If we were just two guitars, bass, and drums, we would be like every other band trying to get a deal down in L.A., " said Paul Rogers of the eccentric roots-rock band Those Darn Accordions!. "But we never have a problem getting press, do you know what I mean?"

Indeed they don't. Since their inception 11 years ago, the unconventional Bay Area band comprising five accordions (initially there were a whopping dozen), bass, and drums, seems to be gaining ground in the often-fickle music industry, where accordions are viewed as ethnic folk devices played by yahoos from North Dakota. It's been a constant uphill battle, but if you've seen where Paul Rogers, Big Lou, Flying Patty, Art Peterson, Suzanne Garramone, Lewis Wallace, Bill Schwartz, and even 86-year-old (now honorary) member Clyde Forsman have been, you'd understand why.

But the irony of it all is Those Darn Accordions! (TDA!) were only meant to be a one-night stand, as the story goes. "Big Lou was offered a gig at a club in San Francisco and didn't know what to do. So she called her friends who played accordion or piano and said just bring an accordion down. We're going to do one night of accordion stuff; we'll just sight-read Beatle songs, 'Beer Barrel Polka' and stuff like that. It was just a joke."

But it was so much fun, some of the members wanted to continue.

By the time Rogers heard about TDA!, the group was into raiding restaurants, barging in and playing the Dick Contino-popularized hit "Lady of Spain" or whatever, then dashing out the back door. "We don't do raids any more, either," the naturally funny Rogers explained. "They were fun but it kind of ruined it for San Francisco...to ever be considered a legitimate band."

Eventually, Rogers was offered the musical directorship of TDA! and he vowed to run it like a real band, not a bunch of knuckleheads fumbling around on stage reading music. "We immediately lost a couple of members because the idea that we are going to have to rehearse and learn stuff was so appalling."

Around 1992, the band wanted to compete in an Italian accordion contest. To raise money for the trip, they played "Lady of Spain" for eight hours straight as an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Facts. Needless to say, it's not one of their favorite songs today unless the tip jar looks pretty enticing.

"We went over there, and there are all these serious accordion players. And we get up there and play 'Stairway to Heaven' in this church, and the judges basically got their heads in their hands. I'm like doing a solo and I got my foot up on this thing which evidently is a prayer stand. I didn't know that. We came in fourth and there were only two contestants [in the pop category]. Nobody got first or second. We were on the front page of the newspaper, they loved us."