1967 - Doug around 7 or 8, playing accordion and Aunt Karolina sings along - pretends to sing along. ;)

Feb. 2012 - Douglas:

"DOUG'S FIRST GIG"
(and other related phenomena)

Location: Living Room, 3116 Levick Street, Philadelphia, PA 19149
(Area Code 215, Phone: Cumberland 9-4010), circa 1967-1968.

This is the first accordion my parents bought me (which I still
possess today). My parents offered me the choice when I was seven to
learn how to play either Accordion or Guitar with accompanying
lessons, and after much serious heartache between the two instruments I
finally chose accordion in part to keep my parents and grandparents
happy what with European heritage, et al. In 1969, though, when I
began listening to AM radio consistently and heard songs that I
wanted to play (while some kids read books under blankets, I listened
to the radio), the influence of 50's and 60's popular music made me
wish I had chosen guitar and thus my interest in accordion
waned, even though I continued to play and my parents eventually
upgraded me to a full 120 key accordion (which I still also have).

I remember Dad (i.e. S. Paul for the older and Opa for the younger
generations) driving me once a week, I believe on Wednesdays, to a
music store on Rising Sun Avenue in Philadelphia a couple of miles
down from Roosevelt Boulevard. (Rising Sun Ave always fascinated me
with its cobblestone bricks in the center of the road and its
electric trolleys that ran up and down, and in later years I remember
Al driving his GTO (with me riding shotgun) to a hobby store on the
same street). Anyway, I remember nothing of the accordion lessons,
just the drive to and from in Dad's 1964(?) Rambler, Model "777",
which we kids and him nicknamed "Rudy".)

My only public performance - and thus greatest tale! - regarding
this accordion is tied into the Christmas season of what I think was
1968. Dad was working at a bank in Philly in those days, and somehow
got (or pressured) extremely shy and nervous little Doug to play
'Christmas Music' one afternoon at the bank before it closed in the
afternoon. I was not taken out of school, so it could very well have
been Christmas Eve.

Anyway, Dad picked me up and off we went to the bank - a place I had
never been before. Up the stairs we went to a mezzanine which, as a
chair was placed near the half-wall and railing, I could now look
down and see all the tellers and people making transactions with
more desks and people in the background (like old-style banks used to
be). It was a modern bank for its time and I was petrified! Yet I
had agreed to play and had a bunch of songs in my head ready-to-go.
And you may think I'm crazy when I can't even remember what I ate
yesterday for dinner, but I do remember it was around 4:00 pm in the
afternoon because there was a rather big clock hanging on the wall to
my left.

Dad set me up and told me to play 'anything' that came to mind.
while another bank lady was very kind to me as well. Much like
today, Doug never bothered with sheet music (too cumbersome and I am
a very slow reader), and so everything I knew was played by ear in
the key of C, even if a note or two didn't exactly fit that key.
Not only that, but I had memorized many easy Christmas songs in the
past and knew them by heart, so without sheet music I could
occasionally look down at the people while playing when I wasn't
watching myself hitting either keys or buttons. And when I ran out
of Christmas songs, Dad had encouraged me to play a few hymn melodies
for the occasion as well (which I had found in the past easy to
figure out).

I don't know how I survived, but I did. I remember many people
looking up at me as the accordion notes floated in the air, and some
of their smiles (while others just seemed to be looking and saying
"Where is that [noise!] coming from?") encouraged me even as made of
course traditional Doug mistakes. I suppose my age and the scene and
the Christmas scene all helped me out quite a bit, and after about 15
minutes or so (I'm guessing, because I probably played some songs
twice) I stopped, relieved it was over.

Then Dad reappeared (from working behind a desk below) and told me
to continue playing! I told him I was done, didn't have any other
songs to play, but he said it didn't matter, just play everything
again because people were going in and out. So here I thought I was
done with the ordeal (I've always been squeamish playing in public)
and now the whole event was going to be repeated!

All told, it probably lasted no more than half an hour and the bank
employees were very kind, asking me questions and complimenting etc.
So it was not a bad experience, but I was quite relieved to put my
accordion in its box (yep, still have that too!) and just wait to go
home while I enjoyed bank refreshments.

Nowadays, the accordion shows its age and one of the original leather
straps has long broken while the other is brittle. But the
instrument still works, even as it survived the humidity in Media and
cold storage here in WI for the first few years. And if you look
closely at the pix, you'll see my front teeth actually line up
correctly, making this a very prized pix indeed.

Karolina, if this is you in the pix which I think it is please add
your memories to the above. I'll have to edit more in the future,
just wanted to get this to you so I can then send it to my kids who
may finally be old enough to appreciate my little story. In fact,
just a month or two ago Jason tried this accordion.

P.S. What a handsome little guy!

================

Feb. 2012 - Karolina:

Hey! I paid $100 for the honor of being remembered as the one that bought your first musical instrument! Sheesh...

I happened to be single at the time, and so... I have a copy of the pic squirreled away in the gallery elsewhere and sent the original to you thinking we shared the same memory of your first accordion. (can you hear me chuckling?) :o)

I remember your dilema between accordion and guitar and knew of the pressure to go the way of the accordion, and understood your choice. I'd finished taking lessons (Tossi Aaron her name was) on acoustic by then. Although I was in on the tail end of folk music, and heavily into Seeger, Baez, Dylan, I enjoyed popular music on the radio just as much, just like you. Did I hear someone mention that little known band that no one remembers anymore, the Beatles, that was hot for a while in that era, and their guitars?

At the time this picture was taken you'd had lessons for some time, but would never play for me (pout). It was a *really* big deal for me when you finally did. Someone was taking pictures, so I was glad to have one to commemorate that extra special event. You *still* haven't played piano for me (double pout), and the last time there was one around you reneged, once again, on your youthful promise and forced Lois to play for me instead! It was an enjoyable experience, singing along with Lois, but since I'm just shy of tone-deaf, I'm not sure about her recollection of that day.

I'd forgotten about your ability to play music by ear and remember more than once wishing I'd had even 1% of that talent. :o)

p.s. - ditto

===================

Feb. 2012 - Douglas:

As to piano, well okay. I'd rather listen to Lois than me anytime,
especially if she plays the Jimmy Webb song "MacArthur's Park" that has a
rip-roaring bridge in the arrangement. Good good schtuff! But forget about
the cake being left out in the rain, cause it took so long to bake it, blah
blah blah - lyrics are terrible.

Have figured out an old Supertramp piano-tune from their album "Even in the
Quietest Moments", named "Blue Boat Sunday". Love the
lull-and-rift-and-feel to the song, but it's a challenge for ol' knucklehead
to play. Another tune of theirs I really like, "Lord is it Mine" from I
believe the "Breakfast in America LP". My piano playing is terrible, left
hand skills all gone.

Was trying to tackle a George Winston tune but haven't heard it enough and
it has disintegrated. Same with a Yanni tune sometime back. I do play an
old tune by Kraftwerk, not Autobahn (their hit) but from the B side. Can't
remember it's name, got the album here still. And a modern tune, "Drops of
Jupiter" from Train gets a little bit of work-out and a note added every
once in a while - just don't have the facility to play well. So sorry, no
Lady Papa here.

As to guitar, time is precious, haven't hardly played since starting this
new course of studies. But a few songs recently downloaded and figured out
in playing along with the digital recordings over Christmas break- yes, Doug
and his make-believe bands, kind of like Ringo does with his All-Star
touring band every year:

Oh these are favs!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Amie"/"Falling in and out of love with you" - Pure Prairie League ('ve been
wanting to play and sing along with this for years!)
"[Seems] It Never Rains in Southern California" - Albert Hammond
"On the Border" - Al Stewart - One of my favorite all-time tunes, a song
I've listened to a bazillion times that never rose high on the Billboard
Chart and I still don't understand why. From the "Year of the Cat" LP. Al
Stewart, amazing songwriter who wrote about historical events.

Other recent downloads from itunes:
"Dancing in the moonlight" - King Biscuit - fav
"Just my Imagination" by the Temps - I have always enjoyed that song.
"You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you" - FV & the
4 Seasons, love the horns and arrangement and lyrics!
"I'm not in love" and "The things we do for love" by 10cc.
Hitchin a Ride - Vanity Fair
Ride Captain Ride - Shocking Blue
You're my Venus - ?
Questions 67 & 68 - Chicago - Another great song that I can't get enough of,
has everything I like but early !!!

Folk I never really got in to. Some Joni Mitchell...of course
PP&Mary...didn't Joan Baez later do "Diamonds & Rust"? I like that one. As
to Dylan, my favorite is much later - 1976 - Tangled up in Blue - I must
download it. Liked Heaven's door and some others but never enough to buy
an album of his. Whereas I now enjoy Neil Young (and play almost all songs
on his '71 album "Harvest" and '78 album "Comes a Time" - which is
country/folk-rock feel, I still to this day cannot take much Dylan at a
time.

I could go on-and-on, this stuff pours out of me...many greatest hits
collections below

The Drifters
The Coasters
Badfinger
Beatles - (Own all albums and still have not listend to 'em all!) Did you
know "Instant Karma" was the song that made me an instant Beatles/John
Lennon fan?
Eagles
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Stones
Renaissance
CSN&Y (I'm sure you know the song Suite: Judy Blue eyes is for Judy
Collins?
BBoys (yeah!)
Van Halen
Zeppelin (Own all albums - not listend to all)
Bread (love the voice of David Gates)
America (Harmony!)
Joe Walsh & the James Gang
Spencer Davis Group
Simon & Garfunkel (favs)
Seals & Crofts
HATE Loggins & Messina except for one song, "Your momma don't dance and your
daddy don't rock n' roll"

Feb. 2012 Karolina: --- Thought I'd add the above because a lot of people don't know the extent of your musicality. Agree on Dylan :o)