Tuesday was loads of fun, from catching the Mesh conference to doing a quick accordion bit for G4TechTV with Amber to joining Maria and Deenster for chicken wings at Sneaky Dee’s afterwards. Here’s one of Maria’s photos of me performing outside Sneaky Dee’s — I think it would make a great album cover:
Here’s a news item from Accordion USA about an upcoming Accordion City accordion wedding, and it’s not mine!
(Wendy and I joined the band for a couple of numbers at our wedding reception. I should get around to extracting the performance and posting it online.)
On May 27th, at 1.30 PM, Acclarion, Canada’s premier classical accordion and clarinet duo, invites you to join them as they share their love for music and each other in a special Concert-Wedding to take place at the University of Toronto’s Edward Johnson Building [80 Queen’s Park Crescent].
Becky Sajo and David Carovillano were two strangers with a common interest that would unite them in more ways than one. Having met at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, Becky with the clarinet, and David with the accordion, it was a chance opportunity to perform together in David’s final year of his Master’s degree that would change their lives forever.
“I asked Becky to perform Ray Leudeke’s ‘Serenity’ for accordion and clarinet on my final recital based on someone’s recommendation. She responded with a husky, business-like tone that she would ‘think about it’. After agreeing to do it, we learned quickly in rehearsal that we had a lot more in common than just music. Soon, after school was complete, we were planning our future together, both musically and personally!” says David.
With their musical future looking bright, Becky and David are thrilled to share their special day with family, friends, and music enthusiasts. Joining them for the concert portion of the event will be harpist, Erica Goodman, and pianist, Angela Park debuting new compositions by David. Acclarion will perform a sixty-minute concert of ‘ear tickling music’ on stage at University of Toronto’s Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, to be immediately followed by their wedding ceremony on the very same stage. A cocktail reception will follow and all are welcome to attend [they ask that you email an RSVP].
My heartiest congratulations to Becky and David!
(This comes from Drew Weing’s Toothpaste for Dinner.)
A new feature in Google called Google Trends lets you see the volume for search terms over time. Here’s the result for a Google Trends search for “accordion” (correct spelling) versus “accordian” (incorrect spelling):
Caroline Hunt from Avoch, Black Isle, Scotland has spent the last 12 years collecting photos of accordions made between 1850 and 1960 for her upcoming reference book on the Greatest Instrument Ever. In the process, she’s also managed to collect 300 accordions, all of which are on display at Grantown on Spey Museum until Sunday.
Ms. Hunt’s hope is to someday start a museum of accordions in Scotland similar to the legendary one in Castelfidardo, Italy. Perhaps someday, I will donate the Lido — whose chick-magnet powers are so incredible that I haven’t dared to take it out since getting married — to this fine museum.
I wish I could go and see this collection, but I’ll have to make do with ogling the brochure [577K PDF].
Here’s a photo that someone snapped of me last Friday at the Gladstone Hotel during the Contact photography festival:
Click the image to see the original photo on Flickr.
Every couple of weeks, Carson T. Foster, host and creator of Kick Ass Karaoke, hosts a karaoke night at The Social, one of the spots that’s making West Queen West an increasingly popular destination. Not only do you get karaoke; you also get spaghetti (meat or veggie) at $2 a bowl and there’s always a chance that Rachel McAdams, who hangs out in the area, will drop by. Wendy and I dropped in early, which gave us a chance to hang out and chat with Carson, which is always interesting and always a pleasure.
I like the crowd at the Social, and Carson’s karaoke night there has an interesting feel to it that I think has been missing from the Sunday karaoke nights — it feels like his nights at the original venue, the Bovine Sex Club, circa 1999 when they were still new. Maybe it’s the crowd (a rather indie rock hipsterish bunch), perhaps it’s the Social’s nice open space; it might even be just having a new crowd to surprise with the accordion. I can’t put my finger on it, but I really like the vibe.
The other thing I like is the projector, which allows the lyrics to appear in large type behind the performer. With my flash turned off and the exposure turned up high, I was able to get some pretty nice arty shots:
