Big Lou (aka Linda Seekins) is a Bay Area accordion legend. She’s played in Polkacide, founded Those Darn Accordions, and now leads Big Lou’s Polka Casserole, whose new album (“Doctors of Polka-Ology”) is due out next month. She also plays in a French cabaret trio, Salut Matelot, hosts an online polka radio show, and curates the San Francisco Style Polka Hall of Fame. Big Lou was kind enough to sit down with us for Let’s Polka’s first exclusive interview.

Let’s start with the question we’re all asked when people find out that we play the accordion: Why?

Well, I used to live in Texas and I was walking through the park one day and there was a guy sitting under a tree playing the accordion. I started chatting with him and he said, “Oh, you play piano, you could probably just play this, too.” He handed it to me and I tried it out. So I’m playing with it, having a good time, and he says, “You know, that’s for sale.” It was cheap, so I bought it and just learned.

Cool! I think a lot of people, when they start playing, don’t realize how difficult it is to play the accordion — especially coordinating the right and left hands. Were there any tricks or tips you picked up when you were first learning?

Well, first off, you don’t have to do that if you play in a band — you don’t have to use your left hand. I wanted to learn it because I wanted to play solo. And what I did was get those round, different-colored dots, put them on a few key buttons and I practiced in front of the mirror. And that helped a lot. On the right hand, I took some nail polish and put little marks on the C’s — because I was used to playing the piano, where you can just see everything. Then when I took my accordion in to get it tuned, this old German lady was just irate. She spent an hour trying to get the nail polish off and when I told her I had put it there myself, she just exploded!

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Remember going to summer camp and coming back with nothing but a sunburn, mosquito bites, and a birdcage made out of popsicle sticks? This year, go to a camp where you’ll actually learn something useful — accordion camp! Camp AccordionLand 2006 takes place at Crown Point State Park in Alameda on August 12th and 13th. The camp features workshops led by local accordion teachers (including tango, jazz, and klezmer workshops), two accordion orchestra performances, and even an accordion sand sculpture contest. Depending on your schedule, you can choose to attend both days, just one day, or even for just one workshop. Anna and I are planning to be there on Sunday (the 13th), so come up and say ‘hi’ if you’re there!

An open letter to Irene Haskins of the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune:

Dear Irene,

As an avid accordionist, I read your recent piece, “Accordion out of tune with popular tastes”, with great interest. However, there are a couple small things I’d like to clear up:

First, you say that the accordion “was not designed to rest on the chest of any girl with more than a 34A bust,” and describe the only female accordion player you know as so flat-chested “she and her husband often go to one of those topless beaches and pass themselves off as brothers.” You may be surprised to learn that there are, in fact, many, many, many women (including my wife) who manage to reconcile their passion for accordion playing with their ample bosoms. There’s even an entire band of them!

Second, you pine nostalgically for Lawrence Welk (“the last of a dying breed”) by saying he “gave the accordion what it had never had — respectability.” Now I’m a bigger Welk fan than anyone my age, but even I admit his music played a large role in cementing the accordion’s “uncool” reputation in the minds of many Americans. Do you really think more “champagne music” would draw young people to the accordion?

And finally, we get to the heart of your piece:

“I?m worried, especially after hearing that even the Polka Belt?s supply of accordionists is dwindling; the veterans are dying out and not being replaced. We should all be worried… where are the accordion players of tomorrow coming from?”

I’ll admit, Irene, when I see photos of accordion gatherings where the average age of attendees is somewhere north of 70, I get a little worried too. But then I turn on the radio and hear the vibrant sounds of tejano and conjunto music from nearly every other station on the dial. Or I’ll take in the gypsy cool of Devotchka, dance to the creole/zydeco of Keith Frank, or raise a glass to the way the accordion drives the rowdy drinking songs of Flogging Molly. Or I’ll go to a local Punk Accordion Workshop and hear thirty people squeezing their way through a Ramones song. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg — I’m constantly amazed at the vibrant and diverse accordion sounds emanating from all over the world.

Now don’t get me wrong, there still a long way to go before our nation’s accordion teachers are overrun with kids clamoring for lessons. (Then again, I’ve seen small children go nuts for the accordion player in the Wiggles, so maybe we’re not that far off.) But the accordion is a resilient instrument, and despite all the flack it’s gotten over the past forty years, the tide is starting to turn. And the best, I think, is yet to come.

Humorist Brian Unger did a fun piece on NPR this week where he followed Pam Griffis, a middle-aged accordion student, to one of her lessons. Pam has just started playing, but has already set an admirable goal: to play for her parents at the German-American Social Club of Cape Coral, FL. Her teacher, Dave Caballero, has been an accordion instructor for 43 years and tries to reassure her that her struggles aren’t unusual among budding accordionists:

“Just figure how many things you’re doing — you’re playing the basses, you’re playing the right hand, you’re reading, you’re counting, and you’re pushing and pumping the bellows. That’s only five things [at once].”

You can listen to the whole segment on the NPR website:

An Accordion Romance (NPR, 4:05)

Nice Accordion
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This Year’s LoveI came across this photo — probably from the late 1950s/early 1960s — and couldn’t help but wonder if this boy kept playing into adulthood, or if he was forced to take lessons, quit a short time later, and this is the only known photo of him smiling and holding the accordion at the same time. Either way, he’s got the right idea with the bow tie — regular ties always get caught in the bellows.

Gogol Bordello is a band known for chaotic live shows and music that blends Eastern European melody with punk bravado and cabaret flair. Founder and singer Eugene Hutz came to the US from the Ukraine with his family in the early 1990s and learned English in large part by listening to Johnny Cash records. Now living in New York City, Hutz has surrounded himself with an impressive band incorporating violin, saxophone, and, of course, accordion (from their excellent accordionist, Yuri Lemeshev).

Their latest album, Gypsy Punks: Underground World Strike, is polished, but still manages to capture some of the intensity of their live show. To appreciate Gogol Bordello, though, you really need to see them as well as hear them. Here’s a clip of the band performing two songs (“Not a Crime” and “60 Revolutions”) during their appearance on Later… with Jools Holland last month:

Eagle-eyed San Francisco Chronicle readers may have noticed a rather flattering writeup on us in today’s Tech Chronicles. (The piece is an extended version of a blog post that appeared on the Chronicle’s site on Friday.) Now you can learn more than you ever wanted about how Anna and I met, our accordion backgrounds, and the origins of Let’s Polka. Thanks to Chronicle writer Jessica Guynn for having the guts to promote accordions in the Technology section, and for calling Anna a “veritable Count Guido Deiro.”

If you’ve jumped on the podcast bandwagon and are looking for a good accordion show, check out Accordion Crimes Radio (not related to Annie Proulx’s book, Accordion Crimes). Hosted by Portland accordionist Mike Danner of Trashcan Joe, each episode features Mike sitting down with a different musician, chatting and recording a bunch of songs (with Mike on accordion). The music’s great and the attitude is laid-back — like a front porch jam session. You can listen and subscribe through Mike’s site or via iTunes.

It’s been a busy week for the folks who keep up with the accordion festival circuit. Yesterday, the American Accordionists Association’s 2006 Competition and Festival got underway in Buffalo, NY. There will be competitions (solos, duets, polka, and more), gala concerts each night, and, of course, a group trip to Niagara Falls. Not to mention the highly anticipated group performance of “Beer Barrel Polka.” (Really! Get the sheet music here.)

There was something on the festival’s schedule, though, that caught my eye. Which of these workshops doesn’t quite fit?

• Beginning Harmony for Overworked Part-time Accordionists
• Keeping Your Accordion Club Alive
• The Art of the Bellows Shake
• Estate Planning & Charitable Giving

They probably just want to make sure your accordion is taken care of — not stuffed in an attic or sold on eBay — after you’re gone.

Update: Here’s an article on the festival from Friday’s Buffalo News.