Linda Seekins: Shakin’ By Day, Squeezin’ By Night

The 56-year-old Bay-Area native didn’t begin her musical career with the accordion. “I was a piano player until about 20 years ago,” Linda says. She moved to Austin in the mid-’70s, and began playing with country bands. “In central Texas, if you play country music, you’re sort of expected to play a bit of accordion. So I picked it up, and played it sort of as an adjunct to the piano. But after a while I noticed that every time I pulled it out, people would just go nuts!”

How did Linda earn the moniker Big Lou? It all started after she moved back to California. “I was in a rockabilly band in the early ’80s. It was an all-girl rockabilly band. I’m about 5' 10" — 6' 1" in heels. I was a good four inches taller than any of the other women in the band.” They gave her the name Big Lou, and it stuck. These days, she plays as a solo act, and with her band — Big Lou’s Polka Casserole. Linda says certain months are busier than others. “I play three or four times a week in September and October, and then I play a whole lot in wedding season, in June and July, ’cause I play French music. It’s very romantic.”

Making the transition from piano to accordion isn’t a piece of cake, says Linda. “If you don’t use your left hand it’s really easy,” she explains. “The only thing that a piano player has to pay attention to is phrasing, or breathing [compressing and expanding the bellows].  That’s kind of a sure giveaway when accordion players listen to piano players who don’t really learn how to play the accordion.”  

But if you really want to learn the instrument, you’ll have to master the matrix of buttons on the left side of the accordion. Some are pressed to play chords, and others are used for individual notes, she says. “I know it just looks like you can’t possibly ever understand it,” Linda says with a smile. “It took me about five years. My advice to piano players is put some colored dots on your favorite keys, and practice in front of a mirror.”

Linda Seekins, or Big Lou, has quite a collection of accordions to choose from when it’s time to hit the stage. One of her favorites is an old Hohner. “Soon it will need all new reeds,” she says, “which is a very expensive proposition.” Her arsenal also includes a couple of Weltmeister accordions and two Petosas — one of which has a set of internal K & K microphones. When a venue calls for the use of a sound system, she feeds the audio from her accordion and a Shure SM57 vocal mic into a Yamaha EMX66 powered mixer, which drives a couple of older speaker cabinets. “On very rare occasions, where I want to amplify only the accordion,” she says, “I use an old Polytone amp, left over from my piano playing days.”

Linda calls two instruments her pride and joy. “The one that bears the name ‘Big Lou’ is a Colombo, made in San Francisco, probably around 1930.” Her other treasure is an Ancona. “It was probably made in about 1930,” Linda says. “It sounds like angels singing. I think I get gigs because that accordion sounds so gorgeous.”

Linda Seekins loves the work she does for the government — monitoring earthquakes and all. But she’s not about to give up playing the music that gets things shaking when polka fans hit the dance floor. “I do a lot of solo work. It’s very lucrative, and kind of fun, ’cause you get to go to all of these cool parties.” Her ensemble, Big Lou’s Polka Casserole, hits the road every now and then. “The band travels whenever we can. We’ve been to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin once or twice.” But some of the most fun Linda has as Big Lou the Accordion Princess happens when she’s playing solo. “I provide atmosphere for wedding rehearsal dinners and winery parties. I get to go to a lot of places I normally would never be invited to, and I love that.”

WHOLE LOTTA POLKA GOIN’ ON

Linda “Big Lou” Seekins played the piano before she rolled out the accordion and became a polka princess. Her biggest influence on 88 keys was The Killer himself, Jerry Lee Lewis. For a nice sampling of Jerry Lee’s rock and country tunes — including some of his legendary work for Sun records — check out the 2006 release, The Definitive Collection.

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Definitive Collection (Hip-O Records)
When it comes to accordion idols, one of her favorites is the late Clifton Chenier, a master of the blend of Cajun, Creole, jazz, and blues known as zydeco. Chenier won a Grammy for his 1982 album I’m Here!, which features Clifton and his Red Hot Louisiana Band wailing on tunes like the rockin’ “I’m the Zydeco Man.”

Clifton Chenier, I’m Here! (Alligator Records)

BIG LOU IN CYBERSPACE

Linda Seekins and her band, Big Lou’s Polka Casserole, promote upcoming gigs and sell CDs (including their latest effort, Doctors of Polka-Ology) online at www.accordionprincess.com. Linda is also an Internet DJ. You can hear her spinning some of favorite polka hits at www.247polkaheaven.com.