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March 2024
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Whatchamacallit 90: Accordion Player by Randy Leblanc

Accordion Player by Randy Leblanc

Back in the summer of 2001, I visited one of my friends who was, for that summer, doing an internship (I believe that is the correct word) with an organization near Lafayette, Louisiana.

While visiting we did a number of cool things, including going to the 13th Annual “Le Cajun” Cajun Music Association Festival & Awards Show and to the Delcambre Shrimp Festival. Both of these events stand out in my mind: the former because that is where I first heard Feu Follet, a band of (then) very young Cajun musicians – who then came to Bloomington to perform, thus making it one of two bands that I have seen multiple times in multiple cities. The latter is memorable for obscure reasons, centering on the fact that the shrimp festival was not actually that interesting – and how somebody else reacted to that news.

Back to the above accordion player: I bought the metal sculpture while attending Le Cajun Festival. The piece is by Randy Leblanc – who is still in the metal business, having started a company, Metal Head Inc. – and cost me $20. I know the artist and the price because I’ve never removed the tag attached to the man’s left foot.

The piece was prominently displayed while I lived in Bloomington, but it did not make the leap across the ocean until much later – so it spent some time in storage. It lives on the side table next to my dining table, adjacent to the whisk(e)y collection, so I see it fairly often.

I really like its inherent whimsy. Looking at it reminds me of the Cajun music festival and of my trip into Louisiana that summer.

Looking at the Metal Head website, it is clear that Randy is incredibly talented and that if I needed a fence or any kind of metal work – and I lived within a reasonable distance of him – I’d hire him.


During the Covid-19 crisis, I am going to try and make a point of writing a blog post about an object in my home.

We’ll see how long this lasts.

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