Американский аккордеонный коллектив Those Darn Accordions

American accordion band

Those Darn Accordions, commonly abbreviated as TDA, are an American accordion band from San Francisco, California, originally formed in 1989 by Linda "Big Lou" Seekins. Boasting several accordionists whose numbers have fluctuated over the years and rounded out by a bassist and a drummer, Those Darn Accordions play a multi genre mix of rock, pop and polka originals, characterized by the unusual use of effects and distortion on their accordions and the humorous lyrics of current frontman Paul Rogers. The band also performs from an extensive repertoire of covers, ranging from traditional accordion standards and polkas to hard rock, funk and new wave songs. Since their formation, TDA have released six studio albums and one EP, with their most recent album Squeeze Machine having been released in 2007. As of 2014, the band continues to tour the United States, often performing as part of music festivals, fairs and Oktoberfest celebrations across the Pacific Northwest and Midwest.

The concept behind Those Darn Accordions was initially conceived by keyboardist and accordionist Linda "Big Lou" Seekins in early 1989. Seekins, who was active in several Bay Area bands including the polka punk band Polkacide, was called up by the owner of San Francisco's Paradise Lounge and offered an open performance slot if she could put together a band in time. As a joke, she contacted every accordionist she knew in an attempt to assemble an all accordion band, ultimately recruiting thirteen accordionists to play the show, where they sight read "Beatles songs and polkas" before a packed house. Despite the disorganized and under rehearsed nature of the band, the audience response was tremendous: "everyone liked us so much that they wanted an encore, and we'd already played everything we knew", Seekins recalled, "so we just had to play a song over again". Almost immediately, what was originally intended to be a one time gag started developing into plans to become an ongoing project. These raids effectively turned the group into local celebrities, and soon the band was not only receiving press coverage from the likes of the San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Examiner, The New York Times and People magazine, but began receiving paid offers from the restaurants they had invaded to come back and play for their customers, once even being hired by Apple Inc. to interrupt one of their company meetings. In 1990, TDA were invited to perform at an accordion festival in Castelfidardo, Italy. To help raise money for travel expenses, the band gathered at Washington Square park and played "Lady of Spain" for roughly ten hours straight, accepting tips and donations to keep them from playing ("For a $2,000 donation, we won't play for an hour! ", Torriglia advertised). Despite competing in the "pop" category, Rogers recalled that judges didn't respond well to the group's opening rendition of "Stairway to Heaven" and, due to a technicality, TDA ultimately placed fourth out of only two bands. Nevertheless, the audience reaction to TDA was overwhelmingly positive; the band even appeared on the front page of a local newspaper and were invited on the spot to perform at the International Accordion Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania, which they later did in 1992. In addition to tightening up their musicianship, TDA had also redefined their visual style into a uniquely offbeat and bizarre combination of retro and kitsch sensibilities, appropriating such attire as shiny lamé jackets, fishnet stockings, beehive hairdos, cat eye glasses and even a cowboy outfit, an aesthetic the Chicago Tribune described as looking like "The B 52s meet the Village People". Perhaps the most peculiar element of TDA's sound and style, however, was member Clyde Forsman, a heavily tattooed senior who had joined the band's original line up at the age of 74. Along with featuring prominently on their album covers and press photos, Forsman sang lead on several TDA songs, and soon became one of the main attractions of the band's concerts when he would sing The Jimi Hendrix Experiences "Fire" and Rod Stewarts "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? ", occasionally shirtless and always delivered in a deadpan monotone. In 1994, TDA performed at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, where they were offered a record deal by the Chicago based independent label Flying Fish Records. With the release of No Strings Attached in 1996, TDA experienced the peak of their pseudo mainstream notoriety as they toured much of the United States and began making occasional appearances on national television, most notably performing on The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show in 1996, Oddville, MTV in 1997, the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon in 1998, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular in 1999 and Donny & Marie in 2000, in addition to numerous appearances on various local network affiliates. TDA's most prominent television exposure came in 1998, when the band appeared on that year's American Music Awards broadcast on ABC, performing an instrumental medley – arranged by Rogers – of former "Song of the Year" winners with accordionists Dick Contino, "Weird Al" Yankovic and event host Drew Carey. Carey would maintain friendly relations with the band afterwards, hiring them again to play the wrap parties for the fourth season of The Drew Carey Show in 1998 and the TV film Geppetto in 1999. Addressing the line up changes, Rogers remarked San Antonio Express News that "I've found four accordions is the right amount to re create parts for songs" "[a]fter about three accordions playing at once you can't tell who's doing what". Lawnball, TDA's fifth studio album, was released in July 2004, finding the band mostly returning to the pop and polka influences of their previous albums in place of the harder edged rock of Amped, which still remained present on a pair of covers of Led Zeppelins "Whole Lotta Love"/"Black Dog" and The Edgar Winter Groups "Frankenstein". After a few more years of sporadic touring and the departure of drummer Schwartz, TDA released Squeeze Machine in 2007, mixing elements of country, cabaret and New Orleans styles into the band's pop/rock influences, as well as featuring the "Glass of Beer Polka", a comic duet with Drew Carey. TDA celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2009 and carried out a tour dubbed "20 Years, 20 Cities", taking them throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Illinois. For the band's concert in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, TDA hosted an "Accordion Blowout" where they extended free admission to anyone bringing an accordion, leading a crowd of accordionists in a rendition of the "Beer Barrel Polka". The final stop of the tour was at the Cafe Du Nord nightclub in San Francisco, where former original members Big Lou and Tom Torriglia joined the band to perform a set of old favorites. To help promote the show, both current and past members of TDA reunited to carry out a series of "accordionista raids" on restaurants in North Beach. As of 2014, Those Darn Accordions continue to sporadically play shows across the Pacific Northwest and occasional music festivals in the Midwest, though the band has made no indication of any future plans to return to recording or extensive touring.

Since the earliest days of the band, Those Darn Accordions intended to play styles of music well beyond the scope of genres which traditionally incorporate the accordion. In a 1994 interview, Tom Torriglia stated bluntly "We're of the mindset that there's absolutely no musical style that cannot be played on the accordion", while Big Lou once eloquently queried "the accordion is just a portable acoustic organ other bands use organs in their rock songs, so I figured why can't we use accordions in our rock song remakes and originals?" Beginning with their fourth album Clownhead, TDA began using more outside instruments on their studio recordings, primarily using acoustic guitar and piano, while later albums included violin, banjo, glockenspiel, tuba, trumpet, clarinet, harmonica and ukulele. Paul Rogers has been TDA's main lyricist since the early 1990s and usually writes in a humorously observational and narrative style, covering such mundane topics as bowling, lawn decorations and the difficulties of tandem bikes while sometimes venturing into more farcical material about accordion snatching extraterrestrials, the Loch Ness monster and Japanese monster movies.

Prior to joining TDA, Paul Rogers fronted and played keyboards for the San Francisco rock bands The Dinks, Jimmy Knight and the Daze and the Baxter Brothers, and since TDA has played keys for the country group Transistor Rodeo and contributes several instruments to the "acoustic folk skiffle swing holiday" ensemble The Christmas Jug Band, the latter of which Rogers has also composed numerous songs for, including the humorous "Santa Lost a Ho" which NPR voted Christmas Song of the Year in 2005. Throughout the 1980s, Linda "Big Lou" Seekins played keyboards and recorded with the Bay Area all girl rockabilly band The Stir Ups and roots rock band Thee Hellcats, and most notably played accordion with the polka punk band Polkacide. Since her departure from TDA in the 1990s, Big Lou has fronted several bands including the polka band Big Lou's Dance Party (formerly Big Lou's Polka Casserole), the bal musette group Baguette Quartette, recording multiple albums with both, as well as the French cabaret trio Salute Matelot. Suzanne Garramone was also a member of Polkacide with Seekins, and later co founded the oboe/piano duo Classical Trash. Susie Davis has an extensive background as a session keyboardist and backing vocalist, having toured and recorded with artists including Sheila E., Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger and The Rubinoos, and appeared on The Tonight Show backing Melissa Etheridge and on Saturday Night Live with Sinéad O'Connor. Carri Abrahms is a classically trained singer who has worked with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale and the Dark Cabaret band Rosin Coven.