Okay, Don't laugh. Has anyone heard accordion and banjo. I have heard lots of great fiddle/accordion and fiddle/banjo breaks why not all three?

RPr

How bout just a little chuckle? hehe. Go down a few posts, the one about Dewey Balfa's 99 Year Waltz as a link to that song with a banjo. Also, if you there is also another post about the cd "Les Haricots Sont Pas Salé" that also has one song with the Balfa Brothers, Bois Sec Ardoin, and Terry Bertrand on banjo. That is one of my favorite cd's.

In the waltz you can hear them all three, fiddle, accordion and banjo.
In J'été au bal there's no accordion on the cd mentioned.
There's only a photo with three fiddle-players, one accordion and a banjo.
It must be a five-string-banjo because there's a tuning-peg at the middle of the neck.
You can't hear on the photo what they are playing.

You are right, my mistake. Sure is a good banjo/fiddle combo though.

The banjo coupled with the accordion... two very happy instruments that people love to hate, but in fact, can't resist cracking a big ol' toothy grin when they see or hear them.

I was in a band in the Dallas, TX area for a couple of years, "The ComeAlongs" which featured the guitarist playing a banjo on choice tunes. The ComeAlongs were a bluegrass/Americana band with a zydeco twist -- I was that "twist" in the band. Our line-up also included mandolin, so we are talking about some serious hillbilly angles here. It was an interesting combination of sounds and textures, and the songs that featured the banjo were quite well-received by the audience. I remember we covered the BeeGees, "Staying Alive" done with a fast country beat. People would start boppin' to the song and then figure out what song it was when the lyrics started. Most people when bend over double laughing and then give us the rock & roll hand sign -- it was hilarious.

So yes, it is possible to mix accordion and banjo successfully. I seem to remember hearing a band called, The Horseflies, that had a similar mix, albeit they were a bit on the "jam band" side. There might be some web archives about them... as well as [R.I.P.] The ComeAlongs.

R!CK

Rick - I don't recall the Horseflies having an accordion, but I didn't see all their incarnations either. Definately some rockin' trance clawhammer from Richie Stearns. They might have had some sitting in from Tara of Donna the Buffalo...
S'b'B

Horseflies were at Ninegret this year. 5 string clawhammer banjo, 4 sring uke banjo and piano accordion with drums and fiddle and lots of electronics. Great band.

Horseflies are very unique. A few years ago, I was given some sound soundfiles of a few of their tunes (from an anonymous souce of course! ) What I noticed first was the fact that they had an accordion in the band -- in this case, it was definitely a diatonic box, so perhaps Tara made a cameo on these recordings? Nevertheless, the music was mesmerizing in a flowing ensemble of accordion, banjo, guitar and fiddle. I believe they even covered the Cramps tune, "Human Fly."

Ya just gotta love the musical world that huddles around the fringe of traditional music, borrowing what they can use to concoct new mixtures. In addition to the Horseflies, Donna The Buffalo has managed to master this quite tastefully. There's something cool in the water up there in Ithaca.

R!CK

I guess my Horseflies lore is really out of date!

I'll be on the lookout for them with accordion now.

Pointless trivia: my new wave garage band "Identity Crisis" kicked off a 48-hour musicthon just before the Tompkins County Horseflies (precursor of Horseflies when they played pretty straight Old Time) at the West End Saloon in Ithaca...must have been '81.

S'b'B

I'd asked this question before and was told there had been a band out of Houma that featured the combination. Anyone know who that was or if they recorded?

I play 5 string bluegrass banjo and Im here to tell you, it fits in well with lots of cajun songs. Lots of simularitys in the two musics.

this is a very interesting subject. i am a fiddle player, before i played fiddle, i took some banjo lessons with bill keith, what a master! anyhow, the pattern oriented nature of the banjo seems very similar to that of the accordion, as i slowly learn the accordion (fiddle seems much more natural to me) i can see how similar the two instruments are. i think it's rare that someone can master both, perhaps it's a right brain vs. left brain thing? or maybe it's how melodic the fiddle is.......the accordion is predominantly rhythmic in nature....
roger

I been pickin the 5 string for a long time, I just took up the accordion a couple of weeks ago seriously. I think I have met my match and challenge. I can pretty much play anything with strings that is tossed to me, but this little rascal is challenging. Nevertheless, I got me a Dirk Powell tape and a Wilson Savoy on the way. I understand Improv very well with strings, and I have my own signature licks for the 5 string, so who knows what may come of this. Bruce