The Leader

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Sarah Kozar squeezed the pearly accordion strapped to her shoulders as she sang, "Love me forever and say that you'll always be mine," sustaining mine with a high, throbbing voice as the song ended. At her side, Don Turner and Linda Miller pressed the concluding chord from their accordions and smiled at a smattering of applause in the Milwaukee Public Museum corridor on Feb. 25.

Three middle-aged men hoisting glasses of beer approached the trio, winding through a steady stream of people sampling beer and cuisine at the museum's Food and Froth Fest, a yearly fundraiser. They requested "Who Stole the Keescha" and twirled to the booming beat beside a stuffed seal and models of Native American artisans.

For the Riverwest Accordion Club, which has played parties, weddings, the PrideFest Parade and the Art Bar, a museum corridor came naturally. In Riverwest, they tote accordions to impromptu shows, squeezing behind and atop bars shouting, "Shots for the band!"

Kozar, 31, and her significant other, Turner, 41, organize the club. She's the art director of Sprecher Brewery, and he's a computer programmer. The club consists of seven accordionists, a tuba and drums.

Five years ago, Kozar said, she and Turner held a "funky informal invite" to a potluck accordian jam. While in their previous band, 60 Watt Sarah, they began experimenting with accordions, a habit that multiplied until the open club closed its doors a few years ago to form a band. Hordes of intruiged novices had come forward, dragging musty accordions from Milwaukee basements.

"It's polka," said Kozar. " It's beer. It's Milwaukee."

Songs began simply in the key of C, which requires only white keys along the accordion's vertical keyboard. Turner's arrangements remain simple because, for most members, the Riverwest Accordion Club is their first band. They play Irish tunes, love songs, Devo, Johnny Cash, the Laverne and Shirley theme song, polka, Abba, reggae, and more.

Children to twentysomethings to the elderly widows of polka accordionists fall under the club's spell. One show seems to lead to two more, Turner said. He and Kozar booked an Oktoberfest party and a grandmother's 80th birthday party at the Food and Froth Fest.

"It's all about where you are and when, and we make it happen," said Kozar. She and Turner have played in bands since their teen years, but the Riverwest Accordion Club continues to outlive and outrun their expectations. "Sometimes we think, oh my God, have we been doing this for this long?" said Turner.

Despite increasing demand, the club generally hopes to avoid national exposure. Kozar leans forward and recalls a late night, a hotel room in Chicago after a convention. Elderly Frank Morocco, legendary jazz accordionist, sat on the bed amidst a flurry of younger accordionists, including Kozar and Turner.

She struggled to remember his words. She paraphrased his startling address from the bed that night.

"He said, 'It's about the love," Kozar recalled. "'It's all about the love. It's all about the accordion and the love of the music.'"

Linda Miller has felt the love. Extremely shy before joining the accordion club, she has undergone a transformation. Miller is far more outgoing now and rarely misses a gig.

"For her it was polka-therapy," said Kozar. "She's completely enraptured with the accordion club."

Miller joined Kozar and Turner on Feb. 28 to lead the Riverwest Mardi Gras Parade from the Uptowner to the doors of Foundation.

Where to catch the Riverwest Accordion Club: March 12, Serb Hall, 12-3p.m., Blessing of the Bock beer tasting & fun, $30. Too pricey? How about March 18, strolling with the Riverwest Pub Crawl, 1-9p.m., beginning at the Uptowner. See RiverwestAccordionClub.com for updated show listings and contact info.

On Polka: Kozar recommends Terry Palasz in "The Polish Diva from Milwaukee," a musical comedy at the Milwaukee Center's Stackner Cabaret through March 12. Need more? Try Polka Happiness, a pioneering study of Ameican polka culture co-authored by UWM Film Professor Dick Blau.

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