By Krisy Gashler
Deseret News staff writer

      Paul Pasquali isn't ashamed to admit that he plays the accordion.
      The oft-ridiculed instrument, most famous for its use on the "Lawrence Welk Show," actually boasts a small but dedicated contingent of players like Pasquali.
 

Paul Pasquali plays and sells accordions. His shop, Accordions International, is in downtown Salt Lake City. Paul Barker, Deseret News

      "Accordion is something that's really personal," Pasquali said. "You're holding it in your arms — it's almost like an extension of yourself."
      The soft-spoken, bespectacled Salt Lake resident says that accordion players are more common than most people realize. "There are accordion players, especially older ones, everywhere."
      He should know — Pasquali is one of about 10 accordion dealers in the country. His small shop, Accordions International, is open weekdays at 2330 S. Main, No. 15, and his wares are available online at www.accordioninfo.com.
      Pasquali is also the only American to have designed his own accordion, the Concerto (most are made in Italy, with a few, cheaper brands made in China).
      But unlike pianists or violinists, accordionists sometimes seem embarrassed about their talent. "Accordion players, I think, oftentimes are quite closeted because of the jokes and things," Pasquali said. "Although they play the accordion, they don't tell people. They don't broadcast it."
      But give them an opportunity to get together with other accordion enthusiasts, and they'll come running.
      Pasquali organized an international accordion convention, held during the past three years in Las Vegas. The first year, 243 people came. The next year, it was 400. This year, more than 500 musicians joined Pasquali for his "Virtually Non-stop Accordion Extravaganza," as it was billed.
      This weekend, Pasquali will be honored by the accordion community as the "honorary director" of the Cotati Accordion Festival in Cotati, Calif. He's receiving the award because of his Las Vegas conventions and his Concerto, which was a breakthrough as the first digital accordion.
      "Basically, (the award) is for someone who's done outstanding things in the accordion community," Pasquali said, looking down modestly but unable to suppress a smile.
      He's joining the ranks of some of his heroes: Art Van Damme, Dick Contino, Anthony Galla-Rini.
      It's a crowning moment for a man who's dedicated his life to the accordion.
      At age 6, Pasquali's parents made him start learning the piano. "I kept saying, 'I wanna play the thing he's playing,' and pointing at the accordionist on 'Lawrence Welk.' " At the time, he didn't even know the name of the instrument. "I kept begging and begging, and finally, at age 8, my parents gave in and got me an accordion."
      As he grew up, Pasquali performed locally as a hobby, but he had no real aspirations of making a living with the accordion. Then one night, while playing at Snowbird, his future took a turn. "After a show, someone came up to me and asked how he could buy an accordion. So I called up Italy," Pasquali said with a laugh. He had learned the language while serving an LDS mission in Rome. "They said, 'You have to buy at least three.' So I thought, 'Well, there's the one to sell, I've been needing a new accordion, and the other one I'll just have forever.'
      "I sold all three within a month. If it hadn't been for that person asking if he could buy an accordion from me, I never would have ended up where I am now."
      Pasquali said he's not worried that demand for his product will wane. Older folks, who grew up when the accordion was cool, are retiring and finding time to renew their interest in the instrument.
      "We have people travel here every month from all over the U.S. and Canada to purchase the Concerto," Pasquali said. "And there are still young people who play."
      They just don't talk about it much.
     

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