One-man band runs on polka power

What's an accordion player to do when he can't find other musicians to jam with? While Pro Tools and a "studio tan" are always vital options for solo players, Art Hieb had a different idea.

The Idaho man brought his expertise at modifying farming implements to bear and went to his workshop, where he cranked out contraptions that let him play accordion, drums, piano and harmonica all at once, The Times-News reports.

That's right: The Art Hieb Quartet is really a one-man band.

Hieb, 79, sounds like an alright guy. He even relates his own story of squeezebox therapy for an injured shoulder, a "treatment" spawned after he heard a woman play an accordion on a camping trip.

"When we got home, I got out that old accordion I had in the closet," Hieb says. "At first, boy that hurt! I could just play for maybe 10 minutes. But after a few weeks, I could play longer and longer. Now my shoulder is fine, and there were no doctor bills or nothing for all that therapy. Just a lot of fun."

Sounds a little more charming than Captured By Robots. (Not that there's anything wrong with programming a band of foul-mouthed machines to back your musical mayhem.)