THEY ALL have histories spanning centuries. But the accordion, ukulele and klezmer music are experiencing a rebirth. Those Old World, old-timey sounds that used to be more hip to your grandparents are making a comeback...Here are some musicians in the Bay Area that are producing these eclectic sounds and some places where you can experience the revival.

The Accordion
Tara Linda is a former punk rock drummer who gave up the sticks, at least for now, for the accordion. When Linda, a Hohner-endorsed button accordion player, starts playing the instrument, she emanates a calm, serene vibe. She squeezes out mesmerizing desert cabaret and mostly upbeat Tex-Mex on her accordions and sings to the rhythms she creates.

"You can just feel how emotive it is," Linda says as she gently taps out a waltz she penned in her Oakland home. "An accordion really tugs at the heartstrings."

Although she easily fell in love with the accordion, her affinity for the much-maligned instrument was a tough sell to her old punk-rock buddies. She lost friends, she jokes, when she started on the squeezebox about eight years ago. But what she gained is something much deeper — a connection to an instrument that has its own heritage and legacy.
"It's like a trip around the world," she says. "The accordion connects you to music from all over the globe."

And with bands such as award-winning Canadian indie rock group Arcade Fire incorporating the accordion into their musical repertoire, the instrument is distancing itself from the days when the accordion was just something your uncle from the homeland would play at family events.
Linda is Miss November in the 2010 West Coast Accordion Babes calendar. The calendar, which sold out in three weeks last year, includes a CD of the pin-ups' work along with sultry images of some of the state's best female accordion musicians. She is also currently recording a "tortilla western" album, one that blends spaghetti western, indie and Tex-Mex styles. Full article