The Darn Blows Through The Target

Huge thanks to everyone that has helped fuel The Darn's northwest tour through RocketHub.  We reached our goal of $500 and currently sit at $690.  There's still 10 days to go and lots of cool TDA rewards available.  You can check out Paul's video pitch here.

Paul Rogers Talks About The Darn and Crowdfunding in Funny Video.

Hey, have you heard of the cool new thing bands are doing to finance their tours? It's called Crowdfunding! Yeah! This is your chance to get the best deal ever on TDA CDs, T-shirts and bumperstickers. Plus you can even have breakfast with me! Or even get me to write a song about you or whoever you like! Check me out!

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!

"The Darn" Are Coming To The Pacific Northwest

The four piece version of Those Darn Accordions, (2 accordions, bass and drums), head for the great state of Oregon for a 3 day mini-tour.  First up is the Seaside Elks Lodge on Sept 8, then the Old World Deli in Corvalis on Sept 9.  Finally it's McMenamins Oktoberfest at The Old St. Francis School in Bend on Sept 10. 
 We've played a few shows with "just" two accordions, bass and drums in
the past due to scheduling conflicts and such, but now we're giving
this stripped-down version of the band a name to differentiate these
shows from full-on Those Darn Accordions shows. We think "The Darn"
works nicely, and if you're in the area next month, we hope you'll
come check out the show. We'll be playing tons of TDA songs (and
sneaking in a few surprises).
Check out the TDA tour page for more info.

TDA Plays 'Baba O'Riley,' Live in Seaside, Ore.

Watch our version of "Baba O'Riley," recorded live at the Elks Lodge in Seaside, Ore., and posted to YouTube by Jim D'Ville. Love the party graphics!

We played this decidedly non-German song at Seaside's first Oktoberfest last weekend, but there were plenty of polkas on the set list as well. Hope we get a chance to take the stage again next year.

Accordions On The Rise

Cynthia Dizikes has a nice story on accordions in the LA Times. She cites the resurgence in popularity of the instrument and some of the folks that have helped make it "cool" again. If only we had known, we could have lent a hand as well!

Those Darn Accordions Top Tunes iMix

And the winner is ... "Them Hippies Was Right"!

The results are in and taking into consideration a few ties, here are the Top 22 TDA tunes. Thanks to everyone for sending in your favorite TDA songs. You can pick up all these TDA gems in one fell swoop in an iMix on iTunes. The songs are sequenced by order of popularity.

This was a lot of fun finding out what our fans like best about the band. We'll try it again in another 10 years!

Note: "Back in Black" made the list at No. 14, but AC/DC's publishing company has not authorized the song for download. For that reason, it is not included in the iMix.

Have Distortion, Will Travel

Hey, When Magnetic Fields set out to make a CD with distorted accordion, they should have given us a call. We've pretty much got it down to a science. With Sennheiser mics and amps set on overdrive, we get a pretty beefy crunch. The only concern, and it's a big one, is the dreaded feedback. I don't know why they were having trouble getting feedback because it's a constant threat when we play live. Of course, there's a big difference between "feedback" and "distortion" and the article doesn't make that distinction. It could just be a matter of semantics. Anyway, check out Magnetic Field's new CD, "Distortion" and then give "Squeeze Machine" a listen. It should make for an interesting comparison.

TDA Video Clip: 'Them Hippies Was Right'

I put a video clip of "Them Hippies Was Right" up on YouTube. The sound is pretty gnarly, but it's kind of fun to watch. It's from a 2006 show at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California. Check it out!