With apologies to our fans in northern Minnesota, I’m filing this post under “better late than never.” Last weekend was the 29th annual Polkafest in Chisolm, MN, and according to the Hibbert Daily Tribune writeup, there was plenty of music and dancing to go around. Among the polka providers at this year’s event were the Joey Tomsick Orchestra, the Steve Meisner Band, and, the one that intrigues me the most, Father Frank Perkovich’s Polka Mass.

For over 30 years, Father Perkovich has been celebrating his “polka mass” — a traditional Catholic mass, but with all the songs and hymns performed in the style of Slovenian and Croatian polka music. According to his site, he even did one for Pope John Paul II in 1983. (Not too surprising; I’m guessing that, being from Poland, the pope was no stranger to polka music.) Nevertheless, polka masses have stirred some spirited debate over their appropriateness in the church. Personally, I’d be at my church a lot more often if they had a regular polka mass…

Sometimes I run across an eBay auction so ridiculous, it makes me laugh out loud. Check out this auction for an old Florino accordion. The description is priceless (as is the accordion, according to the seller):

“I think the gold parts are actual 21 K gold. A man once offered me $32,000.00 for this but I refused his pathetic attempt at a business transaction. Listen, I know this accordion is worth well over $560,000.00, but I am willing to take what I can get. No reserve and a $.99 minimum guarantees that this thing is going to sell. THIS IS THE CADILLAC OF ALL ACCORDIONS! YOU MUST DEMAND THE BEST!

Even after laying it on so thick, the current high bid is just $6.49 (about 1/6 the price of shipping). Can you believe it? For the “Cadillac of all accordions”!

Lately, it feels like there’s an accordion festival almost every weekend in the Bay Area. This weekend, it’s Petaluma’s turn to roll out the red carpet — more than 50 accordionists and singers will be performing as part of Petaluma’s annual “Celebrate the Accordion Day”. Events will be held in two locations: Putnam Plaza on Petaluma Boulevard from 11:45am until 5pm, and the Petaluma Museum courtyard at Fourth and B streets from 11am until 6pm. The music is free, so bring the kids and celebrate the last Saturday of Accordion Awareness Month in style.

In Case of Emergency
uploaded by lizhenryIn case of a fire, businesses are required to have a fire extinguisher somewhere on the premises. Silicon Valley institution, Buck’s of Woodside, though, takes it a step further; they have a couple accordions secured behind glass with the message: “In case of emergency, break glass — save accordions.” That’s good advice for anyone, and part of the reason why, at our house, we keep the accordions near the door.

Want to sound like an honest-to-goodness accordion player, but without all that pesky practice and hard work? Well, check out this accordion built by Hessmuller — it looks like a real button accordion but, in fact, it uses a small mini disc player and speakers to play over 100 Bavarian-German songs (including “Beer Barrel Polka”). Here’s the pitch:

“Have your own Octoberfest! You can convince them all that you are a musical wizard. This is a real button accordion built by Hessmuller of Morgenroethe Saxony (Germany), but instead of the usual reed sets it uses mini discs playing professionally sampled accordion solos of traditional polkas, marches, waltzes, tangos etc. played by real German accordion players… All the player has to do is move the bellows and play the buttons (keys are all functional) convincingly and people will marvel at your skills.”

Of course, becoming a “musical wizard” overnight has its price — typically $1,595 when it pops up on eBay. My advice: save your money and put it towards some accordion lessons. [Found via Squeezytunes]

I scanned in this photo from a recent issue of the University of Nevada-Reno magazine, Silver and Blue. (Thanks Ellen!) The photo was a contribution to UNR’s Oral History Program and is part of a project to tell the story of the influence of Italian Americans on northern Nevada’s history:

“If you were an Italian American growing up in the early to mid-20th century, chances are that you or a sibling or one of your friends was forced to play the accordion. So it was for 9-year-old Al Lazzarone, seen here (third row, third from left) playing with a band in Sacramento in 1932.”

Looking at this young accordion army, I’d like to think that they were the Those Darn Accordions or Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra of their day. What was their repertoire like? Did any of them go on to accordion stardom? How many of them kept playing later in life? So many questions…

Tucson band Calexico has built up a loyal following over the years, based on a unique, expansive sound that runs the gamut from mariachi to bluegrass to jazz and a few stops in-between. Their latest album, Garden Ruin, though, is a big departure from that sound, and sounds heavily influenced by their recent work with Sam Beam (Iron & Wine). Tired of being pigeonholed, Calexico singer/guitarist/accordionist Joey Burns talked to the SF Chronicle about the evolution of the “Calexico sound,” and how the nuances and subtleties of that sound have been lost on some people over the years:

“Here in the States we’ve been written off in reviews as white guys playing mariachi music… people don’t hear the Portuguese fado influence, or the Gypsy influence, or how the use of the accordion relates to Eastern Europe.”

If you’re in the Bay Area, you can catch up with Calexico tonight and tomorrow at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Otherwise, check out a minute-long snippet of “Praskovia”, a track from Calexico’s 2004 EP Convict Pool that prominently features Burns’ accordion:

Praskovia (MP3 sample)

It seems like every profession or industry these days has an annual convention in Vegas, and accordionists are no different. The Las Vegas International Accordion Convention runs from June 26 to June 29 at the Gold Coast Casino & Hotel. If you can manage to pull yourself away from the craps table, you’ll enjoy three full days of entertainment, special events, and workshops on topics as wide-ranging as “Bellows Shakes,” “Digital Accordion Voicing,” and “Slovenian Polka Styles.” There’s also a dinner/concert each evening during the convention — headliners include Art Van Damme and Dick Contino. And don’t forget all the opportunities to network with fellow accordion players from around the world. That’s priceless!

Well, actually, there is a price: $435 for individuals, $765 for couples, which includes all daily events, meals, and evening concerts (not including hotel). If you still need some convincing, check out some photos from last year and previous years.

Are your kids tired of the same old clown-and-pony show? Then check out San Francisco accordion player Enzo Garcia, who’s available for birthday parties and bills himself as “cheaper than a clown, cleaner than a pony.” He also holds a weekly “Breakfast with Enzo” (bring your own breakfast) every Saturday morning at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center in San Francisco, where he plays classic and original songs for children and their families.

In addition to performing professionally, Enzo’s been teaching music and movement to toddlers for the last few years. One of my coworkers takes his kids to see Enzo regularly (and even hired him for a birthday party) and raves that “he totally rocks!” So check out some samples and then let your neighbor know you won’t need his magic act this year:

Breakfast with Enzo (MP3 sample)

Old MacDonald Had a Farm (MP3 sample)