roots and dedication to the community
• Accordion USA also has a nice memorial to Frank Vidergar

• Everybody Must Polka When Brave Combo Comes to Town
  Carl Finch of Brave Combo lists five polka albums which “helped shape the face of polka in this country.” In addition to classic albums by Scrubby and the Dynatones, Steve Jordan, and Happy Louie, his list of essential polka artists ranges from the Connecticut Twins to Polkacide.
• Tony Loved to Learn
  A new children’s picture book on the life of master accordionist and teacher Anthony Galla-Rini, who passed away in 2006. Written by Sharon Riddle and Nancy Sanders.
• Accordion Noir: Best of 2007
  Vancouver’s finest all-accordion radio show celebrates its first year with a recap of their 2007 favorites. The perfect soundtrack for a long winter’s night, you can download the shows directly from their website.