Couple Quick Accordion Jokes

I rip these bits from The Herald only because they're squeezebox-centric and because I've never heard them:

"It reminds us of the old gag: why do politicians make good accordionists? Because they are used to playing both ends off against the middle."

And:

"We were told once by a chap who struggled learning the accordion: 'All it was good for was teaching me how to fold a map.'"

Guess that second one isn't even a joke, really. And I neither one is all that funny. Oh well.

Seven Deadly Sins

... and their wacky offspring, as charted out by somebody funnier than me.

(Via reddit)

Get Yer Those Darn Accordions Ring Tones!

Wow! Verizon is offering a ton of TDA tunes for ringtone downloads. Just go the Vcast site and scroll to page 2. Let the fun begin!

Caffeinated Doughnuts Coming Soon?

A molecular biologist wants to dose doughnuts with a jolt of caffeine.

As can be seen by the comments on the Wired News blog post, some folks love the idea, some folks hate it. I view this development as a potential boost for Those Darn Accordions' tours: Those late-night, post-gig drives start to look a lot more interesting when you've got an eye-opening cruller by your side.

Wisconsin Band Rocks, Accordion-Style

Straight outta Oshkosh comes a crazy bunch of squeezeboxers called Copper Box. OK, maybe just one guy on button box and three other musicians to round out the sound. But still.

Never heard of the band before reading Eric Klister's Valley Jams writeup in the Appleton Post-Crescent, which says the group "exploits the untapped rock potential of the accordion, making it the lead instrument on originals and wacky classic rock covers such as Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb.'" The profile also says the band plays up to 28 gigs per month, and the tour page seems to bear this out. Road dogs!

For more info, check out the Copper Box website and/or the band's MySpace page.

Classic TDA Clip on YouTube

Bill from Milwaukee dug up this dusty gem: Those Darn Accordions performing a cover of Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" (complete with alternate, accordion-oriented lyrics not featured on Squeeze This!).

The video appeared on San Francisco's Fog Town Network indie TV show in the early '90s. The clip features the old eight-accordion lineup, and everybody looks strangely young.

Ultimate 'Engrish' Menu Mistranslation?

From "Cowboy Leg" and "Rurality Salad" to "Good to eat mountain" and "Slippery meat in king's vegetables in pillars," the fractured English in this mistranslated (and possibly faked) Chinese menu overflow the whimsy buffer. And that's not even counting the ones with verbs. It's a humor buffett!

New CD by The Mad Maggies: Magdalena's Revenge

Things went well in the studio this weekend, but it's still gonna be awhile before the next Those Darn Accordions CD(s) see(s) the light of day. If you're itchin' for some new accordion music in the meantime, I encourage you to check out Magdalena's Revenge, the new CD by The Mad Maggies. It's all fresh and such and available now.

Some of you know that I play bass in that eclectic ensemble, too, so my recommendation isn't exactly unbiased. Plus, several old Polkacide pals (including Maggie Martin, our fearless squeezebox leader) round out the ranks of the big, fun band. If you've been to the Cotati Accordion Festival the past two years, you might even have seen us perform or met Maggie, Gary and the rest of the crew over at the combined TDA/MMs booth.

P.S. Three free MP3s from Magdalena's Revenge are up on the Mad Maggies' homepage (while they last).

Icy Streets Mean Bumper Cars

Say what you want about San Francisco, but one thing we generally don't get is snow storms that leave our pothole-pocked streets an icy, unmanageable mess. But up in Portland, Ore.? They get some serious storms, and drivers can face some pretty crazy conditions, like the almost unbelievable real-life bumper car scenario show in this video:



Reminds me of the good ol' days in Ohio.

Stupid Things I Done

1) Bought one pound of turkey breast and one pound of provolone cheese for sandwiches (incorrect sandwich-making ratio).

2) Left myself logged into Blogger during a Those Darn Accordions recording session.

(To be continued ...)

Thank You, Palms Party People!

Awesome crowd at The Palms in Winters, Calif., last night -- thanks for the warm response! Hope you liked the new tunes (sure seemed like you did)!

As per usual, the people who run The Palms were kind beyond belief. If you live anywhere near Winters, you should get on the venue's mailing list. The hall brings tons of great acts to Yolo County.

And now: Off to the studio to lay down some tracks for the new, as-yet-unnamed record.

TDA's New Press Photos

Maybe you saw the "cubist" vision of Those Darn Accordions on our homepage. But we've got another new handout picture on our For the Press page. Both taken by our pal Jim Merithew.

Those Darn Accordions Set to Record

Those Darn Accordions are going back in the studio to record CD # 6. We've got a bushel of tunes that have been waiting to be released and the time has come! This CD will feature some bellowed renditions of a couple of rock classics and of course a bunch of my nutty originals. Look for a couple of surprizes, as well. I can't believe it's been nearly 4 years since we put out a new CD, but when the beloved lawnball (the one from the "Lawnball" CD cover) got smashed to smithereens, I knew it was time to get cracking. With any luck we'll have this one ready by late spring.

Snowzilla II Makes Enemies

The 2006/2007 version of the giant Alaskan snowman -- rising 22 feet this year, a 6-foot increase over last year -- is getting a frosty reception from some of its builder's annoyed neighbors. Apparently Snowzilla draws throngs of tourists (and TV camera crews), who generally create a ruckus.

Maybe they could settle this with a good, old-fashioned snowball fight.

Darwin Awards: Evolve or Die

More tales of folks who tempted fate -- and lost. And the winners for 2006 are ...

Let the culling continue!

The Beauty of Lenticular Clouds

These natural phenomena are being floated as a possible explanation for the recent UFO sighting over Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Don't know if they're the anwer to that mystery, but I do know they are beautiful, as this awesome photo gallery shows.

When K-Tel Pushed Polkas

It was a simpler, happier time back in '71, when K-Tel sold a polka record for $3.99.
(Via Let’s Polka -- An Accordion Blog)

I Don't Want Her, You Can Have Her

... she's too fat for me. Guess they never heard that song in Mauritania, where wife fattening is a cultural tradition. Ick.

Best Haircut Ever?

An amusing Flickr find: best haircut ever?

(Via Reddit)