#sonsoffathers

Morning comes early. Monty has to acquire tire chains for what we imagine to be a treacherous road. If we would have neglected to purchase chains, there would have been a rogue snowstorm, brutal and swift in its justice, sending us teetering along the highway like a toddler trying to walk on a waterbed. As it turns out, the road between Denver and Aspen proves uneventful: cold but beautiful.

We arrive in Aspen early for a radio show. Usually these events are relegated to David and Paul. Radio studios are generally too small for our massive ensemble, and the masses really just want to hear the-two-headed monster that is Dave-and-Paul-with-microphones-in-front-of-them concoct grandiose mythologies that serve to enhance SOF’s status in the world of rock and roll.* Today, Paul tells me to grab the accordion. My grandfather was highly proficient at this instrument; however, I am still in the early stages of competence.

The accordion is also incredibly loud, designed to project without microphones or pickups over the raucous bellowing of drunken German singing groups and ruddy faced polka bands.** I stand in the corner of the room and try to play at an appropriate level. This is radio dammit. The people of Aspen have probably never heard an accordion on their airwaves before; it’s all Steely Dan and soaring guitar solos. It’s my job to bring the pleasant tones of the accordion to the people, but at the appropriate volume for maximum listening pleasure and no louder. Maybe excitement gets the best of me. Maybe it’s just radio.

The Belly Up is one of our favorite venues, and it shows. The set is two hours of incessant energy, raw and exhaustive. Altitude drains me more than I expected, but then again, playing with intensity for two hours without a pause is going to sap you no matter where you are. We pack up under zero degree conditions and bundle into the van, cold but satisfied.

We stay with a generous host. As any generous host would do, ours throws a party,*** which is well received. Music soars through the house wide sound system; there are plenty of guitar solos and an ample amount of the blues in e major. I hear Steely Dan. But no accordion.

*e.g.: Radio dj: so how did you two start playing music together? Paul: well, we met in the forests of the Amazon beneath a waterfall. Me with my pan flute and Dave with his digereedo Dave: We realized we could make amazing sounds and that’s how it started. Radio dj: how do you write your songs? Paul: we actually just buy them from indochina. Dave: there’s a really good song sweatshop over there. Super cheap.

**this is not a definitive history of the instrument’s origin, but instead a brief sketch of what I imagine to be the most tolerable genres for accordion playing.