I have heard of a contemporary Cajun band which uses an accordion in an unusual key, but I can't recall who they are. I don't think the key was B.

I would have to go back and check, but doesn't Keith Frank use a B single row for part of his set? I went through "Live At Slim's" a couple years ago and figured out all the keys and accordions involved, and there were some surprises.

It seems to me that whatever key you want to play/sing in is the right key. There are keys that are common, and other keys that are less common, but none are bad or wrong.

I also think that you don't need to worry about guitar players and bass players having a problem with whatever key you would like to use. Any decent player should be able to handle any key. If they can't, or they complain, that is an indication of poor musicianship and/or lack of professionalism on their part. It is not up to you to accomodate them, it is up to them to accomodate you.

-David

You're probably thinking of Charivari. Jono plays a C# because Randy Vidrine likes to sing in that range.

Yes, that's right - thanks for jogging my memory. And if I had read the earlier reply from Kirk, the answer was right there the whole time!

-David

mr frank does use a b on that record for a few songs
he doesn;t seem to carry it on tour any more though
maybe if you saw him in LA, where he didn;t have
to travel, he would have more accordions with him

wle.

I seem to remember Larry, David S. or Jim P. telling me about Keith's odd keys in a thread a few months ago I started regarding Ab boxes. I remember one of y'all mentioning Keith used C# and B often. That's pretty cool! Keith has a unique style and sound that sets the standard for all of new-school zydeco artists.

As far as my stinged players -- they are excited about playing in F#. They said there's a lot of cool opportunity in that key. I'm lucky they dig the oddball keys. My original concern was born out of the fact that so many guitarists I've met love playing in the easy guitar keys, i.e., E, A and G. But my band has really embraced F (Bb) since a lot of zydeco tunes we do are, naturally, played on the Bb box. Without a doubt, I've found the best guys to play with here in DFW.

Thanks for the input Braves!

R!CK