There’s been an incredible outpouring of emotion in the polka community since polka legend Li’l Wally Jagiello passed away late last week. Here are a few tributes to check out:

• Li’l Wally’s obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times is a well-written remembrance of his life and times; it even includes the full lyrics to the “Go-Go White Sox!” fight song he co-wrote back in 1959 (which was revived during their World Series run last year). There’s also a lengthy obituary in the Chicago Tribune.
• All week long, Cyberpolkas has been doing a nightly online radio tribute to Li’l Wally; they also have a nice collection of photos and links to share.
• Chicago punk/polka band The Polkaholics have some great photos of the gigs they played with Li’l Wally. If you don’t know the story of how Li’l Wally and the Polkaholics got together, check out the documentary chronicling their meeting.
• An online guestbook has been set up where fans can share memories, leave audio messages, and submit photos.
• Scott Simon did a short piece on Wally’s passing on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Also, if anyone out there has any MP3s of Li’l Wally’s music, post a comment and let me know. I’d love to share some of his music here on the site.

With his 12th album due out next month, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and watch Weird Al Yankovic’s first television appearance from way back on April 21, 1981. Armed with only his accordion, his trademark curly hair, and a ridiculously loud pair of pants, he performed his Queen parody “Another One Rides the Bus” on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. Longtime collaborator Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz pitched in by playing Al’s accordion case as a drum.

[Found via Videobomb]

What’s black and white and red all over? The first batch of Let’s Polka stickers! They’re bright, shiny vinyl and they’ll look fantastic on your accordion case, music stand, bumper, laptop, newborn baby, or wherever you enjoy sticking your stickers. Best of all, we’re giving them out absolutely free — all you need to do is tell us a story.

Here’s what you do: Write a comment on this post telling us who or what got you interested in the accordion. Was it the sound of a strolling accordionist at a sidewalk cafe in Paris? An Oktoberfest gone wild? A Weird Al rock and roll polka medley? Tell us your story (be as brief or long-winded as you please) and we’ll follow up via email and send you a handful of stickers. It’s that easy!

And if the stickers weren’t enough, one lucky (randomly-chosen) commenter will also receive a copy of the new Corner Laughers album mentioned earlier today. So what are you waiting for? Get free stuff!

According to their website, The Corner Laughers are “two recovering Catholic school girls who specialize in bouncy, clever, melodic pop songs about evolution, mythology, ancient history, and guys who are jerks.” They also happen to be friends of ours who just put out an excellent new album, Tomb of Leopards. In addition to their trademark knack for catchy melodies and lyrics, the album also features our own Anna playing accordion (and musical saw) on two tracks. (She also did the album artwork.)

Check their site for clips and, if you’re in the Bay Area, you can catch them live tonight at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco as part of International Pop Overthrow 2006.

The Corner Laughers: The Red Queen (MP3 sample)

Earlier this week, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat ran a fun profile of Gino Bagala, an 11-year-old accordionist from Santa Rosa. Gino is passionate about his playing: he practices twice a day, performs in public weekly, and is a member of the Accordion Club of the Redwoods. In his spare time, you can find him surfing eBay for deals on accordion sheet music, listening to Frank Sinatra records, or serenading his dog with the theme song to The Godfather. All of this as he pursues his dream:

“When I grow up, I’d like to be a professional accordion player, own an Italian restaurant and on the side, be a professional wrestler.”

Now that’s a dream. Go for it, Gino!

Rock and roll had Elvis. Polka had Li’l Wally Jagiello, pioneer of the Chicago-style polka, who passed away yesterday at the age of 76. The son of Polish immigrants, Li’l Wally was a self-taught drummer and concertina player who revolutionized polka music by taking the frantic pace of traditional polka and slowing it down. In Charles Keil’s book Polka Happiness, Li’l Wally explained his approach:

“You see, a polka was never supposed to be played fast. If you play it fast, you modernize it. I went to Europe, all different villages. I never heard a fast polka there. So why should I hear a fast polka here? My beat is more ethnic. They used to tell me this is too slow… Actually, it’s not slow. It’s a bouncy beat, but not fast… Eastern style may be musicians’ music, but I don’t play for musicians, I play for the public. The public wants to hear melody, lyrics. They want to hear a song with a simple, real pretty story behind it that they can dance to. Real bouncy.”

Li’l Wally promoted his music tirelessly with live shows (as a trio — trumpet, concertina, and Wally on drums), a morning radio show, and his own record company, Jay Jay records. He wrote over 2000 songs — including his hits “Wish I Was Single Again”, “Chicago Is a Polka Town”, and “She Likes Kielbasa” — and during his 1950s heyday, he recorded between ten and twelve albums a year. Unlike most bandleaders, Li’l Wally eschewed sheet music; instead, he wanted his musicians to have room for improvisation and focus on their most important job: pleasing the audience.

One of the charter members of the Polka Hall of Fame (along with Frankie Yankovic), Li’l Wally was a polka legend and he will be sorely missed. To learn more about his life, check out this excellent in-depth feature from the Miami New Times, written in 1999. And make sure to drink a beer (or two) for Wally tonight.

Li’l Wally: In Heaven There is No Beer (MP3 sample)

At our house, there’s only one holiday more highly anticipated than Christmas, and that’s the Cotati Accordion Festival. This year’s starts on August 26th and features two jam-packed days of music, including performances from Dick Contino, Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, Joel Guzman and Aztex, Polkacide, Those Darn Accordions, Culann’s Hounds, La Familia Pena-Govea, and many more. There’ll also be polka and zydeco dance parties in the polka tent, numerous accordion-related vendors, and the annual “Lady of Spain” ring, including the releasing of the doves.

Tickets are $17 for one day and $25 for both days — but you can get a discount if you buy them in advance. Buy them online at the official site, or in person at Backdoor Disc and Tape in Cotati, People’s Music in Sebastopol and the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa. We’ll definitely be at the festival on Sunday (and possible late on Saturday, too) handing out “Let’s Polka” stickers, so be sure to come up and say ‘hi’!

Remember the good old days when mom and dad would pack you up and send you off to accordion camp? The friendships… the polkas… the poison ivy… ah, the memories!

Well, accordion camp wasn’t part of my childhood, but fortunately, I got a second chance this past Sunday when Anna and I grabbed our accordions and headed across the bay to Crown Beach Park in Alameda for the 2nd annual Camp AccordionLand (see photos). Organized by local accordion teacher Henri Ducharme, the camp promised workshops, jam sessions, and plenty of opportunities for hobnobbing with fellow squeezebox enthusiasts. There were about 30 accordionists there on Sunday, many of whom attended both days.

The day started with campers sharing highlights from Saturday’s festivities (which included an accordion sand sculpture contest) and then we broke up and headed to the first set of workshops: klezmer, jazz, and transcribing tunes. I went to Rob Reich’s klezmer workshop where about 15 of us learned two songs: Ch’sidishe Nigunim and Broyges Tantz. Rob did a great job making sure beginners could keep up, while still giving the advanced players tips for further exploration (harmony lines, etc.). By the end, we had a rockin’ little klezmer orchestra!

After a tasty lunch, we had a special treat — legendary Bay Area accordionist Lou Jacklich sat down and talked about his career and played a few songs for us (see video). Then it was off to the next round of workshops: accordion dissection (led by Lou), Tom Waits ensemble, and polka jam. Anna and I joined the polka jam where Henri led five of us through an arrangement of Tinker’s Polka. Dan and Charlotte played melody and harmony, I played rhythm, and Anna and Julia (who had a bass accordion) played bass. I enjoyed getting a taste of ensemble accordion playing — with a little more practice, we might even be ready for Oktoberfest.

At that point, we had to head home, but we did sit in on the discussion of suggestions for next year’s Camp AccordionLand. I think Henri’s done an excellent job putting together a camp that appeals to accordionists of all levels — there’s a good mix of activities for both beginner and advanced players, balanced between genre-specific and technique-focused workshops. (And where else will you find an accordion workshop built around the music of Tom Waits?) I think there’s a lot of potential for growing this into an even-more-incredible annual accordion event. I’m already picturing Camp AccordionLand 2010: a week-long event drawing a thousand accordionists from all over the world, playing in harmony around a forty-foot-high effigy of Dick Contino… It could happen.

Anna and I just got back from a fun-filled day at Camp AccordionLand. (Thanks again to Henri Ducharme for organizing it!) I’ll post a full report and photos soon but, in the meantime, I want to share this video of Lou Jacklich playing “Granada” at the camp. Listening to Lou play and talk about his lengthy show business career was one of the day’s highlights; he also led an “accordion dissection” workshop that drew a crowd.