On Thursday morning, the NPR show Morning Edition will be airing a piece about the Coupe Mondiale accordion competition. The show will include a rendition of the Morning Edition theme song as performed on accordion by three members of the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society: Mara Cherkasky, Peter DiGiovanni and Lee Paulson.
Thursday’s Morning Edition will also feature some music by one of our favorite bands, One Ring Zero. They’ll be interviewed during a segment on music inspired by Pluto’s recent demotion to dwarf-planet status. I’m anxious to hear how that discussion goes, but it will likely include a clip of their new song, “International Astronomical Union.”
Update: Here’s a link to the Coupe Mondiale segment: “Ace Accordion Players Compete.” (The One Ring Zero segment is linked above.)
Posted August 15th, 2007 in Announcements, Radio · Comments off
It’s been almost a year since polka legend Li’l Wally Jagiello passed away, but he certainly hasn’t been forgotten. Chicago punk/polka band The Polkaholics are hosting a free tribute concert this Friday, and they’ll be playing a slew of Li’l Wally classics. There’ll also be some Li’l Wally memorabilia on display and raffled off to lucky attendees. (Note: the Polkaholics don’t have an accordion player, but I don’t hold that against them.)
Li’l Wally and the Polkaholics may seem like an odd match, given the generational gap and the latter’s leanings toward punk-ed up, guitar-driven polka, but they actually performed together at Chicago’s Zakopane Lounge back in 2002. Filmmaker Wes Hranchak chronicled their epic meeting in the appropriately-titled documentary, Polkaholics.
Posted August 15th, 2007 in Events, Polka, Rock · Comments off
Posted August 14th, 2007 in Links · Comments off
This week, Washington, D.C. becomes the accordion capital of the world as the 60th annual Coupe Mondiale (World Cup) competition rolls into town. It’s like the World Series and Super Bowl rolled (or squeezed) into one as the best accordionists from around the globe compete in the world’s most prestigious accordion championships.
Sponsored by the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA), the Coupe Mondiale hasn’t been held in the United States since 1981 (Kansas City), so this is a rare chance to see such an incredible collection of accordion talent.
- Coupe Mondiale Competition
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat… you can catch the actual competition proceedings all week long at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria. There are categories for junior accordionists, as well.
- Kennedy Center Concerts
The Coupe Mondiale isn’t all about competition, though. All week long, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage will host free concerts with renowned international accordion ensembles like Akkordeonorchester Hof and Accordeonova. There’s also a champions concert featuring the Coupe’s first-place winners on Saturday evening.
- Coupe Mondiale Grand Finale Concert
What better way to end the week than with the first-ever performance of the World Accordion Orchestra? The orchestra consists of 150 accordion players from around the world, many of whom are CIA officers or delegates.
If 150 accordionists isn’t enough for you, there may be even more at Friday’s “Massed Accordion Band” performance on the steps of the Capitol building. All accordionists within shouting distance are invited to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime performance of John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” (Aren’t you glad they didn’t choose “Lady of Spain”?)
If you’re attending any of the Coupe Mondiale events this week, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line and we’ll post a recap early next week.
Posted August 12th, 2007 in Announcements, Events · Comments off
Bruce over at Accordion Noir forwarded us an Augusta Metro Spirit piece on folk-rock band Bain Mattox and Shot From Guns. Based out of Athens, Georgia, the band is led by Mattox on the guitar, banjo, mandolin, and (of course) accordion.
“The band has added an accordion in the past few years and they use it like a lead guitar. [Mattox] laughs, ‘I am trying to make the accordion sexy… Today, it seems you see the accordion everywhere — but in my defense, I started playing over seven years ago.'”
He even has a great “first accordion” story to prove it:
“I saw a band called 16 Horsepower and the lead singer played a bandoneón. I was amazed and said, ‘I am going to have to play the accordion now.’ The next day, I saw an ad in the classifieds. I went to this old, old man on a farm. He told me he’d bought the accordion in Germany when he was in the war. I spent a great afternoon with him, then left with an accordion, a couple of watermelons and hot peppers.”
The band has been working on an album this summer; in the meantime, check their MySpace for clips like the one below.
Bain Mattox and Shot From Guns: Shotgun Pageant (MP3 download)
Posted August 10th, 2007 in MP3s, Rock · Comments off
Posted August 9th, 2007 in Events, Links · Comments off
Nobody has done more to keep polka music varied and vibrant than Brave Combo, the genre-busting quintet from Denton, Texas. For more than 25 years, they’ve been winning over listeners to their unique melting pot of musical styles. According to bandleader Carl Finch, their goal is to “break down people’s perceptions about what’s cool to like in music. Our deal is to shake up people’s ideas about what they label hip, or right or wrong.”
The two-time Grammy winners have a new album out, Polka’s Revenge, that continues that tradition by mixing rock and Tex-Mex-inspired polkas with old-world waltzes, schottisches, and obereks. Of the album’s twenty tracks, four are Brave Combo originals and the rest are new renditions of classics by polka greats like the Connecticut Twins, Wanda and Stephanie, and the Ampol Aires.
And, as if you needed another reason to attend the Cotati Accordion Festival later this month, Brave Combo is one of the headliners and will be performing on both Saturday and Sunday.
Brave Combo: The Innocent Gadfly (MP3 sample)
Posted August 7th, 2007 in MP3s, Polka, Rock · Comments off
Despite our best efforts to stay on top of all accordion-related festivals, one occasionally slips in under the radar. Fortunately, the Lincoln Journal Star has an excellent recap of last weekend’s Wilber Czech Festival in tiny Wilber, Nebraska (“Czech Capital of the USA”).
The 46th annual festival drew close to 45,000 people (to a town of only 1,700) for a weekend of Czech food (mmm… kolaches), polka music and dancing, and an accordion jamboree. Check out the accompanying audio slideshow to hear Charlie Keller, president of the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber, talk about the culture of the Wilber Czech Festival.
Nebraska Czech Queen Shandra Korbelik, 18, plays the accordion
Posted August 6th, 2007 in Czech, Events, Photos, Polka · 1 Comment
No summer slowdown on the accordion calendar. What’s going on this week?
- Camp Accordionland (Sat-Sun in Berkeley, CA)
It’s a weekend full of workshops, jam sessions, ensemble playing, and general merriment with 50 other accordion lovers at beautiful Tilden Park in Berkeley. We went last year and had a blast.
- Mamou Playboys School of Music (Tuesday in Lafayette, LA)
Louisiana Folk Roots presents a one-of-a-kind learning experience: four weeks of accordion, fiddle and guitar lessons led by Steve Riley and his band, the Mamou Playboys. On the final week, every participant gets a chance to play with the full band!
- Accordions By The Sea Festival (Fri-Sun in Victoria, BC, Canada)
Head north of the border as the Victoria Accordion Club hosts its first-ever accordion festival, with performances by Mario Pedone, S-Bahn, Bertram Levy, and many more.
And if you’re a San Francisco Giants fan, check out Italian Heritage Night this Tuesday night at AT&T Park. SF’s own Bella Ciao will be performing the (American) national anthem. Oh, and you might see Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run, too.
Have an accordion event for our calendar? Tell us about it!
Posted August 5th, 2007 in Announcements, Events · Comments off
Today’s links share a Cajun theme…
- Big Bayou Bandits: Fille De Houma
Video clip of the Big Bayou Bandits, a fun Cajun band from Belgium (!) that melds Cajun, bluegrass, and rockabilly. (Found via Mister Anchovy)
- Cajun/Creole Accordion Builders
A project from the creator of the Cajun Squeezebox Blog — a list of Cajun accordion builders both past and present, with contact information.
- Zydeco Vets Host Grammy Awards 101
The Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy (including Terrance and Cynthia Simien) is holding a presentation in Vermilionville, LA for artists interested in joining the Academy and participating in the Grammy voting process. The event isn’t limited to Cajun/Zydeco, but I imagine anyone interested in the new Cajun/Zydeco Grammy category will want to attend.
Posted August 3rd, 2007 in Cajun/Zydeco, Links · 2 Comments
