IN MY SHOES: Playing The Accordion Is Cooler Than You’d Think
Washington Post reporter Joshua Zumbrun takes us inside the "alternate universe" (his term) of accordionists at their 60th annual Coupe Mondiale (World Cup) to find out why so many have fallen for the siren song of the squeezebox. Here’s 14-year-old John Moceo’s story:
Sporting spiked black hair and a large gold crucifix necklace, he speaks in a brimming-with-confidence Staten Island accent: Moceo is one of the youngest virtuosos performing at the Coupe. …
Moceo started playing at age 5 after seeing the instrument in a kindergarten performance. "I'm the only one from all my friends that plays," he says. "I like it. I like being the individual."
And the perks aren't bad either. Moceo has traveled across the country for competitions and shows. Two years ago, he flew to Burbank, Calif., for an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres's TV talk show, where he performed a version of Green Day's "American Idiot."
It's the only life he can imagine. "Without the accordion, I'd just be another drummer or something," he says. …
"No matter what, life would have brought me to the accordion," Moceo says.
He's marching to a different drummer, that's for sure! For skilled (if wacky) accordion solos, try "Weird Al" Yankovic.
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John went to elemetary school with me. He is a very good friend of mine. When you see him, you would never think of him as an accordian player. I admire him for his individuality and talent. In 7th rgade, the whole class got to watch him on the Ellen Show. It was amazing to see someone you know on national television!!
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So glad you went deep, deep into the blog to find this post about your shcool chum! The Stiletto invites you to continue to poke around the archives and see what else is there.
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