I am happy to announce ‘Wisconsin Accordion Memories Volume 1’ from my uncle Rudy “Dude” Strasser will hit streaming music platforms on July 24th from my Reverend Releasing label. Pre-orders are open now on Bandcamp. This is the first time most of the world will hear Dude’s music. He was a hard working farmer who would wrap up the day’s duties and load his equipment into the car to head off and play gigs at events all around Wisconsin. His songs were the soundtrack to almost every wedding and holiday get-together for our family, and he delighted people wherever he took his accordion or buttonbox.
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Dude recorded four albums with his bandmates, selling the tapes at gigs. I remember being wowed by his having done this. It showed me that you can have your everyday work AND keep the flame of creative passion alive in the off-hours. He had a set of old Ludwig drums in his basement that I was so drawn to that he and my Aunt Delores had to hide the drumsticks out of reach up in the rafters not long after my arrival each time (where they reside to this day, by the way). Those drums and the experience of watching and hearing Dude play so often over all those years added up to a cornerstone element of who and what I am. He was wildly influential on me, and I am not sure he knew that was the case, other than knowing what a noisy pain I was whenever we spent time on the farm, which was often. I have always had the deepest respect for how Dude lived, how he worked so hard to support his family, and how he kept music an important element in his life.
I am honored to present his recordings to you. This is the first of two collections (the other will land next year), and illustrates his leaning toward songs about love, Midwestern seasons, and family roots. Beyond music, I fell in love with nature and animals growing up running around those fields and climbing around the barns with my little brother Mitch. I started learning about real life there.
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In working through his catalog I also discovered a surprise in his having covered “Quentin’s Theme” from DARK SHADOWS, which is what I chose as the closing song on Volume 1. I only wish we had the chance to discuss his interest in that show now. We lost Dude in 2013, but through these recordings he lives on.
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‘Wisconsin Accordion Memories Volume 1’ will be on all digital platforms on July 24th. Bandcamp pre-orders are open now (link in comments) if you would like to download. All funds go to Dude’s kids and grandkids who were the center of his universe and who have kept his farm (seen in the cover photo) the beautiful, vibrant center of their lives.
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TRACK LISTING
- Until We Meet Again Waltz
- One Eyed Jack Polka
- Dude’s Polka
- Holinka Waltz
- La Golondrina Waltz
- Sweet Nearness
- My Happiness
- Golden Daisies Waltz
- Homeless Polka
- Blonde Sailor Waltz
- Huntsman Waltz
- Have You Ever Been Lonely
- Seaman
- Junge Komm Bald Weider Waltz
- Button Box Polka
- Three Yanks Polka
- No, No Polka
- European Waltz
- Snow on the Roses
- Rain, Rain Polka
- Summertime Waltz
- Party Polka
- Snow Waltz
- I’ll Wait for You Waltz
- Our Mike Polka
- Musicians Play All Night
- Innocence Polka
- Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
- Clock on the Steeple
- Red Raven Polka
- Founding Waltz
- Dance Medley
- Vienna Forever
- Echo in the Hills Waltz
- Quentin’s Theme
