Newsletter of the San Francisco Accordion Club P.O
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The San Francisco Accordion Club World’s First Accordion Club 1912-2009 ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ The official instrument of San Newsletter for July 2009 Francisco! SFAC Officers President’s Message Accordion aficionado Clyde Forsman dies Frank Montoro, President Dear Members and John Koopman, Chronicle Staff Writer (650) 574-4757 Friends, [email protected] Friday, June 12, 2009 Lynn Ewing, Vice President It is with great sor- Clyde Fors- (650) 365-1700 row that I announce man was well [email protected] the passing of one of into his 70s be- Lore Warren, Secretary our most beloved mem- fore he became (510) 783-2072 bers, Clyde Forsman. a sex symbol. [email protected] He was one of a kind. Maryanne Romanowski, His radiant personality, He was slight Treasurer love of the accordion of build and the [email protected] and generous spirit spitting image made him a very lovable of legendary SFAC Directors person well known to investor Warren Aldo Argenti our members and Buffett. But (650) 368-8791 friends. there was no [email protected] denying the Gus Greyhosky As my “message” I man's sex ap- (415) 621-8284 would like to pay trib- [email protected] peal. He would ute to Clyde by includ- Sharon Walters-Greyhosky get on stage with his band, Those Darn Accordions, ing the obituary that (415) 621-8284 take off his shirt to show his enormous tattoos, and [email protected] appeared in the San belt out his version of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" or Rod Valerie Kieser Francisco Chronicle on Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" All of this done to June 12 by staff (510) 531-4836 the musical accompaniment of the very sexy accordion. [email protected] writer, John Koopman. We think Mr. Koopman Mr. Forsman died June 5 of complications due to Newsletter did a wonderful job diabetes. He was 94. describing what made Valerie Kieser, Copy Editor Born on May 5, 1915, Mr. Forsman grew up on a farm Clyde such a special Randall Hicks, Production in the San Joaquin Valley. His wife, Evelyn, said Mr. Editor person. We will miss Forsman lived a rugged but simple existence in a small [email protected] him. house with no electricity or running water. But, she said, the family was close and life was good. Frank Montoro At age 17, Mr. Forsman taught himself how to play the accordion. He took a few lessons along the way, but the accordion is not the kind of instrument that re- quires a lifetime of training. Evelyn Forsman said her husband tried to join the military during World War II, but was turned down President’s message (continued) Accordion aficionado Clyde Forsman dies (continued) Hendrix himself. Sometimes he'd remove his shirt. because he had diabetes. He moved to San Francisco in "I could always see the audience nudging each other 1942 to work as a boat builder at a yard in Marin when he put down his accordion and got up to sing," County. said Seekins, who is also known as Big Lou, the accor- dion princess. "They went completely berserk when he There he learned woodworking and carpentry. For- removed his shirt and showed off his full-body tat- ever a tinkerer and good with his hands, Mr. Forsman toos." loved to build things, and he loved to figure out how With that notoriety came the inevitable groupies. old things worked. Those two interests came together Women would throw room keys and undergarments on a few years later when he landed a job with the city of stage when Mr. Forsman did his thing. A video of his San Francisco, working in the cable car barn, where he act on Youtube.com shows him smiling and examining a helped restore and rebuild the famous vehicles. bra as the accordions riffed and the crowd went wild. Throughout his life, however, there was always the Evelyn Forsman said he took the fame in stride, and accordion and Mr. Forsman's favorite music. never took it seriously. "He was supremely faithful," "He was good, but he was not a virtuoso," Evelyn Fors- she said. man said. "He had a lovely voice. That was probably his Mr. Forsman is survived by his wife; a brother, best instrument. He was a tenor, and sang like an Irish Chuck Forsman of Roseville; daughter Victoria Forsman tenor. Very clear and sweet." of California; and sons Emil and Elliott Forsman, both Mr. Forsman loved any music associated with the of San Francisco. accordion, and was well versed in the music of the Midwest and Europe. They say he played a mean rendi- tion of the "Beer Barrel Polka." "Clyde was a legend in the accordion world," said Linda Seekins, a founding member of the group Those Darn Accordions. "He played in his first band, the A Memorial Gathering Whiskey Flat Hillbillies, based in Coulterville, in 1932. He never stopped playing." Mrs. Forsman invites club members to share in a In 1989, when Seekins and some friends put to- musical memorial for Clyde on Sunday, August 2, from gether Those Darn Accordions, Mr. Forsman showed 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Swedish American Hall, 2174 up with his instrument. Seekins said his enthusiasm Market Street (cross street: Sanchez) in San Fran- was so great, he was invited to play with the band. cisco. Given Clyde’s love for and influential involve- What was supposed to be a one-time gathering of ac- ment in the musical scene in the Bay Area, rather than cordion aficionados turned into a long-lasting gig, and remembering Clyde with verbal tributes, Mrs. Forsman the band went on to play throughout the Midwest and has requested that this be a musical gathering and in- Europe. vites attendees to bring along their accordions or Mr. Forsman soon became the face of the band. other instruments and play or sing a piece or two. Fans would show up just to watch him in action. It was- Those who knew Clyde will know that nothing would n't just his musical abilities, Seekins said. People just have pleased him more. Think what a huge smile it loved to see the energy of a man in his 70s, then 80s would put on Clyde’s face for everyone to join in a rous- and 90s, getting up and playing funky rock 'n' roll and ing chorus of the Beer Barrel Polka—Cotati style! having a good time. He would play for awhile, then put down the instrument and sing, very straight-laced, "Let me stand next to your fire," as if channeling 2 Something Familiar, Something New June’s Musical Meeting The musical program was, as always, very di- Accordion Babes calendar. versified. With Michael Sanossian setting the upbeat “Shalymar” is a composite of “Sharon-Lynn-Marian,” mood with his excel- and is the new name for this very accomplished trio of lent pre-meeting mu- Sharon Greyhosky, Lynn Ewing and Marian Kelly. sic, everyone was in a They appeared twice in this program, first as duets good mood when featuring two of the three, and a solo. First Lynn and Salane Schultz Marian played a lovely Frank Marocco arrangement of started off the pro- the beloved French piece Domino , followed by Stas gram with some terri- Venglevsky’s Autumn Illusions. Their last piece was a fic and familiar Latin delightful Marocco arrangement of Mademoiselle de numbers. Salane usu- Paris. ally is “Salane & Friends,” meaning she plays several instru- ments and puts on a one-person show. This time she left most of her “friends” home Michael Sanossian and demonstrated what she has learned from Lou Jacklich by playing La Paloma in two keys; La Cumparsita; El Choclo; Tico-Tico and El Cumanchero Cubano (Lou Jacklich’s arrange- ment). The Shalymar Trio: Salane was Sharon, Lynn and Marian once a stu- dent of the late Lou The next duo from the Shalymar trio were Sharon and Soper, whom Marian, who played a “Concert Schottisch” (Silver she missed a Slippers) arranged by the late Joe Morelli, known for lot as she his terrific arrangements. Then Sharon played a lively found herself solo arrangement of There’ll Be Some Changes Made. “in limbo” with Lynn and Sharon then played a duet of Frosini’s beauti- no teacher— ful Olive Blossoms, followed by Joe Smiell’s arrange- until she be- ment of Anitra’s Dance from Grieg’s Peer Gynt. gan lessons with Lou We were then treated to a presentation by surprise Salane Schultz with her “ best Jacklich, guests from the Accordionists and Teachers Guild friend” where she has (ATG), Dee Langley (ATG President) and Michele made lots of progress. Thanks, Salane, for starting off Boddicker Scheffler (ATG board member). They in- the program in such a colorful and delightful way. formed us just what the ATG is about and the coming (Salane confided that she had hoped to play Flight of “accordion renaissance.” Their Convention for 2009 will the Bumblebee for us but we ran out of time. Play it take place in Minneapolis August 13-16—and here in for us next time, Salane—we’ll be waiting to hear it!) San Jose in 2010! Michele, Dee, Lynn Ewing and Mary By the way, Salane was “Miss February 2010” in the Tokarski (of the K Trio) form the site committee for 3 Something Familiar, Something New June’s Musical Meeting (continued) next year’s con- hearted and fun feeling of the piece). They followed vention. What a with an original by Joe Smiell: Concert Etude for 3 Ac- terrific opportu- cordions.