I have been playing the accordion since I was seven years old. When I was fifteen, I joined The Knight Kats, a downriver (Detroit Metropolitan area) dance and wedding band and have been playing as a professional musician ever since with various bands and as a soloist. My longest continuous engagement was playing every Saturday night from 1972 thru 1979 at the Wyandotte/Riverview Moose Club in Riverview, Michigan with a five piece dance band called The Highlanders. In the 1980's I played again with the Knight Kats. Since the 1990s, I have usually worked as a soloist. I am currently a member of The American Accordion Association and the Michigan Accordion Society.
I was a social studies teacher for 34 1/2 years before retiring as a teacher in 2006. The last 32 1/2 of these years were at Seitz Middle School in Riverview, Michigan.
$100.00 for first hour (Minimum)
$175.00 for first hour (Minimum)
The price for the "Big Band Sound" is higher due to a substantial increase of time for set up and dismantling of my equipment which includes speakers, amplifier, rhythm unit, sound modules, cables, and a microphone. It takes me more than an hour to unpack my car and set up all of my equipment. It also takes me over an hour to dismantle my equipment and to pack it back into my car.
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Whether you need a professional musician to play a strolling accordion or you want to dance to the sound of a "Big Band", I am available to make your occasion a special memory. I can play my accordion while strolling throughout an audience or be up on stage playing my amplified accordion along with my digital MIDI modules. Because of the MIDI controls which have been installed in my accordion, I am able to sound like a four piece band. These MIDI controls are connected to an Orla XM 600 Orchestra/Rhythm Unit and two digital sound modules - the Kurzweil Micro Piano and the Korg N1R. My MIDI accordion can therefore sound like most instruments including: organs, pianos, saxophones, vibes, clarinet, trumpet, strings, marimba, guitars, and many more. The Orla module plays the rhythm patterns, bass patterns and background strings, chorus, and other background sounds. These patterns and background sounds are triggered by me playing bass chords with my left hand. So I am not playing to pre-recorded music - my music is performed live. I can play most styles of music including: Italian, Polish, German, Irish, Old Standards, Waltzes, Foxtrots, Country, Big Band, Oldies, Swing, Polkas, Hawaiian, Rock n'Roll, Disco, Tarantellas, and most Latin Rhythms including: Cha-Chas, Rhumbas, Tangos, Salsas, and Sambas. I can play most songs from the Twenties through the Eighties. I have a collection of over 3,000 songs which I can play. During the past few years I have entertained for many different occasions and clubs including the Italian American Club of Livonia and the Annual Gala Celebration for the Information Center of Taylor at the Grecian Center. I have over forty years of experience playing at parties, anniversaries, weddings, and all types of special occasions.
$75.00 for each additional hour
$40.00 for each additional 1/2 hour
$100.00 for each additional hour
$50.00 for each additional 1/2 hour
