This Accordion Life

Recent show photos from The Fox and Goose

2012-02-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

Julie the Bruce at the Fox and Goose, Feb 1, 2012

The Fox and Goose has some great shows going on, and a nice selections of liquor, if you're in Sacramento, check out their awesome brunch on the weekends too!

2012-01-27T14:24:00.001-08:00

I'm playing this coming Wednesday at the Fox and Goose, 1001 R St, Sacramento, Ca. Here's a flyer I made for the show.

2012-01-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my favorite newer songs, If Not Today, Tomorrow. It's amazing how different this song feels to play every time I play it. This time I felt a frightening sweaty lucidity of emotion resulting in an almost orgasmic release. Well, even I didn't expect that.

2012-01-17T06:05:00.000-08:00

I wrote this song literally as you see it here at like, 5 am. I played a Kala U Bass, one of the most fun things I've picked up in a while. I was inspired. And will forever be slightly distracted. The effects of that much kryptonite will never completely go away. Dammit. I'm a love mutant.

Luna's Cafe Show Jan 6th with Julie the Bruce, Nate Beier, and Joe Gray

2012-01-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from last night's show at Luna's Cafe. This particular night I really felt the special lucid state that I had hoped for in a performance. I haven't really been playing accordion that long and sometimes it still feels so strange to me. But not this accordion, this Sonola brand 80 bass accordion. We got it from a pawn shop back east and knew it was going to arrive messed up. It arrived with several reeds out and confetti in it. Then we had Skyler Fell at Accordion Apocalypse in San Francisco bring her back from the dead. Since then she's been my preferred songwriting accordion and practice accordion, and now I am finding I just can't seem to feel as comfortable playing a show without her. Sometimes, I forget that we are two separate entities, this accordion and I. This accordion and sheer adrenalin contributed to what I think was my best show yet on the squeezebox. I've had this zombie cold thing going around. But I pulled it off anyway, with only about three shots of whiskey to "ahem" clear my throat!

An After Christmas Christmas song! "Time of the Urban Tumbleweeds" by yours truly Julie

2011-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a little song I wrote I haven't had the nerve to work on for a few years because I hate Christmas music! But I finally arranged it and here it is. I have to say if I had it my way it would sound like The Ronettes.

2011-12-01T19:07:00.001-08:00

Julie the Bruce playing a bayan on Thanksgiving 2011. Thank you Robin for lending this to me. It invades my skull.

Someone I barely know was kind enough to lend me a bayan and since then I've been a little obsessed with them. Here is a site that is one of the more interesting I have found on the subject. If you know anything about accordion, it's like playing the piano key type accordion as a game of Twister for your fingertips. In other words, it's really fun but in the end are you going to be able to get the fingering on that note?

http://russiapedia.rt.com/galleries/russian-bayan-s-birth/11/

I am SUPER excited to be playing with Jason Webley for a kickass Halloween show in Sacramento! October 30th

2011-10-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

JASON WEBLEY'S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR!
w/ Fierce Creatures, Musical Charis and Julie The Bruce!
7 pm - All Ages - $7 pre sale/$10 door
tickets:http://sacramento.ticketleap.com/webley/

Accordion troubadour Jason Webley is bringing his band and a van full of autumnal fun to Beatnik Studios on October 30th. Known around the planet for his passionate live performances and his infectious dark whimsy, Webley promises that this will be a show to remember.

"I used to do these crazy shows every year in Seattle around Halloween with a big band, ridiculous props, puppets and stories. For me, those shows were the culmination of my year and were held together by some kind of mad poetry. Since 2011 is a special year for me, the idea is to try to take a show like that on the road."

Webley will be joined on stage by long-time collaborators Jherek Bischoff (bass), Alex Guy (viola) and Michael McQuilken (drums) and the night will be opened by Musical Charis and Fierce Creatures. He won't say more about what he has planned for the night, but if past antics are any indicator there may be some glorious mischief. Known for ritually killing his stage persona every year for much of his career, Webley once led an army of fans onto a local commuter ferry dressed as pirates and was arrested for leading another crowd into the fountain at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival.

Costumes are very welcome, but you might also want to also bring something warm. You never know where the night will take you…

***

Hot show at Casa De Chaos to celebrate Ken Doose's birthday and the Bat Guano CD release!

2011-09-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

I wrote this song one night when I couldn't get drunk enough. Naturally, by the time I sang this song on this auspicious night, I was too drunk for sure! But fortunately, and a great surprise to me was the fact I could still play on 4-6 shots of whiskey AND one Simpler Times. But the 7th shot was one too many to be sure. This song was on about shot #5! It's called "Thinkin' About Drinkin'". I didn't quite sing it right, but who cares? We were all drunk, and that was what was important. Just kidding!

A Coin for the Fortune Teller, by Julie the Bruce

2011-09-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

This was filmed at Accordion Apocalypse in San Francisco.

My Newest Song, "Bone Dragon" Filmed at Accordion Apocalypse in San Francisco CA

2011-09-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Cotati Accordion Festival in Cotati CA August 20 and 21 this weekend!

2011-08-20T00:41:00.000-07:00

Come join the fun at the Cotati Accordion-Festival this weekend in beautiful Cotati California! Not only a fabulous funtime fest in itself, there are tons of activities all over the park, including the stage at the Accordion Apocalypse Booth at the front of the festival, where myself and others will be performing doing things you can't imagine. Or maybe you can. But don't imagine, be there! It's so much fun I want to share it with you all!

sing goodnight without your strings the celebration of breaking things

2011-08-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

the last ping of a guitar's string
the last time it ever sings
to the accordion I'll take it's keys
and make it into many things
and then I'll start smashing!!!
the guitar's name was Best Harmony
the accordion's Nobility
you couldn't see inside of things
inside she was melting
Best Harmony's back was breaking
her skin was cracking
in the summer heat
she'd seen her days of playing
without her bridge she can't cross the stream
Best Harmony sing this last song
sing goodnight without your strings
it's time to start smashing
celebrate the end of things
sing this last song without your strings
celebrate the deconstruction
of made things
make things
sing this song without your strings

sing goodnight without your keys
Nobility
sing without your reeds
sing of all the things you have never seen
you'll never see
Nobility
sing this last song without your keys
celebrate the deconstruction of made things
make things
sing this song without your keys
Celebrate the breaking of Things
broken things make others sing
sing this song without your strings

This is something I wrote while taking a guitar and accordion apart today.

Buster Blue and Julie the Bruce play at the Fun Garden this Thursday!

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Next Luna's show Next Friday!

2011-07-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this accaterpillion! I'm so glad I drew it.

Freaks Like Us with The Secretions and Julie the Bruce

2011-06-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

Freaks Like Us at Casa De Chaos with The Secretions and me

2011-06-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba9cBeC3WUw

Songwriting - It's about listening to the voices in your head.

2011-06-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

I've been writing songs since I was around 12. I was originally inspired by artists like Cyndi Lauper and Pat Benatar, both their voices and songwriting. The first LP I ever bought was Cyndi's first album!
I started to write songs because I was dealing with the kind of complex family situations in which my intuition begged me to lock myself in my own room most
of the time with sketch pads, books, and tapes I made of songs off the radio; and this for my own safety. I didn't play any instruments, and I didn't sing the songs very loud, because I was trying to
be quiet. But based on my favorite music of the time, I knew how the songs should sound in my head. My songs largely helped me deal with difficult issues, but I was already
a fan of sappy stupid love songs as well (My mom also had a few Beatles albums and a battered Doors LP that I really took to as well). The first song I may have ever written was about a
man who worked with my dad who I smiled at one day while I was brushing my hair in the window. I was 12, and in those days at 12 you didn't see anything wrong with smiling and brushing your hair
while a man stood outside watching you. Later that night he returned and climbed up on the double wide trailer's jack, knocking at my window and calling my name in a whisper. I remember him being in his 30's.
I didn't even believe he was out there except I could see the outline of his head through the curtain. Terrified, I ran across the house to my father who ran out in his underwear with a shotgun. He didn't see anyone
and even after I explained to him about the earlier events in the day, it was apparent he didn't believe me. Having no one else to turn to, I wrote a song. The main line of the chorus was "Keep away, keep away from me." Years later I looked back at that song and thought, this is complete shit (although, trust me, a little catchy). But since those events, the subject of the song had been shot multiple times in his tiny town's Little Mexico and survived. And the little town was near a nuclear plant built the same as Chernobyl. So a few years ago I rewrote it and called it "Share Noble".

I was just writing a song this moment and was intrigued to notice how it manifested itself. I started to hear the words and melody in my head and went to write it down. I started to see images in my head that went
along with the words and as they moved around in my consciousness they shaped the words I was writing. I turned on the camera instead to record more verses and although I kept to the patterns one could imagine in the song; writing slows me down but somehow it was more together when I wrote instead of going off the cuff

A lot of the time songs will manifest themselves as if they have suddenly downloaded into my brain and they start playing. If I don't act I'll lose the song. When I was in junior high, walking home, I sang madeup songs constantly. Once I'd gotten inside and called my mom to tell her I was home safe, the song would be "poof" gone! I went to a pentecostal church for a time and when I was there one of the many
unusual things that happened is that I was called often to speak in toungues. When this would happen it was like my whole physical and otherwise being would be consumed by a firey feeling. I would feel words
and some kind of meaning floating around in my mind, and feel the intense need to open my mouth and let whatever it was that was supposed to be communicated out. If I didn't let it out, it was almost like having
something stuck in my throat. Invariably, when that did happen, someone else would talk in toungues, and I would have this intuition that it was the same message I was supposed to say. I know, message- speaking in toungues isn't english! But churches almost always have translators that are supposed to interpret what was said in toungues. Oddly enough, most of the time, whatever was interpreted felt pretty much true in subject matter to whatever words and meanings were in my head. Once, a guest pastor came to church and interpreted the toungues. But somehow, he was wrong. The words he was saying had nothing to do with the words spoken in toungues. How do I know? I don't even know how this kind of thing is supposed to make sense, BUT......

A lot of songs I have written come to me, and it feels similar. This year a lot of songs have written themselves in my head and demanded I interpret them in my fashion. Although I don't feel like I'm on fire the demand of the song is to become. I try not to fight myself and let it come out as it intends to, just like I try to do when I perform it later - give it credit for being the song it is by trying to do it justice. Most of the time I wonder where these words and images that accompany them come from. I'm not sure if it's up to me.

I have also had dreams about songs, and one where I remembered the song when I woke up. "Bone Dragon", a new song I am working on, was inspired by a dream I had of a dragon made of bones flying around. I woke up and the melody suddenly was in my head, and with paper in hand I felt the mad desire to let my hand fill the page with words. And it was filled like it wasn't me, but it is. Another night I dreamt Elvis Costello was singing a song "You've got to be for each other". I wrote down as much as I could remember, and it was a lot. I often wonder what makes words and thoughts appear in our heads and hearts that don't have a lot to do with what's going on in the immediate considerations of the daily human. A lot of those thoughts have saved my life. Did they come from me, did my own brain figure out how to save myself, write a song, or lay my hands on a person who needed spiritual healing? Do they come from someone/something looking out for me, or do they cross over from some other realm or dimension I could never even try to understand? All I know, is I am grateful and I humbly accept the burden of thse thoughts, songs, intuitions, and hope that I do them justice.
-Julie the Bruce

Squeezebox Sampling Sixties Stomp- a gig this Friday!

2011-06-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

When: Friday, June 24, 8:30pm

Featuring: Joseph Kojima Gray, Odd Moniker, Julie the Bruce and Mark Badovinac

Price: $6

Ages: All ages

Luna's Cafe
1414 16th Street
Sacramento, CA
916 441-3931

I think it's $6, doors at 8:30
Odd Moniker does some really interesting experimental stuff in his recordings so I am excited to see what he comes up with in an acoustic setting.

Mark Badovinac's songs could fit in the playlist of any Beatles, Neil Young, or Kinks fan yet are completely and awesomely original.

Joseph Kojima Gray (Grubdog and 50 Watt Heavy) plays bluesy folk and will surely stomp a beat into your feet

Julie the Bruce sings and plays gypsy punk on accordion and guitar with an act which others have recently described as "hilarious" but "because it has soul. Less recently, "Channeling Dio", and even more less recently "Joey Ramone meets Joan Baez."

www.lunascafe.com

Oh no, accordions!

2011-06-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Oscar the cat does not approve of a wicked new beastie that appeared last night, as if in a dream.

Freaks Like Us at the Fungarden 20 year Secretions Alumni Show.wmv

2011-05-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Footage from last night's Secretions show at Luigi's Fungarden, singing "Freaks Like Us", a song I wrote which also helped inspire Pinhead Gunpowder to write "West Side Highway".

Upcoming Punk and Accordion Entertainments with Yours Truly

2011-05-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

Alumni set, Friday night! I'm there.


Julie the Bruce, aka "Bulletgirl"


Molly Church, Mickie Rat, Julie the Bruce, Danny Secretion

It is time for the fun to begin again somewhere besides my bedroom. Now don't get the wrong idea because that's where I practice accordion! :)

MARCH 26TH-Tomorrow the fun begins by revisiting my old band The Secretions for a TWENTY YEAR reunion show at Luigi's Fungarden (20th between K and J Streets) starting at 7:30 pm.
If you are unfamiliar with The Secretions, well, they are great like The Groovie Ghoulies or the Ramones but back when I was in the band we also sounded something like Los Angeles band "X" with a dash of "X-Ray Spex". And you can hear every other available incarnation of past and present incarnations of The Secretions too! Other members of the band have written songs that are forever favorites of mine! Morgan Giles, one of the other former Secretions, once told me I sounded like a cross between Joan Baez and Joey Ramone, and I have to blame The Secretions for that. Come listen to him sing "I gotta pee!"

This show is beyond my control an UNDER 21 show unless accompanied by a minor. They want the kids to feel at ease. So if you are a grown up without a minor you have to stand outside. Please wear a trenchcoat for the appropriately creepy effect. And it's supposed to be a songwriter showcase kind of a deal or something.
I wrote a number of songs with The Secretions including Freaks Like Us, 4 Speed Automatic Jesus, I-5 (about a man I read a news story about who took some hard drugs, drove up I-5 and then pulled over on the side of the road waving a gun around. It caused the police to blockade the road and kept Kings fans from being able to get to the game. Ha ha ha! See it from his perspective!) So it will be cool if you could go to that show but you might not be able to see it depending on your age. Ha ha, you've been around the sun too many times! We're also going to play X-Ray Spex's "Oh Bondage Up Yours" because we used to cover it and as a tribute to Poly Styrene.

MARCH 27TH- If you're a grown-up, The Secretions want you to go to this show. It's the first day of "SUCK-FEST", a celebration of a band that's, well, been together in some form or another for twenty years. It's a great show on Friday out in Citrus Heights at the Fire Escape (7431 Madison Avenue Citrus Heights, CA 95610-7407) and it is like the most pop-punk-rock-as-sh*t show ever, with the Mr T Experience and everything! TONS of bands. So you should come out, we will perform the alumni set towards the end of the night I think. I have to say the songs sound better than ever! Or maybe it was the bottle of brandy I had at practice! Come out and see for yourself. There will be a special kazoo solo performed by yours truly! And Saturday and Sunday there are two more days at the Fire Escape dedicated to The Secretions, with tons of bands and Secretions kareoke. Pretty wild really! It will never happen again! Say you were there! And have BEEN there!

JUNE 24th there is a show in the works with me performing a lot of new material on accordion at Luna's that I am very excited about with other acts as yet unknown. This is not an Squeezebox Shindig but there is due to be one in the month of July should anyone get back to me about wanting to play the show! It could even be you! Friday or Saturday.

Cheers,
Julie the Bruce

I HAVE BEEN STOLEN!!! If you see me, report me to the Sacramento Ca Police Department

2011-05-14T12:52:00.000-07:00


Borsini Modern Accordion, stolen May 11 from Sacramento residence. Had dark brown case. Also stolen, a Crucinelli Accordion, has LMMH treble reed banks, Black with 7 bass switches and 8 paddle style Treble Registers- Accordion, Violin, Piccolo,Oboe,Bassoon,Clarinet, Melodeon; Palm switch master switch, for 9 voices total Name "Crucianelli" on front, white bellows, Newer style Amplification,age approx. 50 years

The Secretions 20 Year Reunion Show coming up May 27 at The Fire Escape in Citrus Heights

2011-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is the only time you may ever hear some of the most lasting of The Secretions songs sung by the original songwriters with the band! Once in a lifetime event!
Preparing for the upcoming Secretions 20 Year Reunion show is proving to be painful. How did I ever sing like that? I've learned proper technique over the years and now I have to unlearn it all to sing at top volume incorrectly. And singing like that is freakin' painful! My throat is going to bleed!

RIP X Ray Spex Singer Poly Styrene

2011-04-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

Poly Styrene of X Ray Spex- When I was testing on my walkman how far the signal reached from the pirate radio station in the basement of the punk house years ago, the album I put on was Germ Free Adolescents. The filter wasn't on yet, which meant that all you could hear in an 8 block radius was X Ray Spex, which was AWESOME. Walking around midtown forcing everyone to listen to Poly was exciting! And I loved that album. Even before I heard it I was being compared to her lyrically and in the singing. I had heard "Identity" years before on a compilation and it had gotten in my head. I would have never written "Freaks Like Us" without her. She was a great inspiration to me and helped shape my aesthetic of the world. RIP Poly Styrene. You are missed so much.

Off colour but true accordion humour!

2011-04-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

Husband: "Well, sex is more fun than playing accordion"
Wife (without pause) "It is?"

Vagabond Opera at the Firehouse 5, Sacramento, CA April 2011 WEST COAST TOUR!

2011-04-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

The Dead Milkmen saved my ass in a "Tiny Town"

2011-03-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

One thing that has continually brought me joy this week is finally having probably the first punk rock album I ever heard again, "Big Lizard in My Backyard" by the Dead Milkmen. Listening to it again, I realize what a huge effect it had on my lyrics, bass playing, and general attitude. I spent ages writing down lyrics and singing along to some of these songs with my friends. Like "Tiny Town" or most definitely, "Bitchin' Camaro!" and each song I hear I like even more than before. Sometimes the guitar sounds way out of tune even. But it's the best! :) I might have to learn a song on accordion even! They also had accordion on their song "Punk Rock Girl"!
-Julie the Bruce

Julie the Bruce playing Thursday March 24th with Buster Blue at The Fungarden!

2011-03-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

New Song Posted on Reverbnation, "Butter on My Toast!"

2011-03-09T08:28:00.001-08:00

I'm JUST talking about making breakfast. Really! I wrote this song a number of years ago, while making breakfast. Yep.

I'm On TV! KVIE Channel 6 Sacramento valley

2011-03-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

Here's some stills from a photo shoot from an underwriting spot my job did for KVIE. One thing I will say is, gosh darnit, don't ask me to smile, you camera punk! With those bright "Diva Lights" on me I'm getting ideas about what will come after I bare my teeth for you!

My awesome midtown Sacramento adventure

2011-02-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

I had the ultimate Midtown Sacramento experience yesterday, complete with a threat to my bicycle and and fun musical interlude, and even newspaper coverage! It was so amazing, getting snapped and interviewed by the local rag, the Sacramento Bee, who caught my friend Eoin and I jamming on the roof of his neighbor's house. It's right next door to Casa De Chaos! My old stomping grounds. She asked us a bunch of questions and Eoin tried to make it sound like we were part of the Casa De Chaos Community Project. I guess she realized that was bullshit. But it was hilarious.
We were tuning up to try to play Stolichnya by the Moss Brothers in this photo. I had so much fun today, I wrote a song about it.
My apologies to Magpie Catering for not being mentioned. You were definitely the yummy part of the day.

Julie the Bruce - "Stop! My Bike!"

Get up early, slam caffeine

Day old bear claw from yesterday

It takes forever to get on your bike

out the door and into the light

Now you're cruising

the alley at 10th street

lock your bike up to a pole

and this guys who's really old

is driving over your front tire

who doesn't see you trying to unlock your bike

while you're frantically yelling what the f**k

he starts to back into your bike again

like you aren't there yelling

Stop! My bike!

but your bike's ok

it's a sunny day

and you ride away

to adventure!

Traffic's everywhere

sports car don't care

so I'm cruising down alleyways

riding bumps like they are waves

and a friend waves from overhead

on 21St Street

he's on the roof playing an accordion

he's there with his neighbors in the sun

drinking beer we played on an

out of tune guitar and accordion

a photographer came from the paper

took our names and

asked lots of questions

Took shots of us with her long long lens

while we played guitar and accordion

and basked in the sun

yeah I cut my finger while I was strumming

and you broke a string and we sang Dead Milkmen

and we all ate corn dogs

and screamed at strangers!

It's a sunny day

so let's scream and sing

and ride away and be amazing!!

yeah your bike's OK

it's a sunny day

as you ride away to adventure

And we'll scream and sing as we ride

away

away to adventure!

2011-02-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

The Secretions invite Ex-cretion Julie the Bruce onstage at 924 Gilman t...

2011-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

I co-wrote "Freaks Like Us" with The Secretions years ago, inspired by my small-town upbringing and getting a full beer thrown at me by some hicks on their way to citrus heights out of midtown. It was really great to get to play with them at Gilman even if they did screw up the last verse. I had a lot of fun dancing at the show and getting excited about all the acts that were playing!
924 Gilman
1/29/11
Punk Rock Joel's Birthday Party!
Lyrics
Freaks Like Us
When I'm walking down the street
Somebody always calls me a freak
Is it cos of the way I dress is it cos of my hair
I don't know why that fear is there

You think I'm a freak?
Well, at least when I look in the mirror
I'm not afraid of what I see
Cos what I'm trying to see is me

the secretions at 924 gilman song casa de chaos at joel's birthday 2011

2011-02-04T00:59:00.000-08:00

My old band sings about my old home! They're still having punk rock shows there, in the basement! If music is good karma, like my friend Nick says, that place is full of it!

Jason Webley performs a Solstice Song

2011-02-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Tumbleweed Time Machine, the Midget Caravan

2011-02-04T00:23:00.001-08:00

Another inspirational pair and song!

Shamalamacord, Duke Elington's East St Luis Toodle-Oo

2011-02-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

A great set was performed by one inspirational accordion teacher and his award winning shamisen pal. I think they are linked in the brain.

Richie Larwence, Luna's First Accordion Shindig

2011-02-04T00:21:00.001-08:00

Jason Webley - Dance While the Sky Crashes Down

2011-02-04T00:21:00.000-08:00

Jason Webley performs Icarus

2011-02-04T00:19:00.000-08:00

A zine I made a submission to got reviewed at blackguard finally!

2011-02-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

http://blackguard23.livejournal.com/63441.html
My friend Kim does a zine called "Toil" about....work! I wrote and illustrated a story in it. Word!

A tip to keep your accordion in shape. January was a very exciting month for accordions!

2011-02-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here's your care tip for accordions: Worried about the cost of maintenance? I played an accordion 500 hours in the last year, and you can definitely tell. I play hard too! I try to look at it like what it really is- pretty inexpensive to take care of if you think about it ahead of time. Just put aside a dollar for every hour you play, so you'll have enough when the time comes to take it into the shop!

So much fun stuff has happened in the last month that I am still overwhelmed and excited about it. There was a great basement show at Casa De Chaos with Thee Hobo Gobbelins, The Secretions (who filmed a video about Casa that night which was SO fun and then I sang with them like back in the day when we used to practice down there) and Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children Macnuggits. Oh, Jason Webley played on my birthday at the Fungarden. And then I hosted a show at Luna's Cafe with Yeti (Jetty Swart) and Shamalamacord which was magical (and Esteban Villa, the legendary co-founder of The Royal Chicano Air Force made a portrait of me which will be my profile pic now), and then went to the city and saw The Hobo Gobbelins at 924 Gilman with The Secretions and Pansy Division at Punk Rock Joel's Birthday party. Also I got to sing "Freaks Like Us" with them again. Such amazing shows! If you get a chance to see any of these performers, don't miss them!

If you want to see some video from these shows check out my husband's Youtube site www.youtube.com/valletiberti or mine at www.youtube.com/juliethebruce

Bobby Joe Ebola & the Children Mac Nuggits, Life is Excellent

2011-01-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

BEST SONG EVER? QUITE POSSIBLY. Bobby Joe Ebola and The Children Mac Nuggits sing "Life is Excellent." At Casa De Chaos in Sacramento, January 21, 2011.

Hobo Goblins at Casa de Chaos Rub Alcohol Blues

2011-01-25T22:52:00.000-08:00

A great inspiration to me, the lovely and talented Skyler Fell on accordion and vocals with Thee Hobo Gobbelins!

The Hobo Gobbelins - Hall of Mirrors -

2011-01-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hobo Gobbelins at Casa de Chaos SONG ?

2011-01-25T22:48:00.000-08:00

Squeezebox Shindig January 28th at Luna's Cafe, Sac Ca Shamalamacord, Yeti, and me!

2011-01-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

January 28th, 8pm Luna's Cafe
This is a Squeezebox Shindig Event put on by yours truly!
Shamalamacord

(Oakland)

Yeti

(from France)

and Julie the Bruce
1414 16th St, Sacramento, CA, 95814-5004
(916) 441-3931
$6

This show is going to be so amazing that I am hyper ventilating!

Shamalamacord is Aaron Seaman on accordion and Mike Penny on shamisen. They were both in Fishtank Ensemble. Aaron is an amazing performer, accordion and piano teacher. Mike is an award winning shamisen player. Together, they make a power duo to inspire and terrify their audience with their mad skills playing in what might be considered a jazz/gypsy style. I am not worthy! Aaron the accordion player gives me a little bit of rock star goosebumps. Eeek! He is a rock star, and so is Mike, and you need to take this opportunity to see these guys play in Sacramento!

Yeti is Jetty Swart,
and has a very interesting photo in the 2011 Accordion Babes calendar (really you should look it up) and is Miss August. Check out the calendar, it's got a great CD compilation featuring Yeti and other great accordion playing ladies!
http://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/accordion_calendar.html
From Holland via France and her music and energy and ability to "own it" is amazing. She has a wide vocal range and it doesn't seem like there is anywhere her voice can't go. She sings mostly in French accompanying herself expressively on accordion, and occasionally, with rubber chickens. She is sure to give a magical performance.
I will be opening the show with a short set of my own material on accordion and banjo guitar so these performers have some time to really dig into their material! I'm very excited to share them with you!
DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW.These performances are going to be magic.

I like being a bad influence on the youth. The accordion will NEVER DIE!

2010-11-24T22:42:00.000-08:00

My Super-Thankful Thanksgiving Accordion Story!
A little boy came into the music shop where I work with his piano teacher. He might have been 7 or 8 I guess. He whistled tunelessly as he walked around the store taking in everything (and he was wearing an awesome stripey hat).

A man started to try out an accordion nearby and the boy was instantly captivated by it. His mouth formed an "o" and he tried to stare down the accordion and take in what was happening. I know that look. I used to have it as a kid when I would see musicians play. It was like watching magic happen. He stood right in front of the man and started pressing the bass buttons to see what happened while he played. I was too charmed to stop him, because his eyes had also obtained what I recognized as the glazing over of the eyes when one first falls in love with an instrument. Or a freshly baked chocolate cake. It depends on your tastes.

When the man stopped playing, the boy was amazed that no sound came out when he pressed the buttons again. He said "Why doesn't any sound come out?" And I told him unlike a keyboard it had to breathe and to do that the bellows had to move. He said "WHAT?!?!?" So I got a plastic toy accordion that is see-thru and explained to him about how the keys lifted the valve that lets the air and the sound out. I gave him the toy accordion and he happily ran around playing it, until I sensed my co-workers were starting to squirm.

So he'd played that enough, and he wanted to try the big accordion. I told him it was too big and he protested, so I said "Well, let's play it together then!" So I put it on and played the C-Cmj chord standard patter on the bass and he jammed with me on the treble most excellently! He was just totally making stuff up and it was in key and everything. I said "Kid, you can really jam!" Eat your hearts out Jason Webley and Amanda Palmer! ;)

The little boy was so totally in the moment all the time. He didn't even seem to think about what it was he needed to do, he just did it and assumed it would work. It's what the best musicians I know do. Just go for it.

I said, Ok, I'm gonna switch keys, do you know G?" And he nodded and when I said "G" he pretty much went for it. And then we went back down to C again and he even did pretty much what he did before, then G and on to C etc for a few rounds. It was adorable. He said " I want to learn to play accordion!" as he left with his teacher. Super Awesomeness! I am thankful to help open up that magical world a little to an adventurous young accordion-mind!

Squeezebox Day In Sacramento! December 4th at Luna's Cafe

2010-11-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

All Accordion Extravaganza!

My dream of having some all accordion shows in Sacramento begins with a show December 4th at Luna's Cafe at 8 p.m. I have harvested some bay area talents and local flavor for a juicy squeezebox shindig that the likes of Sacramento have never seen!

Julie the Bruce, meeself, opens on banjo-geetar plucking and box-squeezing,

local favorite Richie Lawrence plays with with Katie Thomas; and Tumbleweed TimeMachine from SF, with Skyler Fell (featured in the Accordion Babes Calendar and proprietor of Accordion Apocalypse) and Melody Guzman on the gut-bucket! Show starts on time at 8 pm! Cover is $6!

When: Saturday, 12/4, 8-11pm

Featuring: RICHIE LAWRENCE, Tumbleweed TimeMachine and Julie the Bruce

Squeezebox Diety

2010-10-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone would want this gal on their side!
I finally finished my squeezebox deity! I'm so excited t... on Twitpic
I've been working on this for way too long now. Look for it!

Artwork dedicated to the accordion gods! Created by me.

2010-10-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

"Push It' By Salt n' Pepa on accordion by accordion babes!

2010-10-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GIoDJiZ_Rw

These are two great gals and I love their interpretation of "Push It" on dual accordions! Hooray for the Accordion Apocalypse! This was at the Cotati Accordion Festival, August 22, 2010. They are also both on the Accordion Babes Calendar 2011. Look out for it!

Awesome Video from Thee Hobo Gobbelins, "Hideous Clown!"

2010-10-01T10:56:00.001-07:00

Hideous Clown by The Hobo Gobbelins!

These are my pals, and this video is awesome, so please watch it, and don't take any acid first, because if you do, you will always be......a hideous clown!

Accordion Day Spa Continues into Day Two

2010-09-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

We pounded, cut, plucked, sucked, plinked and polished all day long!

My husband and I have been hosting an accordion day spa for the accordions we have and love and to perfect some very nice boxes we intend to make available for others. Buying boxes worth playing and then being able to sell them to a desirous player is a wonderful thing. So, our day spa. Yesterday my husband and I spent the afternoon pounding, plucking, sucking, plinking, and polishing. Today, more rough treatment for those dirty accordions! :)

2010-09-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today I
befriended "Oey" an accordion owned by a Joey and Jenny before me. Oey
is the least smelly accordion I have ever met! I had a little but bit of fun with her
today, but tomorrow we must become more intimately acquainted with her
and several other squeezeboxes in an epic accordion day spa followed by a
squeezebox orgy! Raise your glass but be careful not to spill!

- Accordion stand by Accordion Apocalypse.
  
  Must be an accordion over 40 years old to attend day spa. No discount coupons may apply. Any accordion that plays dirty may be treated roughly by our beauty technicians to clean up their acts.
  
  Stay tuned for some brilliant before/after photos in the coming days!

Accordion Festival in Cotati California this weekend! Of Course I'm going!

2010-08-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huD6ucaacBA
This is a trailer I made from last year's festival! This years will be totally different. Stay tuned for video from the festival coming up soon! I will be performing at the Accordion Apocalypse tent. Accordion Apocalypse is moving to 10th and Howard. Stick around for more fun accordion related stuff!

An Ode to My New Accordion

2010-08-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

when i saw red felt 'round her buttons
i gave a little sigh
i gently caressed her white and pearly sides
when i took her apart her rods were a shade of blue
i think i'm in love, don't you?

When I heard her sing
there weren't any pings
those beveled keys
have bouncy little springs
there's a musette voice
a polka voice too
i think I'm in love, don't you?
Panitalia, Panitalia
Kind of rhymes with........
mongolia
Or does it rhyme with
.......vegetalia
my mania
Panitalia
kind of rhymes with...
my new mania
named Pan-ital-ia!

Its all been a waste by julie the bruce.wmv

2010-07-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a song I originally wrote on guitar called "It's all been a waste". Its about drinking, or is it? It's about when you can't forget about someone even when you are drunk off your ass, because whenever you do you're instantly sober. No matter how much you drink, it still feels the same. Sucks to be you then!

An Accordion Week off and fun events in the bay area!

2010-07-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am pleased to say I get to pick up my La Melodiosa with it's rebuilt bass section from Accordion Apocalypse and I'll get to sleep in a room full of accordions with my true love! Then, onto an SF Accordion Club meeting with the Thee Hobo Gobbelins playing. And later on in the week, the Lovely Miss Salane has her art gallery closing party on Friday. She is a great talent and a delightful person. You should see her act and her art!

Enjoy,
The Bruce

Miss Salane has her newest paintings on display from July 12th - July 28th, 2010 at Cricket Engine Gallery.
Please call her cell at: 510-712-1394 to set up a viewing appointment . She will try to be open every Sat. and Sun. from 12- 4 pm. But please call me first to make sure that I will be there, as I would feel bad for you to make a wasted visit.

ALL AROUND US: a collection of works by Salane C. Schultz

Cricket Engine Gallery
499 Embarcedaro Ave. Bldg #3
Oakland, CA 94606
510-712-1394 ( call for directions if you get lost.) Just look for the signs!!!

smiles.
Salane C Schultz
missalaneous.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRej3gRX8mM

Exploring my hometown on a lovely July Day

2010-07-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

I went exploring downtown Sacto today. It was a
great thrill, the downtown"Westfield" mall is rapidly degrading into a "dirt mall"( or a turf mall might be more appropriate a moniker!), the Hard Rock is gone as if the giant guitar was never
there. The Suncoast vanished and in it's place a completely out of order used DVD and game store
with cardboard cutouts of gross oily wrestlers scattered half-heartedly about. I think the mall is paying him to make it look like it's a business. Half the mall is a giant ad for an astroturf company. And inbetween the mall and the well coined "Old Sac" on the understated hitchhikers/train hoppers stopping lawn I gave Kento from Japan some bills for a
collection of his photographs, including this one. I like it. Maybe there's hope yet?
So, if you see a too-skinny japanese kid with dreads with his thumb pointed eastward, give the nice kid a ride. He asked me if he looked clean, and I said he looked pretty clean! So, it's OK, he's not too dirty, he won't mess up your car.

iPad Accordion

2010-06-21T06:06:00.001-07:00

Accordion App for iPad!

2010-06-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBHeEmKQ_uI
Yikes! I may have found a reason to get an iPad. Eventually. The action on the "keys" seems surprisingly realistic!

Duckmandu plays "Highway to Hell" on accordion with a flaming hat!

2010-06-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiNoA3fc0y4
Check out my husband Valle's youtube site for more videos from the movie screening of "Behind the Bellows" an accordion documentary by Steve Mobius!

June is National Accordion BEWARENESS Month!

2010-06-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

In 1989 June was officially named Accordion Awareness Month. If you look it up like I did, it will likely take you to http://www.ladyofspain.com/ where you can get a run down of the accordion celebration happening at City Hall in San Francisco on June 11. I think it starts around noon! San Francisco was the first American city where accordions were built, the Guerrini accordion. There is a really great link about Guerrini here http://online.sfsu.edu/~hl/a.html
So, don't forget to be AWARE of that accordion lurking in your closet that wants to be played ....maybe you should pick it up, or give it to some nice accordion fan you know! And if you've kept it under your house for 15 years, it might look perfect now, but as you start to play it it will fall apart. Find a nice repair shop that might want it for hard-to-find parts that aren't made anymore. Most of all, BEWARE! Accordions are insidiously cool. Treat them with respect, because in a way they are a breathing rare creature. They just need us to live.

Up Early in the Morning, so why not work on an accordion!

2010-05-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is BIG and awesome! Check it Out!

2010-05-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

Behind the Bellows-Film & Accordion Show
Saturday, May 8 2010, 8:00 PM $5 - $10 Suggested Donation
The Fishtank
3405 Piedmont Ave. Oakland, CA
Come attend this screening for a Documentary by Steve Mobia, "Behind the Bellows!" Come support this amazing film and help get it into festivals and onto public television, where i...t belongs! Also: Duckmandu will demonstrate the amazing BONVICINI CONSOL ACCORDION. Powered by a vacuum cleaner!

The following Bay Area Accordion acts will play short sets before the film:
Duckmandu
Salane and Friends
Members of the Hobo Goblins with Skyler Fell on Accordion
The Inter-Nathan-al Accordion Duo
And More!
Seven years in the making, this is the first full length American documentary about the beloved but often misunderstood squeezebox: it's history and variety as well as it's effect on popular culture. Contains insightful interviews with accordion legends such as Anthony Gall-Rini, Guy Klucevsek, and Dick Contino among many others. See the original drawings for the accordion's patent of 1829 as well as the first design of the concertina. Visit an accordion museum and a factory where the instrument's many parts are created. Venture through several types of concertinas, button boxes as well as a presentation of MIDI accordions. See historic clips of Guido Diero, Art Van Damme, Lawrence Welk and Frankie Yankovic. Discover why "Lady of Spain" is associated with the accordion. See the first attempt to make a rock-n-roll accordion. And listen to where the accordion might be headed in the future.

I really have a thing about this belly dance number by Ivo Papazov & Atanas Stoev

2010-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is an improv piece. I wish it wasn't so I could keep listening to this as a longer version, or just over and over again. For some reason this little number I find very exciting. I wish it went on and on and on so I could have sex to it or just get a euphoric high from the weird thing this song does to my brain. I want to mesh it with my being. I'm about 20 YouTube watches into doing just that. It's lovely!

"its all been a waste" by julie the bruce

2010-04-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm playing music at United Coffeehouse This Saturday, April 17, 6 pm

2010-04-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

I'm playing music for an art opening this Saturday Night in Sacramento

2010-04-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Cinder in Wonderland Art Opening & Music Featuring:
Julie the Bruce and Sir Jhon. Art opening for the artist Cinder, with a fantastic collection of his strange visions and even a handcrafted 3-D game!

The night’s entertainment will be presented by Lady Julie the Bruce (formerly Secretions and Phlegmings) and Sir Jhon (Trainwreck Revival, Be Brave Bold Robot) beginning around 6:30.

Bouts of accordion and banjo guitar by The Bruce will be interspersed by smatterings of robot banjo guitar as played by Sir Jhon. Songs will be dedicated to Cinder’s brilliant art.
And that is your weather report for Saturday night!
Cinder’s art is really brilliant & you should come buy some cos it’s cheep and you would love to have it! I have three of his pieces. I wish I had wall space for more.Contact United Coffeehouse at 916-451-5151 for more information!

United Coffeehouse 2114 Sutterville Road, Sacramento CA
6:30pm

Find me on Twitter!

2010-04-02T18:56:00.001-07:00

This is where I post my most bizarre commentary!
http://twitter.com/juliethebruce

Accordion Radio Documentary

2010-03-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Some nice folks, one of whom I met also named Julie, are putting together some kind of radio documentary about accordions in the mid-cali area, I believe. Look for it! There is some great stuff happening around here in the accordion world!
This will lead you to some of their stuff.
http://twitter.com/squeezeboxstory

Klezmer Accordion Workshop with Duckmandu!

2010-03-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

Accordion Apocalypse Shop selling some of our consigned accordions

2010-03-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Our most favorite accordion store has a number of accordions me and my husband personally selected on consignment right now.
They are not yet up on their website, but there are several models available, including an old student hohner model, a Rivelli in very nice condition, a Florintino with orange sparkly keys and light blue bellows....and more!
So, if you are in the market for an accordion, there are some nice inexpensive used ones there I personally approve of.
Also, don't forget the 3rd Saturday of the month is usually a workshop with Duckmandu, from 4-7 pm. He has really great technique and a wide range of styles in playing. This month he is teaching us how to play "Police Story" by Black Flag.
Check it out at http://www.accordionapocalypse.com/ They are based in South SF and also do repairs on accordions!

Accordion Apocalypse Shop Featured in Article

2010-02-19T09:45:00.001-08:00

The amazing Skyler Fell and the fantastic Accordion Apocalypse Shop in South San Francisco are featured in an article published this week online at
http://musezu.com/accordion-apocalypse.html

The Olympics have a Negative Impact on Vancouver accordion to Geoff Berner...Gee, who would have ever expected that!

2010-02-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Accordionist Geoff Berner has written a song called

The Official Theme song of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Olympic Games

Which is all about the taking money away from the community the Olympics is held in, and the impact it has on where they are held. In this case, unexplained orphan deaths will go unexplained because they cut the funding to have some big party for a bunch of athletes. Gee, that makes sense. Thanks, Geoff, for speaking for those who cannot or will not speak for themselves or dissent against something that's a ridiculous waste of money and effort.

That Damned Sour Mash Band - Unknown song

2010-01-30T17:15:00.001-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band - Over the Rails for you

2010-01-30T17:10:00.001-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band - Hole in my Shoe

2010-01-30T17:09:00.001-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band - Yiddish Blues

2010-01-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band -Inheritance

2010-01-30T17:07:00.000-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band - The Rabbi is Drunk

2010-01-30T17:06:00.001-08:00

That Damned Sour Mash Band - Malachi's Song

2010-01-30T17:05:00.000-08:00

filmed by valle Tiberti

That Damned Sour Mash Band "So Long Toots"

2010-01-30T17:02:00.001-08:00

Local Footage from Scollans Ranch, Sacramento, CA

2010-01-30T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,
I will be posting some videos and links to videos from a show my husband and I attended and filmed at the art collective at Scollans Ranch in Sacramento Ca. Some of our friends from That Damned Band out of Austin and The Sour Mash Hug band came together at the request of Junior at the Ranch and he played with them some too. All the music here pretty much features accordion, and also just some really talented friends of ours we were happy to find playing a show here.
If you want to find MORE of these videos, or at least a chronological listing of the songs, you can go to www.youtube.com/juliethebruce or /valletiberti. Also, lots more video will be posted there in the future so keep looking please!l
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0dADPTSwn8
Stolichnya by The Moss Brothers! Played by That Damned Sour Mash!

Highway to Hell Accordion Class Taught by Duckmandu

2010-01-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I was very pleased to join the class for "Highway to Hell" taught by Aaron Seeman, aka Duckmandu, at The Accordion Apocalypse in SF. A few years ago I first saw him playing with The Fishtank Ensemble. Well, anyway, he is an amazing accordionist. I didn't realize he could play just about anything. He has some skillful playing tricks he taught us that are still expanding in my mind as to their possibilities. Thank you Aaron, for all you taught us in such a short amount of time but also for making it fun, and there's video of the class too:

It was a very remarkable class and I hope to take more from him in the future. Plus he is just a heck of a nice guy. So are all the folks at the Accordion Apocalypse, so if you feel like buying an accordion, why not get it from them?

More Accordions, less time!

2010-01-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

Well, my husband and I have managed to obtain some more choice accordions from which we must decide which to keep and which to sell. The last two that came in this week are both amplified and awesome "creampuff" excellent condition boxes. One is a Giuletti 3 voice box with a system 50 amplification system and about an 18" keyboard, which sounds incredible through my Boden tube amp school PA system/record player. But it is a larger box and for some reason it doesn't feel as good as the other boxes I play, the Sonola Rivoli and the Frankenstein Accordiana, neither of which are amplified. Yesterday we got in the Universal "midget" accordion, also amplified, but with a 15.25 keyboard. It is a beautiful pearl white finish with lots of swirls in the faceplate. It is also in excellent condition. I wasn't sure that I could play such a small keyboard, but I played it just fine anyway. Now that it is later in the day I can finally fire up the tubes!

This Accordion Life, Chapter I - "strange but possibly well-adjusted"

2009-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Chapter I
strange but possibly well-adjusted

I thought i knew myself well. I started playing bass when I was around 20 because Mickie Rat (of the past and future Secretions) showed me how to play a Ramones song. I had been seeing some local bands that were inspiring me to want to play, including a lot of hardcore bands like Mickie's Nationhood and some other band like The Yahmos. I was really into The Clash and The Germs and X. Originally, I had wanted to be a drummer. There was a band that was coming together which called "Loose Gravel" at the time, because one of the other girls had stolen a roadside sign.

The guitarist, Anna, was the musical brainchild behind this band and Tania was singing and writing the lyrics to most of the songs. Anna and I had been seeing each other around at shows and we kept cutting our hair the same way with wacky home haircuts.

Eventually one night outside of the Loft she walked up to me and asked me to be in the band as a drummer. So, I took my first college grant check and bought a drumset and put a bass and amp on layaway on some shop in Rancho Cordova that isn't there anymore. That place was a rip off. Just as well.
I really sucked at drums, I had no rhythm at all, and I was supposed to follow the bass player who was a Rush-fancying wanker. He was dreadful. And he LOVED to talk. Then he left the band and went to work at a leather coat store. Actually, he worked there already, he always smelled like a dog pissed-on couch.

Other bass players were auditioned, and they were crazy. It's true, those 70's jogging shorts with the pinstripes down the side aren't long enough for people who shouldn't wear them and choose not to wear underwear to boot. After that, I became the bass player, and Mickie was anxious to be in the band too, so girl's night out riding around listening to Throwing Muses and Bongwater ended and we became The Phlegmings. That is a long story in itself and due for a story of it's own someday, at least, what I can remember of it.

So, I really felt that I was a bass player. I held down the line, came up with some lines.

Then, a while after I joined the Secretions and was singing and writing for them, the guitarist tried on purpose to meet his Maker, and although he was OK he left town and I had to take over second guitar. Or lead, I don't know. I was accustomed to playing downstrokes on guitar, and Molly had learned on an acoustic first, so she knew only folky upstrokes. Between the two of us, at first anyway, we were one guitar between the two of us, she played the upstrokes and I the down. Things went on well but ultimately, it is a poor choice to have girlfriends in this sort of band, which is why The Secretions live on to this day!

After a brief episode of extreme piety following a demon exorcism from my soul and listening to honky tonk gospel and Johnny Cash, I eventually sought out new music, meditation, and finding new songs on the guitar. I even sought out new musical ideas, having a radio show called Slogan's Run on KDVS 90.3 FM in Davis, which I am listening to right now. They had a great selection of music to get exposed to, which is why I went there to spend countless hours putting together music for the show. I learned a lot about songs listening to bits and clips of so many different songs, finding out what it was about them that was the same to see if they should be played with each other.

After 15 years, I thought guitar was my main instrument. I played a little bass here and there, and for a time ended up being the "house bass player" at Capitol Garage open mics. Around then I played with some folks I worked with, and joined a band called The Grotto. We practiced at Matt Erich's piss-smelling recording studios, the place where two Phlegmings demo tapes were recorded, and where there was never any toilet paper in the bathroom.

The Grotto was a psychadelic rock band and there is a long story behind that too that probably doesn't deserve to be told for everyone's safety who was involved; but I will say that there were a lot of tears, costume changes, leather, and a trip to the loony bin for one of the drummers.

Later I played a little for the World Music Ensemble at the local city college. I never really learned the songs, but could play along fairly well by ear. But mostly, I started playing some solo shows, and formed Ranting Manor for a while with Frank French on drums and occasionally playing with some members of The Polymers.The bass player of Ranting Manor was in five bands and seemed unable to learn the songs we played together, and others were starting to agree my sound was best solo. For a year I performed at a kid's entertainment show once a month at The Java Lounge, where I played a number of kid's standards and wrote some originals just for the kiddies, which was pretty new for me. That was great fun, but it was costing me money to perform and promote, and besides, I had just picked up the accordion.

I was too busy playing "wheels on the bus" on banjo guitar to practice it, but I had gotten obsessed with it earlier this year after seeing a Scottish button accordion player called Melodeon John on Youtube make up his own songs, and they were great, reminded me of bagpipe melodies. Something about a few of his tunes got into my head and I started understanding how to break them down accordion style. My husband had been learning piano accordion for several months at this time and had played as a youth on a Contello. Recently he had picked up a Pancordion and I had been listening to him play it, and I'm sure that my ear got attuned to it from that as well because I really enjoyed it. So after the kid's show was over, I moved past the crappy 48 bass Weltmeister and playing "Hoist the Colours" from the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie and started teaching myself my songs on my new/old lovely Sonola Rivoli accordion. There were even songs I could play on accordion I had never been able to work out on guitar. How did my fingers know where to go?

This is the first day of the rest of your accordion life.......

2009-12-11T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to This Accordion Life. This is your host Julie the Bruce, accordion fan and novice player. I am happy to announce that today is the the day that I have written my first song on the keys of a squeezebox, and a rather pleasing tune it is. It reminds me of my days as a child when I used to ride the carousel and throw brass rings in a cruel clown's mouth. Yes, those were the days.
I have been playing accordion only since around May. I play a delightful Sonola Rivoli and I am awaiting another great Sonola with 80 bass and musette in a few weeks. It has been very fun learning accordion and I recommend it to anyone.
I have posted a home made video on youtube of the first accordion song I've been able to get through without messing up. Naturally I have practiced it the least! I took the footage from a trip around my neighborhood in Sacramento on my bike this summer.
You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydvgVh-hd84