Accordions
Benjamin Bernthal is a poet and a songwriter. As the front man for the band Accordions, Bernthal indulges his love for verbal imagery and combines it with melodies that get into your head and make themselves at home. Collaboration is at the heart of Accordions method. Friends from other bands often join in, making no two performances the same and making each recording into a celebration. Accordions believe their music comes from many places: discovering a way of playing an old forgotten instrument, passionately expressing age-old truths through these newly discovered means, and most of all a sort of gritty sincerity that permeates the songs.
Albums
11 songs
The Moon at Half-Mast is Accordions\' second and final full-length album. It was recorded at Butler University\'s studios from November 2010 to May 2011.
The Moon at Half-Mast was self-released in a limited run of only 300 copies, in support of Accordions\' European tour in the summer of 2011. The album was illustrated by the talented Sara Drake.
Shortly after its release, Accordions lost an integral part of the group, bassist Paul Cobb, to an accidental death. Accordions performed a handful of shows in support of Paul\'s posthumously released 7", Hammer Screwdriver\'s \'Bad Handshake,\' but ultimately decided to disband.
The album\'s liner notes begin with this epigram from poet Philip Appleman:
"A man who was immortal
would be as ugly
as a plastic flower."
4 songs
Early recordings from the band\'s first months together in the summer and fall of 2008. Yours to keep!
Benjamin Bernthal - Autoharp, piano, ukulele, saw, percussion, vocals
Joseph Kilbourn - Guitar, mandolin
Ben Leslie - Trumpet
Alisha Garrison - Voice, bells
Adam Gross - guitar
Steve Trowbridge - Drum set, banjo, slide whistle
with Nate Hamilton - Euphonium