Presidents Message

Dear Friends,

Well daylight savings time has arrived and we are now treated to a little more daylight prior to our monthly meetings. Hopefully this will encourage many of our members to turn out for the general meetings. Last month we had a great time. It was the most upbeat assembly we’ve seen in quite a while. Lots of good entertainment and Annette, Josie and Marilyn and some of the other ladies were up and dancing to the music. It was reminiscent of the old days of our club. I’d love to see this spirit return to our gatherings.

As everyone probably knows by now, we have returned to a monthly schedule of meeting. No guesswork as to whether there is a meeting this month. Unless you are notified to the contrary, we will be having a meeting on the third Monday of every month until further notice. Please come out and have some fun and support our club and our musicians.

Please mark your calendars for our July meeting which will take place on Monday July 15, 2019. We will have Joe Domitrowich as our special guest artist performing for us at this meeting. Joe always presents a well thought out and upbeat program when he plays for our club. He is an excellent showman and a very talented musician. Invite your friends to come out and enjoy his performance.

If you have any ideas regarding things that would improve our accordion evenings, please contact me and make me aware of them, and I will present your ideas to the board.

We will also be having elections for club officers and board members in April. Some of our long serving members will be taking a well deserved break, and we will be adding new board members with your approval. Steve Balich and Cathy Patton are among those who will be volunteering to serve on the new board. If you would like to offer your name in nomination, please contact me.

Looking forward to seeing you all our April 15 meeting.

Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods

March Meeting

Ken Kelzer

Ken’s play list was short but very nice. His play list consisted of “Hail Glorious St. Patrick,” “The Rose of Trallee,” and “Galway Bay.”. Keep up the good work Ken.

Xavier De la Prade

In honor of good ole St. Pat I played the following tunes: “Galway Bay,” “McNamara’s Band,” “Molly Malone,” and “ Danny Boy.” These are all great Irish classics to hear and are fun to play.

It is always fun to hear from Xavier.

Frank Devita

Frank played quite a few; too many for my poor mind to keep track of.

The ones I could keep track of were “Oh Marie,” “lupali! lupali!,” and “Sentimental Journey.” 

Steve Balich

Steve played “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” “My Wild Irish Rose,” “Peg of My Heart,” “I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore,” and “In Heaven There is No Beer.”

Steve and Tony

Then came Steve and Tony playing “If I Give My Love to You,” “From a Jack to A King,” “Do You Ever Think of Me,” “Le Gilerre,” “Roman Guitar,” “La Paloma,” and “Erica.”

Next Came 

Steve, Tony, and Frank

This was the rousing finale. With “Tic Tac Polka,” “I Can’t Help It if I’m Still in Love With You,” (sung by Kris Nelson), “Your Cheating Heart ,”(sung by Kris Nelson), “Basiglieri” and finally “Roll Out the Barrel.”

What a night! 

Our Departed Member

Domenic John Saso 

I though you would like to know of my Dad’s passing as he was a Board Member of The Accordion Club of Petaluma. Music was his life. I though maybe you would like to do an article in your newsletter. Best, Diane Arata, Daughter (415) 246-5430

Domenic John Saso was preceded in death by his loving wife Santina Saso, Joseph Saso, Mary Granucci, Antonio Saso, Rosalie Bruno, Angela Row, Anna Hassler and Jeanette Colang. As a professional musician he enjoyed playing/teaching accordion, piano and organ. He served in the World War IIaboard the USS Napa where he was a radio man and the Band Leader. He received many awards and recognitions for his lifetime of dedication and commitment to accordion music. His talents as a musician, instructor, retailer, television and radio performer have served to inspire generations of musicians. He was very lucky winning on slot machines and loved to go on cruises with his wife and close friends. He will be greatly missed by his daughter Diane Arata, her husband Greg and Pepper the Cat. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.