V-accordion Man

[Radiogal1]

Guess what guys?? I just discovered that Al has a Roland V-accordion now. I wonder which model he got, what color is it and when did he get it?? I just bought one for myself last week. I found this interview at the Roland website. Here's the link to the interview where he talks about the Roland V-accordion. I bet he's going to record with it on his next album.

http://www.rolandus.com/community/insid ... ticleId=74


“Weird Al” Yankovic
V-Accordion Man
By Tiffany Schirz
There are few artists in the world who’ve had songs and albums at the top of the Billboard charts over a span of three decades. Among those elite few is perhaps the most famous parodist in pop music history, “Weird Al” Yankovic. Since the beginning of MTV in the ‘80s, Al has been there with his hilarious and spot-on parodies of popular songs. Those songs along with a polka-laden library of original songs have gained him legions of die-hard fans around the world. An accordion player first and foremost, Al recently got his hands on Roland’s FR-7 V-Accordion and is eager to take it into the studio. I caught up with him recently, and here’s what he had to say:

Congratulations on your success with your latest album, “Straight Outta Lynwood.” I love the video for “White and Nerdy!”
Thank you very much!

I’ve read that accordion was your first instrument when you were a kid. Is that how you got into playing polkas?
Yeah, because when you take accordion lessons, oddly enough they don’t teach you Led Zeppelin songs. [laughter] They basically teach you polka music and a little bit of classical music. So I learned a lot of polka music early on. In fact, I was told by my friends that everything I played sounded like a polka. If I played along with Beatles songs or Rolling Stones songs that I heard on the radio, it would still sound to most people like I was playing polka music, and they thought that was funny. So I learned early on that there was humor to be gleaned from the juxtaposition of rock music and polka.

Let’s talk about the FR-7 V-Accordion. What do you like about it?
There are a lot of options that you don’t have with a regular accordion. You can record directly and digitally — you don’t have to work with analog mics, which is nice — it saves setup in the studio. There are just a lot of different sounds you can get out of it. It’s very versatile.

There are actually about 30 different accordion sounds onboard. Any particular ones you’re into?
The French accordion sound is pretty cool. And some of the woodwind sounds are nice, and the string sounds are very nice. Oddly enough, it does a pretty nice accordion sound too. [laughter] And there are a lot of different parameters that I’ll investigate for my next polka medley in the studio.

I know with V-Accordions there are different sounds you can use in the left hand. Have you used that feature?
Yeah. You can program the bass buttons for one instrument, and the chord buttons for one instrument, and the keys for yet another instrument, so there are a lot of different variations you can do. It’s great, especially — for instance, if you were a solo accordion act, you could get a whole lot of really cool sounds out of it and basically be a one-man band.

What appeals to you the most about the V-Accordion, versus an acoustic accordion?
I really like the idea that it is a direct connection. The accordion is a hard instrument to mic, because if you put an acoustic microphone next to an accordion — especially the left hand — the bellows are always moving. So it’s kind of hard to get an even sound, because the mic is always going to be closer and then further away from the sound source. Internal microphones are also always a problem, because you still get the sound of the bellows. There are always a lot of problems mic’ing an accordion. So just the simple fact that there’s a digital solution out there where you get a clean accordion sound is very appealing to me.

Let me ask a more general question about your music. From a production standpoint, how do you get your parodies to sound so close to the original song?
Generally I just deflect that question and say that I work with really talented people. I’ve had the same band since the early ‘80s, and the same recording engineer since the early ‘80s, and I just got really lucky. They’re all incredible musicians and great guys, and I trust them to do their job, and I do my job, and we come to the studio with that kind of mindset and attention to detail, and we just give it our best shot.

What’s coming next for you?
I assume a new album is somewhere on the horizon. I have no ideas and no plan, but I would assume that at some point in 2008, I’ll be back in the studio. But my only plan for now is to not have plans, and I plan to spend some downtime with my family and do a bit of traveling before I launch into the next project, whatever it might be.

• • • • •

Linda

[minnick27]

This was mentioned over in WAY Surfing two weeks ago!!! As for the accordion, is it as awesome as it looks?

[Radiogal1]

This was mentioned over in WAY Surfing two weeks ago!!! As for the accordion, is it as awesome as it looks?

Wasn't aware this has already been passed on here. Sorry about that.

I bought the FR-7 which is their most complete (and expensive) model. It apparently has 40 different tuned accordions as well as about 22 other instrumental sounds. I've been having lots of fun with it so far, although the 90 page manual that came with it is a bit overwhelming. I'm still getting used to all the sounds this baby can make.

If you want to hear samples of the Roland V accordions, you can find some videos on You Tube. I recommend you guys check out Chris Rybak's website. He has demonstrated the Roland FR-7 at various accordion shows and events and has made some videos. You can check him out at his website, www.chrisrybak.com. His Roland videos are a lot of fun to watch. I wish Al would make a Roland demonstration video. That would be sweet.

Linda

[flusher5]

have u ever thought of buying that Huge Roland Stage Amp for your Accordion?

[stupidsurgeon27]

I must've missed it in the WAY 27 Surfing, but I'm glad I got to read this regardless. I like that a lot.

[Aron]

I wish we had a high end music store in the area where I could see one of these accordions in action!

[Radiogal1]

have u ever thought of buying that Huge Roland Stage Amp for your Accordion?

lol. I don't think my neighbors would go for that since I live in an apartment highrise and only play my accordion at home. Although there have been times I've wanted to drown out the loud music they play with my accordion.

Linda

[flusher5]

In the interview it says Al just got a FR-7, but in the Video of Al and the presidents he was using a FR-2, maybe he got both, or the interview just said he got the bigger more expensive one so other people will buy that one, I hope he uses it for the tour

[The Doctor]

I don't think my neighbors would go for that

Nonsense! Who doesn't enjoy the unexpected sound of an accordion?!?

This accordion sounds very fancy... very neat... very cool. It would be cool to see how it works.

[Radiogal1]

Hi guys!

Roland went back and updated their interview with Al and included cool pics of him playing the FR-2 model. It's worth checking out! Here's the link.


http://www.rolandus.com/community/insid ... ticleId=74

So, he's got the FR-7 and FR-2 models. Very cool! I wonder if he'll bring the FR-2 model with him for his next tour? One thing that stood out in the interview was when he commented about the weight of a regular accordion being heavy for him on stage. He's never commented about that before. I'm not sure if I agree with that though. Dick Contino is almost 80 years old and still does live shows in Las Vegas with his 29 pound Petosa which he plays standing up!!! That's heavier than most standard sized accordions.

Linda