(bright upbeat music) - Will you consider this?

This is an accordion, and these two lovely people are accordionists.

Judy Ernst and Bob Bartels have been members of the Accordion Club in Peoria.

That's where you met?

- Yes.

- All right.

Well, first we're gonna find out a little bit about you, Judy.

Now, I've known you for a while because I heard you somewhere, and then I invited, you know, my family reunions.

- Right.

- Because I knew how to polka a before I knew how to walk.

- Right.

- And it was accordion music.

- That's right.

- So you're from Peoria originally.

And what did you do before you started doing this?

- Well, my husband and I had a hardware store and a pharmacy, which is a strange combination.

But when he retired, I retired.

Didn't really want to.

I was too young.

So then I needed to find another thing to do.

And I discovered the RSVP, which is the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

They gave me a list of things I could do, and I saw accordion, you know, the Peoria Area Accordion Club.

I thought, "Perfect."

Didn't matter that I didn't know how to play accordion.

- [Christine] You didn't have an accordion either- - No, I didn't, but I jumped right in.

I taught myself how to play.

I was 55 years old, so I taught myself, and ever since, I've been doing this.

- That's crazy.

- Yeah.

- How could you possibly teach yourself back before they had YouTube?

- [Judy] Right, exactly.

- How did you do it?

- Well, I got books, and I took a couple of years of piano lessons when I was like six or seven years old.

So I knew- - How to read music.

- The keyboard notes, even though the accordion is so different.

But, you know, it's just one step at a time and practice, practice, practice.

- [Christine] How long did you practice every day?

- Three to four hours a day when I was starting.

- That's commitment.

- It is.

- That's dedication.

- Yes.

- And Bob, so you grew up in LaSalle-Peru area.

- That's correct, - All right, so, locally.

And then you started playing the accordion when you were just a child.

- Yes, I started when I was either in seventh or eighth grade.

And then when I went to high school, sometime during my junior and senior year, I put it away, and then I took an interest in it again.

And I was 74, by the way, when I took an interest in it, and I pulled my accordion out of the closet.

It was in very poor working condition, and I had no music.

So I looked for other accordionists, and I found the Peoria Area Accordion Club.

I met Judy.

She gave me a gigantic stack of music, and that's where it all started.

- So you knew how to read music from back in the day when you were a child?

- Correct, yes.

- All right.

Now, why did you start with the accordion in seventh or eighth grade, though?

I mean, LaSalle-Peru has a lot of Eastern Europeans.

- Yes, in the '50s, the accordion was the instrument.

It was the instrument to play, and that's how come I got an interest in it.

I had a grandfather who played an accordion, took an interest, started taking lessons.

And my first accordion, by the way, I bought in 1958.

It was a loaded instrument, very high quality, and I paid $600 for it.

- [Christine] In 1958.

- Correct, yes.

- Where did you come up with that money?

Well, you were working some other jobs or something, or your grandfather helped you out.

- [Bob] Yes, my father taught me well.

He taught me how to work.

- That's awesome.

- And so therefore, all kinds of odd jobs.

You can name them, I did them.

I saved my money, and I bought the accordion.

- Just so you could buy that accordion, - Correct, yes.

- Right, wow, what a story.

Well, now this is beautiful, and I know, Judy, that you have kind of an affinity for beautiful accordions.

(Judy laughs) - I do.

I like colors.

- And I asked you to bring the prettiest one 'cause I know you have a royal blue one.

- I do.

- And what other colors do you have?

- I have a metallic lavender and peacock blue.

I have about three red ones of different varieties and a black one here and there.

- [Christine] And Bob says that's the best kind.

- Yes.

- The only accordion is black.

- The one I'm playing right now for our programs, we're doing Mardi Gras music, and so I have an accordion that was hand-painted in Italy with all colored flowers on it.

So that's what I'm playing there.

But yeah, I've got quite... And then I have a wood tone.

Accordions are all wood under here, but then they're coated with this- - This metal.

- Plastic.

It's plastic.

- Oh, it's plastic?

- Yeah.

And now they're making accordions, they show the wood.

So it's a beautiful wood grain made out of olive wood.

And so, you know, that's kind of the new style right now.

- And you have one of those?

- Mm-hm.

- Okay, why did I even ask?

- I don't know.

- I should have said, "When did you buy it?"

- (laughs) Yeah.

- Now, Bob, do you agree with Judy that every accordion has a different kind of polka sound?

I thought they all... Well, you know, what do I know?

I know that accordion sounds like accordion music, but I didn't know that each one has a different kind of ethnic sound.

- Yeah, accordions are tuned differently.

Yes, you can have what's called a polka instrument, but you can have 'em tuned for whatever you like.

Sometimes they don't agree.

- Oh.

- You know, Judy could be playing one tune one way.

I'm playing one turn the other way.

And they just don't like each other.

- Interesting.

- You have to match.

- Okay, so how many accordions do you have?

- I have four.

- You have four, okay.

- And they're all black.

(Judy laughs) - Imagine that.

- Imagine that, yeah.

- Well, so, you're busy all the time because I was trying to book an appointment with you, an interview with you, and we had to go a month out.

- So what are you doing all the time?

- We do on the average of 150 programs a year.

- [Christine] Wow.

- What love to do is play for retirement homes, some nursing homes, but mainly retirement homes.

But we do festivals.

We do everything.

But we love to play for the retirement people because we make them feel good, and they make us feel good.

- I bet.

I bet.

- So we love to do that.

- And how do people find you?

- Well, (laughs) somehow I'm just out there.

I can't explain that, but, you know, one person will refer you to another person.

But a lot of nice things happen for us when we're playing.

So, like, I'm wearing a bracelet right now that's a beaded bracelet from Kenya.

So I have a lot of older accordions, so when I want to get rid of some of them, I donate them through a lady and a church, and they go to a school in Kenya.

- Oh.

- And they've told us that we've changed those children's lives because of having the instruments.

So a lot of good things come to us that way.

- Which is a true blessing.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

Okay.

- It makes us feel good.

- What's your favorite kind of music to play, both of you?

Or do you agree on that?

I know- - No.

- Okay.

(laughs) - I like honestly all kinds, but I like the '30s and '40s and '50s music very, very much, and German.

He's a jazz guy.

- Yeah.

- Okay, ah.

- I like the music from ideally the '50s and '60s, but then I also like to just cut loose- Just freeform?- - And play.

- He can improv, yeah.

- Okay, well that's fun.

- Yeah.

- That's fun.

Well, like I said, I grew up, I am 93% Slovenian.

All of my grandparents came from old country, and so I've been singing... Well, you were surprised.

I know a lot of the words to a lot of the songs because I grew up with them.

There's a difference between a Slovenian polka and a Polish polka and a German polka.

- All so different.

- So what is the difference?

I mean, I can recognize it, but how do you describe it?

- I honestly think it's style that you play it.

It's the style.

The notes are the same.

The chords are the same.

But it's the style that you play it that makes it different.

And you can tell the difference.

- Well, so how much does one of these weigh?

Because you're not very big.

- No, and honestly, the older we get, the smaller our accordions get.

- Oh.

- But the big ones used to weigh 28, 29 pounds, and then in a case, that takes you up to 35 pounds.

So now we're getting smaller accordions, which have just as good of sound as the larger ones.

- Technology.

- And I'm gonna say this one weighs probably 20 pounds, and the one he plays is about 23, probably.

- That's correct, yes.

- So all different weights, but, you know, we like the smaller because carrying them around so much.

- Right, well, and you pack 'em all up and- - We pack 'em.

- You're pretty compact, and you roll 'em on out.

- [Judy] Yeah, yeah.

- Now another thing that I noticed is your shoes even match.

Can I get a close-up of these shoes here?

(Judy laughs) How 'bout it?

What's the deal with that?

- That's part of our routine, and Bob actually came up with this.

The other day I was listening to the radio, and I heard a Bobby Darin song called "Two of a Kind," and I said, "Wow, we're kind of two of a kind, you know?"

And I start out by saying, "We wear the same shoes.

We wear the same pants, everything.

We play accordion."

And then I say, "That's where the similarities end."

But we find that our people in the nursing homes and retirement homes love to see anything different.

They see our shoes before they see our accordions.

- [Christine] Isn't that crazy?

Who would imagine that?

- It's just another little thing that we've learned through a lot of, you know, playing, what people like.

And they like us to have fun, which we do.

- Okay.

- They love it when we banter back and forth and argue, which is, that's pretty easy for us, right?

- That's part of the routine.

- (laughs) Very easy.

- That's part of your shtick.

- Yeah, and they just love that.

So, we were playing the other day for a lady that was 101.

She stayed in her room, but she could hear us.

And the activity director came out and said, "You know, that lady was ready to give up on life until she heard you guys play and then, you know, the foot tapping and all that."

So it's kind of like music therapy.

- It definitely is music therapy, yeah.

When you go to one of the retirement homes, do they specifically ask you to play certain songs?

I mean, do you say, "Hey, do we have a request?"

And do they know the names of the songs?

- They will request sometimes, but they trust me.

I do all the programming, and if we play at a place once a month, which we do, some of them, we never play the same, you know, program again.

So we started out in January with Valentine, no, '50s music, and then February, Valentine's.

This month, Mardi Gras, Irish.

I mean, so that's what we do.

We change the program all the time.

It's a lot of work.

- Okay, and do you get any input into that?

Like, it's Mardi Gras time, Bob, so it's a little bit jazzier?

I mean, is that your input, or is she the boss?

- Judy does allow me to cut loose at time.

Yes, I agree, yes.

But she picks out all the songs.

- Okay, yeah, so I mean, and then how long are your programs?

- An hour, they're always an hour.

I mean, we do special programs that could be three hours.

We do the Italian Festival in Chicago every year.

It's three to four hours of sitting in the sun playing without stopping.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Whoa.

- So- - [Christine] That's worse than at my house.

- It's definitely worse.

(Christine laughs) You know, at least we get sprayed with the pool at your house.

But anyway, yeah, we, you know, do it all.

Yeah.

- So when you see the reaction of people and really of all ages, and you get to see like at the Italian Fest, there's little kids around too.

And so you're introducing some history, you know, helping them along to learn what their roots were.

- Well- - Or are.

- It's true, and another thing that we've learned through all of our programs is that, well, they want us to have fun for one thing, as I said, but if somebody just gets up in front of somebody and sits there for an hour and plays the accordion- - It's boring.

- Yeah, so mainly, we're kind of known as music and humor.

- [Christine] Okay, I like that.

You have some good jokes.

Does he have bad jokes?

- They're jokes, but they're true.

Everything I tell comes from our experiences.

Like one day- - So tell me something.

- Okay, one day we walked into an activity room, and six guys are sitting at the table, and when they saw us walk by, one man said, "Whoa, I hope this doesn't take very long."

(laughs) - Oh.

- I mean, yeah, that's the way we started out there.

Then the other guy wanted to know if we had our musician's card, but it's stuff like that.

(Bob laughs) And then here's one more for you.

I won't say where, but there's one place that we play that we're kind of by the foyer door.

It's nine degrees outside.

Every time they open the door, whoosh, you know?

- Ooh, yeah.

- And then 15 minutes into the program, the maintenance man decided it was time to scrub the carpeting with his machine right in front of us.

(Bob imitates machine roaring) Then 15 minutes later, what is that weird smell?

Well, the activity director came in and said, "I'm sorry, but we've got a sewage backup in the basement."

- Oh my goodness.

- So, those are the stories we tell because they're true, and they're funny.

- And that's what, you know- - Yeah, that's what people want.

- Life is humorous-.

- It is, yeah.

- By and large, yeah.

So now, do either of you play button box?

Because that's a different thing.

- [Judy] Yeah, it's totally different.

- Is that the concertina?

- No, that's different too.

- That's different too, okay.

- The button box has buttons on both sides.

But if it's a diatonic button box, when you go out with the bellows, it's one note, when you come back in, it's another.

It's very difficult.

- Oh.

So you've tried it?

- Oh yes.

(laughs) - Okay, and gave up on it.

- Yeah.

- All right.

Have you tried it, Bob?

- I've never tried it, no.

- All right.

- [Bob] I strictly play what's called a piano accordion.

- Okay.

- That's it.

- All right, now, before we started recording, you were telling me a little bit about when you pulled your old accordion out of the closet that it needed some work because the keys were frozen.

- Correct.

- So, just a lot of dust in there, or what happened there?

- Well, I put my accordion...

It was well cared for, and I put it in the closet, and it sat there for 50, 60 years.

So when I pulled it out, the keys stuck.

And it's just a change over time.

You got metal on metal, wood on metal.

And so I took it in, had it cleaned, and it plays just like a new accordion today.

- Wow.

But the bellows, see, I would think that, because aren't they made out of fabric?

- [Judy] Cardboard.

- Oh, cardboard.

Okay, 'cause I thought maybe they would, but even cardboard would maybe deteriorate.

- Oh, they certainly do.

And they get musty-smelling if people don't keep 'em in the right place.

Honestly, so many people say, "Oh, I've got this old accordion," and they think it's worth a lot because it's old.

They fall apart, and they cost too much to repair.

So we always recommend buying a low-end newer accordion if somebody really wants to start because it's very expensive.

When we need repairs, we have to go all the way to Pennsylvania to get our accordions repaired because there's no one around here that does it.

- Really?

Not even in the Chicago area?

- No, not really.

- Oh, that's crazy.

- Yeah.

- And how long did it take you to find that?

- Well, we bought a few accordions from that man, and he's very trustworthy, so.

- But you said most of them are now made, and this says Dino Baffetti.

- Dino Baffetti.

And by the way, this factory just had a fire, and everything was burned in it, so I don't know if they'll be making any more Dino Baffettis.

But it's a very old company, and they're made in Castelfidardo, Italy.

And that's where they make most of them.

- [Christine] So do you have a favorite?

- [Judy] No.

- No?

- But I don't oftentimes know what one I'm gonna play till the morning I get up, and I say, "That's the one that wants to go."

So I grab that one and go.

- So you hear it.

- Mm-hm, it tells me.

- It's playing a tune to you.

Yeah, how about you, Bob?

You've got four black ones.

- Yes, I like the little one I play now, the Scandalli, because it mates well with Judy's accordion.

- Oh, and that's what you said.

You have to pair them.

That's really interesting.

Do you have any favorite songs?

Well, you know, we didn't do the "Beer Barrel Polka."

- No.

- We're gonna have a couple of songs here in a minute.

We didn't do the "Beer Barrel Polka," but a lot of people like that.

That gets 'em going.

- They do.

We're frankly very tired of it.

(laughs) - Okay.

- But we had somebody in the audience the other day ask what our favorite song to play is, and it is called "Only You" by the Platters.

It's a '50s song, and it is just absolutely beautiful.

That's it.

So that's our favorite song.

- Okay, all right.

- Very good.

- Well, thank you, yeah.

I can't play, but I can get out a little tune.

Is that your favorite too, Bob, or do you have another one?

- Yes, it is, especially when she announces it 'cause she says, "Only You."

- "Only You," Bob.

- That means only me, right?

(all laughing) - So how long did it take you to develop this little shtick?

You met through the Accordion Club, yeah.

And so how long did it take you to say, "Hey, this is the Bob and- - [Christine and Judy] Judy.

- Accordion duo.

We started right away, actually, because the club did dissolve.

I was the director for quite a few years, and president, and seems like it's one of those things where it just ends when- - When it ends.

- It just ends.

- Right, well, but- - And people die.

- That was during COVID, too, wasn't it?

- And we kept right on playing right through COVID.

And so it does take a while to learn how to play with another person together.

(laughs) It really does.

It's almost easier to play by yourself.

But we developed it pretty fast, and it keeps getting, I think, better and better.

- Good for you.

So you're making appearances, and how far away do you go?

- Well, we go Chicago, St. Louis.

That would be probably the limit that way.

We play in Pontiac.

We play in Springfield, mm, you know, Bloomington, all over.

- Just wherever you're asked to do it.

- Yeah, right.

- Okay.

So you like "Only You," but do you like polkas better or waltzes better when you're playing for groups like that, or?

- We combine.

It's almost like investment.

You don't invest in one company.

Well, you don't play all one type of song because people will get very bored.

- Do they get up and dance too?

- We have, we've had people dance with walkers before.

- Is that right?

- Or they want me to dance with 'em.

I do the bunny hop sometimes.

- [Christine] Not with the accordion though.

- Yes, with it on.

- Oh, really?

- Yes.

- [Christine] I have to see that.

- No.

(all laughing) But anyway, yeah, we definitely make it so it's a variety.

Even the Mardi Gras, I throw other stuff in there, you know.

- But like you said, well, you started in an early age, kind of let it fade for a while, then came back.

So you had to retrain yourself.

You can read music.

- Correct.

Correct.

- But you learned.

You're never too old to learn.

- And that's what I tell everybody where we play because, how do you play that?

I say I didn't start till I was 55.

Everybody can do this.

Now, I've given lessons to, let's say, ICC students or something.

They think they're gonna learn in a month.

- Okay.

- They get very disappointed and very discouraged.

(laughs) You're not gonna learn that fast.

- Well, they'll learn some of the notes, but you have to practice a lot.

And when they get busy, they don't have time.

- The deal is it's a three-part machine.

You got the keyboard, which is like a piano, but you can't look.

You can't look at your keyboard.

And then you have the bellows, which gives you volume and expression, most important part of the accordion, and then the bass and the bass chords.

So it's all that together.

- [Christine] Well, and you can't really look.

- [Judy] You can't.

- It's in the way.

- Yeah, it is, yeah.

- All right, well, we're just about out of time.

We're gonna hear some of the songs.

We're gonna hear "Just Because," and Frankie Yankovic made that one pretty popular back in the day.

And then the "Blue Skirt Waltz," which is another favorite of mine, and then the "Euclid Vet Polka" because I'm from Euclid.

- That's right.

- And I mean, I couldn't do a show without representing my heritage, right?

- Right.

- Well, thanks so much for being here and- - It was fun.

- Good to learn more about you guys too.

- Thanks for having us.

- Yeah, and when I have another family reunion, you're coming back.

- All right, we'll be there.

- Okay.

- Thank you.

- So until next time, be well just because.

(Judy laughs) (jovial accordion music) (jovial accordion music continues) (jovial accordion music continues) (jovial accordion music continues) (jovial accordion music continues) (audience applauds) (Christine speaks faintly) (slow easygoing accordion music) (slow easygoing accordion music continues) (slow easygoing accordion music continues) (slow easygoing accordion music continues) (slow easygoing accordion music continues) (slow easygoing accordion music continues) (audience applauds) Okay, one more short.

You did that polka.

(lively accordion music) (lively accordion music continues) (lively accordion music continues) (lively accordion music continues) (lively accordion music continues) (audience applauds) Yeah!

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