emchy

 
Come join us for the San Francisco Accordion Club’s January Musical Meeting featuring The Amazing West Coast Accordion Babes, Rob Reich, Daddy Squeeze, Behind the Bellows, and special guests!

2pm Sunday, January 16th

at the Oyster Point Yacht Club

911 Marina Blvd.

South San Francisco, CA 94080

Featuring….

Daddy Squeeze, Rob Reich, West Coast Accordion Babes including Big Lou the Accordion Princess, Skyler Fell & Ariel McGurty of The Accordion Apocalypse, Luz Gaxiola, Yeti, Emchy with Vagabondage, Salane Schultz. Warm-up players Ilya Kreymer & Robert Dohr. Stick around afterdark for the amazing documentary film “Behind the Bellows”, a riveting story of the rich history and making of the accordion by the Bay Area’s own Steve Mobia

$6 members/$8 guests—— no admission for performers, please encourage friends and family to attend this awesome event!

yummy snacks provided, cash bar with bayside fireplace, merch table

For more information or to join the San Francisco Accordion Club visit:

http://www.sfaccordionclub.com/



Here Come the Calendar Babes …
Big Lou the Accordion Princess. A San Francisco favorite, Big Lou has 20 years of experienceas a solo accordionist. She has played weddings, birthday parties, anniveraries, corporate parties, romantic dinners a deux, and, sadly, funerals. Lou provides the perfect atmosphere for French, Italian, German and Eastern European-themed events. To visit here website, click here .

Jetty Swart-Yeti pronounces her first name “Yeti”, was born in the port of Amsterdam, spent half a life-time in France before landing in SanFrancisco. She found an accordion on her way from Prague to Berlin, passing by New York and Mexico. She sings most of her songs in French, speaks English, dreams in Dutch and calls her music “a punk-style gypsy party where Nina Hagen, Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill meet”. From playing on the streets in the south of France to performances at the Francophonic Festival in Poland, Jetty is hilarious, engaging, dramatic, energetic, touching and thoroughly original. Videos of her performances and samples of her music can be found at her website.

Cindy Emcy & Vagabondage play acoustic gypsy punk, americana, ghost town country, murder ballads and drinking songs for the proletariat with the Bay Area bands Vagabondage, Rhubarb Whiskey and the Oakland Wine Drinkers Union, Local #88. With her tall tales about drinkin. whiskey, love, friendship, and the open road, she is sure to charm you. One can find show listings, music and booking information at vagabondageband, rhubarbwhiskey, and Oakland Wine Drinkers Union.

Skyler Fell & Ariel McGurty are on a quest to bring the accordion to new generations. Skyler is proprietress and repair woman and Ariel is her assistant. The Accordion Apocalypse Repair Shop.San Francisco.s accordion hub, features accordion repair, tuning, sales, lessons, music night, and more! Skyler plays accordion and sings with the dark carnival gypsy jug band The Hobo Gobbelins, as well as Tumbleweed Time Machine, and the Accordion Apocalypse House Band. To visit Skyler’s website, click here.

Luz Gaxiola fuses accordion with circus and comedy. She is a clown with Circus Finelli, San Francisco’s all-women clown troupe, who specialize in pairing breathtaking circus acts with irreverent comedy. Besides accordion, Luz also plays trombone and theremin. She is based in San Francisco, and can be seen performing up and down the coast from Seattle to Mazatlan. To visit her website, click here

Salane Schultz has an original deep vocal quality. Her made up lyrics tend to ponder life while exploring emotions which many of us share. She explores her existence through music and art. Using electronic effects, keyboards, shakers, bells, percussion, tin whistles, other various noisemakers, props, masks and she changes her look for each performance, and her music is always a surprise. To visit her website, click here.

Rob Reich is an acclaimed accordionist, pianist, and composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A talented instrumentalist and an inventive composer, Rob is steeped in many traditions. In addition to being a versatile solo performer, Rob can be heard playing with many top notch ensembles. He is a member of Tin Hat, Gaucho and The Nice Guy Trio, and freelances with many other Bay Area bands. Rob graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Oberlin Conservatory. Rob recently completed a commission for the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, “Sidewalks and Alleys”, performed by the Nice Guy Trio and an all-star string quartet. Rob also composes music for Circus Bella. For his website, click here

Jan 2010

the year started feeling isolated and unsure of what was coming next. a  number of stephen king books, hikes in the redwoods and family cancer fears riding strong. a new dedication to the black woods literary project got born. i was working part time for the ad agency, we released the new fancy Vagabondage album online, got some amazing press for it and performed at a good handful of shows.I did about three photoshoots for different friends building portfolios. Vagabondage added an upright bass player and a trumpet player for our big DNA show and i fretted a lot about money. Rhubarb Whiskey played at the Hubba Hubba show with a bunch of guest musicians and things were going pretty well.

Feb 2010

Feb began a fallout between me and two close friends that had me in a knot for most of 2010. Rooster and I took the dog to the beach some, her sister's cancer varied between really scary to omg hella crazy scary and we weren't sure what was coming next. We spent a good chunk of our weekends in Salinas trying to be supportive and do what we could.  Rooster ended up at the hospital due to a stomach issue that scared the hell out of us. The Vagabondage album got more good press. I fell down twice and gave myself some decent injuries. Vagabondage played the Beerlesque show with Hubba in SF. Saw Pinhead Gunpowder at Gilman, created the Oakland Wine Drinkers Union website, Rooster and I go to Russian River wine tasting for Valentines Day, I ride my bike around Oakland, OWDU records our first song, Rhubarb Whiskey spends another Sunday recording to work on EP #2 and I'm looking to the future for summer accordion camp. Vagabondage played a rockstar show for Drinks with Tony and John Flaw and I explore the wonders of the dive bar Broken Record.

Mar 2010

The month starts with my asthma getting worse worse worse. Vagabondage plays an underground Oakland foodie show and we meet the charming band the Sweet Trade. OWDU recorded some more. I reached out to old alanon pals and started with the meetings again. I start reading an art book and write my own obituary. I pick back up with some time at Shoebox now that the Ad Agency job is over. Moses - our sweet sweet boy cat gets gravely ill and passes away after many ER visits and at home care. Our hearts are broken but we're still on alert as issues arise with Cluecat as well and my sister in law's situation continues to be hard. There is a lot of taking my in laws to the Dr., writing film reviews for Frameline and practicing new songs on the accordion. Vagabondage had a bunch of shows and they all went crazy well. People really seem to like us. I get in fights with two more super old close friends and it almost all falls apart.

April 2010

The big fight with one friend is resolved the next day. The other will take until November to be resolved. I get a really good haircut. Vagabondage plays a super fun show with after show jam at Shoebox Studios. The next day we take Rooster's dad to the ER and he almost doesn't make it. We don't know what's wrong and everything is scary. It's pnuemonia or 'something else' and it all feels very ominous. Turns out that this non-smoking hard working man has stage 4 lung cancer. None of the Dr's are optimistic and we get 3 - 9 months life expectancy. I bail on a bunch of band practices but use my time in the hospital to book shows and spread the word about the album online. I make a tumblr and start posting poems and ephemera on there. I buy a plane ticket to go back to the midwest to stand in my best friendss wedding and visit my family. My mother in law needs a biopsy but phew it turns out ok, sister in law starts responding well to chemo. I start planning the accordion babe photo shoot, considering a music retreat in new orleans and watch a lot of sopranos to not think about the scary parts.

May 2010

the month starts with Rhubarb Whiskey cancelling recording due to injury and so instead we go to the dog park. then almost ran out of gas going to lake berryessa but ended up happy in a river with a jar full of sangria and a wet happy dog. we got a kitten from the oakland animal shelter. i panic a lot about money, employment, goals, etc. I start to panic about what i'm doing with the rest of my life. Vagabondage plays some shows that we're hella happy with. Rhubarb reschedules and does another recording day to get a good version of our murder ballad for the accordion babes cd before bandmate goes off to get married. i ride 17 miles on my bike with flat tires and incapacitate myself for a few days. I peak at overdrinking at a Hubba and need a ride home. We go to Bolinas a few times to get away. Vagabondage has the video shoot for Can't Stay Good.

June 2010

Fly back to Michigan for family time and a wedding. Have long drives to think and dream on. Sing rainbow connection while being a groomsman and feel so hopeful for my friends. Meet up with old friends for hilarious talky drinky time and ramble around ann arbor being a dork. Get booked for two writing gigs later in the year. father in law went back into the ER while i was out of town, fly home and immediately go to hospital. more Vagabondage shows - hooray! - accordion babe photoshoot happens, then a reshoot, then go with the original shoot. i am still panicked about money and the lack of it. sister in law finds out she needs a stem cell transplant. father in law has a surgery to help slow the fluid build up in his lungs. downstairs neighbor starts smoking all the time so our house smells and our asthma is bad. i sit on a fancy jury for frameline to give the best documentary award. i decide to sever ties with a couple of unhealthy friendships and get suer toxic dump of doom for it - which reaffirms my decision. Spend most of the month hanging out in hospital rooms or at band practice.

July 2010

The month starts with long bike rides, yoga, dad in law stabilizing and we took him to benihana. Vagabondage plays like 6 shows in 5 days and I'm putting some fire under ye olde job hunt as my unemployment comes to an expiration. we go camping with some good friends up at berryessa, rooster gets a helluva heat stroke, there is lotsa swimming and water wrestling. the 105 degree heat makes for some extra cranky as well and an endless hunt for ice. i interview for a job i don't get. my knee decides to rebel against me. i consider applying to berklee school of music and get talked out of it (later i will talk myself back into and out of it many times), i start working on some old issues and am broker than i have been in years. again.  parental grocery trips and doctor visits continue to be the norm. i spend a lot of the month feeling angry in a directionless frustrated way.

August 2010

Vagabondage plays the Whit-Knee benefit and Rau, Rooster and I get a good amount of Bolinas time to reset our heads. Dad in law stabilizes, we get food more sorted out for the folks, sister in law gets a confirmation that she will be getting the stem cell. Vagabondage acquires our tiniest fan- the Vagababy (as named by her dad).  Rhubarb Whiskey gets included on the Pile of Lo Fi compilation.  I make my hair red again. I triple book myself for a crazy day playing accordion with unwoman in a cemetary for a wedding in the afternoon, a show with Vagabondage in SF @9pm and a Rhubarb Whiskey show in Berkeley at the Starry Plough @ midnight. All shows go well and I only have small heart attacks in traffic. I fall in love with Lake Temescal and Revolution Cafe in Oakland. OWDU starts practicing again for a show in Sept. and the new Vagabondage video is released. Vagabondage is asked to help curate part of the Castro Street Fair, Rhubarb has a regular new fiddle player, and all three bands have written new songs with whole albums in the works for Rhubarb Whiskey and Vagabondage. Went to the cotati accordion fest to represent for the calendar. Start the artists ways again. More hospital visits and scary cancer stuff but we continue to roll with the punches. Vagabondage decides that a fall tour is necessary.

Sept 2010

I start getting behind on bills and panicking and also get ready for my 36th birthday. Made a list of all of the good stuff that happened Jan - March of the year and was impressed by it. Carolyn Mark agreed to play with Rhubarb Whiskey at the Starry Plough in Jan (later cancelled but it was exciting while it lasted). Rhubarb also has a good acoustic set with some accordion babes in SF.  Vagabondage had a great show at the Castro St Fair (and elsewhere) and started recording the new album. My birthday bbq was fun and musical. I went and saw Hurray for the Riff Raff.  I get a flat tire, a lot of parking tickets, and continue to suffle folks around to medical appointments. i start and then stop taking some antidepressants. i play some solo accordion at SOMArts and then come down with a flu that wipes me out and leaves me feeling overwhelmed by all of the family  illness and personal money shortages.

Oct 2010

more good Vagabondage shows. get to hang out with Zak more than usual and it's wonderful. dad in law goes back to the icu and we almost lose him right in front of us. i keep applying for work to make things a little easier and get nothing back.  the kitten breaks his leg and runs up some decent vet bills. i read at litquake and it goes really really well. my friend Michael passed away and we went to his memorial, cried and sang with his chosen family. the giants start really winning and go to the world series. we watch some of the game with father in law. the vagabondage tour gets booked and confirmed. Rhubarb Whiskey & Vagabondage play together at Saturn for Devils night and we all watch the baseball game on my phone.

Nov 2010

the giants win the world series!!!! rooster and i go to the victory parade and have an amazing time. father in law is stable. i get crafty and create merch box for tour and vagabondage gets proper cd duplication / packaging for albums to sell on tour. tour is AMAZING and we have a kick ass time up and down the coast. vagabondage, rhubarb and owdu do a crazy cool photo shoot with flip cassidy and images of win are won. day after i'm home from tour it's to the hospital to be there for my sister in law whose transplant is starting, goes well and she does great.

Dec 2010

A lot of money worry all month long. Vagabondage plays an awesome show in Sebastopol and Rhubarb Whiskey overcomes some serious tech issues to start recording in earnest and makes a lot of headway on the new album. Vagabondage has more new songs pop up but battle against the demons of influenza to get them down on tape. The holiday season meant seeing more friends and more social it all starts to feel a little better. Looking to the new year. Trying to keep it all in perspective. We cut down a tree in the woods for the house. It's awesome.

 

 

so it looks like my resume doesn't quickly answer the question of : so what does she do. 
and so sadface it looks like the job i wanted shan't be mine
and time to brew the coffee and start the resume reorganization

that said it made me think about what i do.

i manage and curate short form web content from both a marketing and project management standpoint.

the other way to say it is that i am the safety net catch all for interdepartmental chaos organization for web based content that gets the job done under deadline.

and yet another way to say it is
dude i put the funny videos / blogs / games online in a cool way so the sponsors like it and we get more hits.

 2011 West Coast Accordion Babes Calendar & CD



The all new 2011 Accordion Babes calendar and CD. 14 accordion goddesses in provocative poses celebrating free reeds and the feminine form. Includes a compilation CD with a track from each lovely. The perfect gift for music lovers, accordion fans, pin-up buffs. Emchy is Ms October so raise a glass to Halloween and order yours today!


To order online - send $23 via paypal to emchypoet@gmail.com

To order by mail, please send a check to
Cindy Emch
Attn Accordion Calendar
2915 Nicol
Oakland CA 94602

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS! Your calendar will be sent via First Class mail within one week of your payment being received.

starting by going through to march so it feels more manageable. realizing repeating patterns and seeing journal entries from last september that i could've written yesterday. oh yes our lives and years have patterns. here are the good parts that i found in the first part of last year.

Vagabondage played 27 shows, made two music videos, showed up in the press / blogs eleven times and released an album and almost finished writing a new one.
Rhubarb Whiskey played seven shows and signed contracts / hustled to be in two compilations and started recording a new full length album.  
Oakland Wine Drinkers released a website, booked our first show and recorded demos of five songs.
Rooster and I moved to Oakland.
Adventures at the Handcar Regatta.
Eating strawberries at Swanton Farm at the Pacific Ocean
Wine tasting in Santa Cruz with elusis, raychoo and devilcrayon
The big fancy Murder Ballads show last Halloween at the Sunshine Artists Factory
Movie nights, board games and coffee time with Rooster - swooning still 11 years later
Working Hardly Strictly Bluegrass as staff
Meeting / brushing elbows with Tom Morello, Hazel Dickens, The Knitters, Greg Cohen, Steve Earle and getting a HUG from Billy Bragg
Visiting poets sleeping on my couch
Started personal strengthening / training
Inherited my mothers accordion
Visited my family in Michigan
Stood in my best friends's wedding
Saw the Pixies, Rube Waddel, Golem!, Pinhead Gunpowder, Jason Webley, Mark Growden, and a whole passel of other local bands
JUNKSTOCK!!!!
Was in a couple of photoshoots by local folks
Got into the 2011 accordion babe calendar
Road trips out of town with Rooster
Russian River wine tasting with Rooster & Rau
Bike Rides to Lake Merritt
Southern breakfasts in West Oakland
Cheap coffee, free wifi and good company at the Revolution Cafe
Hubba Hubba
Coffee dates in the mission with postmaudlin
Walking Lake Merritt solo and with friends

Wanna support a real living bonafide artiste? Here's your chance!!!

Poetry Fire Sale
It's a once in a lifetime chance! You - yes YOU can own an Emchy original poem written to the theme / imagery of your choice. This veteran poet has woo-ed crowds and readers with her tales of bones, antlers, rural beauty, urban landscapes and the heartbreak that hits you under the rib. In this crazy mixed up world the chance to own a piece of art made just for you only comes along so often. So order today as this is a limited time offer.

Cost is $15 - 25 sliding scale. Poems will be delivered within a couple of weeks of purchase via email.

but that's not all - there's MORE!

You can also purchase the brand new EP from Rhubarb Whiskey - your favorite trainhoppin newgrass americana drenched rascals with songs of railyards, drinking, love and travel! You'll get six songs for the punk rock price of $5!!! (sample tracks available HERE)

Still aching for more goodies?

For a limited time only there are a few copies of the Hobo Love Tour EP available - hear Emchy & One Beer Prophet as they sing you songs of circuses, drugs, old blues, and monkeys... yes really there is a monkey song.

All this can be yours just by clicking HERE!!!

www.emchy.com/shop.html

 Hey all - there are a million cool things to do tonight - and watch me throw my hat in the ring too. Tonight Rhubarb Whiskey is gonna be rockin out at El Rio! Show starts at 10pm and the cover is $5. Fugayzi and TrashCanPoet are also performin... plus there will be Music! and Dancing!

We're also gonna be test driving some of the killing songs that we're getting ready for the Halloween Show so it stands to be a helluva good time. See you there?

featuring the railyard booze soaked sounds of Rhubarb Whiskey!
(NEW EP just released at www.rhubarbwhiskey.com)

We All Come to the Same Place by Rhubarb Whiskey