[H&R] [Fwd: MONSTERS OF ACCORDION tues 8/21]

[Joseph Gray]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: MONSTERS OF ACCORDION tues 8/21
From:    "scott adams"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The accordion event of the year!  Hell's Bellows (accordion quartet) will
play.  We are a late add and not included in the press release below.


The "Monsters of Accordion" are playing at Fremont Abbey Arts (4272
Fremont Ave N) on Tuesday, August 21st. The concert begins at 8 pm
and is open to all ages. Tickets are $8 at the door. For more
information call (206)297-6221, or visit www.monstersofaccordion.com.

ACCORDION MONSTERS ATTACK SEATTLE

One of the most feared instruments in the world will be demonstrated
by five of its most notorious practitioners in Fremont on August 21st.
Accordionists Corn Mo of New York, Geoff Berner of Oakland, and
Duckmandu of Oakland will be joining Seattle native Jason Webley and
special guests Amy Denio plus Hell's Bellows! for a night of squeezebox
mayhem

at the Fremont Abbey.

"I meet a lot of amazing accordion players in my travels, and I
thought it would be really fun to bring some of the best of them
together," explains Webley, who organized the event.

The result is a tour-de-force featuring some of the most entertaining
solo accordion performers currently working in North America. But
don't expect a night of polkas, because these aren't your
grandmother's accordion monsters. Instead Webley and company will be
delivering an evening of squeezebox-fueled drinking songs,
klezmer-punk dirges, and rock anthems.

"I don't even know how to play a polka," Webley explains.

The Seattle concert will be the first stop on a five-night "Monsters
of Accordion" tour. Webley, Berner, Corn Mo and Duckmandu will also
be playing in Portland, Eugene, San Francisco and Oakland. Each night
of the tour will feature a local guest player. In Seattle, the
"monsters" will be joined by composer-accordionist Amy Denio.

Bearing a striking resemblance to Meat Loaf, New York's Corn Mo (known
off-stage as Jon Cunningham) plays a mixture of glam-rock, circus
music and children's playground rhymes. He has toured with national
acts such as They Might Be Giants, Ben Folds and the Polyphonic Spree.
He has also worked extensively with former Seattleites, the
Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. In addition to his squeezebox
talents, Corn Mo plays piano, writes stories and introduces his songs
with spiraling string-of-consciousness rants that leave audiences
falling off their chairs.

Seattle's own Jason Webley is one of the best known singer-songwriters
currently carrying a squeezebox around the world. His relentless
touring schedule has built him a cult following all over North
America, Europe and Australia, as well as a bizarrely large and loyal
following in Russia. Known for his gravelly voice and his energetic
foot-stomping, Webley's specialty is involving his audience in his
music. Almost all of his concerts end with the entire crowd locked
arm-in-arm, singing his tradmark "Drinking Song" at the tops of their
lungs. In October, Webley will release his fifth album on his own
label, Eleven Records.

Geoff Berner is a singer-songwriter from Vancouver, BC. In his music
he explores his Jewish roots by playing songs based on his own
interpretation of traditional Klezmer music. "I want to make original
klezmer music that's drunk, dirty, political and passionate" Berner
explains. He has performed with the likes of Billy Bragg and the Be
Good Tanyas and his song "Light Enough to Travel" has become a minor
standard in the Canadian folk circuit. His new album "The Wedding
Dance of the Widow Bride" presents a collection of Klezmer songs
steeped in punk and alcohol, following in the tradition of his
much-lauded 2004 release "Whiskey Rabbi."

Duckmandu is the stage name of Oakland performer, Aaron Seeman. A
player with virtuosic technical skill, his repertoire includes, but is
not limited to, 70's rock, Broadway, klezmer, classical, country,
Sousa marches and even a polka or two. However, Duckmandu's specialty
is alarmingly accurate accordion recreations of classic punk songs.
His 2005 release, "Fresh Duck for Rotting Accordionists" is a
note-for-note re-make of the entire first Dead Kennedys album. Seeman
also plays with the Romanian folk ensemble Fishtank, composes for San
Francisco's "Punk Rock Orchestra" and has recorded with Mr. Bungle.

Amy Denio is a Seattle-based composer known for her work with a number
of artists including Bill Frisell, Danny Barnes, Kultur Shock, the
Pat Graney Dance Company and even Chuck D. She currently plays with
the Tipton Saxophone Quartet, Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti and her
accordion-only ensemble, Hell's Bellows, who will join her for the second
part of her set.

The accordion was invented in Germany in the early 19th century and
quickly spread throughout the world. It's portability, flexibility
and loud volume made it a tremendously popular folk instrument,
becoming the driving sound in a variety of musical styles from French
musette to zydeco, Argentine tango to Klezmer. In North America the
accordion suffered a big blow in popularity with the rise of the
electric guitar. The squeezebox became associated exclusively with
polkas and Lawrence Welk, and by the 1980's it had become the musical
symbol of nerdiness.

However in recent years, the accordion has enjoyed a renaissance in
attention. Partly due to the efforts of accordion troubadours such as
Webley and his fellow monsters, more and more young people have been
picking up the squeezebox again. The accordion has been finding its
way into roots music, cabaret groups, punk bands and in recent years,
a few high profile rock groups such as the Arcade Fire and the
Decemberists have made the accordion a staple part of their sound.

"These things move in cycles, you know" says Webley. "I can foresee a
day when playing the electric guitar will be a laughable thing, and
people will be embarrassed to admit they ever took guitar lessons as
kids."


-- 
Scott Adams
www.birdsmaybite.com