Accordion Monsters Invade
West Coast Cities!
The most feared instrument in the world is being demonstrated by four of its most notorious practitioners throughout the Western United States this August. Accordionists Mark Growden, Amy Denio, and Duckmandu will be joining Seattleite Jason Webley and variety of special guests for ten nights of squeezebox mayhem from Los Angeles to Seattle.

"I meet so many 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, punk rock covers, experimental pop, dark tangos and sultry dirges.

"Fourteen years ago all my wind instruments - saxophones, flutes, double reeds, etc, - were stolen," says San Francisco's Mark Growden, when asked how he came to play the unlikely instrument. "Later that week I found an old accordion in the basement of the school where I taught. "

Seattle's Amy Denio picked up the habit on the road. "I had played a concert in Budapest and was paid in Hungarian Forints, which at the time were not exchangeable to 'hard' currencies, so I went to a music shop, and left with a little red accordion."

A concert in Growden's former home of Santa Rosa will kick off the ten-night "Monsters of Accordion" tour. In most cities, Webley, Growden, Denio and Duckmandu will be joined by a notable local guest player. Guests include Sansa Asylym of the Yard Dogs Roadshow, Golden Globe winner Dan Cantrell and B-movie legend Count Smokula.

Street performer turned cult musician, Jason Webley is one of the best known songwriters currently carrying a squeezebox. His relentless touring schedule has built him a loyal fanbase all across North America, Europe and Australia, as well as a large following in Russia. Known for his gravelly voice and energetic foot-stomping, Webley's specialty is involving his audience in his shows. Almost every concert ends with the entire crowd locked arm-in-arm, singing his trademark "Drinking Song". Since the last Monsters of Accordion Tour, Webley has performed in the most remote parts of Siberia, collaborated with Mexican chart-topper Ximena Sarinana, recorded an EP with Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls and released his fifth album, The Cost of Living.

After a three year hiatus, Mark Growden - the Bay Area's sexiest accordion player is making his return to the touring circuit. Best known for his dark, passionate accordion-driven compositions, Growden is a true Renaissance man playing a variety of other instruments including saxophone, banjo and guitar. He is also an accomplished visual artist and composer for theater and film, as well as a teacher, an athlete and a father. Growden has released several critically acclaimed albums and is currently finishing his eighth release The Island of the Gondoliers. His band, Mark Growden's Electric Pinata shares several members with Tom Waits' current touring band. Growden was nomiated twice by the San Francisco Weekly as "Best Americana/Roots performer" and is the recipient of the Isadora Duncan Award for one of his ballet scores.

Amy Denio is a Seattle-based composer and multi-instrumentalist known world-wide for her unconventional songwriting, and incredible musicianship. She has worked with countless artists, including Bill Frisell, Danny Barnes, Kultur Shock, the Pat Graney Dance Company and even Chuck D. With a catalog of over 35 CDs to her name, Denio has performed all over the world, from Carnegie Hall to Taiwan to the Metro buses in downtown Seattle. In addition to her solo work, she currently plays with the Tipton Saxaphone Quartet, Quintetto alla Busara and her accordion quartet, Hell's Bellows. Since 1986, Denio has operated her own Seattle-based record label, Spoot Music.

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. Just back from a succesful solo tour of Japan, Seeman also plays with the acclaimed Romanian folk group Fishtank Ensemble, composes for San Francisco's Punk Rock Orchestra and has recorded with Mr. Bungle.

The accordion was invented in Germany in the early 19th century and quickly spread throughout the world. It's portability, flexibility and loud volume made it a tremendously popular folk instrument, becoming the driving sound in a variety of musical styles from French musette to zydeco, Argentine tango to Klezmer. In North America the accordion suffered a big blow in popularity with the rise of the electric guitar. The squeezebox became associated exclusively with polkas and Lawrence Welk, and by the 1980's it had become the musical symbol of nerdiness.

However in recent years, the accordion has enjoyed a renaissance in attention. Partly due to the efforts of accordion troubadours such as Webley, Growden 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."

The "Monsters of Accordion" are playing from August 14 to 23 in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Eugene, Portland and Seattle.

Full details and ticket information about these concerts can be found at www.monstersofaccordion.com.

For more information write to: info(at)elevenrecords(dot)com