Spring Equinox

Spring is officially here, beginning to see the signs of it with more light in the sky, cherry blossoms bursting from the trees, and I am finally gearing up for the band Chris and I are starting to begin rehearsals.

I'm a bit superstitious with talking too much about things before they happen, so I will refrain from talking too much about this new band, but what I will say is: lots of horn players, violin, drums, and of course....accordion. Let's not forget the marching. March is ending and the marching is about to begin!

I posted about Dragonsong closing down, and how Martin Hergt saved the Stradelli that was being sold for next to nothing, and has informed me it has been mended and sounding great!

My friend Gillian saved a harmonium from Dragonsong. Tonight we went over some chord structures, and how she can jam along to the drones that the harmonium lets out... Db and Ab mainly :)

Saving an Accordion from the world

To sum my day up you should read my Facebook status: "Natasha Enquist played on the radio, sang on the Royal Theatre's stage, and helped save a Stradelli Accordion today :)"

This morning I went up to the University of Victoria's Student Union Building (The SUB), to be on UVic's CFUV 101.9 FM Radio. The show I was on was the Italian broadcast, time slot of 11am to 12:30pm with the hosts Lorenzo and Aldo, two lovely Italian men.

I was invited by Martin Hergt (owner of Tempo Trend aka THE Accordion shop in Victoria BC) in company with Ivan Preanicov. All three of us, with our accordions in our embrace, played on the radio to help with the annual fundraiser for the radio stations longevity.

After this I rushed home, had some lunch and then went to the Royal Theatre to be a part of the Joy of Life Choir's performance. Led by the amazing Daniel Lapp, we sang backup for three Tenors, for the performance of "SING!"- a sing-a-long concert with a lot of religious churchy music.

♫ ♥ ♫

The sweet little music shop in Fan Tan Alley --Dragonsong--closed it's doors today forever. I dropped in yesterday to pay my respects. They always sold Accordions, they were always in rough shape though.



Yesterday I noticed a beautiful black Stradelli, and unfortunately am not in the market for a new addition to my Accordion family and also don't have the money to spend on another instrument. I played him for a bit and said goodbye.

I was informed by Hank Pine that this Stradelli was the shops baby, and today after playing with Martin on the radio insisted he go down to Dragonsong and buy this Accordion and save it from being seized by an unfortunate auction.

HE DID!

It will be fixed up and have a wonderful new home in no time! Yay!

If you can't save the world with the Accordion everyday, hopefully you can save an Accordion from the world.

;-)

Radio radio

Save the date!
I will be on UVic's CFUV 101.9 FM this coming Sunday, March 15th, from 11am-12:30pm.
The radio's website: http://cfuv.uvic.ca/


Myself, Natasha Enquist, will be sharing the spotlight with Martin Hergt, co-owner of Tempo Trend Music, and one of the founding members of the Victoria Accordion Club. With him will be Ivan Preanicov, a new Accordionist export to Victoria.

We will be playing a couple tunes, promoting CFUV, the Victoria Accordion Club's Festival, and of course.... THE ACCORDION!

Antonio Peruch

This afternoon I went out to Metchosin's New St. Mary's Church to see The Sooke Philharmonic Chamber Players http://www.sookephil.ca perform with the great Antonio Peruch accompanying them on Accordion.
Antonio is a ninja in my books, and was knighted by the Republic of Italy in recognition of his contribution to Italian music and culture.
He was amazing to see and hear, and played with great emotion. He did "Allegro marcato" "Moderato" and "Presto" by the great composer Astor Piazzolla. What a treat!

I ran into my accordion friend Christine, and also Pablo Diemke http://tinyurl.com/cfmobu at the concert. In the midst of chat I got to meet Antonio, shake his hand, and Pablo let him know I was an Accordionist as well.

A lovely afternoon indeed!

Story about Antonio Peruch in the Times Colonist:

http://tinyurl.com/atoapw

Hot accordion action

The gig lastnight came and went fast...my band was on first, not an easy task to play first to a sober room at Logan's --with the exception of that guy ordering double gin's at the bar, that could barely make out a sentence to me, at only 9:45pm.

I've done a gig at Logan's before, for their "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS" night last spring. Same experience of bright lights, and having no idea if the sound is right, if the accordion is coming across, and if I'm making dreamy eyes at someone's chest.

Ah well, I had fun nonetheless, and it got Les Fleurs Briseés www.myspace.com/lesfleursbrisees out and rolling again, and we only had 5 days to prepare for our 20 minute set! "Total Vaudeville style" I said the the guys afterwards.




It just so happened I was the first of 3 accordions to be played on stage lastnight. Looked like they were all Italian, and I couldn't hear any of them! Oh well.

The night was so much fun, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it :) Thank you to the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective!

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In other related news, this Accordionist - Sir N. Antonio Peruch will be performing both today and tomorrow out in Sooke. Why Sooke Tony, why?
Anyways, I might try to check out tomorrow's performance.
http://tinyurl.com/atoapw

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Also! On March 15th, from 11-12:30 I will be playing on UVic's radio station, 101.9 FM CFUV. I'll be playing along with my accordion friends Martin and Ivan, to talk Accordion talk, play Accordion play, and promote the Accordion Club's festival in the summer.


That's all I got for today, I'll be blogging more about the radio spot as the week goes on....

March of updates

My friend Noah told me I don't update my blog nearly enough for it to be followed, I'm paraphrasing him a bit. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he did say something along the lines of never updating my blog, and that he updates his blog every other day. He does own an iPhone and works long hours in a cab, and has the constant accessibility of doing updates.
Okay, enough about that. I will try to practice blogging every other day, we'll see how March 2009 goes!
http://diaryofataxidriver.blogspot.com




On March 1st I had the pleasure of seeing Jelena Milojevic perform at the Edelweiss Club, for the Victoria Accordion Club's members and the public.
She is classically trained Accordionist, all the way from Yugoslavia. We're nearly the same age, but not nearly on the same skill level. Something I felt right away during her performance was a bit of envy towards her and a member of the club, the same age as me-- Ivan.
Both from Eastern Europe originally, they have amazing playing abilities. These European countries Jelena and Ivan are from have schools, universities, programs, degrees, all for the accordion -something we don't really have here in North America. Sheesh!
The passion is all shared the same, and after Jelena's performance she gave a workshop for those who wished to attend.