This month’s issue of Keyboard Magazine has an excellent profile of one of our favorite polka artists: Big Lou, the Accordion Princess. The piece covers her double life as a geophysicist/accordionist, her squeezebox arsenal, and how she made the transition from Texas honky-tonk piano player to polka princess:
“The only thing that a piano player has to pay attention to is phrasing, or breathing [compressing and expanding the bellows]. That’s kind of a sure giveaway when accordion players listen to piano players who don’t really learn how to play the accordion.”
To learn more about Big Lou, be sure to check out our interview with her (conducted in late 2006). You can also catch her weekly radio show online at 247PolkaHeaven.
The future of the accordion is now; at least, it is for these young accordion bands readers sent us after our post on a kids accordion band photo from the 1930s. Each of these bands is helping promote the accordion to a whole new generation.
Showstoppers Accordion Orchestra and Dancers Founded in 1970 and led by Rosita Lee Latulippe, the Showstoppers Orchestra give the students of the Latulippe’s music school the opportunity to travel and perform. Over the years, the band has performed across the country and even overseas; last year, they performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage during the Coupe Mondiale.
Tameside Junior Accordion Band Founded in 1992 by Betty Pollard, teaching and instruments are free for members of the Tameside Band, supporting their philosophy that money shouldn’t prevent children from learning music. The Band won the elementary group championship at this year’s UK Accordion Championships.
Cool Cats Accordion Band The Cool Cats are part of Terry Bell’s accordion and keyboard studio (United Teachers of Music) in Independence, Missouri. Playing everything from Bach to boogie, some of the band’s alumni have gone on to compete nationally and internationally.
I’m sure there are plenty of other young accordion bands and orchestras out there. If we left yours out, leave us a comment and let us know.
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.
If you live in L.A. and play the accordion, there’s a good chance you’ve been to Dave’s Accordion School. Located in Atwater Village, Dave’s has been offering accordion lessons and repairs since 1971. Run by Dave Caballero and his wife Veronika, the pair met years ago when Veronika wandered into the shop looking for accordion lessons. (Three children and three grandchildren later, I guess you could say the lessons went well.) Here’s a nice video profile of Dave’s Accordion School put together by a USC School of Journalism student.
They say everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day; at the very least, I hope everyone gets to hear a little Irish music today. If you aren’t headed to one of the Irish-themed events on our calendar or in your area, here are a few Irish accordionists who can provide the soundtrack to your day:
Joe Burke
Hailing from East Galway, Burke sparked a revival of interest in Irish accordion music in the early 1960s. Influenced by early players like Paddy O’Brien and Joe Cooley, Burke’s masterful playing, live performances, and charm have established him as a living legend of Irish music. Joe Burke: The Morning Mistmp3
Sharon Shannon
Sharon is a traditional musician in the loosest sense of the word; her influences are all ‘traditional’ but from various parts of the globe. Incorporating Portuguese, French Canadian, and Scottish influences, her 1991 debut album is the best-selling traditional Irish music album ever. Sharon Shannon: Blackbirdmp3
Joe Derrane
Born in Boston to Irish immigrant parents, Joe Derrane recorded a series of 78rpm records in the late 1940s that stunned the Irish music world with their unique styling, power, and flawless technique. After a 40-year hiatus from the button box, Derrane is again wowing audiences and received an NEA National Heritage Fellow award in 2004.
The South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival kicked off in Austin today and, with hundreds of artists performing at over eighty venues, there are plenty of accordions in the mix. As we’ve done in previousyears, here’s a quick look at some performers that may have flown under your radar:
Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
Not your typical West Coast indie rock band, this Orange County six piece blends a love for 70’s era classic rock with folk and bluegrass, ensuring that the guitars are never far from the accordion, violin, and banjo. Dusty Rhodes and the River Band: Dear Honeymp3
Rana Santacruz
Born in Mexico City and heavily influenced by both folk and alternative music, Santacruz’s music has been labeled by some as “Irish mariachi”, favoring acoustic instruments like the guitar, accordion, and guitarrone. Rana Santacruz: Cajita de Barromp3
1001 Nights Orchestra
Austin’s longest running Middle Eastern music group has a repertoire that stretches from Southwest Asia and the Caucuses in the East to the shores of the Mediterranean in the West, as well as many original compositions. 1001 Nights Orchestra: Neda Voda Nali Valamp3
There are few places where you can hear so many excellent artists in one place, so if you’re anywhere near Austin this week — on your way to the National Accordion Association convention in Richardson, perhaps? — stop in, have a drink, and meet your new favorite band.
I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately about the Felice Brothers, three brothers (and a traveling dice player named Christmas… seriously) from upstate New York who play rough and tumble American roots music. They started out busking in the NYC subway and touring in a “short” school bus, but now they’re wowing critics and drawing comparisons to Dylan, Springsteen, and the Band. Not too shabby for a band whose self-titled debut just came out today.
They may not live up the comparisons yet, but make no mistake, this is honest, hearty, gritty music. You can hear James Felice’s excellent accordion all over their new album; my favorite track is the shuffling “Frankie’s Gun”:
Legendary Cleveland-style polka band leader and accordionist Johnny Vadnal passed away yesterday at the age of 84. Vadnal was the first polka band leader to have his own major market television show, performing every Sunday afternoon on WEWS Channel 5 in Cleveland from 1949 to 1961. In 1949, Vadnal won the title of “Cleveland’s Polka King” in a vote held by a local radio station.
A prolific songwriter, Vadnal penned such polka classics as “Yes, My Dear”, “No Beer on Sunday”, “Wayside Polka” and many others. Here’s Johnny and his band performing one of his later hits — written for his wife — “My Alice Waltz”:
Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern have long been in the vanguard of contemporary accordion music; Klucevsek with his background in classical and (often whimsical) avant-garde music and Bern with his work in world music, particularly the jazz/klezmer ensemble Brave Old World. Last year, the pair released their second album together, Notefalls; I don’t have it yet, but I’ve long been a fan of their 2001 release, Accordance. In a recent interview, Klucevsek explains his attraction to the sound of accordions playing together:
“The accordions are never exactly in tune with each other. It’s a little raw and — I don’t know if ugly’s the right word — a little dirty… It’s always going to have a little bit of dirt on it when you have more than one accordion, and the dirt in music is what I really find interesting.”
Klucevsek and Bern will be playing a handful of shows together on the East Coast over the next two weeks, starting with a performance in Philadelphia on Friday night. Check our calendar for more information.
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.
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