Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Bisonoric Diatonic Accordion...

Hanging out w/Sid Sward.
I went to see Sid, and he showed me something really neat!! He pulled out/showed me this very old accordion from approximately the 1850's. If I'm not mistaken it is what is called bisonoric diatonic accordion- obviously it's so old and doesn't quite really look like accordions the way we know them now, but some really early button accordions were like this.

But if you look closely despite its funky shape, you can see it basically is the same thing. Just a neat early model of what became the accordion we know really. Only no buttons on the other side, you just pump one side; press the tiny buttons on the other side and it makes whole chords, his even worked, though didn't seem totally in tune. He said it was originally in pieces and he had it put back together, but it did still make sound and it wasn't terrible- it simply sounded its age!

When you push you get one chord and when you pull you get another with it, also I love the way the little levers and circle parts move freely in front of you to see every time you press the keys. I couldn't believe he had it, I have no idea where you would even find something like that.




So I asked him if I could take some pictures of it, and he didn't mind; so I thought it would be fun to share this. It's a neat piece of history and an interesting look at one of the many precursors leading to the full-size 120-bass accordion that you see now. In fact, if you take the time to dive into some brief history and/or google it; you'll find that there are many different types of accordions: some are the same note either way you push/pull, others sound a different note when pulling one way and a different note when you push. Others are piano on one side, and buttons on the other. Then there are a ton of combinations of how many bass buttons, some common ones being: 12, 48, 72, and 120- but many more.


Monday, September 19, 2011

Accordion Festival at the Williamsburg Regional Library

I had a blast this weekend at the accordion festival held at the Williamsburg Regional Library where the club I'm in VALOV (Accordion Lovers of Virginia) met with W.M.A.S (Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society), and the Maryland Accordion Club.

The first day we met up for a party at the home of Jim Rice, who is the President of Accordion Revolution, plays solo and also in two groups that played at the festival: the Wise Guys and Clan MacCool; Jim also is responsible for hosting and organizing the festival itself! Talk about one hell of a party too- Dale Wise notably played a lot of requests for the last couple hours of the party and Jim Rice and the Wise Guys gave us a real treat of only some of what was to come the next day in the theater! I had a really nice conversation along with some words of wisdom from the highly talented Nancy Leonard of W.MA.S (Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society) and a really interesting conversation with Bob from W.M.AS. too. Were both into the Palmer Hughes material quite a bit- also turns out we both dig French Musette tunes and listen to Dan Newton's Cafe Accordion Orchestra.
There were only two parts to this trip that were semi-um-not-good hahaha. On the first day before I got to the party- I got to Williamsburg hours early..... other than the festival itself- it suddenly dawned on me- that there isn't really much to do in Williamsburg (at least not that I could find)- and I thought hmmm they should put up a sign that says, "If you're not here to eat pancakes, sleep, visit historical museums, or go to Busch Gardens..... leave." Don't get me wrong- I don't like to simplistically vilify an entire city- but Williamsburg is a bit of a boring place. HOWEVER, this is also partially my fault- I didn't plan ahead to find anything to do plus perhaps when I locked myself out of the car, which was the biggest hassle and cause a little financial restrain- I suppose that put me in a bad mood that I wouldn't have been in otherwise! Losing $55 to get Pop-A-Lock to open the car was a bit of a downer, but eh I got over it and of course that immediately faded once the party and festival started!

Dale Wise.

David Gussman.
The workshop was conducted by Dale Wise- who had limitless knowledge to share and techniques and songs from pretty much anywhere you'd let you're finger land on a map!

Dale took us through the songs: You Can't Be True Dear and Seeman (German songs), Halsa dem Darhemma (a Scandanavian song I've now fallen in love with!), Black Velvet Band- followed with Irish Eyes/Notre Dame/4 Leaf Clover (Irish stuff), Caminito, Por Una Cabeza, Oh Marie and Le Mamme (Italian songs), Tarantella (I love this one too!), God Bless America, Katushka/Oh Susanna/Hava Nagila.

Then David Gussman gave a particularly highly interesting neat short segment of the workshop on Klezmer music and discussed the history of it along with some rhythmic techniques and its usage of the accordion in that area of Eastern European music- which was to me a highlight of the workshop. Dale Wise then continued the rest of the workshop as he went through the Charlie Chaplin tune Limelight, Moulin Rouge, and last but certainly not least the Beer Barrel Polka.

to the left- Tip Ciotti, to the right- Sid Sward.
Then it was time for the concert itself, as Nancy Leonard played in the main hall as the concert was being set up- the concert then took off as Dale Wise played the National Anthem. Then Sid Sward and Mike McKenna played, and up third was the incredibly talented Andre Fry, who played a Charles Magante tune along with an original he wrote and finished with an original composition his father wrote. His performance was definitely a standout of the evening.

Dale Wise continued with some french material, then Phil Heim played on his 12-bass, then Tip Ciotti did this incredible Spanish number (I was lucky enough to hear him do it just once before at one of our club meetings), then Mike Takash played, and then I myself got to play a short original polka I wrote for everyone called the J.B. Polka (the J.B. is for Jordan Bostic- a friend of mine- who I was haning out with at his house when I wrote the first draft of this song).

Then, Bob Jacobs went up and did klezmer and also some jazz. Adam Gicz and Sid Sward did a duet together. Then one of my favorites, Andy Armano did his great swinging version of the Frank Valli & the Four Seasons hit, "You're Just Too Good To Be True". Henry Hancock then played some Italian for us, followed by Dave Gussman who did more wonderful klezmer for us. Then Cynthia Cross played for us on her Bassetti accordion, after her was Joel Stokes who did some great French numbers. Sid and David Tetrault did a duet together, then Dale Wise joined Jim Rice for a duet as Jim would then kick it off with his group the Wise Guys, Jim would then stay on to do some really nice energetic Celtic music with his group Clan MacCool.

Then the Bean Soup Project happened, while there accordion Duffy came out playing his electric accordion while singing and strolling through the audience, gradually making his way to the stage for an electrifying and exciting performance. I got a kick out of his slogan for his band, "Original Music for Original People"- that guy is awesome. I had the pleasure of chatting with him the night before, and he has great music and big ideas and whether he's performing or just talking to you. Either way you can't lose because he's always great to listen to.
Nancy Leonard.

The grand finale was accordion master William Cosby who plays a very large free-bass accordion- never in my life have I seen an accordionist play quite this fast. He briefly explained the free-bass system, and his left hand would play melodies simultaneously with different leads in the right. I don't totally understand the free-bass accordion, but it was great to listen to and to watch him do it.

We wrapped up the night with a celebration at a German restaurant just down the street, where Dale Wise (somehow! This guy has more energy than most- he is Energizer bunny of the accordion hahaha) would continue to play for tables and even took my request of, "Night and Day", Duffy played a bit more at the tables before he left, and so did a few other accordionists. I myself played my Neutral Milk Hotel cover of, "Aeroplane Over the Sea" and also jammed on the Beer Barrel Polka with two other fellow accordionists. The festival was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed the concert performances too. I hope to catch another one soon.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Strapping on the accordion!

As this is my first post, I figured I would make a blog of my various experiences and opinions in the hopes of reaching out to fellow musicians and music lovers becoming part of a network of like minded individuals.

At a wedding gig.
Approximately around the time I started busking on a regular basis in late-winter/early-spring of 2010 I joined a small local accordion club called, "Valov" or also known as, "Accordion Lovers of Virigina".  It has been a great summer of playing in the street and I met a lot of great people along the way. I played all over really: all over outdoors in Chesapeake and Norfolk; also at a few small local shows at Winston's Cafe in Chesapeake, and in Norfolk at: Plaza Del Sol, Kerouac Cafe, and the Belmont, along with some nice wedding gigs too.

I met some really interesting people and fellow musicians along the way. Notably, I am glad to say I met Aaron Evans who is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar and glockenspiel among other things and currently in the band ARM and was also in Geneva. I also met Michael Twark who is also a multi-instrumentalist but plays mainly drums and is in many local bands in Norfolk (ARM, Glass Pennies, and Pan Galactic Straw Boss). I had a great time jamming with these guys on the street, which is how I first met them one day during an Art Everywhere event on Colley Avenue. 

jamming on Colley avenue w/Aaron Evans & Michael Twark
Later on I would also meet their friend and bandmate/guitarist Rex Bonney. Through playing near the Naro, I met some of their employees: Aaron Burgess (who is also a local musician in the indie-rock group Bonske) and Aria Maisey who is a local artist; she many times came out to visit me while I was playing and chatted with me. Hung out at and played some nice sorta informal shows at the venue Plaza Del Sol- where I also met Charles Abadam who is a violinist and also a member of DJ P & Mr. T and would enjoyed jamming with him sporadically.
with Nato Bardeen of the Drowningmen.

Later I met, local ukulele player and singer Skye Zentz at Fairgrounds Coffee at open mic she hosted while performing with the singer Rene Montague of my previous project that was called Heronland. I also performed on a few occasions at the Phillip Odango's Kerouac Cafe for Louis Fisher's art show and later some other events there too.

Later I met my friend and harmonica player Wes Sutherland while out busking who I jam with fairly often and have even busked with on a number of occasions and even jammed together with, including a small but enjoyable and memorable one with James Robert Smith from the band Musicplayer at the Kerouac Cafe. I was  slightly involved and played at the celebration of the start of the Soundcheck program at the 757 Creative Space as well.

I was also fortunate enough to get into two concerts for free as a result of my busking. I got to see the Drowningmen twice: the first time their photographer Ryan Renteria saw me playing accordion and took photographs and some video of me and then put me on the guess list to get into the sold out Flogging Molly show that night for free! The Drowningmen opened with a killer set that has had me hooked as a fan ever since. They were followed by Sweden's Moneybrother whom I've also been a fan their irresistible dancey rock tunes since.
w/Gabelani Messer & Rory Dolan of Drowningmen.

The second time around the Drowningmen's frontman Nato Bardeen who was not only nice enough to put me on the guest list and get me in for free the second time around but also let me get my buddy Wes Sutherland in for free as well, and I was flattered he remembered me from the months before. They came to the Norva again; the second time, I saw them opening for the Alkaline Trio. The Drowningmen always give an amazing live show sporting two guitars, organ, piano, slight usage of theremin, and Nato's soaring lead vocals. The energetic rhythmic qualities of their music and guitarist James Smith is awesome too. My personal favorite is when they do, "Caroline's A Mess" live. It is catchy as hell, full of energy, and just unbeatable! The fact those guys were so kind to me and even remembered me was a highlight for me as an accordionist.

Later after joining Accordion Lovers of Virginia and meeting the extremely talented Sidney Sward. I am highly benefiting both as a friend and musically from Mr. Sward, along with the other members of the club including Tip, Andy, and others I have briefly met.

That mostly sums up my experiences over the past few months and for the summer. Every day has been either at my part-time job or getting up and practicing then racing out to Norfolk from my home in the boonies in Chesapeake and performing anywhere from 2 to 4 hours at a time. I didn't even realize until I stopped long enough to think about it just now; just how much has happened during this time!

Thanks for reading. Until next time......