From the category archives:

Accordion, Instrument of the Gods

Happy 10th Anniversary, “Baby One More Time”!

November 3, 2008

Before November 3rd passes, I must make it known, that today, November 3rd, 2008, is the tenth anniversary of the release of Britney Spears’ single Baby One More Time. I wonder if Ms. Spears wishes she could take a time machine back to those more innocent days and re-do some of her life choices.
Here’s the [...]

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Ooh! New Accordion! / Ooh! Newly Married!

October 27, 2008

It’s a Silvetta 60-bass piano accordion, which is much smaller and lighter than my other ones. It’s perfect for schlepping to conferences, like the one I’m attending right now, as it’s easier to carry and fits very well within just about every plane’s overhead compartment:

Oh, the “Phileas Fogg” outfit is from Cory Doctorow’s wedding, [...]

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Accordion News for July 27th, 2008

July 27, 2008

Accordion Death Squad

Brian Jepson forwarded me an email with the preface “Couldn’t let this sit in my inbox without sending it to Accordion Guy!” The email announced some bands coming to his home area (he’s deep in Family Guy country), including an intriguing one called Accordion Death Squad. How could I not like a band [...]

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Nine Years as “The Accordion Guy”

May 2, 2008

Here’s a blast from the past: me with purple hair, rockin’ out at Queen’s Park on Saturday May 1st, 1999:
I had no idea what was coming up next.
Yesterday marked the 9th anniversary of my playing the accordion on the street for the first time. I’ve got a longer entry about that fateful Saturday, when my [...]

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The OTHER Accordion Guy

April 11, 2008

Photo by Richard Lautens, Toronto Star.
I’m not the only accordion guy in town, and I’m glad to see some younger folks taking up the instrument. Here’s an excerpt from a Toronto Star article titled Squeezing Life Into His ‘Hood:

Ronen Segall uses his bright red accordion to inject life into his Huntley St. home near Bloor [...]

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An Accordion Tune About Coffee’s Chemistry

April 8, 2008

Eva sent me a note about this video, which features an accordion performance about the chemistry behind the coffee experience:

Accordions, coffee and science — three things I love!
For the curious, here are the lyrics to the coffee song in the video (the tune used is from Where Do They Make Balloons? by They Might Be [...]

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Time to Rock Out on the Accordion

April 7, 2008

It’s a gorgeous spring day here in Accordion City. Now that I’m working at b5media, which is a stone’s throw away from my old busking haunt at Queen and Spadina (you can see a panoramic view of the corner here), I think I might take the ol’ office accordion (yes, I actually do keep a [...]

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My Own Private “Abbey Road”

March 29, 2008

Someone I know by way of Miss Fipi Lele took the “I Walk the Line” photo of me and with a little Photoshop, gave me the Abbey Road treatment:

The Abbey Road cover features the Beatles walking in the other direction, but thanks to the power of Photoshop (well, actually Adobe Fireworks), it’s easy to flip [...]

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New Accordion!

March 26, 2008

Photo by Sean Galbraith.
A couple of days ago, Sean Galbraith was cleaning out his parents’ house and came across his mom’s old Hohner Verdi IV accordion. She told him that it had one oiwner prior to her and she believes it’s from the early 1960s. She hasn’t played it in about 15 years and suggested [...]

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Austin Travel Diary, Part 21: I Walk the Line

March 15, 2008

If I ever release an album, this Johnny Cash-a-riffic photo that Morgan Johnston took of me in Austin will have to figure into the album art somehow:
Photo by Morgan Johnston.Click on the photo to see it on its original Flickr page.

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Austin Travel Diary, Part 18: Annoying Stowe Boyd

March 11, 2008

Although he Twittered the opposite, Stowe’s a real accordion fan:

Thanks to Stowe for posing for these shots!

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Austin Travel Diary, Part 10: Halo 4!

March 9, 2008

Master Chief feels the accordion love!

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Happy Birthday, Hector!

January 20, 2008

On Saturday, the Ginger Ninja and I attended my friend Hector Catre’s birthday bash. I met Hector about thirty years ago through his brother Nic, with whom I went to high school and played in a Billy Idol/Platinum Blonde cover band. Hector’s been around for all sorts of hijinks (including the Worst Date Ever), and [...]

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More Accordion Photos from Tom’s Birthday / Tom and Michele’s Housewarming

January 15, 2008

If you missed the first set of photos, they’re in this entry.
One More Accordion Convert…
I didn’t get a photo of Anneke trying out the accordion, but Michele did:
Click the photo to see it on its original Flickr page.Photo courtesy of Michele Perras.
…and Me!
We can’t forget Yours Truly, pictured below in his Accordion Happy Place…
Click the [...]

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Pictures of the Day

January 15, 2008

I attended Tom and Michele’s housewarming party on Saturday and took some pictures. Here are my favourites…
The “College Girl Dorm Room Poster” Shot
Tom did a little birthday dance number to entertain the crowd — first solo, then joined by Michele. It concluded with this smooch, which just cried out for the Robert Doisneau black-and-white treatment:
Coming [...]

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