Prost!

Greetings, Scandiavian Fans!

Fall has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The cherry trees over in my grandmother's yard are dropping their amber and brown leaves. We've had our first burst of cloudy, windy, rainy weather. I've changed oil in the Polka Van and it's ready for the trips over the mountains to Leavenworth. Speaking of Leavenworth, Oktoberfest Season is here. We got things kicked off down in Portland at Neumann's German Bakery for their Oktoberfest. They had some excellent food and drinks and a good, lively crowd. Best of all, the Neumanns treated us with true European hospitality, just like we were one of the family.

We'll be doing our first local Oktoberfest on Saturday, September 27th at the Elliott Bay Brewpub in West Seattle. It's one of our favorite venues to play. It's small and intimate but it's always packed with lively fun-loving people. In years past they had the Mariners and Huskies on TV while we played. This year there will be little reason to watch either game. :( You should'nt be watching sports when we're playing, anyway, but I would understand if the M's were in the playoffs or the Dawgs were undefeated. I hope you'll be there for the show. It'll be good.

The following weekend we're playing at Oktoberfest Northwest in Puyallup. It will be nice to play a gig close to home. It will also be nice to share the stage with Grammy-nominated artist LynnMarie Rink and her band. After that it's off to Leavenworth for two weekends, one of those backing up the band Münchener Kindl from Munich. Leavenworth is always one of the most fun events of the year.

Come on out to one of our Oktoberfest performances. It's the magical time of year when, as my late friend Lynn Schaefer used to say, "People tolerate accordion music." Come out and do more than just tolerate, celebrate!

Prost!