March 2019 Newsletter

Home , Frank Marocco, Lawrence Welk, Myron Floren

Harold Estok, Founder ALSI and The Reed Block

THE REED BLOCK c/o Lois Lahoud 6225 Snowbond St. San Diego, CA. 92120 March 2019 Newsletter

1 Volume 26 issue 3 ALSI MEMBERSHIP AND GENERAL INFORMATION

MEMBERSHIPS: ALSI memberships run from January through December. This is the time to renew or start a new membership. Please contact Lois Lahoud. The REED BLOCK is published once each month. DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise indicated, all articles were written by the Editor. Unless so stated, no article is to be construed as an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or ALSI. Submissions for the Reed Block: Your input to the REED BLOCK is invited and should be sent to Lois Lahoud.

Harold & Helen Estok AlSI Founders of A.L.S.I. Accordion Lovers Society International President: Gordon Kohl 619 395-0454 Helen Estok Presidents Emeriti: Harold Estok, Bill Barr Ron Griffin, Kjell Holmes, Gloria Ensign Ron Griffin Meeting Coordinator: Bob Warner

Treasurer & Band Miriana and Fred Director: Vicki Eriqat Ferino

Recording Secretary: Sharon Marotte Kjell Holmes Correspondence Secretary: Lois Lahoud 619 582-1427

ReedBlock Bob Page Newsletter/ Webmaster: Bob Page, Lois Lahoud, Al Piselli, Ted Hill Gloria Ensign

Bob Warner

STEERING COMMITTEE, Next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 14th. We meet at Marie Callen- der’s 6950 Alvarado Rd. (Hwy 8 and 70th. next to Dennys) at 10:30 AM for breakfast to discuss upcoming events for ALSI. This meeting is open to anyone interested, so please join us. We drink a lot of coffee.

2 Vicki Eriqat Sharon Marotte Lois Lahoud Al Piselli Ted Hill

March Birthdays

Nancy Dyer (Money) 3-4 Marilyn Harkins 3-13 Diane Polinski 3-5 Steve Halpern 3-14 Chuck Fabatz 3-9 Frank Erwin 3-29 Bill Barr 3-10 Howard Kantorowski 3-11

March Anniversaries

Frank and Mary Lou Erwin 3-4 Jerry and Barbara Odling 3-30

WWW.TomEskolaMusic.com

Gordon Kohl Plays Casuals, Wedding Dances and Special Events. Gordon’s Combo is noted for their repertoire of ethnic music such as Italian, French, German and Latin. Their specialty is Private Parties & Dancing Music. For more information and availability, please call Gordon at: (619) 395-0454.

3 Thank you all for continuing to support accordion music and artists in performances at ALSI. ALSI has been for 35+ years been San Diego’s spot to play accordion and enjoy friendship in music. We Hello Everyone, are fortunate to be able to inter- act with such a variety of people I hope you all had a great with varied musical backgrounds. start to our new year. ALSI mem- The arts are a special part of San bers enjoyed a meal and a fantas- Diego tic music performance by Gail Tell friends about ALSI and it’s Campanella at our last meeting. activities including the June picnic Her music selections were at Lindo Lake Park in Lakeside in electrifying and very expressive. June. This music style and interpreta- tion is a thrill to watch and listen Gordon by accordionists. When she played Snow Train Shuffle and Ti- co Tico the audience was amazed and ready to jump up and dance. She is a superb accordion artist. ALSI STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: We look forward to hearing her ALSI is San Diego’s forum for appreciating again sometime next year in 2020. and performing accordion music, Accordionists are being con- including the MIDI electronic accordion tracted to feature their particular —- style in music for ALSI for the We welcome members who enjoy listening coming months. Our next show- to or playing accordion music. —- case is our next meeting this We have an accordion ensemble group, March. The accordionist Gene monthly meetings, local concerts featuring Kolosney is a very fluid and enter- local and internationally famous performers, taining musician. Please bring an annual picnic and a monthly newsletter. some friends to this occasion.

4 March 10th. Guest artist Gene Kolosney from the Chicago Accordion Club will present a showcase, Irish day - wear green March 23rd. ALSI presents Creosote at Arely’s French Bakery 5 PM April 13th. ALSI meeting May 5th. ALSI meeting, Gordon Kohl and Tom Eskola will be featured June 9th. ALSI picnic at Lindo Lake Park in Lakeside

March 7th-9th NAA Accordion Convention, Richardson (Dallas), Texas March 22nd NAMM Museum of Music will be featuring Frank Petrilli April 4th-6th San Diego Accordion Camp with Gordon Kohl May 14th-16th Camp Concerto with Paul Pasqualli, Salt Lake City, Utah

Happiness at ALSI by Sharon Marotte (March 22nd—Museum of Music) Cre- (Sharon has been writing the happiness osote is the accordion duo of Jamie article for us as far back as 2007 or Maschler and Gabriel Rodrigues. To- earlier?) gether they play a dynamic array of Boy oh Boy!!! If you were not at the ALSI gath- original and world music. Expect to ering February 10, 2019, you really missed an excellent concert by Gail Campanella from Santa hear clever yet elegant versions of new and old Brazilian and Barbara, CA. world music tunes. The instrumental duo recently released their The Mangia Italiano restaurant in Chula Vista was the spot for 40 of us accordion lovers. first self-titled album. The evening will also feature a perfor- Beatrice Kohl helped sign in the guests. The mance by jazz accordionist Frank Petrilli. Frank Petrilli has per- menu was salad, Spaghetti or Fettuccine Alfredo with a light dessert. formed with renowned artists like guitarist John Chiodini, at top Several folks entertained us during the venues such as Herb Albert’s Vibrato Grill, and at many of the lunch time: Tom Eskola, Bob Page, Ron Grif- fin, Sharon Marotte, Margarita Romero and major accordion festivals and clubs in the US. Gordon Kohl. It was a wonderful day with excellent accordion music – it was so nice to see friends This event is presented in conjunction with the Accordions: Ex- that we haven’t seen for awhile. Please come panding Voices in the USA special exhibition. again!!! 5 2nd Annual San Diego Gordon continues to play solo and group engagements for conventions, clubs, dances, and special events. He has Accordion Camp combined the use of a reed accordion style with the electronic and digital world new age accordion technology.

April 4-6, 2019 He uses skills from piano, keyboard, and accordion in his continually evolving professional style design. He always wants to mix the voicings of the reed instrument with the The 2nd annual San Diego Accordion Camp (SDAC), un- modern pop and orchestral sides of digital instrument ca- der the musical direction of Gordon Kohl, will be held pability in his music arrangements. This conceptual idea April 4-6, 2019 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM at the Mangia Ital- has helped him and his combo remain popular today. iano Restaurant, 248 Third Ave., Chula Vista, CA. For an enrollment form go to: The SDAC emphasizes building accordion musicianship http://www.gordonkohlaccordions.com/ skills, enjoyment and self confidence in playing an accor- or contact Gordon Kohl. His mobile phone is (619) 395- dion solo. A goal of this camp is to enhance the music 0454 and his email address is arrangements we learn and to make them enjoyable to [email protected] . play.

This year’s camp will use “First 50 Songs You Should Play on the Accordion” arranged by Gary Meisner as the textbook. We will review and play several popular tunes including “Libertango,” “Cherokee (Indian Love Song),” “The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine)”.

Gordon will explain the application of chord cadences and progression, building introductions, harmony, rhythm, bellow technique, expression and theory. Each song has select measures where improvisation will be incorporated. The use of harmonic tones and design of short introductions and endings will be studied and played by participants.

Both acoustic and digital accordionists are welcome to attend the -3 day camp. Suggestions for possible acoustic reed switch settings and digital voice choices will be giv- en. The enrollment fee is $189/person which covers: textbook (“First 50 Songs” arranged by Gary Meisner), parking, course materials, notebook and lunch.

Sign-up by March 15, 2019. The textbook will be mailed in advance so that you can practice the selected tunes ahead of camp. Gordon will distribute extra class notes and exercises at camp in your notebook.

Gordon Kohl is a professional accordionist and teacher. He has performed and presented workshops at numer- ous accordion conventions and camps across the U.S. He is on the Board of Directors of the Accordionists & Teachers Guild International.

6 Welk's music was known as champagne mu- From: Allan Schwartz sic. His television show started with animated cham- keyboard accordion player, residing in pagne bubbles appearing on the screen. “Bubbles in the Wine” was his theme song. Welk eschewed the San Francisco rock and roll acts, such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles that became regular with such competitors as A LOOK BACK AT LAWRENCE WELK “The Ed Sullivan Show”. He insisted not only on wholesome presentations but that the members of If you want to see small town America, his “musical family” live wholesome lives. North Dakota is not a bad place to start. But Stras- The Lawrence Welk legacy has been lasting. burg, North Dakota, might even be too backwater To this day the Lawrence Welk Champagne Theatre for most North Dakotans. operates in Branson, Missouri, with a 2300 seat ca- This farming “town” has a population under pacity. Lawrence Welk resorts are not only found 400 and less than a square mile of territory. Stras- there but in San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, Palm burg's population is 99.8% white. Springs and Tahoe. In 1903, in a sod house where only German When not conducting, Welk's instrument was was spoken (the German accent would be a lifelong the accordion. It is likely that more than anybody trademark), its most famous citizen ever was born. else, for good or ill, he both popularized and stigma- Strasburg is the birthplace of Lawrence Welk, the tized the instrument. He played for decades and even man who, probably above all others, bears associa- obtained a music degree. His playing was clean and tion with the accordion. accurate and he always radiated a big smile when at Lawrence Welk lived from 1903 to 1992. He it. Polkas were another of his great musical loves. married once. He borrowed money from his father to Welk would oftentimes perform accordion polka du- buy his first accordion, still on display in Strasburg os with the lightning fingered Myron Floren. Floren for the many of you who intend a visit. He left Stras- hailed from Roslyn, South Dakota, (home to the In- burg at a young age and became one of the kings of ternational Vinegar Festival) which by comparison variety show television. Welk's show, variously ti- makes Strasburg look like a borderless metropolis. tled, ran from 1951-1982. Probably no person left his legacy on our in- Welk was not just a devoted accordionist but strument as Lawrence Welk did. a bandleader and even an inventor: He held patents, among other things, for an accordion shaped ash tray and accordion themed lunch box. Although he became enormously wealthy through real estate, entertainment and other means, not everything he touched turned golden. He failed with his restaurant concept, “Sqeezeburgers”, which featured hamburgers cooked on an accordion shaped grill. And if you still doubt that accordion was a large part of his life, I refer you to his autobiog- raphy, where, he states: “My earliest clear memory is crawling toward my father who was holding his accordion.” One of Welk's loves was big band music. He had been a bandleader since 1927. Big Band was perhaps the best American popular music ever. To say that, one needs to have a certain love for corny Americana, as I do. So, I think, did Welk. Welk's big band covers included everything from "Begin the Beguine" to "Maria Elena", and many other Big Band compositions.

7 Train Wreck with Gail Campanella

8 GAIL CAMPANELLA SHOWCASE - Review by Bob Warner February 10, 2019

Since we first heard that Gail was coming to play for us we have been looking forward to that event with great anticipation. And we were certainly well rewarded with the program she presented. This lady has full command of the accordion. She is personable, has a great sense of humor and plays like an angel. I often wonder if people in the audience notice what I do when we hear and see a working professional. Do you notice the seamless bellows control, the clear articulation of the notes on the treble keyboard giving us those round, pearly notes? How about the easy manipulation of the bass buttons and the overall interpreta- tion of the arrangements with solid tempo you could set a clock to? It’s all there for us to see and hear. There was something for everybody in her music program.

She got off to a fast start with Frosini’s “HOT POINTS” novelty followed by Frimil’s “DONKEY SERE- NADE”. When I was stationed in the Chicago area during WWII I heard Allan Jones sing that piece, one with which he was identified forever. On the stage he said he had sung that serenade so many times that he thought his ears were beginning to grow. “MOMENT IN MARSEILLE” began with a staccato lead melody supported by a tricky, infectious bass rhythm. It had a nice, French lean to it. In medley fashion we heard “WANETA’S WALTZ” which kept a snappy bass rhythm moving to compliment the first piece.. Nice stuff! The “GODFATHER THEME MEDLEY” was beautiful. We heard the whole thing and when Frank Marocco does an arrangement it is superb. Her “SICILIAN TARANTELLA” was a delightful, foot tapping piece and the staccato on the right hand was perfect. The novelty, “60 MPH”, by John Gart was full of keyboard fireworks and maybe it didn’t move as fast as the Daytona cars, in 1943 60 MPH was really fast. Outstanding! “AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS”, arranged by Frank Marocco, was just lovely. And just in case we got too relaxed Gail followed this with the samba, “CAVAQUINHO” which moved along at great pace with a familiar melody line. Back to France, two lovely musettes, “BOUM MUSETTE and “ZINGARELLA”, worked the entire keyboard. Gail handles fast runs, arpeggios and embellishments with ease. It’s in- teresting that pieces like this have embedded melodies cleverly worked into the fast keyboard material.

As a tribute to Frank Marocco, Gail played her arrangement of “BE MY LOVE”. It was truly lovely with a fine chord harmony on the right hand supported by a nice bass line. The bassoon reeds were just right for this piece. Next we heard Frank Marocco’s arrangement of “TICO TICO”. It moved along at a nice , dance- able pace but the end was played at double tempo. One of my favorites! Without telling us the name of the piece, Gail launched into “WRONG NOTE POLKA” written by Angelo Di Pippo. The audience was soon quite amused after they figured out what was going on. She played every one of the wrong notes perfectly. Angelo Di Pippo had a great sense of humor.

Her last piece was “FLYING FINGERS POLKA” composed by none other than Gordon Kohl, the president of our club. However, we had to have an encore. Gail then finished with “SNOW TRAIN SHUFFLE” by John Gart, and “CASEY JONES” arranged by Magnante. It was a great conclusion to a wonderful afternoon of listening. “SNOW TRAIN SHUFFLE” was probably the piece of the day although I could say they all were. Gail agreed to come back next year and for those of you who missed today’s performance you don’t want to miss that future date. 9 10 Silent Reed - Linda Banuelos

Linda had been an active member in ALSI for over 10 years. She loved her accordion and playing music. Her active grand kids, who she baby- sat for, went crazy around the house when she practiced at home. She went to most of Gordon’s workshops that were then held at a sandwich restaurant in Chula Vista. She also came to listen to Gordon play at the Edelweiss restaurant.

Linda lived in and out of San Diego at times, so we missed her at times. She was back with her family and coming to ALSI before she suddenly developed cancer and passed away. We will miss her and her friendly way with everyone.

Sorry if I missed anyone, there are a quite a few Reed Blocks to read Remembrance of past ALSI members through. Only included ones that had pictures to relate to.

Anthony Galla-Rini John Cesinger (July 2006) (December 2009)

Andy Minella Gordon Nyhus (June 2007) (Sept. 2011)

Fred Ferino Joe Di Giacinto (October 2013) (April 2009)

Russell Camp Harold Johnston (May 2014) (June 2009)

Lou Fanucchi Tom Baxter (May 2017) (July 2009)

11 Claudia Wrona Kjell Holmes (July 2017) (December 2017)

Henry Pawlicki Roy Birdsell (August 2017) (June 2018)

Ray Pelletier Merle Williams (December 2017) (October 2018)

Al Jacobs (December 2017)

Remembrance of past performers

Dick Contino Guido Deiro Joe Smiell (April 2017) (July 1950) (January 2012)

Frank Yankovic Frank Marocco Tony Lovello (October 1998) (March 2012) (September 2017)

Myron Floren Sylvia Marie Barber (July 2005) (April 2012)

Ken Olendorf Carmen Carrozza (October 2011) (June 2013)

12 13 QUICK NOTES: ALSI Meeting: Sunday - March 11th. Guest Artist Gene Kolasny from the Chicago accordion club will entertain us.

Please bring a (green?) dessert to share. Coffee provided by the club.

BAILEY HALL AT MT. MIGUEL COVENANT VILLAGE 1:00 PM to 4 PM 325 Kempton Ave., Spring Valley, CA 91977

Contact person: Lois Lahoud (619) 582-1427, Email [email protected]

Saturday March 23rd. — 5 PM ALSI presents Creosote accordion duo at Arely French Bakery located in the Clairemont Square shopping center. This is for people who are unable to go the Museum of Music on the 22nd. Cost is $10 for the kittie-pot and you will get a slice of quiche and cup of coffee to enjoy. Clairemont Square is located where Clairemont Dr. and Claremont Mesa Blvd meet. Outback restaurant is in the same parking lot, Dennys and 99 cent store are also here. Arely’s has a dinner menu if quiche is not going to do it for you.