Today we’re closing the book, so to speak, on our Q&A series with Blair Kilpatrick, author of Accordion Dreams: A Journey into Cajun and Creole Music. In her last set of responses, Blair discusses her accordion collection, the SF Bay Area Cajun/Zydeco scene, and her dream “accordion lunch.”

If you could have lunch with the accordion player of your choice, who would it be and why?

That’s a difficult one. There are two Louisiana legends from the past I’d love to meet: Creole accordionist Amédée Ardoin (1896-1941) and Cajun accordionist Iry LeJeune (1928-1955). Iry, who recorded much of the core Cajun repertoire, was heavily influenced by Amedée, so I imagine they’d enjoy getting together. That would be a wonderful fantasy lunch—even though I’d have a hard time keeping up, since the conversation would be all in French.

But if I had to choose, I’d share one more meal with Creole accordionist Danny Poullard, my friend and teacher, who died in April of 2001. He was the guiding spirit of the Bay Area’s Cajun-zydeco scene. He gave away his music so freely—he had weekly jam sessions at his house, and he was so proud of his many protégé’s who went on to play in bands of their own. He also taught at music camps all over the country. My band was the final one to be shaped by his garage jam sessions. He even suggested our name, Sauce Piquante. He heard us perform as a full band just once, five days before he died.

So I’d love to bring him back to let him know how things are going—and to tell him he’s not forgotten. I hope he’d like my book. So much of Accordion Dreams is about my time with Danny. He was a tough but loving mentor—so I’m sure he’d offer a few tips about my accordion playing—and maybe even about the book, too!

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Apple is previewing a new version of iPhone software today, but I’m guessing they won’t include any accordion-related applications. Fortunately, Markus Palmanto has filled the void with Accordio — a new app that simulates a five-row chromatic button accordion on your iPhone or iPod Touch. I’ve been playing with it and, even though I’m a piano accordion guy, it’s surprisingly responsive and easy to hit the buttons. You can switch between common button layouts (B, C, G) and display the names of the buttons if, like me, you’re still learning your way around a chromatic keyboard. Here’s an impressive demonstration:

Looks like a fun way to practice on the go, or to entertain yourself while your accordion is in the shop. You can download Accordio for $3.99 (or €2.99) from the App Store. Or if you act fast, I have a few free download codes to give away — leave a comment or message me on Twitter to get one. (Update: Sorry, all the codes have been claimed.)

After two weeks of shuffling boxes back and forth between our old and new homes, we’re back and ready to squeeze. And since we’ve left you high and dry for so long, we’ll make up for it with not one, but two tracks to add to your St. Patrick’s Day party playlist.

Metromix Denver put together a fun field guide to Irish punk bands and, of course, all such lists begin with the genre’s creators: The Pogues. Mixing traditional Irish instruments like the accordion and tin whistle with punk rock attitude and politically-charged lyrics, The Pogues are the blueprint that all other Irish/Celtic punk bands follow. This track features some nice accordion work by The Pogues’ accordionist, James Fearnley:

The Pogues: Streams of Whiskey mp3

Buy Red Roses for Me by The Pogues

Flogging Molly approaches the Irish punk sound by melding old and new world — leader Dave King grew up in Dublin, but has spent most of his adulthood in Los Angeles. Named in honor of the L.A. club where the band cut its teeth, Flogging Molly have built a strong following over the years and their latest album, Float, cracked the top 5 in Billboard’s album chart last year. Skateboarder turned accordion player Matt Hensley squeezes the box for Flogging Molly:

Flogging Molly: Tobacco Island mp3

Buy Within a Mile of Home by Flogging Molly

I haven’t seen an accordion player on American Idol yet, but Eurovision — Europe’s annual song contest that pits nation against nation — rarely disappoints. Serbia just selected its representative for this year’s competition: “Cipela” (“The Shoe”) performed by Marko Kon and accordionist Milan Nikolic. According to Nikolic, the song was “based on an idea to bring the accordion back to the place it deserves. First in Serbia, then in the whole world as well.” That’s certainly an idea I can get behind.

Once again, we spotlight our hockey and accordion-lovin’ neighbors:

• Accordion Revolution
  Great pair of interviews that focus almost entirely on accordion-playing. One with our old favorite Geoff Berner (touring in support of his new album, Klezmer Mongrels) and the other with Felicity Hamer of the United Steelworkers of Montreal.
• Joanna Chapman-Smith
  Like Geoff Berner, Joanna is another klezmer-influenced accordionist from Vancouver. She combines jazzy vocal stylings with acoustic roots instrumentation, killer clarinet lines and accordion flourishes, a touch of modern jazz and a touch of cabaret.
• Walter Ostanek Band
  Canada’s Polka King finally has a website (and blog) worthy of his title. I really like the videos — Walter is warm, genuine, and, of course, an incredible accordion player.

They aren’t really hippies. In fact, there aren’t even 17 of them (13 at last count). But that hasn’t stopped Berlin’s 17 Hippies from rolling dozens of genres — Eastern European folk, French chanson, Cajun/zydeco, and more — into a unique pop style all their own. Lyrics sung in German, French, and English somehow all feel at home when layered over accordion, ukulele, banjo, clarinet, bouzouki, and trombone. When the band first started, members intentionally chose instruments they had never touched; twelve years and 1200 concerts later, they’re still playing traditional tunes and instruments in an entirely untraditional way.

Last year, 17 Hippies played at Mountain Stage in West Virginia; you can listen that entire, high-energy appearance online at the NPR website. And if I haven’t sold you enough, here’s a track off their excellent 2007 album, Heimlich:

17 Hippies: Rustemul mp3

Since tomorrow is Mardi Gras, it seems fitting to kick off the week with some zydeco from the King of Zydeco himself, Clifton Chenier. Influenced by both early Creole musicians like Amédé Ardoin and blues musicians like Professor Longhair, Chenier took the French Creole music of rural Southwest Louisiana and blended it with blues and R&B to create the sound that became known as zydeco. And unlike other Cajun/Creole accordionists, Chenier preferred the louder, more flexible piano accordion to the smaller, more traditional diatonic. But, as he liked to tell his son C.J. Chenier, “whatever you put into this instrument, that’s what you get out of it.”

Clifton Chenier: Zydeco Sont Pas Sale mp3

Buy The Best of Clifton Chenier by Clifton Chenier

Peter Bufano ran away to join the circus more than 20 years ago, making over 1000 appearances as a clown for Ringling Brothers, Circus Smirkus, and others. But he’s no longer just clowning around; today, he composes and plays accordion with his gypsy/klezmer-inspired circus music ensemble Cirkestra. According to Bufano, writing scores for the circus poses unique challenges:

“Often I have a month to write two hours of music. And it has to be flexible. It’s not like Broadway where you’re playing the same thing every night. Some nights the guys jumping through the fiery hoop make it and some nights they don’t, but the music has to keep going.”

(MP3 removed at artist’s request.)

Without releasing a record, Brooklyn’s La Strada has already built a loyal New York City following; so their fanbase should balloon after the release of their self-titled debut EP next Tuesday, February 24th. With swelling strings, soaring harmonies, and (of course) plenty of accordion, this passionate seven-piece is well on their way to removing the word “next” from their “next big thing” promise. To me, their sound is somewhere between Beirut and DeVotchKa — marrying old-world folk/Balkan stylings with modern American rock and then running away with it to join the circus.

La Strada: The Sun Song mp3

Buy La Strada by La Strada