After kicking off this past weekend with a little jazz party for the Royal Order of Jesters with The Alex Meixner Band- (which is always a fun gig for me and the band—as well as the Jesters!), I got my accordion brain on hard core. Saturday brought me to the metropolis of Cranberry, PA (a suburb of Oil City) for a special dinner/concert at Bob Flabas’ barn with the great Guy Klucevsek. “Wow” is all I can say about the whole setup! I’m speechless at the whole thing…. Firstly, the setting was amazing— in a very rural part of western PA and a barn. A barn! This place is decked out in a fashion that is unbelievable. From the collectibles that are basically a history of the area from the last 100 years, to the seating and great sound system to the people who brought some amazing home cooked dishes- I was completely overwhelmed. Mix in that I’m doing a concert with one of the finest musicians in the world- and we have a great night. Of course, Guy’s solo set was sublime. I did a solo set as well and then followed it up with 45 minutes of duets. It has been such a challenge preparing this music with Guy—I’m just thrilled to have the opportunity to present this music to audiences and really hope to have the opportunity to do more of it in the future. Hopefully some you tubes will be up soon, as it’s a really exciting musical venture for us…
I got back in the Subaru Saturday night and started heading east… (luckily my A/C is finally fixed—anyone willing to donate to all of the car repair bills is welcome !!!).

Sunday afternoon, I was at the Magnanini Winery in Wallkill, NY with my good friend Mario Tacca. Again, another virtuoso accordionist—in the more traditional Italian and show repertoires—another great challenge and fun endeavor. Joined by Mario’s fine drummer, Ricky and a guest appearance by Mario’s wife, the great vocalist, Mary Mancini—and enhanced by some great wine, food and hospitality—I hope I have the opportunity to perform up there again…. On a personal note, I got to visit with one of my best friends from college, Mark Heinsman and his lovely wife- Kim. Some of you who have been following my music for a long time might recognize Mark as the drummer in the Al Meixner Trio (1999-2002) as well as the vibist in my jazz quartet through most of my undergrad years. As I’m typing those years in and realizing 2009 is quickly coming to a close, I’m truly understanding how fast time flies. This time of year is especially busy for me as I’m traveling and performing almost every day of the week, but I’m trying to appreciate those people in my life who have shaped and are continuing to shape what I do. Thank you for supporting my efforts…. I hope you continue to enjoy the music…. Off to Helen, GA this week! I start dueling with Klancnik on Thursday evening!

So– the boys loaded into the van this morning from western PA to embark on our adventure to Kimberley, British Columbia for the Accordion festival…. good times already!! First of all anytime Fortunato and Tollentino are together (the fabulous Tollenato Brothers!) you know good times will be had– add Zebar to the mix, and well…. it’s all good… Tollentino has been serenading us in the van with his wholesome ukelele songs and megaphone… (please keep in mind– this is just a van!) We had a pitstop in Cleveland to bring some accordions for touchup work and stopped by Sterle’s Slovenian Country House for lunch…Schnitzel, Liver and Onions, homemade Slovenian sausage and kraut… oh yeah! Unfortunately we had to take off before Fred Ziwich showed up for his gig– but we had to go west… (young man!)… So… we’re driving along and got to Madison, WI before turning in for the night… When in Madison…you have to go to the Essen Haus! Boots of beer = good times! Add the music of Jeff Winard and David Austin with their fine drummer and you have really good times… We sat in for a few tunes too– I displayed that I’m not Denny Andersen when I yodel, but the audience liked it! Only unfortunate thing is we didn’t have the camera out…

Off to sleep– another day of driving tomorrow!
alex

We’re ready to hit again tonight at the Hofbrau Haus after a relaxing Monday off on Panama City Beach. It sure is a rough life down here—mid 70s, sunny weather and cool people. The crowds have been nice all week—with local families and snowbirds being around for dinner time, and then college spring breakers for the rest of the evening… We’re even getting some new covers and originals from the upcoming album into our playlist! The Alex Meixner Duo will be performing 6-9pm Tues.- Thurs and Sunday, 7-11pm on Fri- Sat… if you’re in Panama City Beach, FL—stop by the Hofbrau Haus for the best Spring Break Oktoberfest party anywhere!

alex

We had a great start to a 12 day run at the Hofbrau Haus in Panama City Beach, FL last night. With cold weather enveloping most of the nation, it’s nice to be in the upper 50s and 60s, with a warm front moving in soon! My accordion and Ed’s drums are doing our best to heat things up as the Spring Breakers will be hitting town on Friday night… We had a nice audience that enjoyed the sets of German favorites, Party band tunes and other mayhem that ensues…. If you’re in the area grab some great German food, beer and music at the Hofbrau Haus with us!

alex

After being buried in writing and studio work, and actually breathing a bit at home— I hit the road again this past weekend. I had the great opportunity of working with some of my favorite collaborators in duo settings over the past 3 days and really recharged some batteries. On Friday, I was out in State College, PA—where I did a morning of jazz clinics with my good friend, Rick Hirsch. In addition to having the opportunity to rehearse the State College High School Jazz Band (which recently made the finals for the Essentially Ellington competition at Lincoln Center)—we also got to play a few duets for the students. Whenever I work with Rick, whether in educational settings or when we do performances, it’s always a fun musical challenge. He’s a wonderful saxophone stylist that you should definitely check out in person or online at www.hirschmusic.biz.

After the morning clinics, I was out in Centre Hall, PA where I did a solo performance of “the Wonderful World of Music” for 250 Kindergarten-4th grade students. An enthusiastic and inquisitive group of kids made it a real fun gig. Both the performance and the clinics were arranged by Galaxy Arts in Education and supported by the PA Council on the Arts. It is great that our state is still renewing its commitments to arts education in the schools with these performances and clinics. In many cases, this is our children’s only chance to work with pro artists and is so important to continue developing culture.

On Saturday, I was in Brooklyn, NY performing at one of my favorite venues anywhere- Barbes. Olivier and his staff, as well as the audiences, are always first rate. It was a special evening, as I was joined by the incomparable Guy Klucevsek. Anyone that is not familiar with Guy’s composing and accordion performances definitely needs to check him out ( www.GuyKlucevsek.com ) I did a solo performance for the 1st half of the gig, and then Guy joined in. We performed a few selections from his upcoming CD on Tzadik Records– it will be officially released at the end of March, and I guested on 3 tracks… it’s some great accordion music with some of the premier musicians in NYC. Additionally, I got to hang out with Adam, who is producing podcasts from Barbes… so a few snidbits of the performance and an interview should be online in the near future… as soon as I have a definite link, I’ll post it here too…

On Sunday, I was back home in the Lehigh Valley and performed a recital to benefit the PA Sinfonia Orchestra. The Wesley Church was a beautiful venue to perform in and it was a great opportunity to invite Tedd Firth, a wonderful pianist from NYC to jam a bit. Tedd and I performed quite a bit a few years ago with my jazz quartet for some concert dates and it was fun to play with him again. The repertoire went from Handel to Charlie Parker so we definitely stretched. The audience was enthusiastic, so hopefully we have the opportunity to work together again in the near future.

In the meantime—Oktoberfest meets Spring Break… I’m heading to Panama City Beach, FL to start performing for the next week and a half at the Hofbrau Haus. Ed Klancnik will be slamming the drums as I rock out on accordion for everyone’s favorite German beer drinking songs…. And other stuff…. If you’re in the neighborhood, come join us!

See ya soon…

alex