Accordion Post - new UK accordion magazine

[Matt Butcher]

Accordion Post - new UK accordion magazine

I've kindly been passed a copy of issue 1 of Accordion Post. This is a new UK accordion magazine. I understand one of the two existing ones has finished and Barry Smith, who is behind the annual Midland Accordion Festival and the Black Country Accordion and Music Club, has stepped in and launched Accordion Post which will be coming out 6 times a year.

It's a 36 page A4 magazine printed in colour with a very professional look to it. The first issue includes:

- Reports from club meetings, festivals and events
- Tips on performing from Rosemary Wright
- Sheet music for an arrangement of "Danny Boy" by Harry Hussey, and it's very cleverly done - the chords in themselves are not too hard with no big jumps on the left hand, but there are a few bass runs and most of all there's loads going on with the right hand harmony; big sections of it are in four or five note chords with a few sections with less notes for variety. It looks like something that would be very worthwhile to practice and where you could use the ideas elsewhere.
- Reminiscences, histories and obituaries
- Reviews of new CDs by Freeland Barbour and Leonard Brown
- An introductory article about accordion design by Robert Beecroft which looks like it will be the start of the series
- Some tips from John Romero on learning from memory
- ads (for sale, wanted, shops, books, festivals, websites etc.)
- a list of clubs which I will use to fulfil my unfulfilled promise to put a list of UK accordion clubs on this forum

So I have to congratulate Barry for taking this on and coming up with such a well produced first issue. The contact details for anyone who's interested are accordions2010 (at) hotmail.co.uk.

 

[maugein96]

Thanks Matt,

So long since last UK accordion magazine disappeared that I can't even remember what it was called! I used to subscribe to a French mag, until the cost became exorbitant due to the postage. I also got fed up trying to work out Paris slang from dictionaries!

I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[Glenn]

Hi Matt. Any chance of providing the coordinates of where we can get a copy?

 

[Matt Butcher]

Well you can email the email address above, but you can also write to Barry Smith - the address is on the flyer and it's Accordion Post, 41 Siviters Lane, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, B65 8DP It's £27 + P&P for 6 issues, P&P is £7.20 for the year (in the UK only I suppose). If putting the address on here will cause him problems. The flyer says "all major cards accepted, please make cheques payable to Midland Accordion Festivals". For club goers, it sounds as though there will be copies on sale at club meetings as well.

 

[Soulsaver]

Got a copy. Interesting. Thanks for the tip-off, Matt.

 

[jarvo]

Is there an E -zine version of this or is it only the " real deal ". Solid ,malleable and nothing to do with cyber space ? And papery ?

 

[Soulsaver]

Well he sent mine by post after an exchange of emails... so I'll guess it isn't available as an ezine, for now.

Good to see you back, Chris. We've been well behaved... so missed the tom foolery influence you inspired..arf, arf!

 

[jarvo]

Moi. Le Foule.?..Yes .Alright ya got me ..........missed yas all..........................PS I know it's La ,but I ain't having a feminine definite article .....I'm Old Ecole

 

[Andy]

Received the first issue of Accordion Post, which looked good from the outside. Unfortunately the inside let it down. It was a mish mash of old stuff and adverts which basically centre around Barry Smith's accordion festival and club and John Romero's festivals, which can be found on his website in any case. As for the club news, mainly about North Staffs and Stockport, I'd already read it in the monthly A5 magazine Accordion Profile a month or two ago. Accordion Profile is not a flashy A4 publication but it's been a monthly publication for twenty years and is still an interesting read., a great little mag. I'm also very pleased to know that Heather Smith, who publishes Accordion Profile, is organising two accordion festivals this year at Seacroft Holiday Centre, Hemsby in Norfolk. Since 2001, Heather has organised accordion festivals On the East Coast, firstly at Pakefield, then Caister, followed by Seacroft and then Mundesley, the last one being in 2014 I believe, so it's great news that she's back at Seacroft this year.

 

[Matt Butcher]

I used to subscribe to "Accordion Profile" and "Accordion World". Currently I don't subscribe to any, mostly because you had to pay by cheque and I don't know where my cheque book is. On three occasions the magazines lifted some stuff I had posted in the Internet and printed it without asking me. I don't mind, of course, it made me laugh, on one occasion an edit in the magazine changed my words and caused offence to someone, but it's flattering that anyone wanted to use what I'd written.

Perhaps I should say, I have no particular association with Barry Smith, I haven't had any contact with him for three years or so. Nor does my partner. I just thought I'd let people know this magazine was out there and acknowledge the work that went into it.

Could I suggest that it would be great for "Accordion Profile" magazine to be promoted on this forum? I know there was a thread a while ago about the Accordion Profile website. The website does a good job letting us know how to get hold of the magazine, but when i just had a look now it doesn't say much about what the magazine has in it and spends more time discussing the resignation of the co-editor in 2007. Just a quick update every six months on what had been in the magazine could perhaps sell it to a new audience.

I suppose there is always a question over whether any magazine is viable in the age of the Internet - why read about a gig when you can watch it online, why read about a club meeting in a magazine if the club has the same report on their website, etc. But of course there are many people who don't use the Internet and they are just as important as those of us who do. Also, a magazine will last, a website, who knows?

Constructive criticism and fair comment is healthy, of course. When I did subscribe to the magazines, there was some sameness of content from one issue to the next (not always of course), and, as Andy says, some duplication between magazines. But I'm sure there's enough material out there to fill two magazines. Firstly my experience suggests the editors might be happy to accept well-written items. Secondly I know there are lots of accordion events that don't get covered, lots of people who could be interviewed, new ideas and historical info to write about, lots of recordings and instruments that could be reviewed, etc., and the reason they aren't is very likely a matter of time.

Anyway, good luck to everyone with all magazines.