Hello fellow SqueezeBoxers...

[peterjcb]

Hi all,
When I first started taking accordion lesson back in the late 50s I could never imagine that there would be something called the internet that would allow me to communicate like this...

My amateur musical interest started at a very early ago when my Mom fabricated a white & blue pin striped sailor suit that I insisted on wearing while I played my accordion ... ( she was a seamstress )
Tragically my interest in the accordion died once I heard the Beatles in the mid-sixties....I never played it again.
...I taught myself guitar and idolized Paul an John and transitioned to the piano because it was more acceptable than the accordion....haha
...layed guitar and sang in a few high school bands and had lots of fun in the late sixties then life started getting in the way.
Fast forward to 2017...we are empty nesters and my interest in both guitar and accordion have piqued again.
I dont have my original accordion and picked one up a a local garage sale in poor condition. I am in the process on fixing it up myself since Im very mechanically inclined....(I have some question about repair but thats for another thread)
I also have a Gibson Firebird guitar that Im kind of in love with...
So, thats my story in a nutshell...more time on my hands and renewed musical interest.

Heres a photo of my Mom & sister taken around Christmas 1959....I could barely balance it but I played a mean Lady of Spain....
It was a chrome & white mother of pearl with gold colored keys and accents....wish I had it back...

PS....born & raised in NYC area and now living in NC, USA

 

[TomBR]

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum. There are several here who've had long gaps in their accordion life then came back to it. Hope you'll enjoy the company, information and encouragement here, and will really enjoy playing once you get back into the accordion swing.
Cheers
Tom

 

[peterjcb]

Thanks Tom,
I posted my problem on the forum here and received excellent advice regarding the repair. It took me a total of no more than 10 minutes with my soldering iron and a little wax.
Thinking that I needed a new accordion, last week I ordered another accordion and it's one the way here this week. I'll probably put the older one up for sale so it's all good.
Funny thing was after I fixed it I asked my wife to take of video of me playing and after a couple of bars into the song, the strap broke! That is a simple fix though...

 

[Glenn]

Hi Peter.
Warm welcome from me too. Great to see you back with accordion (and guitar I suppose) as a cure for your empty nest. At leat your accordion won't ask to borrow the car keys in a few years.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Soulsaver]

Hi Peter - warm welcome from me too. I'm one with near 50 year gap... and there are others on here too..

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Peter,

A very warm welcome. I hope to read much more about your progress in the future.

(Snazzy pyjamas, by the way)

All The Best,

Stephen.

 

[peterjcb]

Pictured are my "new to me" Crucianelli" and a black and white Castelfidaro accordion that I picked up many years ago for around $50 USD at a garage sale. I never played it so it just sat in a closet.
It was never working correctly so I recently bought the Crucianelli off eBay. I'm really digging the cool looking reed controls on the Crucianelli.
Thanks to this website I was able to get the garage sale accordion working correctly again so now I have two accordions

I noticed that the keys on the Crucianelli are slightly smaller and measured the keyboard to be 17.5" while the Castelfidaro keyboard is 18.5".....I prefer the larger keyboard but I can easily adapt to whatever I'm playing.
I'm stoked to actually have two accordions now.....I pulled out all my old music books but the first song that still resides in my fingers is "lady of Spain"....
I'm certainly rusty but it's all coming back to me....I'm channeling my Myron Floren...