Biography

Hello everyone;

Welcome to my web site! My name is Len Gadica from Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada. People have always had trouble pronouncing my name, but it's easy if you remember that it rhymes with pizza! (Ga-dee-tsa). When I do kids shows and tell the kids that, they often end up calling me Mr. Pizza!

I grew up on a farm near Melville, and this area was rich in music, especially “old time” music. There were many bands playing polkas, waltzes etc. at dances on weekends in halls, country schools and house parties throughout Saskatchewan. My dad played the accordion at dances back in the 30's and 40's, and as I was growing up I also took an interest in learning to play the accordion.

I started playing for dances at age 14, and have been doing it ever since. (Over 50 years!) I toured across Canada in the 1970's with a band called “The Rising Sons”, who played in bars and night clubs 6 nights a week. Then in 1976 I settled back in my hometown of Melville and played with the band on weekends. I owned and operated a music store for 12 years at that time, and also taught music lessons.

In 1987 I began performing as a “1 Man Band”, and am still going strong with that. It is similar to karaoke, except I do all the parts. My main instrument is still the accordion, and I record all my background and then play along with it live. I am very fortunate to be very busy playing every weekend, and I am booked well over a year in advance all the time.

I have released my 7th album of all original old time music, and I also have 6 music books available of my tunes, all written for the accordion. It is very gratifying to see that my music books and CD's are spreading all over western Canada and the northern U.S., and many accordion players are learning my music.

Besides playing on weekends, I also am a piano tuner with a large clientele of customers all over the area. I also entertain children at schools, concerts or fairs, and at the other end of the age spectrum, I do many shows for seniors at various gatherings.

To say that I am busy would be an understatement, but as I sang on one of my CD's “I'm a Lucky Man” because I am doing what I love to do, and perhaps bring a bit of happiness to those I play for.

Thanks again for visiting my site, and as Lawrence Welk used to say: “Keep a song in your heart!”