Every day, we receive emails from people looking for an accordion teacher, a repair shop, or an accordion club in their area. We try to answer these questions as best we can — usually with information cobbled together from abandoned pages across the web — but it’d be much easier if there was a thorough, up-to-date, searchable list we could point people towards.

So today, we’re launching the Let’s Polka accordion directory, a catalog of accordion teachers, repair shops, and clubs across North America. Just visit the directory, type in your city, hit “Go!”, and you’ll see a list of accordion resources in your immediate area. You can also browse each category — teachers, shops, and clubs — individually.

We’ve gone ahead and added a bunch of listings already, but we know there are a lot more out there. That’s where you come in! If you want to add (or edit) a listing in our directory, just contact us and we’ll take care of the rest. (Listings are entirely free.) We know there are a lot of clubs and teachers that don’t have websites that we’ve probably missed, so hopefully we can work together to get them publicized online.

We have a lot of ideas for improving and expanding the directory, but we hope this is a useful first step towards making this information more readily available. If you have any questions or suggestions, drop us a line or leave a comment on this post. Happy searching!

It’s a big week here at Let’s Polka and one reason is that we’re only a few days away from a weekend of nonstop music and squeezing at the 19th annual Cotati Accordion Festival. The trip to Cotati is always one of the highlights of our year; here are a few of the artists we’re looking forward to hearing this weekend:

Frank Marocco is a true accordion legend, known for his technical mastery of classical and jazz accordion, as well as his skills as an arranger and composer. Now based in Los Angeles, Frank is probably the most recorded accordionist in the world, having played on hundreds of movie soundtracks, television scores, and commercial jingles. He even played on the Beach Boys’ classic album Pet Sounds in 1966.

Frank Marocco Group: Just Friends mp3

One thing I love about Cotati is that it attracts not just local artists, but bands from across the country. This year, Copper Box makes the trip from Oshkosh, WI, bringing its unique blend of rock, polka, blues, and zydeco. The band features the husband-and-wife team of Danny (accordion) and Michelle (guitar, sax) Jerabek.

Copper Box: Take a Picture mp3

Known for her jazzy blues vocal style and her button accordion, Tara Linda‘s latest album features 1930’s ballads, cumbia, dance-hall rancheras, cry-in-your beer country duets, and even some Johnny Cash. With Luna Nueva, Tara Linda sings in the “dueto” style with Gilbert Reyes on a collection of songs dedicated to the life and legend of Lydia Mendoza.

Tara Linda and Luna Nueva: El Diablito y Su Accordeon mp3

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Those Darn Accordions and the band is celebrating with a 20-city tour that kicks off this week. On Saturday in Cotati, TDA will be joined onstage by several former members, including Big Lou (also performing at the festival with her Polka Casserole), Bill Schwartz, Ron Muriera, Tom Torriglia (also performing with Bella Ciao), and Art Peterson.

Those Darn Accordions: We’re An Accordion Band mp3

And there are so many more: Jason Webley, Los Texmaniacs, Ginny Mac, Culann’s Hounds… the list goes on and on. It should be a fantastic weekend for accordion lovers and we’ll be sure to take lots of photos (and videos) along the way. If you’re headed to the festival, let us know and we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you!

It may seem quiet around here lately, but we’ve actually been working feverishly behind the scenes on a new Let’s Polka project. We’re still applying the finishing touches but, in the meantime, here are a few links for those in need of an accordion fix:

• Video: Big Lou and the MAP Marimba Band
  Brace yourself for a culture clash of epic proportions as Big Lou, the accordion princess, takes her polka show on the road to Gaborone, Botswana, where she performs the “Chicken Dance” with the help of the Maru a Pula Marimba band.
• Hold Steady! Nicolay Breaks Out on Solo Adventures
  Best known for his work with The Hold Stead and the World/Inferno Friendship Society, the impeccably mustachioed Franz Nicolay is stepping out on a solo tour with his accordion (and banjo) in tow. This interview gives some good insight into his solo work.
• NPR: The Accordion: Your New Beach Music
  Can’t believe I missed this, but the theme of last month’s Wassermusik festival in Berlin was “The Caribbean and the Accordion.” Performers included Chango Spasiuk, coba, Ray Abshire, and more.
• Decemberists Busted for Busking
  Not even a major label deal can prevent the Decemberists from getting a warning for busking on the streets of Royal Oak, Michigan. Judging from the photo, it looks like Jenny Conlee is playing a Weltmeister Rubin 60 bass.

Inspired by last week’s post about learning to play the accordion? You may be interested in a new accordion school in the Houston area called Houston Accordion Performers. The owners, Sheila Lee and Mark Ropel, have years of teaching experience and have studied with the likes of Willard Palmer and Anthony Galla-Rini. Shelia also recently produced an instructional DVD for GCF button accordion which is due out in September (watch a clip).

The school opened in June and has teachers giving lessons in chromatic, piano, and GCF diatonic button accordion. Sheila and Mark are promoting a “studio environment” with private, group, and band lessons, emphasizing styles like Tex-Mex, Norteño, Conjunto, Zydeco, and more. In addition to Sheila and Mark, the studio’s staff includes Mario Pedone and Ross Witte.

Houston Accordion Performers will hold an all-day celebration on September 12th to celebrate its grand opening. The day will start with the studio’s accordion band appearing in Houston’s Fiestas Patrias International Parade, followed by a concert back at the studio. Check our calendar for details and directions.

We’ve been seeing a lot of encouraging signs that the accordion is gaining popularity — one of which is a sharp increase in emails from people who want to learn how to play the accordion. Even better, we keep finding new resources to help them get started. Here are a few we’ve uncovered recently…

Accordion lesson books have always been a popular topic on our site and recently I’ve had a couple accordion teachers recommend a relatively new series from Santorella Publications. Written by Jay Latulippe, Santorella’s three book series isn’t as deep as the venerable Palmer-Hughes series (which has ten), but it includes more contemporary styles and each book comes with a companion CD. Santorella also publishes two diatonic button accordion lesson books (also with CDs) by Henry Doktorski.

Books are great, but working directly with an accordion teacher is even better. For those who can’t find a local teacher, Duane Schnur’s online accordion lessons may be the next best thing. Recently retired, Duane taught accordion for nearly forty years and has decided to “give something back” in the form of these free downloadable lessons. There are forty-six lessons available so far; each includes a PDF with sheet music and an MP3 of Duane leading the lesson.

For visual learners, the rise of YouTube has made it incredibly easy to find and share lesson videos online. For instance, I’ve always struggled with the bellows shake, but thanks to this video from Australian accordionist Dave Evans, I’m well on my way to becoming the next Dick Contino.

Finally, readers may have noticed the link to Debra Peters’ The ABC’s of Accordion Basics lesson DVDs on our site. We’ll do a full review of her DVDs in a future post, but if you’re looking for an introduction to rock and blues accordion, there’s no better place to start.

Have you come across a particularly good accordion lesson book, video, or other learning aid recently? Leave a comment and let us know.

It’s easy to forget the accordion was once one of the country’s most popular instruments and accordion players were in high demand. But this Soprani accordion ad pitching the accordion’s money-making potential actually appeared in the August 1931 issue of The Etude Music Magazine. I wonder how many out-of-work musicans — keep in mind, this was during the Great Depression — embraced the get-rich-quick pitch: “Big demand in orchestras, radio work and for teachers… You master it quickly. Then watch your earnings grow.” Sounds great! Where do I sign up?

(Found via Lenny Feldmann, the Cordeen Man.)

You would expect a band living and writing music off the grid in an Airstream trailer in the woods outside of Raleigh, NC, to play some lo-fi acoustic folk. But that’s just a tiny part of what Bowerbirds are all about. The duo of Phil Moore (guitar) and Beth Tacular (accordion) won over critics with their beautiful 2007 debut, Hymns for a Dark Horse and have just released their follow-up, Upper Air. Sparse, subtle arrangements incorporating violin, percussion, and more set the stage for beguiling harmonies and unabashedly pastoral lyrics. Currently touring the US, you can find most of their upcoming shows on our accordion events calendar.

Bowerbirds: Teeth mp3

Buy Upper Air by Bowerbirds

You know how on Jeopardy they occasionally have a category called “Potpourri,” which is just a random collection of answers that don’t fit together at all? Every now and again, I’ll end up with a similar smorgasbord of interesting accordion links that don’t really fit together, but I still want to share. Well, today, I’m Alex Trebek and this is my “Potpourri”…

• Concert Review: Main Squeeze Accordion Festival
  If you missed the 4th annual Main Squeeze festival in New York earlier this month, this detailed review is the next best thing. Includes recaps of performances by Musette Explosion, Eternal Tango, Liony Parra y la Mega Mafia Tipica, and more.
• WNYU Radio: Angry Accordion Shout Alongs
  The title is a little misleading — a few tracks are fairly mellow, and others don’t actually have an accordion — but this recent radio show from WNYU features some great gypsy punk, gypsy electronica, and Eastern European rock. You can listen to the full two-hour program online (click “Play Now”).
• Lady Accordion
  Here’s a fun website premise: Heidi is learning to play the accordion and, along the way, she’s holding “Name That Tune”-style contests using videos of herself playing. Great inspiration for anyone who’s been thinking of picking up the accordion.
• The “No Accordions” Sign
  From Toronto’s Accordion Guy comes this bone-chilling sign, apparently posted by a Dutch cafe owner to keep accordion-playing gypsies away.

In 2004, English folk duo Spiers and Boden set out to gather a collection of musicians well-versed in many styles — big band, soul, jazz, classical — but who would still play traditional English dance tunes and songs. The result was Bellowhead, an 11-piece English-folk-meets-brass-band ensemble that has racked up an impressive collection of awards and rave reviews in its first five years. Their live performances in particular — which are designed to get the entire crowd up and dancing — have earned them a reputation as one of Britain’s best live acts, regardless of genre. Trombone, saxophone and trumpet slug it out with melodeon (button accordion), fiddle, and bouzouki in a bold, high-energy mix that often sounds more like New Orleans than London. The track below comes from their first album, Burlesque, and features the accordion playing of band founder John Spiers.

Bellowhead: Sloe Gin mp3

Buy Burlesque by Bellowhead