The story of a great (and modest!) band...
The Internationals™ actually started out with a different name, but that was so long ago that it's hardly worth mentioning. The accordion was a brand new instrument back then, and drums had only just been perfected. It was way back in what is often referred to as the "olden days".
Decades of Dance
The band has been together for decades, and yet they continue to draw a full house wherever they go.
How do they do it?
Read on...
(For those that don't know the meaning of the "olden days", think of a time long ago when Portor's drum heads were actually made out of animal hides, Bobby's accordion was the same model used by Lawrence Welk, and Stevie's "bass" was a bass fiddle because no one but those good-for-nothing long-haired freaks like the Beatles included an electric bass in the band. I mean really, what did the Beatles have that The Internationals™ don't? Huh?!? Oh sure, they had great music, and nifty costumes, and they were young and good looking, and oh yeah, they made a bloody fortune, but otherwise, what's the difference? But I digress...).
Bobby and Portor were together from the beginning -- playing in bands even while in high school -- whereas Stevie came along during Bobby's college years. By comparison, Jan is practically a newcomer. What follows is a (very) brief account of the progression of the band's existence.
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Portor and Bobby went different ways after high school -- Portor was off to join the military, while Bobby headed off to college. But they were destined to link up once again when they both returned to the San Francisco Bay Area.
By this time, Bobby had been inviting Stevie to play in the band on a regular basis. Bobby and Stevie had met at college, and became fast friends. It turns out that Steve, who was known to most of us as a tuba player back then, was a pretty decent bass fiddle player as well. And what do you know... he can sing! So it wasn't long before Stevie was a part of the newly named band, The Internationals™.
From the beginning, the focus was on playing a variety of music genres and styles (hence the name!). Naturally, they played all the European dance favorites -- polkas, waltzes, schottiches, etc. -- and also mixed in traditional favorites from a variety of European countries. In addition, they played a smattering of American classics from a wide variety of genres. It wasn't uncommon to hear a polka followed by a country western classic!
Over the years, The Internationals™ have historically played primarily as a quartet. Early on, it was two accordions, bass and drums. Later, it was accordion, trumpet, bass and drums. And then for a spell, it was just a trio... you guessed it: accordion, bass and drums.
The trio configuration actually lasted for a number of years. But after a while, the boys decided it was time to bring a horn player back into the group. Enter Jan.
Jan had been playing for many years in his father's band. But as time went on, he started to venture out to other bands now and then. As it turns out, the experience of playing with a number of different bands helped him to develop into quite the versatile musician.
His travels eventually included an occasional evening with The Internationals™, and it wasn't hard to figure out that this combination sounded pretty good! And not only did this four-piece combo sound good, but the addition of Jan expanded the band's horizons, so to speak. With his ability to speak (and sing) in three languages, and play (at least) 8 different instruments, the band found itself capable of tackling music that would have been much more difficult with only three members.
So when The Internationals™ took a vote on the category, "Most Likely To Become A Regular Member of the Band", Jan won hands down. The rest, as they say, is history.
And there you have it. Three-plus decades condensed into about a dozen paragraphs. (Hey, when we say "brief", we aren't kidding!)
