After spending the weekend adding concerts and festivals to our accordion events calendar, I’ll highlight two events going on this week. First, classical accordionist Lidia Kaminska performs Rimsky-Korsakov and Piazzolla with the Haddonfield Symphony in Camden, NJ. Yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer had a excellent profile of Lidia and her quest to rehabiliate the accordion’s image. “I don’t want people to think of accordion only as a polka or wedding instrument. I want people to have knowledge – that it is a serious classical instrument.”
Meanwhile, down on the Bayou, this weekend’s Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival features some of the biggest names in Cajun/Zydeco. Performers include Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, the Pine Leaf Boys, Geno Delafose, Keith Frank, and Corey Ledet, but the main attraction is the crawfish. There’ll be a crawfish cookoff, a crawfish eating contest, the crowning of the Crawfish Queen, and, of course, crawfish races. Please, no wagering.
One of the benefits of having a MySpace page for Let’s Polka is it helps us keep tabs on tons of artists that might otherwise fly under our radar. Here’s are a few that have recently caught our ear:
Piñata Protest We’ve seen a few punk/polka bands, even some punk/zydeco, but San Antonio’s Piñata Protest is the first punk/Tejano band we’ve come across. An answer to the traditional Tejano music its members grew up hating, this is what would happen “if Ramon Ayala and Sid Vicious had a baby.”
Amber Lee and the Anomalies Accordionist Amber Lee Baker, accompanied by banjo and fiddle, sings of rodeo clowns and whaler’s wives while leading this charming acoustic group from Anna’s old stomping grounds (Santa Rosa, CA). Their debut CD, Estuaries, is due out next month.
Accordion Death Squad Armed with an excellent name, the Accordion Death Squad plays “gypsy music from Ratsylvania,” which is apparently near Charlottesville, Virginia. Swirling accordion and violin guaranteed to keep you dancing.
Sunday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times had an interesting piece on the accordion’s role in classical music and film. It covers the instrument’s history and mechanics before focusing on classical accordionist Nick Ariondo, composer Samuel Zyman, and prolific soundtrack accordionist Frank Marocco. Ariondo explains what makes the accordion so expressive — and difficult to play:
“When you see the piano side of it, complete with white and black notes, you expect to see hammers, not valves. But this is a push-and-pull reed instrument. When you pull out on the accordion, you’re sucking air into it. It sounds like a harmonica. The bellows is like the bow on the violin. It’s very difficult to master.”
I detect a somewhat snooty tone in the article, particularly the emphasis that the “accordion is not just an instrument of the people.” Then again, maybe I’m just hurt because Frank Marocco’s comment — “most of the accordion players never took it much further… they learned to play a little polka, a little waltz, a march, and they’re satisfied” — hits a little too close to home.
Of all the bands I’ve discovered while writing for Let’s Polka, DeVotchKa is quite possibly my favorite. We saw them at a club in San Francisco a couple years ago and were blown away — their unique brand of gypsy-mariachi rock was infectious and it’s hard to dislike any band that sports an accordionist/violinist, a drummer/trumpet player, a tuba player, and a wine-swigging lead singer. Two years later, after making a splash with their soundtrack to the Oscar-nominated Little Miss Sunshine, DeVotchKa does not disappoint with their new album, A Mad and Faithful Telling.
It’s easy to get caught up in the novelty of DeVotchKa’s sound — the cinematic swells, the mariachi horns, the tinkling glockenspiels — but don’t overlook the rich songs bubbling under that melting pot’s surface. “Transliterator” balances frenzy and restraint beautifully, the shuffling “Head Honcho” carries you away, and “Undone” is just achingly stunning.
We loved accordionist Tom Hagerman’s recent solo album, The Breakfast Playground, and — from his fierce violin on “Comrade Z” to his playful accordion on “Strizzalo” — he plays a huge role on this record. Other bands have helped put the accordion on the indie rock map in recent years, but few carry it as naturally or as well as DeVotchKa.
If you live in L.A. and play the accordion, there’s a good chance you’ve been to Dave’s Accordion School. Located in Atwater Village, Dave’s has been offering accordion lessons and repairs since 1971. Run by Dave Caballero and his wife Veronika, the pair met years ago when Veronika wandered into the shop looking for accordion lessons. (Three children and three grandchildren later, I guess you could say the lessons went well.) Here’s a nice video profile of Dave’s Accordion School put together by a USC School of Journalism student.
Posted April 16th, 2008 in Profiles, Videos · Comments off
There was a great interview on NPR today with Dominican accordionist La India Canela. She has twice won the Cassandra award for her hit songs and is now releasing an album in the United States, Merengue Tipico from the Dominican Republic.
She had a tough start; her father didn’t want her to play the accordion, so she had to hide to practice. Then, after she was discovered, she had to convince him to let her play in the city. Overcoming the social stigma of the accordion being a man’s instrument was a challenge, but her love for the music was deep and she was determined to stick with it.
“Accordion is very profound, and you feel it probably from the moment you are in your mother’s womb.”
Now she’s one of The Dominican Republic’s most famous musicians. You can listen to the NPR interview as well as some clips of her playing here.
Texas Folklife has extended the deadline for its second annual Big Squeeze contest until next Friday, April 19. The contest is open to accordion players under 25 who will compete for a $500 prize and a day of recording time at the historic SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston. Four semi-finalists will be chosen to perform live on May 11 at Austin’s new Mexican American Cultural Center. Two finalists will then perform at the 19th annual Accordion Kings & Queens concert featuring Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws and La Tropa F.
Chicago Public Radio had a great story today on the local Chicago bands and fans who are working hard to keep polka alive. The piece starts out at the weekly “Therapy Tuesday” dances held at Major Hall and goes on to include interviews with Eddie Blazonczyk Jr. of the Versatones, as well as “Dandy” Don and “Jolly” James of the Polkaholics. James talks about how playing in the punk-rock Polkaholics changed his mind about polka:
“I thought polka was kind of square. I thought old blue-haired ladies listen to it, and they do, and they rock, and they can dance my butt off, which I’ve learned.”
No matter how many times the accordion is counted out, it just keeps coming back. Here are some recent articles highlighting the brave souls who just can’t stop squeezing.
Still Squeezing By (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Part of the Journal-Sentinel’s “Vanishing Wisconsin” series — a look at Wisconsin traditions on the verge of disappearing — this piece focuses on the Milwaukee Accordion Club’s efforts to keep the accordion alive. “The accordion is a secret handshake,” says Don Turner, 43, a board member for the club. “If you play accordion, and someone else plays, well, you’ll help one another.”
Accordion Revival (Calgary Herald) North of the border, the Accordion Association of Calgary promotes accordion awareness and provides a venue for performers young and old. According to Association president Beverly Fess: “The last five-plus years we’ve seen a steady increase in people picking up the accordion. It’s seen more use with more young people picking it up and not just adults that have had it in the closet.”
Putting the Squeeze On (Prague Post) Even in the Czech Republic, the accordion had been pushed out of music schools and concert halls by the communists. But the tide is turning, as evidenced by the return of the European Accordion Festival to Prague late last month. According to the article, “at least 70 percent of festival participants are under 16 years old, suggesting a widespread and growing interest in the accordion among adolescents and young adults.” Watch out — the next generation of accordionists are on their way!
As an accordion player, you’ve heard your fair share of ’em — today is the day to give back. In honor of April Fools Day, we’re opening the floodgates and holding an accordion joke contest. Share your favorite groaner and you could win something in the process.
To enter: Write a comment on this post and tell us your favorite accordion joke. One lucky joker — chosen at random — will receive a grab bag of Let’s Polka goodies. We can’t make any promises, but the package will likely include a mix of Let’s Polka stickers, albums from our collection, and whatever other squeeze-worthy goodies we have on hand.
The contest ends tonight at midnight, so start posting your jokes!
Update: Congratulations to our lucky winner, Ed Ploski! Thanks to everyone who contributed a joke!
