Leyland Accordion Club, Leyland, Lancashire, England.

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Leyland Accordion Club - 13th May 1998

M m mmmm mmmm mmmmm m m mmm, oops! Sorry, I'm still humming that Black and White Rag played by Deirdre Adamson on 13th May. Deirdre came down from Scotland to play for us and we certainly had a good time. First we rounded up some of the usual suspects and were treated to Tom Bennett playing Running Bear and a French Medley. A new member Jean Southern made her debut appearance in a duet with George Hicks. They started off with O Sole Mio followed by La Paloma, Spanish Eyes, Burrasque and finally finishing with Oslo Waltz. Although it was Jean's first time at Leyland, she is a regular at the Wyre Club where she is known to knock up a good tune. Rebecca Postlewhite was next with "My Florence Waltz", all this before we met our guest artist Deirdre Adamson. In Deirdre's first spot of the night, she started with Edinburgh Castle, then it was on to some Scottish Waltzes, Clarinet Polka, Scottish Reels, Lonely Glencoe Medley, El Choclo, some Pipe Marches, Retours Des Hirondelles, Canadian Jigs and Marche Aux Etoiles. It was then time for the break. The break was eventful, after the fuss last month when the new Manager of The Highfield tried to walk all over us and failed we were prepared for his next trick, he sent a girl from his barstaff upstairs to tell us that the water heater was not working and also the coffee percolator was broken and therefore could not be used, we were told that we would have to buy our coffee downstairs in the bar, we were prepared with two large kettles which we had brought as a backup in case something like this happened. We did fix his water heater for him though - by plugging it in, due to our generous nature there was no charge for this repair.

Deirdre Adamson

During the break Deirdre was selling her tapes, CD's and sheet music. Whilst I was giving away the last copies I had of Accordion World magazine, accordions could be heard around the room and a lot of talking was going on. I normally make a point of keeping an eye on newcomers to the club to make sure that they are not on their own during the breaks, but in no time someone always seems to make them welcome. If you do see someone on their own then why not go over and have a chat, you never know who you will meet. After the break and the raffle, we heard from Walter Perrie, a duet from Linda Grant and Rebecca Postlewhite who played Pygmies Polka. I then had my turn before handing over to Deirdre who started her second 45 minute spot of the evening with March Hare, Margarets Waltz/Calgary Bay and Hora Staccato. Deirdre cut her finger and got blood down her keys, who says that our players don't give 100%! After cleaning her finger and keys up Deirdre continued with The Royal Mile/The Tartan, Stavanger Schottische, Banjo Breakdown / Crossing the Firth, Black and White Rag, Angus Howie Polka/Pipes and Drums of Powell River, Highland Cathedral and finishing with Teddy Bears Picnic. Some of these tunes were from Deirdre's new CD "The Perfect Blend" which she had on sale at the club. This CD contains amongst others, Black and White Rag, Flight of the BumbleBee, Jigs, Reels Marches and Polkas & having bought it myself I can recommend it. At the end of the evening we were asked by Deirdre to join her in playing old time singalong tunes until 11pm and time to part company for another month. That month wait is up and I look forward to meeting you on June 10th. Players don't forget to bring your accordion.

I have asked some of the club's players if they would like to be a part of a cassette and CD called Leyland Accordion Club Volume 1, which I will be recording and producing on my computer. I can record at CD quality and also edit and produce audio CD's on the computer. These will be high quality recordings of the people who normally entertain you at the club. I have asked around and all the players I have spoken to have been excited by this idea. This will be a nice keepsake and, if you are suffering from club withdrawals you will be able to get a fix from this recording. The cassette will be sold at the club or on the Internet to help promote the club. I will probably be looking at each person recording one or possibly two tracks, one for each side of the tape or up to 74 minutes worth of music on the CD version. After ringing seven players up, who all said yes before I had finished telling them about it, I decided to ask in this newsletter for members to let me know if they would like to be included. Volume 2 could be recorded and released next year.

Jean Southern & George Hicks

Our Internet Presence

Our Internet Website had had 3100 visitors as at 6th June and I was pleased to have received this nice message from Australia which makes all the effort worth it: Hi David. I don't know whether you remember me. My name is John Dickson and I have previously dropped you a couple of short notes from down under in Perth Western Australia. Just thought I would let you know that, as a result of your excellent work in the promotion of the accordion through your web pages and what we have been able to read about on the success of the Leyland Accordion Club, I have found enough interested people to start our own accordion club in Perth. We plan to have a meeting next week and set up a small committee to arrange the planning and delegate the tasks required to get the club up and running. At this early stage, we hope to have our first club night in August. Any way keep up the good work from your end as it has certainly been an inspiration to us all. Best regards to yourself and all at the club. John Dickson. There you have it, we are responsible for the creation of a club thousands of miles away. I have had many more messages from around the world and they all have a similar positive encouraging theme, we are getting a reputation, but we haven't started yet, have we!

Brittle Bones Charity Event

On Wednesday 27th May, Leyland Accordion Club members provided the entertainment for a charity evening held at St Wilfreds Club Longridge. The concert was in aid of, and all proceeds going to, the Brittle Bone Society. The players I have to thank for giving their time up for this worthy cause were Leo and Les Thurston, Rebecca Postlewhite, Jay and Jeff Ward, Walter Perrie, Tom Bennett and George Hicks. I was also playing in there somewhere. We had a warm audience and a great time providing three hours of music to an assembled crowd of non-accordionists, many of whom said that they did not know what to expect, I told them - "that makes two of us". The audience were great and, from the comments at the end of the night, I believe we will have a few new members at the club this month. All the players played twice during the evening. We started with Leo and Les Thurston playing singalong tunes, then after we had all played it was time for the break and pie, peas and gravy which went down well. A raffle was held before we started the second half in which all the players played a second spot before we finished the evening with George Hicks and Walter Perrie in lets play whatever happens next mode. Everyone I spoke to enjoyed the evening and the grand total of £210 was raised for the Brittle Bone Society.

 

Lynda Grant and Rebecca Postlewhite

Chester Club to Visit Leyland Club

I was contacted by Elsa Chadderton from Chester Accordion Club to ask if it was alright to arrange a trip up to Leyland Accordion Club for some of the Chester members, I told her they will be welcomed with open arms. She asked if they should bring any accordions, you know the answer I gave her. We would love to hear some of them play at Leyland when they visit us on 12th August. See you soon Chester.

 

Practicing ideas

Here are a few exercises to make your practice time more interesting. Try playing with your eyes shut. If you open them to look at the keys then try practicing in a dark room, it really makes you think about your playing. Try to think of tunes you have never played and see how quickly you can play a decently recognisable version of it. Try to play a tune you play regularly but in a different key, one you are not used to. See how many tunes you can link together in a medley or simply press any note without looking and see if you can identify it before you look down at the keyboard to check if you are right. Don't try and play in the nude.

 

The accordion on television

Did you know that the accordion provides the music on the following: The Simpsons, St. Elsewhere, Highway To Heaven, Little House On The Prairie, Simon and Simon, Northern Exposure, The "A" Team, Falcon Crest, MacGuyver, Matt Houston, Fall Guy, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, Knight Rider, Family Ties, Dallas, Magnum, P.I., Jumpin' Jack Flash, Columbo, Lion King, Addams Family Values, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, M*A*S*H, Cheers and Wise Guy. This is only a small selection of the well known TV programs on Frank Marocco's CV. Frank who lives in America plays a midi accordion on these and a couple of hundred other programs and films, too many to list here, I will include more in future newsletters.

 

Portable PIR alarms

If you would like to protect your accordion when out of the house then you need a battery powered portable alarm for the unbelievable price of £6.95. Local Police have teamed up with CW Berry of Leyland to sell these alarms at below the trade price I normally pay for them. They are ideal for putting in sheds to protect your tools, I used one at Pontins recently to protect my accordion whilst it was in the chalet. You can put them in cupboards or drawers and if the drawer or cupboard is opened, the unit spots you, you have 10 seconds to type your code in or the alarm sounds a 110 decibel siren, similar to a house alarm. The batteries last for months. Ring Berrys on 01772 431216 or PC Brown on 01772 209841

 

Practicing partner required

Ken Tracy would like to meet someone who would like to practice and also improve their sight reading with him. Ken lives in the Macclesfield area but is willing to travel. If you would like a practice partner then ring Ken on 01625 430036

 

 

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