Spray Paint, the New Male Makeup

Your Monday is probably going better than Michael Edward Thompson's: Here's another wacky mug shot, courtesy of The Smoking Gun.

Summerfest Makes Rolling Stone's List

Summerfest -- former summer home of Those Darn Accordions -- makes Rolling Stone's list of best "Spring/Summer 2007 Music Festivals." The grading methods of the grizzled chronicle of rock 'n' roll fall under heavy suspicion, however, if only because of the magazine's description of Big Gig eats: "Lots of options: Fish and chips ($6), Gyros $5.50, salads ($5), chicken wings ($3), etc. Bottled water is $2.50. Grade: B."

That's "news you can use" from the magazine that used to publish Hunter S. Thompson.

Apparently Rolling Stone's entrepid reporters couldn't find the fantastic grub that makes Summerfest so deliciously rockin' ... special stuff like Mader's grilled brats and kraut balls, Sprecher's Black Bavarian, Culver's ButterBurgers and, yes, even the bloomin' onions from that barbecue joint with the name I can't recall. For that matter, the Cousins Subs stand is better than the overpriced garbage peddled at most festivals.

This little waddle down memory lane is making me hungry. Too bad the mid-gate Piggly-Wiggly stage -- where we played the entire Summerfest run during the good old days, when TDA was treated almost like some sort of wheezing artist in residence at the festival -- is gone, and no suitable venue has popped up to harbor our whimsical accordion music.

Maybe it's time for a write-in campaign -- seems like Those Darn Accordions should play Summerfest's 40th anniversary. (But then I'm clearly biased.) Would anybody brave the Summerfest throngs to hear a little squeezebox rock? Or am I flogging a dead horse here? Hmmm ... Black Bavarian ... brats ... kraut balls ... and more people having a better time than at any beer-fueled event I've ever seen.

Here's a Headline You Don't See Every Day

"Accordions Are Cool ... Really," topping an Orange County Weekly story about the Orange County Klezmers. Yippee.

Time to Set the Squeezeboxes Down

I can hardly believe it, but today I think I played the last note on accordion for the new CD. It must be time to quit, because I found myself adding a ukulele track to one tune, ("Where's Bob?"). Tomorrow I will fly to San Francisco and hand over the tracks to our trusted engineer, Marc Senasac.

He'll get everything ready to start the mixing process. I like that, because I get to sit in a comfy chair and spin around and say things like, "A little more echo on the vocal, please," or, "Crank up that solo!" That's usually when I get sent out to pick up beer and sandwiches. We still have some background vocals to do and a shot at getting a mystery celeb guest artist, but I do believe I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure hope it's not a train!

Cheers,

Paul

TDA's 'Wacky' Turn on This American Life

TDA friend and contributing artist Sean "It's Not Art" Peterson forwards a link to the "Death to Wacky" episode of This American Life, which featured the Those Darn Accordions' cover of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Yee-haw!

TDA Summer Tour Comes Together

I just updated the Those Darn Accordions Tour Dates page with everything we've got confirmed so far. We'll be hitting some old favorite venues and trying on some new ones. More dates coming I'm sure ...

Google Makes a Splash With Toilet-Based Broadband

Flush with investors' cash, Google on Sunday rolled out Google TiSP, calling its new broadband service "a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines."

Even though the free service promises "a Google Toolbar-based analysis of your dietary habits and genetic predispositions," it still sounds kinda crappy to me.

Happy April 1. (For more news of the day, I recommend News.com's special report).