Mrs. Hobbs - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Elegant, but edgy, Mrs. Hobbs is a sultry cabaret singer and accordion player. Mixing and mashing up jazz, rock, glam, tango, punk, gypsy, classical and minimalist influences, her songs are filled with "mood": melancholic, sensuous, humorous. Whether performing original songs or what has been said to be the best interpretations of others' songs, Mrs. Hobbs is changing people's ideas of what accordion music can be.
Mrs. Hobbs came into being in early 2005. Of course, she always had a love of music, having sung in the high school chorus, been a DJ at her college radio station, lived with musicians in a boat community in France (ah! la vie de bohÃ¨me!), and sung lullabies to her daughter, but she had never played an instrument until then.
She taught herself the accordion and started playing around Los Angeles at venues such as Bordello Bar, The Rainbow Bar & Grill, Highways Performance Space, Club Ding-A-Ling, The Mbar, The Talking Stick, The UnUrban, The Abbot Kinney Festival, Robinâ€™s Sculpture Garden, James Gray Gallery, and Elizabeth Paige Smith Atelier.
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Why the accordion? A clear plastic toy accordion was first espied in 2005 and subsequently purchased by "zee artiste", after which a real adult version was acquired.
There is the feeling of strapping it on and holding it to one's chest, the breathing of the accordion upon squeezing, the movement of the bellows.
There are the sounds that resonate, the richness of the tones, the deep bass notes, the high sighs, the fullness of sound, and even sometimes a whisper.
Then there were the years spent in France seeing accordion players in the streets that undoubtably played a part in the love of the accordion....................
In another life she's also a visual artist and designer (all the "album covers" are designed by her)....................
See MrsHobbs.com for more details.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/25/2007
Band Website: MrsHobbs.com
Band Members: Mrs. Hobbs: Vocals, 3-Row Button Hohner Panther Accordion

The band:

Annabelle - Violin
Quentin Josephy - Afro-Cuban Percussion

Other collaborators:
Milo Martin - Poetry
Anne & Jeff Grimaldo of Naked With Shoes - Dance
Poli Marichal - Shadow puppets
Stefan Fabry & Mitra Martin - Tango Dancers

Influences: Practically everything but polka! Jazz, rock, blues, tango, bossa nova, glam, punk, French chanson, and more........................

FAVORITE BANDS WITH ACCORDIONS, BANDONEONS, ETC.: Gotan Project, Bajofondo Tango Club, Astor Piazzola, Beirut, Arcade Fire, Nouvelle Vague, Les Negresses Vertes, The Pogues, Tom Waites, Nick Cave, Vagabond Opera, Alec K Redfearn and the Eyesores, Cat Hair Ensemble, Fishtank Ensemble, Jessica Fichot, Mrs. Brown's Lovely Daughter, Jason Webley, Radio Fantastique, Jeffrey Butzer, Squeeze-bot, Stars of Aviation, Alarm Will Sound........................

FAVORITE SINGERS: Jesca Hoop, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, Astrud Gilberto, Chet Baker, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Jane Birkin, Sia (of Zero 7), Camille (of Nouvelle Vague), Holly Golightly, Mama Cass, Nico, Cat Power, Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth), Sabina Sciubba (of Brazilian Girls), Alison Goldfrapp (of Goldfrapp)........................

OTHER FAVORITE MUSICIANS/BANDS: Serge Gainsbourg, Django Reinhardt, Thelonious Monk, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Air, Beck, The Like, The White Stripes, The Lost & Wandering Jazz & Blues Band, Mulatu Astatki, Sigur Ros, Stereolab, Dengue Fever.

Sounds Like:Comments at performances include: "eclectic", "cinematic", "erotic", "weird but good".

Coming Home - Mrs Hobbs & the Q & A - LA Accordion Festival 2008

March of the Tango by Mrs Hobbs & The Q & A - Accordion Festival

This Tree Called Love by Mrs Hobbs with puppet show at festival

Mrs. Hobbs performing Autumn Leaves at Bordello

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Naked With Shoes & Mrs Hobbs - 365 @ Highways - Click Clack

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Mrs. Hobbs in QuattroFormaggio - Accordion Descending

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Check out more videos in my videos section.
Record Label: none
Type of Label: None

My Blog

LA Accordion Festival - May 30-June 1, 2008

Well, the LA Accordion Festival was a lot of fun. I was so happy to launch my new band with Annabelle Cabrera on violin and Quentin Josephy on percussion there. I think we're pretty hot together. It w...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:32:00 PST

Hula-hooping & new band

Yesterday was a great day! Started by picking up accordions that had been in the shop at Dave's Accordion School. It's always great to go there. They are so nice, it's so fun to be surrounded by all t...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:11:00 PST

I was GIVEN an accordion!

I got given an accordion the other day. Yes, GIVEN! How often does that happen? I went to my local open mic (The Talking Stick in Santa Monica), and saw this older gentleman, Earl, that I've seen ther...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:36:00 PST

Bands with Accordions

Bands with accordions that I've seen recently who rock include: Cat Hair Ensemble (they really swing as well as rock - I want a cd when it comes out); Vermillion Lies (I was impressed that both sis...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Wed, 16 May 2007 12:22:00 PST

Bordello gig - May 2007

The May 8 show at Bordello was fabulous! First of all, the look of the club is gorgeous. It's velvet-red-gold-ornate-baroque-fin-de-siecle-decadant loveliness. I was the opening act. I stripped some g...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Fri, 11 May 2007 04:21:00 PST

Inspiring Concerts

Just saw Vagabond Opera at McCabe's Guitar in Santa Monica. They were fabulous! Great outfits, great flair, great accordions, great music. I think they deserve a bigger stage though.Speaking of bigger...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:39:00 PST

Collaborations

Recently started playing with a violinist friend. Soon to start collaborating with the modern dance company, Naked With Shoes.Interested in meeting other musicians in L.A. who like similar music and w...
Posted by Mrs. Hobbs on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:07:00 PST