Those Darn Accordions!

ABOUT TDA

Ready to rock?

San Francisco's accordion-fueled rock 'n' roll band pumps out quirky, catchy originals chronicling life in the weird lane. The six-piece group -- fronted by lead singer/squeezebox wizard Paul Rogers and bellows-pumping babes Carri Abrahms, Susie Davis and Suzanne Garramone -- promises to forever rearrange your understanding of the accordion. TDA's four extreme squeezeboxers mix solid keyboard chops with a groundbreaking use of guitar effects pedals and amps to produce a super-cool sound like nothing you've ever heard emanating from an accordion.

Behind the amazing wall of wheeze, drummer Bill Schwartz and bass player Lewis Wallace anchor the band, providing a firm foundation upon which the manic TDA accordionists can layer huge slabs of sonic mayhem.

With sterling vocal harmonies and a sense of humor that just won't quit, the one-of-a-kind band blazes through a variety of musical genres -- from rock and funk to polka and even swing -- and torches timeless classic rock tunes along the way. You won't believe your ears. TDA BIO: SUSIE DAVIS


Having won first prize in a milk-drinking contest at a fair in Petaluma, California, and being named "Most Important Choir Member" two years running in middle school, Susie went from getting thrown out of a Seventh-day Adventist boarding academy for allegedly practicing witchcraft to streaking a Tower of Power set at the Oakland Coliseum in the course of a year.

Little did she know that soon she would not only meet Michael Jackson's chimpanzee, "Bubbles," and get bitten by Sheila E.'s dog "Christopher," but would end up working with some of the top names in the music world. From 1984 through 2000, Susie played keyboards and guitar and sang with artists such as Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, Billy Idol, Daryl Hall, Sheila E., Prince, Van Morrison, Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar, Belinda Carlisle, Patty Smythe, Hall and Oates and Deborah Harry, among others.

She also played the category game with David Bowie, met Princess Margaret's son, kayaked in the Bay of Fundy, took a baby pigeon she found in an Atlanta garbage heap onto Prince's chartered plane, got all four Ramones' autographs on a $1 food stamp and auditioned for (but was not hired by) Cher.

The daughter of disc jockey Norman Davis (KSAN, KSFO, KTIM, KSJO, KKCY), Susie was exposed to a wide variety of music (and lifestyle choices) from an early age. A longtime San Francisco Bay Area resident, she worked as a disc jockey herself for many years (KTIM, KCCY).

In 2000, Susie opened the Alleycats Music School in Fairfax, California, establishing her reputation as an unconventional music teacher who will do anything to keep kids excited about music. She currently teaches piano, guitar and voice to children and adults in the East Bay, and works with the bands Rhythmtown-Jive and The Rubinoos

TDA BIO: LEWIS WALLACE

How do you end up playing bass guitar in a rock 'n' roll accordion band?

You show up at an audition with a borrowed bass rig, then gut out a two-hour rehearsal with 12 accordion players that sounds a little like you're riding a whirling merry-go-round while a manic demolition crew smashes it apart with air hammers and electrical saws.

After surviving your first rehearsal, and without ever being asked if you want to join the squeezebox crusaders, you'll hear a band leader say something like, "Well, now that we've got a bass player...." At least that's how Lewis remembers his introduction to Those Darn Accordions in the early '90s.

Since then he's been happily filling in the low tones for TDA (not to mention managing the band website and driving the band van across the country several times). His latest project was directing and editing the home-brew video of TDA's cautionary anthem, "My Friend Jim." There will surely be more videos to come.

When he's not holding down the bottom line with TDA, Lewis plays bass in the Electric Boogie Dawgz and the Mad Maggies. He also works as a freelance writer and editor for publications including Wired News and PC World. If you need a word surgeon, check out his résumé