Thursday, October 30, 2008

Spoofs of Hope


A gallery of Shepard Fairey's Obama "Hope" Posters spoofs popped online recently. A personal favorite is the portrait of Bob Hope, included here. Admittedly, the quality varies drastically, but it's interesting to see how iconic one street-artist-come-designer's work has become. If you're unfamiliar with Fairey's work, hop over to Obey Giant.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

War to the White House

Tired of the talking heads on television yammering on and on about the election? With time for an October Surprise becoming short, are you set with who you're voting for and just want a laugh? The Onion Newspaper is offering up some election snickers in their War for the White House section. Equally biased against all parties, it's just what we need to get through this final week.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Make a Watermelon Brain


DIY website Instructables has cool step-by-step instructions for making a brain out of a watermelon. All you'll need is a small seedless watermelon, a vegetable peeler, a couple of knives and a desire for a freaky-looking dessert.

[via Boing Boing]

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Do you Yahoo? TDA did!



At 4 O'Clock today TDA launched Yahoo's 2008 Oktoberfest activities. As the Sunnyvale staff lined up for endless beer & brat, TDA pumped out the energy.

Wandering around the campus, TDA couldn't help but admire a company that had both a free espresso bar and 2 on-site beach volleyball courts. A few company dancing queens couldn't resist cutting a rug through most of the set. Thanks Ladies!


YooHoo Yahoo! Staff - We'd love to see your photos! Post a link in the comments!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mill Valley Friday, Winters Saturday



TDA hits the stage again this weekend with two big shows.

The first stop in Mill Valley, Calif. tonight at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre. Opening for TDA is local Marin talent, Electric Tiger Lily.
Saturday night the gang returns to The Palms Playhouse in Winters, Calif.

See you there!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Paul's Sales Pitch

I haven't exactly been getting a swarm of Presenters around the TDA booth, so today I decided to sign up as an alternate at the Juried Showcases for a 2 minute pitch slot. It was looking like I wasn't going to get in, but then someone didn't show up and they called my name. I gotta tell ya, I was way more nervous walking up to the podium in that huge auditorium than I have ever been doing a show. I quickly realized the only way I could pull this off was to treat this like a gig and act like I was just talking between songs. So with shaking hands, and a dry mouth, I stared into the blinding spotlight and said: (It's weird that I can remember it so clearly)

"Hi folks, my name is Paul Rogers and I am with Those Darn Accordions. We are a 6 piece accordion band made up of 4 accordions, bass and drums. Beside myself, there are three woman that play the accordion and sing beautifully. We play everything from polkas to Led Zeppelin, but 90% of our music is original. These are clever, funny, thought provoking songs that reflect the human condition as I see it. (I paused here to see if I might get a chuckle. I didn't). We have performed on the Great American Music Awards with Drew Carey, Penn & Teller's "Sin City Spectacular", The Donny & Marie Show, and the Tammy Faye Baker show...I could on..(a few chuckles). You know folks, people come up to me after shows and say, "Paul, after the first song or two, we forget you are even playing accordions". (Pause) I've chosen to take that as a compliment. ( More chuckles) Ladies and gentlemen, I sense a lot of fear out there. I see it in your eyes as you enter the exhibit hall and see that word...Accordions. (a nice laugh as I gestured up behind me). I see you veering off to one side or the other. (More laughter) But folks, this conference is all about stepping outside our "comfort zone" and trying something new. (laughter continues) So I want all of you to step up to booth L20 and find out what TDA's really all about. Thank you very much. (a couple of "shouts of "Yeah", great applause)

Out in the hall I had several people come up and say "great pitch!" I was really glad it was over and it went well. Then I ran into the woman that ran the "Believe in Yourself" workshop I attended yesterday and she was very effusive and said she was very proud of me. I hope all of you are too.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Paul At The Booking Conference

Well, everybody else got to go home after Reno except me. I flew to OR to attend a booking conference and sit in a little booth with a TDA display and attempt to cajole Presenters to book TDA.
I just got back from my afternoon workshop, "Build Your Belief- The Key To Success"
Did you know that a belief is a thought that creates a feeling that causes either action or inaction which then causes an outcome? I didn't think so.
I have to put my name tag back on now and go down to the Juried showcases and see a bunch of very talented people do 12 minute sets.
I'm supposed to sign up for a "Dine Around" and go out to dinner with people I don't know and "step outside my comfort zone in order to maximize my conference experience."

At the morning exhibit hall time slot, I gave away 1 promo pkg for a possible mini tour in Alaska.  I brought 50 pkgs. I have 2 time slots left.  I have a certain negative belief developing that I have to go deal with now.

Cheers,
Paul

If you believe you can do it, or if you believe you can't do it, you're right.  - Henry Ford

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

TDA to Perform"Con Te Sulla Spiaggia"

We're playing the Eldorado's Great Italian Festival this weekend in Reno, NV so we thought it would make sense to add another Italian tune to the show. (Carri and Susie already do a show stopping version of "It's Now Or Never/O Solo Mio".) Our research dug up this Italian pop song from the '60s, made popular by Nico Fidenco; "Con Te Sulla Spiaggia". Our in-house translator, Carri Abrahms, has provided English lyrics for me. It's a good thing, because I really butchered the Italian ones. This should be fun.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Revving Up for Reno Italian Festival

The Eldorado Great Italian Festival is a truly fantastico party each year in Reno, Nev., with lots of music and vendors serving loads of great food. We've played the fun festival for years, and we'll be doing it again next weekend.

The big outdoor celebration of all things Italian (including accordions) takes over a main street in downtown Reno, with a couple of stages and roaming musicians everywhere. Those Darn Accordions plays both days on The Rome Stage. Our sets start at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12.

The Sacramento Bee has a nice story with an unruly headline -- "A Proud Family Tradition Lives on at the 27th Eldorado Italian Festival" -- if you'd like to get an idea of what goes on at the festival.

Hope to see you there.

P.S. I'm thrilled to see that original TDA member Tom Torriglia's band Bella Ciao will be returning as well.