2012 ARE YOU READY FOR THE APOCALYPSE?

the 2012 accordion babes calendar coverThe Accordion Babes Album & Pin-Up Calendar 2012 Apocalypse Edition will add pleasing ambiance and tasteful décor to your underground bunker. If we continue to avoid our inevitable extinction, you’ll have a fabulous album and collection of charming sweethearts to treasure for a lifetime.

The CD combines folk music, pop songs, & dance tunes from 13 fine bands into one awesome indie compilation. These talented musicians help prove, once again, that the accordion is sexy.



Archive copies: $12 each plus shipping and handling and tax where applicable.



 

JANUARY
Mrs. Hobbs
www.mrshobbs.com
Mrs. HobbsLife is a cabaret! Mrs. Hobbs, Los Angeles chanteuse and accordionist, thrills audiences with original songs mixing cabaret, jazz, blues, & folk. Ketchup Soup, Mrs. Hobbs’ collaboration with gritty-voiced guitarist lovemando, offers up lyrical stories of love and loss. And operas, avant-garde performances, cabarets and circus sideshows are apt to pop up on Mrs. Hobbs’ always-fascinating calendar!

Photographer: Mimi Haddon

 

 

FEBRUARY
Jetty Swart
www.myspace.com/yetila
www.facebook.com/jetty.swart.music
Jetty SwartJetty Swart, who pronounces her first name “Yeti”, was born in the port of Amsterdam. She thought of a career as a graphic designer but exchanged her computer for an accordion in Prague, and serenaded her way from Paris to Mexico before landing in San Francisco. Her songs? Hilarious, engaging, dramatic, energetic, touching and thoroughly original. A drunk witness in Montreal: “This woman is crazy!”

Photographer: Rajaneesh.Dwivedi

 

 

MARCH
Shiri Goldsmith
threemilestonemusic.com
Shiri GoldsmithShiri is a talented multi-instrumentalist who sings and plays accordion, trombone, banjolele, and more. She tours extensively with the Sour Mash Hug band and moonlights with the Sansa and Shiri show. She hails from Oakland, CA.

Photographer: Lia Walker Photography

 

 

 

APRIL
Luz Gaxiola
www.circusfinelli.com
Luz GaxiolaLuz is a clown and vaudevillian, specializing in live cartoonish comedy on piano accordion. She plays circus music with influences from Mexico, Eastern Europe, and the golden era of cartoon sound tracks. She can be seen touring the world with San Francisco’s all-women clown troupe Circus Finelli.

Photographer: Anastasia Kuba
Art director: Tania Padilla

 

 

MAY
Tara Linda
www.taralinda.com
Tara LindaTorch singer Tara Linda sings with the wolves to please the gods. With a sultry voice and a button accordion – she knows anything is possible. Hohner-endorsed, Tara Linda writes new tangos, waltzes, rancheras, and cumbias for accordion. She loves the wild west, champagne, and attending demolitions. Her new CD “Torch and Sass” is guaranteed to swing your hips.

Photographer: John Tinger

 

 

JUNE
Jessica Fichot
www.jessicasongs.com
Jessica FichotChanteuse/songwriter Jessica Fichot draws from her French and Chinese heritage to create a delicious blend of French chanson, gypsy jazz and international folk. Following the acclaimed release of her debut album, this Hohner endorsee has toured in China, France, Mexico, Canada and across the U.S. backed by her fiery band and armed with her accordion, toy piano and multilingual vocals. “Delightful.” — L.A. Weekly

Photographer: Andy Sheng / Otis & Lucy Photography

 

 

JULY
Roxanne Oliva
roxanneoliva.bandcamp.com
Roxanne OlivaRoxanne’s album and film sound track credits cover a sweeping range of styles. She has recorded with various luminaries including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Tom Waits. Watch Roxanne perform with Sweet Penny Royals, Emily Bonn and The Vivants, and listen to her new CD, “Box Candy” with KAZAMOZe.

Photographer: Paul Oliva

 

 

AUGUST
Skyler Fell
www.accordionapocalypse.com
Skylar FellSkyler Fell is the proprietress and repairwoman at The Accordion Apocalypse Repair Shop, San Francisco’s Accordion Hub offering all things accordion. In addition she’s a smokin’ accordionist and a molten singer, playing with The Hobo Goblins and also fronting her own ensemble, The Tumbleweed Time Machine Trio.

Photographer: Larry Utley

 

 

SEPTEMBER
Linda Seekins (Big Lou)
www.accordionprincess.com
Linda SeekinsBig Lou came early to the accordion and stayed late. She started her musical career in the honky-tonks of Austin, TX. She has played in The Stir-ups, Thee Hellhounds, Polkacide, Those Darn Accordions and Polka Casserole. She currently fronts Big Lou’s Dance Party and has a flourishing solo career.

 

Photographer: Sean Vallely

 

 

OCTOBER
Renée de la Prade
www.squeezeboxgoddess.com
Renee de la PradeRenée fuses rock-n-roll, Cajun music, Blues, French and Irish tunes into her own exciting, boot-stomping show. She rocks a mini Irish diatonic squeezebox with a custom bass system she installed herself. She repairs, sells, and teaches accordion at Smythe’s Accordion Center in Oakland, CA. Catch her with the Americana Cajun trio Whiskey & Women or performing solo in venues around the world. Renée is the mastermind behind the Accordion Babes Pin-Up Calendar.

Photographer: Sean Vallely
Set props provided by: Shannon O’Hare, Kimric Smythe, Sean Vallely, Saigon Market Collective, the Speakeasy, and Harrison House.
Thanks to Paul Boero for permission to use his warehouse.
Jacket by DAS Clothing.
Boots by Al’s Attire.

 

 

NOVEMBER
Maggie Martin
The Mad Maggies
MagsAh, Mags, a right cunning rover she is with a taste for life on the high seas. Her latest tunes, realized by her fearless crew, The Mad Maggies, tell of rogues, reprobates, romance and rum. Now, shake those bones!

Photographer: John Clayton

 

 

 

DECEMBER
Nada Lewis
www.folkloric.net/accordion.htm
Nada LewisNada loves world music. Solo or with her ensembles, she plays French, Italian,
Polka, Klezmer, Roma (Gypsy), Balkan, Russian, Romanian, Greek, Latin and more. She was recently voted the bay area’s best accordion teacher. Though she plays many different instruments, accordion is her main squeeze. When Nada opens those pleats, anything can happen!

Photographer:Larry Utley

 

 

Cover Babe
Amber Lee
www.amberleeandtheanomalies.com
Amber LeeAmber Lee and the Anomalies’ neo-folk-cabaret is helping fuel the accordion’s resurgence as a sexy instrument! Amber Lee commonly performs as a one woman show with her accordion, loop-pedal, and glockenspiel. Her recent release, Indelible, includes a full band, but it is Amber Lee’s powerful vocals and poignant lyrics that capture the imagination of her listeners. She will continue to bring her songs to many corners of the world throughout 2012.

Photographer: Larry UtleyThe Steam Car (in foreground) was designed and built by Kimric Smythe, Shannon O’Hare, Matt (Hazmat), and Liam McNamara. The Neverwas Haul (in the background) is a self-propelled 3-story Victorian House, made from 75% recycled equipment and materials. Designed by Shannon O’Hare, built by the Neverwas Haul Crew.

 



Archive copies: $12 each plus shipping and handling and tax where applicable.