Kansas City accordionist Brett Gibson will be among the three members of Cavan performing at the Brookside Irish Festival on September 1 and 2 in Kansas City, Missouri

A native of New Zealand, Brett took up the accordion at the age of seven and soon began competing, and performing in accordion orchestras. He was awarded numerous titles in the New Zealand National Championships over the years as well as lending his talents to train several other national champions.

Brett's studies eventually led him to join the Accordion Ensemble at the University of Missouri Conservatory of Music in Kansas City, with which he toured Russia and Scandinavia. Recently, he won the 2000 Accordionists and Teachers Guild Open Duet Championship Class.

With Cavan, Brett (pictured right) provides virtuoso performances on both piano accordion and bayan, a button accordion of Russian origin. Fellow band members include Frank Blair (pictured center - Lead vocals, guitar, cittern, bouzouki, composition) and Sean Patrick Hayes (pictured left - guitar, backing vocals.)

Cavan performs an astonishing variety of music drawn from and inspired by the ancient Celtic traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Galicia, to which they add a little spice from the Middle East. Their concerts combine the compelling Celtic dance rhythms: Jigs, Reels, Waltzes, and Strathspeys, with songs telling stories from past and present. Since three of the members are composers, they perform an unusual number of original songs and tunes for a Celtic band.

Enjoy all the charm and excitement of Ireland in beautiful Brookside. The Brookside Irish Fest 2001 is a fund raising event for the planned Irish Cultural Center of Kansas City. The not-for-profit Cultural Center will not only provide a home for the current nine Kansas City area Irish organizations, but also be a show place for the rich history and continuing story of the Irish in Kansas City.

The 2001 Brookside Irish Fest offers something for everyone, whether Irish by birth or Irish at heart. From traditional music and dance to the excitement of today's best contemporary Celtic bands. The Brookside Fest is a family event and offers fun for all ages, a children's area with crafts, games and clowns, shopping for fine Irish jewelry, clothes, china, and crystal. Representatives from the various local Irish groups will be on hand and a wide variety of food and drink will please even the fussiest appetites. And don't miss your chance to win two round trip tickets to Ireland, as well as other great prizes to be raffled off.

Brookside is located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri at approximately 63rd Street and Wornall - only a short distance from the famous Country Club Plaza and Westport. The festival grounds are located in the center of the Brookside Shops - directly behind the shops on the east side of Brookside Boulevard just to the north of 63rd Street.

For out of town festival guests, many hotels and motels are located a short distance to the north in the Plaza and Westport Area.

Contact the Festival direct with questions at brooksideirishfest@hotmail.com

Also in September, Cavan will be performing on September 15 at the Green Man Pub at Hawkwood in Roanoke, Texas. Roanoke is located north of Fort Worth, west of Dallas, and south of Denton; in the southeast corner of two major highways, I-35W and Hwy 114; about one mile from the new Texas Motor Speedway. For information on this performance, please call 1 800 782-3629.

For information on booking Cavan or to inquire about their recordings, please contact:
Cavan
6550 West 91st Street, #114
Overland Park, Kansas 66212
Phone: (913) 385-2330
E-mail: cavan_info@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.bakerstreet.org/cavan

The theme of this year's 11th Annual Cotati Accordion Festival was "2001: an Accordion Odyssey". The festival took place on August 25th and 26th in Plaza Park, Cotati and at the entrance to the park is a life-size statue of deceased local accordion hero, Jim Boggio, to whom the festival is dedicated.

This year the Honarary Director of the festival was Joe Smiell, who performed with his son, Joe Jnr. and daughter-in-law who accompanied him on his button accordion which dates back to the 1800's. An entertaining performance was given by Sourdough Slim who made accordion history by being the first known accordionist to simultaneously twirl a lariette, play the accordion, do a jig, and yodel! Sourdough Slim also entertained with Blackwood Tom and this is the 7th consecutive year they have played at the Festival.

Over 2,000 people enjoyed their renditions of old cowpoke favorites such as, "Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas" and a Cole Porter composition, "Don't Fence Me In". Other performers included Rene Pena-Govea with her family band-Los Campas, the Balkan folk dance group, Anoush, and the father and son duo of Steve & Michael Trucco.

American concert accordionist Henry Doktorski will perform with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony on Monday September 24, 2001 in a performance of "Final Alice" by the American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici (b. 1937).

Del Tredici's fascination with the Alice in Wonderland books has yielded a surprising diversity of compositions -- from the spiky, witty settings of Pop- Pourri and Adventures Underground (which include folk and rock ensembles) to the extravagant, theatrical opera-cantata, Final Alice, and the lush, neo-romantic Child Alice.

His music has been commissioned and performed by nearly every major American and European orchestral ensemble. Both Final Alice and In Memory of a Summer Day (part one of Child Alice) generated best-selling recordings; the latter work earned Del Tredici the Pulitzer Prize.

The 28-minute work 'Final Alice', scored for orchestra and a folk group consisting of two saxophones, mandolin, banjo and accordion, is based on text drawn from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Del Tredici's music draws life from the tension between simple, childlike innocence and the freakish world of dream and imagination. . . .

Ebullience and boisterous humor is typical of the entire work, which fluctuates continually between unadorned diatonic harmony and tonal chaos as chord sequences start out simply and then blur, collide, or unravel, either gradually or unexpectedly -- all in keeping with the sometimes charming, sometimes frightening, sometimes outrageous character of Carroll's words and pictures.

The composer spoke about the accordion in his oeuvre: "When I began writing my musical setting of Alice In Wonderland for orchestra, I wanted to include a second group of instruments which would sound completely different from a symphony orchestra; something totally UN-orchestral. After some consideration, I decided that the saxophone, mandolin, banjo and accordion would be perfect because those instruments -- due to their cultural identity and distinctive tonal qualities -- were rarely used with symphony orchestras."

He continued, "Believe it or not, I actually love the accordion; to me at least, it always sounds funky in an orchestral setting. It's sound is quite unique. In my Alice pieces, I write for the accordion as a solo instrument and never try to blend it with the other instruments. Early in my composing career I wrote mostly atonal works. But when I discovered the accordion I developed a desire to use its left-hand chord buttons -- the major, minor, seventh and diminished buttons -- in my Alice In Wonderland piece. This was a turning point for me: it caused me to consider using tonality in my compositions. I suppose for this then, I am indebted to the accordion for opening my eyes to the possibilities of tonality."

The concert will be held at the Drinko Recital Hall in Cleveland State University's Music and Communication Building located on the Northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and East 21st Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

Accordionist Joe Soprani recently performed in the RUSSELL WATSON CONCERT at Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. Soprani made a special appearance with England's famous operatic tenor, Russell Watson in his America debut and played Pelagia's song from the soon to be released movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin."

Russell Watson, a popular young artist from Salford, England, often compared to Pavarotti, captured the hearts of the capacity crowd of over 3,000 who heard him sing. His many standing ovations were a fitting tribute to his artistry and appeal. Donald Trump was so impressed with his talent and quality and power of his voice that he is promoting him in the US. Watson's first CD is already a huge hit in Europe.

Also, on the program were two special guests who sang a duet with Russell Watson followed by a solo of their own: Lea Salonga, star of Miss Saigon and recording artist and entertainer, Natalie Cole.

The RUSSELL WATSON CONCERT which was taped for Public Television will be shown throughout the country starting in August. Check local newspapers for day and time. The program is called "RUSSELL WATSON - THE VOICE."

As part of the on-going promotion, Russell Watson appeared on Good Morning America in New York on August 17 and invited Joe Soprani to join him in a repeat performance of "Pelagia's Song" from "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," which was scheduled to be released the same day.

A Russell Watson tour is planned for early 2002.

Karen Gerlovich will be publishing the first ever "2001 International Directory of Accordionists, Dance and Polka Bands, Boosters and Fans." This directory will be listed state by state and country by country including the following:

Names, Address, Phone Numbers, e-mail addresses, website addresses.

The deadline to be included in this directory is September 15, and the directory should be available in October, and will sell for $15.00.

For those interested in advertising in this directory, or being included, please contact:

KAREN GERLOVICH
Accordiona Music Sales
3957 Guilder Street
Sarasota, FL 34234 USA
PHONE (941) 351-7850
Internet: POLKA-STORE.COM AND ACCORDION-STORE.COM
e-mail: GERLOVICH-ABC@WEBTV.NET

Sebastian Soler is an antique dealer from Argentina and collector of Bandoneons.

He has several Bandoneons in stock, and if anyone is interested, please email him and he will provide pictures and further information.

e-mail: sebaso@mixmail.com

Get ready to hear Those Darn Accordions like you've never heard them before. Running a variety of effects (wah-wah pedals, ring modulators, Leslie rotary speaker simulators, etc.) through good, old-fashioned cranked-up tube amplifiers, TDA's three accordion players build a remarkable sonic wall on the San Francisco-based band's new CD, appropriately titled "Amped."

The four new songs on "Amped" capture TDA's newfound sound for the first time: Harder-rocking and yet more accessible, the amplified accordions stretch the already versatile squeezebox's sonic possibilities, mimicking electric guitars, Hammond B3 organs, horns, and even UFOs.

As always, bass guitar and drums anchor the musically eclectic band as it careens from pop to hard rock to polka and back again. A pair of cover songs -- late '60s psychedelic "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf and television theme "Making Our Dreams Come True" (from "Laverne & Shirley") -- round out the six-song CD.

Joel Jaffe and the band co-produced "Amped," which was recorded at Studio D Recording in Sausalito, Calif. "Amped" is available on Globe Records (GLO-803).

"Amped" track listing:
1. Serious World
2. Mr. Slagle's Revenge
3. Magic Carpet Ride
4. Enter the Douse
5. Making Our Dreams Come True
6. Meaning of Life

Amped is available at the TDA online boutique (see BUY STUFF link at www.thosedarnaccordions.com) for $14.50 (postpaid) for all U.S.A. and Canada destinations and for $18.50 (postpaid) for destinations other than the USA and Canada. California residents please add 7% sales tax.

If you prefer, you can fax your order to 707-765-1985 (credit cards accepted online or by fax) or you can snail mail your order with check or money order, to:
Those Darn Accordions!
C/O Globe Records
PO Box 5523
Mill Valley, CA 94942 USA

Paul Rodgers: tda@thosedarnaccordions.com