• Guy Klucevsek, renowned avant-folk accordionist, will perform as part of Whitney Museum’s song marathon.  Great story on it from Staten Island Live.
• New album by Claudia Quintet, whose core membership includes accordionist Ted Reichman, reviewed on hipster blog Pitchfork.
• Polka great and working-est man in Polka, Alex Meixner, has a blog. I had now idea. I’ve spoken to the guy tons and not once has he ever mentioned his blog. I found it. And he has a great post up on the accordion festival not run by accordionists, which makes it so cool, Cotati.
• Anibal Velazquez: Cumbia, Rumba, Accordion-Awesomeness. From Knight of the Round Tables (via merry ol Engweb.)
• A man blogging through a love thing with French music. And with youtube illustrations. (We call this Tube-o-Vision.)

• Richard Galliano’s Bach recording made NPR’s All Things Considered twice. Listen to them here and here. Accolades to his PR man! Michael Levine would be proud. For more on his Bach record check out my post. And for more on Galliano check out this post of mine.
• Philadelphia wants any blogger that makes a penny to pay a $300 license. This is crap!!!!
• Extraordinary accordionist Bill Schimmel is on the new Jazz at Lincoln Center recording of 7-suite composition Portrait in Seven Shades. Performing some very angular accordion on the piece Chagall, reminiscent of his Tom Waits work.

• I’ll be playing tomorrow with Hot Club of Philly at Elkins Park. Barry has me billed as “ace accordion wiz Dallas Vietty”.
• The funeral coverage of accordion “Godfather” Steve Jordan. Poetry, “Squeeze Box Man,” “Eye Patch Brujo”, by Nephtali De Leon.
• Cotati Accordion Festival this weekend.
• Philly Folk Fest this weekend. Check out the Give and Take Jugglers in Dulcimer Grove.

I played with the Hot Club at the Mermaid Inn in Germantown, PA and also for the Whole Foods Fresh Beets Festival in Jenkintown, PA this weekend. Marty Grosz was at the Mermaid show and did three songs. They were gems.Come out to the show in Cheltenham Township, Concert Series this Sunday, Aug 22, 5-7:00

• Frode Haltli, accordionist from Norway plays refreshing and interesting music with Trygve Seim at Portland, OR jazz fest. Great article from RootsWorld about this. I have Frode’s 2007 solo album Passing Images and really enjoy it. (BTW, The North-West accordion corridor continues to make me jealous.)
• I saw a great street performer at Musikfest on Monday, her name is Lindsay Benner. She had a great show and a great look. And she could really build a tip. Down below is a video I stole from the Hey Rube Circus blog about how to build a tip. If you don’t know what building a tip is…prepare.
• Real Book Argentina: compilation of scores and recording of and by Argentine jazz musicians. Free download here.
• Rocking librarian’s list of awesome Eastern Euro YouTube videos. Premium!!! (Thanks TBD)
• RIP Steve Jordan: iconoclast and badass.

• Legendary accordionist Ramon Ayala was recently released from a mexican prison. He was performing at  a party when it was raided by the federales. Wrong place, wrong time is what’s being reported. Small story here on SF Chron blog.
• Jan Lewan, beloved Polka icon of Pennsylvania, pyramid schemer, and subject of documentary film. Lets Polka has a great post with his own fascinating story of Jan Lewan and  links to the documentary, which looks great.
• Not in hot water at all, but didn’t want to weaken my headline, Skyler Fell has another great press piece telling her story of being an artisan repairer and performer in the SF Chron, which seems to be the paper of accordion record these days.

I was a special guest with Alex Meixner at Musikfest in Bethlehem on Monday the 9th. It was great. Alex had me write a couple of duets that we did, and I performed a couple of solo waltzes. I put one up on youtube, check it out below!

Alex brilliantly played music from around the world, gypsy, russian, slovak, polka, everything. If you are not familiar with him, check out his site. I believe he is in the studio right now working on his millionth record, like the others, it will be fantastic.

I am playing this Friday at the Mermaid Inn in Germantown, PA with The Hot Club of Philadelphia. They have their regular thing there and I am a guest along with Marty Grosz.

What a busy weekend. I played at the first ever underground carnival in Doylestown at MY MY. I also played a very hot outside gig with the Hot Club of Philly. The guys were too sweaty to photograph but I did document the instruments and the box fans strung up to keep a breeze.

Piano du Pauvre is a French nickname for the accordion, its a poor person’s piano. (I guess they didn’t have Craigslist back then.)

What a great evening at Slate Bleu in Doylestown. It was bastille day so played solo French accordion, lots of musette and appropriated the chansons. Though I learned that I need more Maurice Chevalier in my set (Thank Heaven…) I think everyone was in such a good mood because the food was heavenly! I got the entire top floor to sing La Marseillaise.

I’ve been performing En Ce Temps-lá for a while now, but I’ve never heard a definitive version of it. Until two nights ago when I found the enchanting recording made by Michelé Arnaud! What a voice and what an arrangement. Just terrific! These ballads are my favorite when it comes to the chansons.

1. Buried lead in this Scotland Herald news story is that Phil Cunningham is working with BBC on a documentary about the “way the accordion moved around the world.”
2. Listen to Tente Midj on Carmen Souza’s myspace. João Frade plays some great accordion over this track on a very cool African inspired jazz record. Really fresh sounding. I wish I understood the words!
3. Check out the Vic Willis Trio. I’m new to their sound. Glad to know they exist.