Those Darn Accordions at Mystic Lake Casino Oktoberfest

San Francisco accordion rockers, Those Darn Accordions are set to perform at The Mystic Lake Casino Oktoberfest in Prior Lake, MN on Oct. 4 & 5.  Show times are 7pm -11pm each night. Great food, beer and contests. Admission is free!

Those Darn Accordions At Cotati Accordion Fest

Well Alright! TDA has been added to the Saturday line up at the Cotati Accordion Festival on Aug. 17. We go on at 2:10 pm, but get there early and plan to stay all day (and the next!) to hear some great accordion driven bands. Cotati is always a blast and a great place to learn everything you ever wanted to know about accordions!  See you there!

Here Comes Oktoberfest!

It's getting to be that time of year again. Let the Oktoberfests begin! TDA is heading back to Mammoth Lakes, CA on Sept 22 to kick off our bellows and beer season. Then we head up to OR for 3 dates the following weekend.  Get more info on our Tour Page. In meantime, enjoy a Glass of Beer with TDA and Drew Carey.

Cocktails In Tehran!

I see that Cocktails In Tehran has been uploaded to YouTube by UFO Jockey (great handle, BTW). A real pleasure to hear Carri belt this out again. We never did this song live, though it was intended to be a showcase for her amazing voice. What a performance!

The Darn in The Northwest

The Darn is set to blast off in 9 days. Check out our tour page for details on the shows. The Rockethub video is getting a great response and it looks like we've raised almost enough to fuel this epic tour! You can check out the video here. There's still some great TDA rewards for folks that want to help out!

Paul Plays TDA Tunes on KPTZ In Port Townsend

I'll be doing an "in-studio" this Friday on KPTZ in Port Townsend. Phil Andrus is the host. Dirk Anderson will be helping out on string bass. They just got set up for internet streaming so now the whole world can tune in! Things kick off at noon. 

Thinking Outside The Squeezebox in Cedar Rapids, IA

TDA front man, Paul Rogers heads to Cedar Rapids, IA this weekend to help out at the National Accordion Symposium  "Thinking Outside The Squeezebox". He will conduct a workshop in Techniques of Rock Accordion and will cover the challenges of giving your accordion "the guitar sound" and making it loud enough to compete with a drummer and bass player flailing away behind you.  The workshops are during the day on Saturday, Sept 24.
On Saturday night, Paul and TDA bass player, Lewis Wallace, will join forces with local drummer Mike Flack to play a set at The Parlor City Pub and Eatery. Joining them on the bill will be fellow symposium guest, Corn Mo. The show starts at 9 pm.
Sounds like squeezin' good time!

TDA At The Palms Playhouse

We are back at the Palms Playhouse in Winters, CA this Friday. We're excited to have Carri back with us and we've dug into the songbook for a few TDA classics. It should be a rocking night! Showtime is 8 pm.

Jabara Rokushimai, aka The Six Bellows Sisters

Jabara Rokushimai, aka The Six Bellows Sisters, is a six-piece all-female accordion band from Japan.

(Thanks for the tip, Bill!)

Free MP3s From Those Darn Accordions

Sign up for the Those Darn Accordions newsletter and receive a link for a free MP3 download every Friday. You'll also get the story behind each song. The first free download is The Perry Mason TV Theme. Enjoy!

Young Accordionist Shreds Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"

Ukranian kid Aleksandr Hrustevich is making the inbox rounds with his playing of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." A typically violin based piece, Hrustevich tears it up on a bayan accordion.

You can see more of his mastery at on his YouTube page here.

New Pix From TDA's 20th Anniversary Tour

If you've been following us on Twitter, or have attended any of the shows on our 20th anniversary tour, you may have heard of the fabulous accordion-shaped casserole (pictured) cooked up by our pal Al in Wisconsin.

Served with refreshing Polish beer provided by Gary, it made for an unbelievably awesome meal after our massive "Beer Barrel Polka" finale in Oshkosh.

See more tour photos -- including the feisty-yet-doomed Somonauk Crawdad -- on the TDA multimedia page.

'My Accordion' Tells Life Story of Carmen Vitanza

Many thanks to Carmen Vitanza who sent me his book, "My Accordion: The Music of My Life." It's a wonderful look back over 60 years of this virtuoso's life. Any fan of the accordion will enjoy it.

Here Comes TDA

Show #1 of 20 was in Alameda, CA. A nice warm up for Cotati Accordion Festival on Saturday. Come early and hear some great accordion playing, drink beer and eat some great food! We go on at 6:25 PM and will have lots of special guests from the early years of TDA. See ya there!

A Toast To Those Darn Accordions

In the secluded studios of the TDA graphic arts department, a special commemorative pint glass is being prepared. Rumor has it that the TDA van will be making a diversion on its trip across the United States to pick them up at a secret location known only to a few select band members and the 100 or so employees that work there and their other customers and I guess anyone else who knows how to Google. Stay tuned for more info and how you might be able to procure one of these limited-edition glasses.

Saying Goodbye To Clyde Forsman, 1915 to 2009

Clyde Forsman, former Those Darn Accordions frontman and tireless champion of the accordion, passed away peacefully Friday night at his home in San Francisco. He died of complications from diabetes, compounded by a series of strokes, according to his family. He will be greatly missed.

A wonderful entertainer, Clyde never failed to bring a smile to the faces of his fans, whether he was knocking them dead with his takes on Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" and Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" -- which remain to this day the standard by which covers of those tunes must be measured -- or just chatting before or after a show.

With a lifetime of experience as a musician and carpenter, he always had a story to tell. His amazingly colorful tattoos (which can be seen on the covers of TDA records Squeeze This! and No Strings Attached) always caught the audience's eye. But it was Clyde's limitless charm and infectious personality that hooked 'em forever.

To say that we had some amazing times on the road together would be an understatement. Clyde's performances with TDA were legendary.

I had the honor to work side-by-side with Clyde for more than 10 years and I can tell you that his energy and humor were truly inspiring. He joined TDA at the very first gig in at San Francisco's Paradise Lounge back in 1989 at the age of 74. He stayed with us till 2000, wowing crowds at hundreds of shows.

Clyde's performances across the country won him friends everywhere we played. He was always eager to talk to fans before and after a show and regale them with countless tales, each one more amazing than the last. I know he drew great pleasure from his time spent with TDA and appreciated all the kind words and encouragement he received from his fans. Thank you all for helping make this wonderful memory for him.

Outrage: Grammys Kill 'Best Polka' Category

The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is eliminating the Grammy for best polka album.

The latest slap in the face to accordion lovers everywhere, announced Thursday, is a move to keep the Grammys "pertinent within the current musical landscape," according to the recording industry group.

"It's not that the polka world's not used to it," said Carl Finch, leader of the mighty Texas band Brave Combo, which beat out perpetual winner Jimmy Sturr for the polka Grammy twice in the last decade.

"The polka world expects it," said Finch. "It's like, 'Yeah, the man did it to us again.'"

No kidding -- this is an outrage! The academy now wants polka records to be nominated in the folk category.

This is all part of the gray-beard music industry's drawn-out death throes -- the old categorizations don't work anymore. The old ways of selling records don't work anymore. The superstar system doesn't work anymore. MTV doesn't play music, people don't buy CDs, even the giants don't reliably sell millions of units anymore.

Maybe the Academy will replace the polka category with a "best manufactured band created for a television show and marketed via a soft-drink tie-in" category. Because it's clearly not about the music anymore.

Accordionize Your Home - Part IV

You just did laundry and somehow there's a bunch more to do again. Will this chore never end? Why not duct tape an accordion to your dryer's vent*? That's what some freshmen at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute did to their dorm's vent. Freshman Kyle McDonald explains more in the video's description.

*- Team TDA takes no responsibility for any damage caused by blocking your dryer vent. The above video has been blogged about for entertainment purposes only. But if you do anything cool like that, be sure to share the video with us!

Battlestar Galactica Composer Plays Accordion

I love Battlestar Galactica. I love the music for Battlestar Galactica, which is composed by Bear McCreary. I also happen to have a certain fondness for the accordion.

So how come I'm only now finding out that Bear plays accordion?

See him in action in this video from his 30th birthday party, in which he joins his brother's band in a version of "All Along the Watchtower" -- Galactica style.

Don't Miss the Mad Maggies' CD Release Party

The Mad Maggies play a special CD-release party this Saturday in San Francisco. Accordion-squeezin' bandleader Maggie Martin is a hoot, and a great friend of TDA.

Original TDA drummer Bill Schwartz plays with the Maggies these days, and the big band consists of a bunch of nice people playing fun and interesting international music.

Think reels, sea chanteys, polkas and some rock, all pulsed through a giant honking blender with horns, accordion and a full rhythm section.

The new record, Skull & Magpies, sounds great, and I was lucky enough to play on a few of the tracks.

Here are the details on the CD-release party from Maggie herself:

A rousing night of musick, pyrates and high seas rabble celebrating the Mad Maggies latest musical offering, Skull & Magpies.

Doors open at 8 p.m. -- $10 donation

The Accordion Apocalypse Repair Shop
2626 Jennings St., Bayview
San Francisco • (415) 596-5952

Look your pyrate or wench best!

Because it is a "private" organization's party it can be all ages.
The owner Skylar will contract for someone to run a bar (with rum drinks, natch ;-)

If you are anywhere near San Francisco, get thee to the partee.