TDA at 142 Throckmorton

Here's a few photos for you to enjoy, fresh from the balcony at tonight's TDA concert at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre.

We're wrapping up our 20 City Tour & would love to see photos you've taken so far - add a link in the comments below to your favorite TDA pix.
If you haven't made it to a show this tour, there's still time!






Jim Rothermel guesting on Sax & Clarinet!

Video: TDA Alumni at Cotati Accordion Festival

For the big ending to Saturday's 20th anniversary set at the Cotati Accordion Festival, former Those Darn Accordions members joined the current lineup for several songs.

In the first clip, Big Lou and Art Peterson sing "Hotsy Totsy Polka" and original TDA drummer Bill Schwartz sings "Low Rider."



In the second, Ron Muriera sings "It's Not Unusual" before Tom Torriglia and the rest of the TDA alumni reunite onstage for "We're An Accordion Band."

Follow TDA Tour on Twitter, Win Road Swag

If you're not already following us on Twitter, now would be a good time to start. We'll be tweeting like mad as we drive across the country and get down to business playing gigs in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Check out the official Those Darn Accordions Twitter page and be sure to follow @TDAccordions for updates, including the times and locations of TDA Roadside Giveaways: Some lucky winners will receive TDA merch, including the new Accordion Bots shirts.

To Cotati and beyond!

Just Added 3 More TDA Covers to the List

"Walk This Way," "Dance to the Music" and "Dancing Queen."

Wow, that's a lot of tunes we've learned (and mostly forgotten) -- nearly 40 over the years. But then, when you've been rocking the squeezebox for two decades, that's only a couple of new covers a year.

Check out the full list and leave us a comment about what songs you'd most like to hear when we hit the road later this summer.

So far it seems like "Frankenstein" is a must-play. (I'm rooting for "Godzilla.")

Links:

TDA Covers: 20 Years of Accordion-Fueled Rock 'n' Roll

Curious where we'll be playing? Check out confirmed tour dates.

Photo Shoot Sneak Peak

Are you following TDA's official twitter - Twitter.com/TDAccordions? If so, this past Sunday you may have read of a photo shoot that involved Suzanne, Carri, & Susie.

We're excited to share the final photo with everybody & we'll be divulging more details as soon as we can, so stay tuned!

TDA Covers: 20 Years of Accordion-Fueled Rock 'n' Roll

Those Darn Accordions has covered some pretty varied musical terrain over the past two decades. The originals and polkas are one thing -- we've tossed plenty of tunes into the genre blender and pushed frappe repeatedly. We tried not to make too much of a mess.

But, as you can tell by this long (and probably incomplete) list of rock 'n' roll songs we've played over the years, we've taken the accordion to some pretty strange places in our never-ending pursuit of the ultimate squeezebox rock cover songs. Some of these covers became staples of TDA shows and even made it on to our recordings; others disappeared from the set list almost immediately, for whatever reason.

As we pull together set lists for our 20-city tour, we've been thinking a lot about what we should play. We've been getting a kick out of the whole "trip down memory lane" thing, and we'd like to take you with us.

So let us know: Which of these covers would you like to hear? Which ones should be banished forever? And which ones have we forgotten entirely? Let us know in the comments section below.


Whole Lotta Love/ Black Dog -- Led Zeppelin
Magic Carpet Ride -- Steppenwolf
Low Rider -- War
Frankenstein -- The Edgar Winter Group
We're an Accordion Band -- Grand Funk Railroad
The Devil Went Down to Georgia -- The Charlie Daniels Band
Back in Black -- AC/DC
Baba O'Riley -- The Who
Radar Love -- Golden Earring
Pump It Up -- Elvis Costello
Making Our Dreams Come True -- "Laverne and Shirley" theme song
Godzilla -- Blue Oyster Cult
I Melt With You -- Modern English
Moondance -- Van Morrison
Party Hard -- Andrew W.K.
Shine Your Light -- The Mavericks
Aqualung -- Jethro Tull
Stairway to Heaven -- Led Zeppelin
Uncontrollable Urge -- Devo
Fire -- Jimi Hendrix
Surrender -- Cheap Trick
(Keep Feeling) Fascination -- The Human League
Proud Mary -- Ike and Tina Turner
It's Now or Never -- Elvis Presley
Play That Funky Music -- Wild Cherry
Viva Las Vegas -- Elvis Presley
It's Not Unusual -- Tom Jones
Our House -- Madness
Da Ya Think I'm Sexy -- Rod Stewart
Sleep Walk -- Santo & Johnny.
Walk Don't Run -- the Ventures
Pick up the Pieces -- Average White Band
Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) -- Parliament
Dancing Queen -- ABBA
Dance to the Music -- Sly and the Family Stone
Walk This Way -- Aerosmith

TDA Is Now on Twitter

Hey, who doesn't need to waste more time typing out and sharing the latest little everything? Follow us @tdaccs ...

Video: Two-Handed Bowler Rolls to 'Bowling King'

Check out the video from a Today Show report: "Unique bowler puts new spin on old game." Pay special attention to the soundtrack.

Happy Birthday, Suzanne!

(Shhhhh ... let's see if she reads this blog.)

Photo by Arkadiusz Benedykt/Flickr

TDA Photos From the Patty Brady Archives

TDA alumna Patty Brady has been uploading tons of vintage photos from the band's early years. (You did know that we've been at this for, like, two decades now, right?)

You can currently see some of the photos -- like the group shot above, from way back when the band had more than a dozen members -- on our multimedia page. You can see the full set on the TDA Photo Archive on Flickr.

One of my personal favorites is the action shot below, which shows Suzanne and Patty, and reminds me of a bullfight. ¡Ole!

Thanks for sharing, Patty!

Gift Packs are Here!

Just in time for Cyber Monday, we've created a couple limited-time specials. Don't fight the crowds. Don't waste time in traffic. Shop quickly & comfortably in our store for all the naughty & nice ones on your list.

Gift Set 1
Buy 1 Short Sleeve T-Shirt, Get 1 CD for $10

Gift Set 2
Buy any TDA CD, Get 1 CD Free

In the case that your TDA collection is well stocked, we're offering the "Uncorked" album from Paul's side-project the Christmas Jug Band.

Don't forget, everybody prefers TDA over another pair of socks!

New ThoseDarnAccordions.com

This weekend we launched a new version of ThoseDarnAccordions.com. The focus was to simplify content and navigation. Some highlights are...
- Each product has its own page.
- Each band member has their own biography.
- More active content in the Multimedia section.

And now here's how you can make it even better! Post photos of TDA on your Flickr.com account and tag them ThoseDarnAccordions. Our Multimedia page shows the latest uploads with that tag, giving everyone a chance to share their wonderful pix with other fans! Right now, you can see photos from some Yahoo employees enjoying TDA on their Sunnyvale campus.

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!

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.

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.

Seaside Oktoberfest Is On, Baby

Thee stage is set at the Seaside Elks Lodge, the crafters are selling their goods, the food vendors are rocking outside and we're getting ready to go on at the Seaside Oktoberfest.

We always have a great time in this groovy little Oregon town, and so far this outing is no exception. This is the inaugural edition of the Seaside Oktoberfest, and already you can tell it's a little different:When was the last time you had barbecued oysters or crab cakes at an Oktoberfest? There's plenty of beer (including Widmer Brothers hefeweizen and Okto!) and bratwurst, too.

If you're anywhere near the Oregon coast, get a move on -- we start at 6 p.m. and play till 9 p.m. Admission is just $2. What a deal!

Oktoberfest '08 Photos

If you weren't able to make it out or simply want to relive a bit of the fun from this past weekend, here's a few snapshots of Those Darn Accordions at Widmer Brothers Brewery.


After a full day of booze, bratwurst, & bands the audience awaits TDA to take the stage.


Lewis takes a look at the set list at his feet & starts prepping himself to play the latest cover tune, Dancing Queen.


Paul surveys the crowd, asks the time, the ladies of TDA declare it "Polka Time!" and the show is appropriately opened with Glass Of Beer Polka.


A bit later Suzanne gets sultry under the cool glow of the hot lights. Later in the set, she wins a battle against the devil when The Devil Went Down To Georgia.


Carri looks offstage to see other Oktoberfest bands watching the show from the wings.


A staple of a TDA show, Susie tears it up as she belts out Back In Black.


Michael laid down the beats and hid from the camera behind his drum kit, as the audience grooved to TDA's return to Portland.


The next morning Suzanne & Lewis ventured to downtown Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts. Picking from the oddball menu, Suzanne enjoys the No Name Doughnut topped with chocolate, Rice Krispies, & creamy peanut butter while Lewis tries out the Bubble Gum Doughnut.
The verdict? Surprisingly Delicious!

Widmer's Oktoberfest this Saturday

TDA returns to the Widmer Brothers Brewery in Portland, Ore. this Saturday.

The free, 21+ Oktoberfest event starts at 3pm and is expected to draw over 3,000 people. Food will be traditional German grub and live music throughout the day will include TDA, Debra Arlyn, Tea for Julie, Keegan Smith and The Fam, and Colin Lake and Wellbottom.

Come out, enjoy the predicted 80° day, and throw back a pint or two with TDA.

Another Reason to Hit Polish Fest on Saturday

Aside from the food, vodka tasting and final TDA show in Wisconsin this year, Saturday night at Milwaukee's Polish Fest brings another noteworthy event: a set by Jimmy Sturr and his orchestra.

The 17-time polka Grammy winner starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Miller stage (right before us).

Two Shows Down and One to Go

Our Wisconsin whirlwind mini-tour is two-thirds of the way done, and the first two gigs couldn't have been more different.

The first, at the wonderful Swiss Turner Hall of Monroe, was quite quiet -- the venue calls for a low-key sound. The accordion players didn't even use amps (a return to TDA's roots, in a way). Michael played drums, of course, and I had a bass amp, but we kept the volume tamped waaaaaaaaaaaaaay down.

It made for a sort of storyteller's show -- special thanks to the guy who told the true tale about nailing a 7-10 split in Turner Hall's bowling alley. His demo, with two pins and a bowling ball, was pretty amazing. And the post-show limburger and beer in the Ratskeller was remarkable as always. Special thanks to all our friends at Turner Hall who always make us feel so welcome.

Food note: If you ever find yourself near Monroe, you really owe it to yourself to enjoy a meal in Turner Hall's Ratskeller -- the food is genuinely amazing. (Check out the menus for a taste of what you can expect in the way of Swiss delicacies -- do not miss the rösti.)

Day two of the TDA Wisconsin mini-tour found us on the giant Miller stage at Polish Fest in Milwaukee. The event is on the Summerfest grounds (although it's not nearly as maddeningly crowded as at the Big Gig). The stage is still huge, though, and the sound is truly awesome. The high volume makes for a totally different kind of show: The accordion players ran through amps (Paul reveled in his Marshall half-stack), and Michael banged his drums to his heart's content. My bass rig was taller than me.

In short, it was much more of a rock show. We'll be doing the same thing again tonight -- loud and proud at our first Milwaukee shows since 2005. Can you believe it's been that long?

If you can make it out, we'd love to see you. We start at 9 p.m. tonight and go to midnight (with a break in the middle for fireworks). Come on down and enjoy some great Polish food and piwo -- you'll get to hear a couple new and revived TDA tunes, lots of stuff from our latest CD, Squeeze Machine, plus plenty of back-catalog classics.