Asher is a former a member of the award-winning 18 and under Detroit Grupa Cheoil. Fleadh photos are here.
He has taught concertina at Goderich Celtic College with Frank Edgley, given workshops for The Mississippi Celtic Fest, and now teaches concertina, accordion and tin whistle for the "Detroit Irish Music Association", the Windsor Detroit comhaltas group.
He is a strong supporter of Edgley concertinas, and loves to show them off at any chance he gets.
Hear Asher here
History
I got my first accordion right before my eighth birthday. Well, it was almost an accordion. It was actually a little, red, plastic, toy, melodeon, sort of a thing.
I saw it in a toy store and fell in love with it the minute I laid eyes on it. I begged my parents to get it for me for Christmas.
At first they said, "An accordion?!? What for? Don't you want to play guitar, or penny whistle, or something, uhh, nice?"
Myself and Martin Fay of the Chieftains.
Being known as the unusually persistent, badgering kid that I am, I got the accordion!
The first thing that I learned to play (well kind of anyway) was Deck the halls. Once I had perfected it, my dad helped me along with the ratlin bog by playing it to me on his harmonica.
Since I was already a step dancer, and competing at the Detroit feis, I decided to plunge into my first music competition. I had learned the "Kesh Jig" and the "Ratlin Bog" to my eight year old perfection. Adjudicator Al purcel agreed, and after he stopped laughing, he gave me a gold medal, and told me to come back once I had learned the "Bucks of Orannmore".
Time to get serious.Justin Manning gave me my first real buttoned accordion. It was a black German accordion similar to a honer. I played that for about a year, until Michigan piano accordion player Walter Walsh told me I needed to buy a B.C.irish style box. In fact, every time I ran into another Irish accordion player, they told be to get a B.C. box. Finally friend, fiddler and accordion player, Mick Gavin put us in touch with Mr. buttoned accordion himself (a.k.a., Billy McComiskey) and he helped me buy my present accordion, the saltarelle Irish bouëbe. The good news was it came the day before the fleadh. The bad news was it came the day before the fleadh.
I did a really stupid thing. I took the challenge of switching fingerings and style completely in one day. Of course it did not work out. I was lucky I could play at all, but I lost to a very good player. I wish I could remember his name.
Since that time, I have had tons of fun with my box and also concertina. There have been lots of competitions, performances and a lot more to learn. I have gone to west Virginia to meet and study with Billy McComiskey for a week long workshop twice. I was hired to play 10 tunes in concert with the chieftains when I was ten.
-Written by Asher Perkins at age 13.
