TDA X-Mas Shopping Tips

Before you run out to Wal-Mart and load up on oodles of toxic toys from China, I'd like to suggest you visit this guide to buying American. Lots of ways to Christmas shop right here in the good old USA! Of course, I'm proud to say that TDA Music is 100 percent American-made, so if you'd like to give the gift that lasts multiple lifetimes,and has actually been proven to extend a few, click on over to our special Holiday Gift Pack page. We've got special offers designed to meet the needs of the most discerning diatonic devotee!

Accordions Take Blame for Everything

Now squeezeboxers are taking the heat for Al Gore's pet cause: "National Accordion Month Causes Global Warming," according to Above the Borderline.

Little Buddy Radio

I got a nice message from the folks at Little Buddy Radio, a streaming online radio station that keeps the dream of Bob Denver (Maynard, Gilligan) alive. They listened to "Maynard Played The Bongos" and liked it so much they are adding it to their playlist. How about that! And to think that poor song has been sitting on a shelf for years. Dreama, Bob's wife, said that Bob would have gotten a kick out of hearing it. That makes it all worth while for me! Little Buddy Radio is involved with the Denver Foundation, started by Bob and Dreama Denver to aid handicapped and disadvantaged kids in WV. Please give LBR a listen!

Paul Rogers: Songs From The Shelf

This may come as a surprise to you, but not every tune I come up with complies with the rigorous standards of nonsense required for inclusion in the TDA set list. So, what happens to these "Non-TDA" tunes you might ask? Oh, I've got a wall full of them. I was staring at that wall the other day and decided, what the heck, I'll start putting some of them up on MySpace on a rotating basis. Just for kicks! So here's my very own MySpace page. Right now I've got a few Christmas tunes that I recorded with The Christmas Jug Band, a special salute to Maynard G. Krebs and a few others. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Paul Rogers

A Tour With Teller

Having had the pleasure of performing with Teller on Penn and Teller's Sin City Spectacular, I found it quite interesting to take an inside peek at the abode of this quiet magical genius, courtesy of USA Today. While Teller's onstage persona is mute, I am honored to say that I have had lively conversation with him and he is indeed a gentleman and a scholar.

Take a virtual tour of Teller's home in this Flash photo gallery (don't miss the secret bookcase).

Just Added: TDA Holiday Gift Pack 2007

Overdose on Those Darn Accordions with this amazing deal: All six TDA CDs for just $60, with no shipping or handling.

It's the amazing TDA Holiday Gift Pack 2007. Such a deal! (Sorry, but international shipping will cost a little extra.)

We've also got a new Squeeze Machine Fun Pack, featuring the new CD, the new Squeeze Machine T-shirt and a couple of extras thrown in just for fun.

Photo by kafka4prez.

A Building That Looks Like an Accordion

Most wild architectural flights of fancy look better on paper than they do in real life. But there's no denying that architect Ken Shuttleworth's design for a London building with a pleated facade looks an awful lot like an accordion's bellows. Shuttleworth told the Evening Standard he wanted the squeezebox-shaped building to "reinstate a more coherent plan of the square as envisaged by (Christopher) Wren." Wren's monument to the great fire of London will be reflected in the accordion building's bellowslike reflective face.

Vote on Star Trek's Weirdest Aliens

Over at Wired News, we put together a gallery featuring Star Trek's 10 Cheesiest Classic Creatures. There's no Hamsterman or Loch Ness Monster, but you will find the Gorn, a salt vampire and, of course Tribbles. Is there a better job in the world?

Request 'Heads and Horns'

Want to help get the word out about Those Darn Accordions? Take a second to request "Heads and Horns" on Sirius' Outlaw Country. The Request a Song link is on the upper right-hand part of the page.

Outlaw Country is an awesome Sirius Satellite Radio channel (it's also available on channel 6063 on Dish Network satellite TV). The celebrity DJs play tons of great classic country, hard-core honky tonk and even rootsy rock 'n' roll -- a big focus is on strong songwriting. It's my favorite radio station, and I'm pretty sure "Heads and Horns" would fit right into the play list. (They already play TDA founder Big Lou's "Yoo Hoo Polka" on a regular basis.)

Look What They've Done to My Song, Momma!

When you write a song and put it out in the world, you just never know where it might end up. In this case, right in the middle of the Fruitcake Follies. It's a pretty entertaining version of "Santa Lost A Ho," I must say.

Lucy Liu Played the Accordion

Actress Lucy Liu tells Parade magazine that she tried the accordion as a kid -- but wasn't that great, so she gave it up.

"When I was young, I tried violin and accordion for two weeks each," she said. "I was really horrible at the violin. And I wasn’t good at the accordion, but I liked it."

Too bad ... I bet she'd be great at it now -- ever see her kung fu skills in Charlie's Angels?

I Want a Trunk Monkey

If I lived in Oregon, I'd be shopping for a car with innovative Trunk Monkey technology at Suburban Auto Group.

No 'Ho, Ho, Ho' for Sydney Santas

Politically correct Australian Santa schools -- which train seasonal workers to portray the jolly old elf Down Under -- have banned the phrase "ho, ho, ho," according to a report in The Daily Telegraph. A pair of recruits quit over the ridiculous ban, and at least one would-be Santa said the proscription was because "ho" is English slang for "prostitute."

Westaff, the recruitment firm at the center of the controversy, issued a statement saying the whole thing was overblown.

"Westaff has been a provider of quality caring Santas for over forty years," wrote Sari Hegarty, the company's national Santa coordinator, in an e-mail to stores. "Part of our advice to our Santas is that they should be mindful of children having their first Santa experience. We ask our Santas to try techniques such as lowering their tone of voice and using 'ha, ha, ha' to encourage the children to come forward and meet Santa. We wish you and your family a very merry Christmas."

Man, have I got a song for Australia (actually, Paul does): "Santa Lost A Ho," which is track No. 1 on The Christmas Jug Band's fantastically funny record, Uncorked.

BONUS: Download a free MP3 of "Santa Lost a Ho."

A Squeezebox Story for Veterans' Day

World War II veteran John Martino storming Omaha Beach with an accordion in tow. A squeezebox plucked from Hitler's bunker. What can I say? These vignettes make the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feature, "Region's Vets Retell Vivid Stories," the perfect Veterans' Day reading on the Wall of Wheeze.

Nice Review for Squeeze Machine

A big bellowing thanks to Let's Polka for the swell review of Squeeze Machine.

Flashback: 'Weird Al' Unveils His New Look With TDA

Pretty funny blog post by a "Weird Al" Yankovic fan who describes watching Those Darn Accordions on the American Music Awards back in 1998, scanning for Al and being stunned by the first appearance of the parody king's new look.

"Surely Al's got to be in there somewhere...scan for frizzy hair, glasses, moustache, Hawaiian shirt...NOTHING! Just Drew, Dick, and the guys from Those Darn Accordions again, including that one member with the shiny shirt who looks kinda like Varna the Squirmese Cook, and it looks like he stole Al's accordion or something...

Wait a minute.

Is that.................................................AL?!

Yes, hard as it was to fathom at the time, Al had ditched the glasses, grown the biggest goatee I've ever seen on him, and apparently gained a bit of weight from the Weird Al Show post-production process. To compound the confusion, Drew's mike was out when he yelled "Al Yankovic!" so the reveal was blown. For the first, last and only time in his life, the new "Inconspicuous Al" Yankovic simply blended in with the rest of the band."

It is kind of shocking, really, seeing Al's makeover and remembering how he used to look. Check out the YouTube video and see for yourself, as we do "a medley of 25 years of hits" with "Inconspicuous Al," Drew Carey and Dick Contino. (Right after us? Wu-Tang Clan, baby.)

TDA at International Accordion Festival in San Antonio

And the devil wins one! It's nice that the camera operator zoomed in a bit for Carri's amazing dance.