2019-09-25: Melodona’s in town for repairs!

AccNoir-2019-09-25

One thing emerging to Bruce as he wrote his magnum opus, Accordion Revolution, on the rise and fall of the accordion… was how the instrument’s existential threat today wasn’t the terminal unhipness of the squeezebox but rather the dwindling number of active accordion repair practices. A vast body of specialised knowledge emerged over the instrument’s century and a half of growth, and as the final students of the last repairmen of the Golden Age retire, a few Youtube videos aren’t going to serve as a viable replacement for a fully-decked-out workshop. Here in Vancouver for years we enjoyed the services of Renzo Faoro at the Accordion House on Renfrew, then when he retired we were served by Rickey Mann. Now we have a few dabblers in the area, but no specialists in effect — for that level of expertise, our nearest options are Tempo Trend in Victoria and Petosa in Seattle. Fortunately, we also get visited by Melodona, Montreal’s accordion repair dame, annually around accordion festival time. She is in town — on the west side until Saturday, then setting up shop in East Van — and joined Bruce on the air last night to discuss the ins and outs of squeezebox repair. (That’s an old joke.) She is looking to build a list of places in BC where there are accordion communities in need of a visit — not this year, but perhaps next — from an itinerant repair expert, so if you know of a pocket of stranded and deteriorating free-reed aerophones somewhere out there, please contact her!

But I digress. You can listen to last night’s episode courtesy of the Internet Archive. Here’s its playlist!

AccNoir-2019-09-25, Melodona’s In Town for Repairs!

* Misty River – Black Muddy River – Stories (2007) – Eugene, Oregon, USA – www.mistyriverband.com  Dana Abel, acc.
* Swåp – Big Horse / Nar punschen kom – [Sic] (1999) – Isle of Wight, UK – www.KarenTweed.com
* Teija Niku – Pohjatuuli – Hetkessä (2019) – Finland – www.teijaniku.com
* Le Vent Du Nord – Turlute A Bassinette – Territoires (2019) – Montreal, Quebec, Canada – www.leventdunord.com/
* Linda McRae – As The Night Falls Down – Flying Jenny (0) – Vancouver, BC, Canada – https://www.lindamcrae.com
* Lhasa de Sela  – Floricanto – La Llorona (1997) – Canada, France, Mexico, USA – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhasa_de_Sela
* Sivuca – Que Par Seria – Pau Doido (1992) – Brazil (Brasil) – http://www.sivuca.com.br/
* Riders In The Sky – Accordian Repair Course – Riders Go Commercial (1989) – Nashville, Tennessee, USA – https://ridersinthesky.com (Sounds like the Firesign Theatre!)
* Pere Ubu – Lovely Day – The Long Goodbye (2019) – Cleveland, Ohio, USA – www.ubuprojex.com  David Thomas, melodeon
* Deux Accords Diront – Eisherz – Eisherz (2009) – Belgium – http://www.anneniepold.be/  Anne Niepold & Aline Pohl

Thanks for reading us here (and hopefully listening to us, there), but if you find you want more, you can always keep up with us on Twitter (@AccordionNoir and @AccordionBruce), Instagram (@AccordionNoirFest), and Facebook at Accordion Noir fans, the Accordion Noir Festival, and the Vancouver Squeezebox Circle. Cheers & squeeze on!