I’ve blogged about Richmond’s independent radio station WRIR 97.3 before so it’s no secret that I dig it. Why? Because of the shows. Shows like Bill Lupoletti’s Global A Go-Go to name just one. Nothing gets me in the groove for the weekend like the music he plays on Friday nights from 5-7p.m.
And this Friday his already great show gets even better. How? Think two hours of kick ass accordion music from Texas to Africa and everywhere in between. And I’m lucky enough to be one of two guest hosts who will help Bill wax rhapsodic about one of the the greatest instruments on the planet. Barry Bless, the fabulous accordion player for Richmond band Happy Lucky Combo is the other one. We spent three very fun hours picking out 70 minutes worth of our favorite accordion tunes worldwide.  I think you’ll dig them.
I may have teeth-clenching, nausea-inducing anxiety when it comes to playing the accordion in front of people, but I have no anxiety when it comes to running my mouth about it. So if you’re around a radio tomorrow night from 5-7 and within the city limits (WRIR is a low power station) tune into 97.3FM. And if you’re not within the city limits, you can listen to it through live streaming on the radio’s website. Bill also does Podcasts of all his shows.  Here’s Bill’s blog post about the show.
Hope you give us a listen.

I love movies. I like the big screen, the dark theater, the popcorn and the Coke. And when the movie is over, I’ll sit there until the very last credit rolls across the screen, which is exactly what I did when I watched Woody Allen’s latest home run, Midnight in Paris. Seriously—he hit it out of the ballpark. And because it was partly set in 1920s Paris, the soundtrack was filled with more smatterings of French Musette-style accordion music than I can count. C’erait magnifique!!

But this blog post isn’t about Woody’s latest accomplishment. It’s just that while watching his wonderful little movie, I was reminded of two other fabulous films—both of which feature my fav instrument (and one day, it is hoped, yours).

My sister told me about the 2003 German film Schultze Gets the Blues. I dig Germans, beer, gnomes, accordions, and Cajun music. This movie had all that and more, which meant she knew I would like it. But I LOVED it. It’s a gem of a film. If you haven’t seen it, you must. Seriously.

Then a few years ago I saw a preview for the 2008 Mexican film Rudo y Cursi. I must confess—the only reason I went to see this movie was because the trailer featured a Mexican guy in a cowboy hat and cheesy white suit, playing the accordion and singing the song “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick. In Spanish. How could I pass THAT up? I didn’t expect to love it, but I did.

These two great movies sucked me in with the promise of an accordion sighting, certainly. But they kept me glued to the screen because they were darn good films. Do yourself a favor and add both of them to your Netflix queue. Happy Viewing!

Bonus link. Here’s a cool little list I found of all the movies that feature accordions or accordion music. Who knew?

I’m learning a brand new song and it’s hard. This polka (my first!) requires chord combinations I’ve never attempted, so it feels awkward and weird and makes my head want to explode after two minutes. It also doesn’t sound like anything even remotely resembling a song, much less a polka.

Practice sucks but it works. And when you finally cross over from the creaking and the groaning and the brain exhaustion to playing an actual song…from beginning to end…well, that’s a pretty magical feeling. Seriously. Keep practicing. Even five minutes a day…EVERY day, makes a big difference. Muscle memory is huge when it comes to learning the accordion.

Although I’ve been a long-time admirer of accordions from afar, up until about three years ago I had never even picked one up before. I’m also not what you would call musically inclined. Even so, I hung in there and I practiced–some days more than others, but I kept trying. Here I am the day the UPS man first delivered my accordion to my door.

Note the instructional DVD and the three-quarters empty Corona bottle–both are extremely helpful. Then here I am about three months later, still dutifully slogging through my beginner songbook.

This is six months later (I had started taking lessons with the fabulous John Du by then).

Fast forward to about 14 months later and my next teacher (the great Bob Jacobs) has helped me damn near master my very first Klezmer song.

You don’t have to be a musical prodigy, but you do have to practice. Your middle school piano teacher spoke the truth. I’m going to practice right now. And don’t be discouraged if it sounds like this.