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Posted September 17th, 2006 in Announcements · Comments off
Art’s Concertina Bar uploaded by Five-Boro Camphone We’ve mentioned Art’s Concertina Bar in Milwaukee here before, but for those (like me) who haven’t yet made the pilgrimage, Flickr user Five-Boro Camphone has a cool photoset taken at the bar. Proudly dubbed the “Only Concertina Bar in the USA”, the walls are lined with mementos and photos featuring the owner, Art Altenburg, his music, and this history of concertina and polka music. The bar also holds Art’s collection of nearly 60 concertinas. There are live bands and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as a “Concertina Jam Session Nite” on Thursdays. Definitely a “must see” for any accordion lovers passing through the Milwaukee area.
Kris Hughes, an accordion teacher in Edinburgh, Scotland, has just started a new blog called BoxTeacher, where she shares her experiences and challenges as a teacher and invites students from all over the world to ask her for advice. Kris has been teaching the piano accordion for over 20 years and, though she’s played in several folk and ceilidh bands over the years, her first love is clearly working with students.
In his first entry, she talks about her lessons with a couple of longtime pupils and it’s fascinating to see how she helps each overcome their musical obstacles, whether it’s mastering a tricky rhythm or trying to find the right feel for a particular piece. If you’re an accordion student looking for guidance, but you can’t find a local teacher, I’d highly recommend checking in with Kris.
Is it just me, or is YouTube the best thing ever? I mean, where else would I have found this video of the Jabara Sisters, a female Japanese accordion duo performing a traditional Romanian tune in what looks like someone’s grandmother’s living room? If enjoy this clip, check out another one of them doing a klezmer tune with one sister playing the pianica (melodica).
Posted September 14th, 2006 in Japanese, Videos · Comments off
Dubbed “El Hurac?n del Valle” (“The Hurricane of the Valley”) due to his lightning-fast playing, Narciso Mart?nez is considered “the father of Texas Mexican conjunto.” Mart?nez grew up outside Brownsville, Texas, and was eventually drawn to the accordion music played in the Rio Grande Valley. After taking up the accordion in 1928, he moved to Bishop, where he became steeped in the accordion-playing traditions of local Czech and German immigrants. His pioneering innovation was in the way he focused entirely on right-hand melody (trills, cross-row runs, and vibrato) and left the rhythm and bass to his excellent bajo sexto player, Santiago Almeida. Their style and sound became the blueprint for the generations of conjunto musicians who followed.
Opening your own small business can be incredibly challenging; even more so if your business is in the underappreciated field of accordion repair. Fortunately Skyler Fell, who runs the Accordion Apocalypse Repair Shop in San Francisco, is up to the challenge.
Skyler started out as an apprentice at Boaz Accordions in Berkeley (where I bought my used Weltmeister) and, after they closed, opened her own shop in an Oakland garage before moving to a warehouse studio in Hunter’s Point earlier this year. There, she rebuilds and repairs old accordions, sells accordions, books, sheet music, cases, and stands, and dispenses free accordion advice to all. The San Francisco Examiner recently profiled Skyler and she talked about her passion for old, hand-built instruments:
“It’s really a rich history, and I feel blessed to be carrying the new torch… I really like these older accordions. They’re from the 1940s. Each accordion has so much chutzpah, charm and personality.”
In addition to selling and repairing accordions, Skyler hosts a monthly music jam/potluck at her shop; the next one is this Sunday at 7pm. Accordionists are especially encouraged to attend, but all instruments are welcome. Kielbasia, San Francisco’s favorite Accordion-Playing Drag Lunch Lady, will make a special guest appearance at 8pm. Check the Accordion Apocalypse site for directions and more info.
Want to help a prospective accordionist? Then head over to Yahoo! Answers and check out this question posted earlier today:
“How hard is it to play the accordion? I’m thinking I might want to learn. I think it is such a neat instrument. Is it expensive? Hard to learn?”
Yahoo! Answers is a place where you can ask questions on any topic and get answers from other users; you can also help people out by answering their questions. (Unfortunately, so far, the answers to this question are pretty bad.) So step up, lend your squeezebox expertise, and help a potential player in need of guidance.
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:
Bernadette Machado wrote in to let us know that her band, Bernadette and the Element, is looking for an accordionist. They play new onda Tejana-style music and traditional conjunto. If you’re interested, you can contact her at bernadetteandtheelement@yahoo.com. You can also check out her band this Saturday at the Moose Lodge on Mount Pleasant Road in San Jose, CA, where they’ll be playing at the 16 de Septiembre dance.
North End MusicAnna and I just got back from a long weekend in Boston, where we enjoyed plenty of great Italian food, coffee, and hospitality in Boston’s North End. We also ran into a few accordionists in the neighborhood, including this guy who was playing on Hanover Street this morning. We tossed a couple dollars in his case and remind our readers to do the same whenever you see another accordionist busking. Support your fellow squeezers!
Bay Area accordion legend 