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Lights, Camera, Accordion!: Eye-Popping Photographs of "Weird Al" Yankovic, 1981–2006
“Weird Al” Yankovic continues as one of our most beloved comedians, actors, and musicians. A skilled accordion player and lyricist, the California native not only crafts meticulous parodies, but also creates hilarious originals and pop culture-themed polkas. Now in his fifth decade of recording and performing, Al has maintained a career that has outlasted many of the artists that he has lampooned.
Since 1980, Al’s drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz has been by his side, photographing and documenting his career. Jon has taken more than 20,000 images of Al in his element: on tour, in the studio, on video sets, and backstage.
Lights, Camera, Accordion! presents over 300 images of Al, culled from Jon’s personal collection of color photography, all restored from the original negatives. This exhaustive volume represents the 25 years that Jon shot Al on 35mm color film, from 1981 to 2006, before switching to digital photography. Jon additionally provides previously unheard stories and anecdotes throughout.
From “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon” to later classics such as “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” and the Star Wars parody “The Saga Begins,” Lights, Camera, Accordion! showcases a body of work that spans ten albums, five Grammys, and nearly 2,000 concerts to millions of fans – and is packed with the weirdness and fun that always surrounds the undisputed king of comedic music.
Since 1980, Al’s drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz has been by his side, photographing and documenting his career. Jon has taken more than 20,000 images of Al in his element: on tour, in the studio, on video sets, and backstage.
Lights, Camera, Accordion! presents over 300 images of Al, culled from Jon’s personal collection of color photography, all restored from the original negatives. This exhaustive volume represents the 25 years that Jon shot Al on 35mm color film, from 1981 to 2006, before switching to digital photography. Jon additionally provides previously unheard stories and anecdotes throughout.
From “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon” to later classics such as “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” and the Star Wars parody “The Saga Begins,” Lights, Camera, Accordion! showcases a body of work that spans ten albums, five Grammys, and nearly 2,000 concerts to millions of fans – and is packed with the weirdness and fun that always surrounds the undisputed king of comedic music.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2022
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 26, 2023
I love Weird Al and his music, and even still I have no idea why this book exists. I would say the same thing if the subject were a president or Leonardo da Vinci or something. I'm not even giving it a bad rating--I didn't dislike it--I'm just left puzzled.
January 5, 2023
We seem to be in an unprecedented era of Al-related works. Since he released his Squeeze Box collection in 2017, there have been numerous books, podcasts, television & movie appearances, and more to solidify his place in the pantheon of entertainers. Bermuda's book does much to capture Al's rise to this level. Bermuda's previous book, Black & White & Weird All Over, is a much more focused work; it deals with four music video shoots and two recording sessions. While some decried the lack of writing to correspond with the pictures, it doesn't need much in the way of captions or text to accompany it. This book, however, deals with much larger time frames, and while Bermuda does provide context at the start of each section/album, I think the book would have been better served to provide more specific captions as the book goes on instead of lumping them all together on one page. Regardless, it's interesting insight into Al and those who work with him. I particularly like and appreciate the pictures that show a side of Al who isn't on all the time, pictures that show a person instead of a persona.
October 26, 2022
As someone who reads and reviews a lot of ARC’s, every now and then I request certain ones for purely selfish reasons and this was one of those books. “Lights, Camera, Accordion!” by Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (the longtime drummer for “Weird Al” Yankovic) is the second book of his photography, following the 2020 release of “Black & White & Weird All Over”.
Full disclosure: I am a complete and total mega fan of Al. I have seen him perform 6 times (more than any other artist) and I own every one of his albums. He became popular when I was young and nerdy myself (now I am simply old and nerdy), and I latched on to his music and humor immediately. This book was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
This books spans the years 1981-2006 and several of his hit records. Schwartz did a wonderful job documenting these moments. I loved seeing the early years along with shots from music video, concerts and recording sessions. Al’s career is one for the ages and getting this “behind the scenes” look was quite nostalgic. This book includes a foreword by Drew Carey, who really sums up why Al is still so beloved: “It’s like he’s from another planet where no one is sad around him since he’s so cool.” And I guarantee that you will be nothing but smiles after paging through this incredible album of memories.
Full disclosure: I am a complete and total mega fan of Al. I have seen him perform 6 times (more than any other artist) and I own every one of his albums. He became popular when I was young and nerdy myself (now I am simply old and nerdy), and I latched on to his music and humor immediately. This book was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
This books spans the years 1981-2006 and several of his hit records. Schwartz did a wonderful job documenting these moments. I loved seeing the early years along with shots from music video, concerts and recording sessions. Al’s career is one for the ages and getting this “behind the scenes” look was quite nostalgic. This book includes a foreword by Drew Carey, who really sums up why Al is still so beloved: “It’s like he’s from another planet where no one is sad around him since he’s so cool.” And I guarantee that you will be nothing but smiles after paging through this incredible album of memories.
December 15, 2022
Interesting that now, B&W photography seems more "artistic," even though color photos cost nothing extra. I kind of preferred the previous book, with its B&W style. Still, many wonderful shots and insights (visually; really would've loved captions, even if it wasn't for every shot).
April 3, 2024
I've been a "Weird Al" fan since around 1983 or '84, when his "Eat It", a parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It", was in heavy rotation on the radio station I listened to at the time. I think the first album of his I bought was his third, 1985's Dare to be Stupid, which had a Star Wars song, "Yoda", on it. I bought his first two albums shortly after that, but I don't think I bought any more until Running With Scissors came out in 1999, because it had Al's second Star Wars parody, "The Saga Begins". I eventually ended up owning all Al's studio albums (excluding compilations and greatest-hits collections) until streaming made album-buying pointless.
This collection of over 300 photos of Al and his band spans the years 1981 to 2006. The pictures were taken by his drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz. The book ends in 2006 because that's when Schwartz switched over entirely to digital cameras. These photos are all colour film pictures.
The book is divided into chapters that roughly correspond to album releases and associated tours. The major exception is the mid-'80s to early '90s, where one chapter covers three albums, because those albums didn't do so well and Al didn't tour. Schwartz provides a one-page overview of the period at the beginning of each chapter and then presents the photos, which include shots in the studio, behind-the-scenes shots of making music videos, and shots from being on tour. There are quite a few shots of Al sleeping on buses or in airports. He seems to still be able to fold himself up like... well, an accordion, to sleep in tiny spaces, like auditorium seats.
It's just fun to see Al and his band having fun. It was interesting to watch his bandmates age over the 25-year span of the photos, but Al himself seems almost unchanged (aside from finally ditching his glasses after laser vision surgery and varying hair and moustache styles).
It's not like these are great artistic photos. They're mostly like anyone's family photos at home or on vacation. This is a thick, heavy book. The photos are printed on quality paper, but the book binding is delicate. I could hear and see some separation of the binding occasionally. I recommend handling the book carefully and don't open it too widely.
For "Weird Al" fans, this is a fun look into the life of a rock star who's a little too white and nerdy.
This collection of over 300 photos of Al and his band spans the years 1981 to 2006. The pictures were taken by his drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz. The book ends in 2006 because that's when Schwartz switched over entirely to digital cameras. These photos are all colour film pictures.
The book is divided into chapters that roughly correspond to album releases and associated tours. The major exception is the mid-'80s to early '90s, where one chapter covers three albums, because those albums didn't do so well and Al didn't tour. Schwartz provides a one-page overview of the period at the beginning of each chapter and then presents the photos, which include shots in the studio, behind-the-scenes shots of making music videos, and shots from being on tour. There are quite a few shots of Al sleeping on buses or in airports. He seems to still be able to fold himself up like... well, an accordion, to sleep in tiny spaces, like auditorium seats.
It's just fun to see Al and his band having fun. It was interesting to watch his bandmates age over the 25-year span of the photos, but Al himself seems almost unchanged (aside from finally ditching his glasses after laser vision surgery and varying hair and moustache styles).
It's not like these are great artistic photos. They're mostly like anyone's family photos at home or on vacation. This is a thick, heavy book. The photos are printed on quality paper, but the book binding is delicate. I could hear and see some separation of the binding occasionally. I recommend handling the book carefully and don't open it too widely.
For "Weird Al" fans, this is a fun look into the life of a rock star who's a little too white and nerdy.
October 9, 2024
Nice full and half page photographs of Weird Al and the band from throughout their history. The pictures are organized by tour with a little write up before each section. I do think little blurbs with each photo may have worked better but this was still fun to flip through for any Weird Al fan.
November 14, 2022
Great pictures, not enough text
November 30, 2022
Forward by Drew Carey and commentary by Bermuda are all well done. The photos are a nice collection.
January 31, 2023
Got this for my boys, but enjoyed taking a look myself.
January 5, 2024
If you are even remotely a Weird Al fan, this book will delight you. Every photo is good fun and brought a smile to my face with every page turn.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews