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!

Oktoberfest Etiquette Tips

Tips for surviving the beerfest nearest you: Get beer wise with the Oktoberfest etiquette primer from Wired.com.

This will come in handy, I'm sure, for everybody headed to the two remaining Oktoberfests we'll be playing this year: Oktoberfest at The Village at Mammoth in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 3; and Oktoberfest Northwest in Puyallup, Wash., on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10.

Photo by Flickr user a4gpa


Related how-to's:

• Cook Beer Brats


• Make Sauerkraut


• Tap a Keg

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

Next Stop: Karfluki Fest Today

We're on our way to Auburn, California, for Karfluki Fest. It's a two-day festival, running May 3 and 4, but we only play Saturday (our set starts at 5:30 p.m.).

Karfluki Fest has a pretty big lineup:

• Tempest (the Celtic rock band that throws Karfluki Fest)
• Tom Rigney & Flambeau
  
• Fishtank Ensemble
  
• Incendio (Warning: the band's web site will resize your browser)
  
• Plasterkatz
  
• The Anderson Family Bluegrass Band
  
• Sierra Spiral Dancers
• Controlled Burn
  
• Siamsa
  
• Trey Cromwell
  
• Piper Jason McKinney
  
• Anne Robinson
  

If you are anywhere near the California Gold country, come on out and join the fun.

TDA Post-Show Wrap-Up

What a blast! Two nights, two Northern California shows, lots of new faces and plenty of old friends.

We had a great time playing so many songs off the new record, Squeeze Machine: "Heads and Horns," "Blame It on Those Darn Accordions," "Wrinkle Suit," "The Janitor Knows," "Glass of Beer Polka," "Mr. Saggy Butt," "Tandem Bike," "Stupid Things I Done," "This Song," "It's Now or Never."

We even ventured into the strange and scary Land of Musical Subtlety -- a region visited only rarely by this humble accordion-rock ensemble -- when we played a couple of "serious" songs: "Larry's Wonderful Life," also from Squeeze Machine, and "Old Slow Guy" from Lawnball. I hope those two numbers didn't throw anybody for too much of a loop!

Thanks to everybody who came out (and special props if you drove more than 100 miles -- you know who you are, and I won't name you here, lest Al "My Greenhouse Gas Is Better Than Yours" Gore is reading the Wall of Wheeze).

Thanks also to everybody at 142 Throckmorton Theatre and The Palms. Y'all were super-gracious, as per usual, and the sound was absolutely wonderful onstage (can't speak to the house sound, but I didn't see a lot of grimacing or bloody ears, so I'm guessing it was pretty good).

See you all next time.

Revvin' Up for First TDA Shows of 2008

That's right, folks, we've been practicing till our fingertips are sore, getting ready to play two California gigs this weekend. We play 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley on Friday, then head to The Palms in Winters for a Saturday show.

Both venues are wonderful places to see a musically subtle band like Those Darn Accordions: large stages, good lighting, excellent sound, superlative staffs, cold beer and good wine. You might even call them "upscale."

They are what we like to call "listening rooms" -- the kind of venues with solid commitments to live music, where the emphasis is on letting the bands play and the audience enjoy a good, comfortable night of entertainment. The kind of venues we like to play.

Hope to see you there.

Those Darn Accordions Pix From San Antonio

Don't know how I missed Kay Douglas' great pictures from the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio, but here they are:

• Black-and-white gallery


• Color gallery

There are some fun shots of TDA as well as many, many pictures of other performers and happy audience members. Truly fine photography. Thanks, Kay!

TDA at International Accordion Festival in San Antonio

And the devil wins one! It's nice that the camera operator zoomed in a bit for Carri's amazing dance.

Squeezin' in San Antonio, Part 4

Express-News journo Jim Beal Jr.'s blog coverage of the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio includes some cool pictures of performers. He also doles out some superlatives -- guess who he named "best-dressed band"? That's right: That title goes to "Those Darn Accordions, at least the three female members, Carri Abrahms, Susie Davis and Suzanne Garramone."

Paul's button-free Rockordion also gets the nod for "most radically altered accordion," and there are plenty more accolades and witty observations to go around. In fact, I nominate Jim for best coverage of the International Accordion Festival.

For more on the festival, check out the San Antonio Current's feature story, "Argentina, via the Ukraine." It starts out profiling "Argentinian accordion superstar Chango Spasiuk" and discussing the festival's truly international roots, then swerves into an interview with Paul about TDA's "oddball path" to squeezebox rock.

Squeezin' in San Antonio, Part 3

The Express-News' Jim Beal Jr. provides a post-action report of Day 1 at San Antonio's International Accordion Festival, headlined "Fest Offers a Lot of Fun and Tradition."

An excerpt:

"The old music and the new music kept dancers moving and large crowds at three stages grooving to the classic Western swing of the Ridgetop Syncopators; the Native American "chicken scratch" (a relative of conjunto) of Southern Scratch; the Celtic of Johnny B. Connolly and the Tradmarks; the San Antonio conjunto/rock of Texmaniacs; Quebecois from Yves Lambert & Le Bebert Orchestra; the complex Argentine folk/world music of Chango Spasiuk and his band; and the rollicking, rocking, four-accordion attack of San Francisco-based Those Darn Accordions."

There's a lot of roots music at the festival, and many mighty nice musicians hanging around. (We're getting quite an introduction to the button box and creole music, courtesy of Ed Poullard, who plays a mean fiddle alongside Louisiana accordionist Lawrence Ardoin, and builds button boxes himself). The festival organizers and volunteer staffers couldn't be any nicer, and the post-fest poolside party was pleasant as all get out.

Squeezin' in San Antonio, Part 2

Two sets down! Afternoon set -- hot as a fresh-fried puffy taco shell (I know because I had one). Evening set down by the River Walk -- much cooler. Bee-yoo-tee-full location, just right for an accordion band. Nice moat in front of the stage and all. You know things are looking up when you see a purple drink ticket.


Paul's black socks look cool and all, but here's what Suzanne and Carri looked like for tonight's show.

BTW, when you're in San Antonio and you're looking for a steak, give Little Rhein Steak House a try. Delicious filet-and-shrimp combo, and pecan pie that's outta this world.