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Eric Baal - Band Leader, Accordion and Vocals
As a second generation American, Eric's German heritage brought him to his first "real" accordion job at Maxl's Rathskeller Restaurant in White Plains, NY. Eric had the privilege to play along side an excellent pianist and organ player by the name of Shelly Daum. "Shelly taught me how to play the music that people wanted to hear and dance to." During the 1980's, the integrated circuit and microchip were making their way into mainstream musical instruments. At that time, he took the big leap to MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. His goal was to blend the traditional reed sounds of the accordion with the new sounds available through MIDI. After leaving Maxl's, Eric found a new home at the Bavarian Inn in Garrison, NY where he soloed there for ten years while playing with some bands off and on. After the restaurant closed in 1996, he moved to the Black Forest Mill in Highland Mills, NY, where patrons still enjoy listening and dancing to a wide variety of his music, not to mention the traditional songs of Munich's Oktoberfest. In 2000, Eric had the opportunity to participate in the Y2K Accordion Celebration in Washington DC. Sponsored by the American Accordionist Association, accordionist's from all over the country (and some from overseas) got to participate in workshops, and compete in the various music tracks. Eric has won several awards over the years including 2nd Place Polka Solo at the American Accordionist's Association competition. Whether performing solo or with the Alpine Squeeze! band, Eric succeeds in presenting an even mix of technology with the traditional sounds of the accordion. Although the accordion may still suffer from a bit of "Lawrence Welkism," it remains a passionate instrument which allows him to push the limits of creativity each time he plays. |
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The
music "gene" comes from Eric's mother, who played the accordion as well
as the piano when she was a child. Eric was six years old when he
picked up an accordion for the first time. Weekly lessons with Frank
Vance soon followed until age 14.