Monsters Of The Accordion Featuring Jason Webley, Mark Growden, Amy Denio, Duckmandu And Eric Stern

Accordion monsters attack west coast
one of the most feared instruments in the world will be demonstrated by five of its most notorious practitioners this august. Accordionists mark growden of san francisco, amy denio of seattle, and duckmandu of oakland will be joining seattle native jason webley and portland's own eric stern, during the portland stop of this ten night tour of squeezebox mayhem.
"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 together," explains webley, who organized the tour.
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 five evenings of squeezebox-fueled drinking songs, klezmer-punk dirges, and rock anthems.
when I started playing accordion, I still had not shaken off my metal roots," explains corn mo. "i did covers of old country songs and 80's metal songs and the originals.
jason webley
seattle's 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.
Corn mo
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 released two albums and has toured with national acts such as they might be giants, ben folds and the polyphonic spree. In addition to his squeezebox talents, corn mo plays piano, writes stories and often introduces his songs with spiraling string-of-consciousness rants that leave audiences falling off their chairs.
Geoff berner
geoff berner is a songwriter from vancouver, bc. In his music he explores his jewish roots by playing songs based on his own interpretation of traditional klezmer. "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
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 group fishtank ensemble, composes for san francisco's "punk rock orchestra" and has recorded with mr. Bungle.
In recent years, the accordion has enjoyed a renaissance in attention. Partly due to the efforts of accordion troubadours such as webley, corn mo and their 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."
full details and ticket information about these concerts can be found at monstersofaccordion.com .