San-Antonio Polka (French Edition)

Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet – ‘Polka – Worldwide Deluxe Edition’ (Album Review)

Young people flocked to hear him. Courtesy Texas Folklife hide caption. As popular as zydeco is in Texas, conjunto music is just as popular, and its heritage just as rich. Santiago and his little brother Flaco Jimenez from San Antonio are two kings of the conjunto. It's music played with a button accordion, a big string guitar called a bajo sexto, bass and drums.

Although the song "Viva Seguin" is clearly Tejano music — music made by Hispanics in Texas — listen carefully and you can hear a polka, with electric bass taking the place of the tuba. These days, conjunto music, like zydeco, is as popular as ever in Texas. Young accordion stars wield their instruments like lead guitars, spinning, stomping and dancing across the stage. While it's mostly men behind the squeeze box, there are female stars, too.

One of the first and still one of the best is Eva Ybarra, known as "Queen of the Accordion. Ybarra is just over 5 feet tall, and if you didn't hear it, you'd never believe that such a voice could emerge from such a small package. Ybarra started singing and playing conjunto in the ice houses of San Antonio when she was just Teenage girls weren't supposed to play the accordion with lusty abandon in the early s; they weren't supposed to play it at all.

On one occasion, after some of the audience shouted out "Eva! Being a curiosity was one thing; outshining male musicians was another. Her mother had to pick her up. Your key is the accordion. If conjunto and zydeco are still attracting plenty of talented young Texas accordion players, German and Czech polka, the wellspring, aren't doing quite as well. While there are still German and Czech communities in the Texas hill country, they are no longer bound together by language.

Their children and grandchildren mostly listen to rock or country, but there are exceptions. Rybak is Czech; his family has been in Texas since He got his first accordion at age My dad had a polka band and still does, and the biggest training I had was just going to the dances and listening on the sidelines. While a band along the Texas border can make a living playing only conjunto, and a band in Houston can do the same playing only zydeco, a young German or Czech accordion player is wise to play a broad repertoire.

Rybak, a young husband with a 3-month-old baby girl, plays traditional polka, of course. But he also plays zydeco, conjunto and country, multiplying his chances for work. He makes solo albums, spends a few weeks in the summer playing festivals in Italy, Austria and Germany — it's not a bad life. Rybak plays a Roland digital accordion, a new kind of accordion which allows him to shade the sound in different ways.

At times, he can make it sound a little violiny, or fiddly. This coming weekend in Houston is the biggest accordion festival in the state. Many of the state's best accordion players — young and old, including Rybak — will gather for the Accordion Kings and Queens competition.

Their loyal followers, hundreds of German Texans, Hispanic Texans, Cajun Texans and just plain old Texans, will dance, all together, in front of the stage. The restaurant owned by accordionist Gene Hackemack, was a German-themed restaurant complete with accordion virtuoso Jason Keepers Enzian Buam providing most of the musical entertainment. Tim had been learning the accordion, and working with Jason upped his skill level considerably.

Why, I bet my young dishwasher could play. Tim would take the stage, fumble around a few minutes, and then leap right into several songs. The crowd loved it. John asked Tim to join them on stage. Tim said playing those few songs with his musical heroes was one of his best times ever on stage. When Tim and Alicia were married in , guess who played for the wedding - the Dujkas - and Tim got to serenade Alicia from the stage for the second time wearing a tuxedo. After graduation and marriage to Alicia, music kind of fell by the wayside as he focused on making a living.

Then, out of the blue he received a phone call from Texas Dream. He had sold off most of his equipment including his keyboard.

After a quick trip to Collins Music in El Campo, he bought a keyboard, his natural musicianship kicked in, and by Saturday Tim was on stage and played with them for two more years. These were very formative years as he learned stagecraft and explored musical boundaries with the band. This gave him an opportunity to begin occasionally sitting in with CTS. Holding down the keyboard, saxophone, and accordion positions in CTS, Tim was able to play the music that his dad loved so much and, thanks to the Dujka Brothers, Tim felt at home with. The five-piece group plays a wide range of music from country to polkas to rock, and is composed of some members who also play in a favorite band based in Fayetteville called Central Texas Sounds CTS.

Alicia, on trumpet, accordion, and vocals rounds out the sound of LCB. His father, Dan, was one of the twin fiddles in the band that played major dance halls such as Magnolia Gardens and Dancetown. Joey was singing with them at the age of seven and soon was playing rhythm guitar for several years. When CTS had an opening for a guitarist, Joey jumped in and began a long run with them providing spot-on classic country guitar licks.

Spencer, who spends his days as an inspector for the City of Giddings, began learning his stagecraft in a country band in the Giddings area in the mids. Spence has a philosophy: Once CTS played a battle dance with the Vrazels. As they were setting up drum kits side by side by side, Spencer was a little intimidated. The group plans to record a CD in the near future. LCB members would like to thank the top members of their fan club for the love and support they have received.

If you need a great all-around band for an event, please contact Tim at or Alicia at , but hurry as the dance calendar is filling up rapidly! Musician, arranger, bandleader, vocalist, national festival director, international polka hall of fame trustee, and radio disc jockey, Danny Zapletal of Ennis, Texas knows the polka world. Johnnie dedicated over 48 years to being at the station every Sunday to host his show, and did a fantastic job playing all the requests. Johnnie had a huge following and I just hope that I can continue in the same fashion of playing good polkas and waltzes every Sunday morning.

Taking over for a legend can be worrisome, but DZ said the listeners have embraced his show. I like to play as much music as possible, by as many different bands as possible. There are so many great bands from the past and from the present. I try to play them all including many bands from the Czech Republic. I truly have a lot of fun doing the polka show.

DZ pre-records the show on Thursday nights in his home recording studio from requests that he has received, mostly through email dannyzpolkashow yahoo. It has good drive to it. The crowd always responds well when we play it. Aaron at first was going to shut down the station completely because of growing job and family commitments, but the fans spoke. His job is to make recommendations to the board on hall of fame inductees and music awards by artists from Texas and Southwest U. DZ leads a group of electorates from this region who get to vote on the final nominations ballot.

The dance was held Sat. Not the Broadway musical, but the Ennis-based Czech music ensemble that celebrates its founding 20 years ago. As the band evolved playing countless parties and festivals around North Texas, the band members kept developing new arrangements to old standards that they presented to great acclaim around the Central Texas Polka Triangle Ennis-San Antonio-Houston. What sets CATS apart is the use of the full arrangement of all the songs they play as opposed to just playing the chorus rendition of a song.

On a recent return trip to D. Part of the attraction of CATS is the musical diversity of the musicians. The family connections enhance the vocal harmonies and with two females at the microphones, singing, in addition to playing sax and clarinet, it creates a unique sound in the polka world. Every member of the band is a multi-instrumentalist and are vocally accomplished. John Schumacher, bass and vocals, came to the band after having played with The Czech Harvesters a few years before; Zeke Martinez , percussion and guitar, has a background in Tejano music.

Raymond had learned music while attending St. He also taught Kenneth and Nick Mikula the fine points of playing trumpet. In his early teens, DZ joined the Dutchmen with a real trumpet. I was 13 years old at the time. Through the years, he continued to play with the Texas Dutchmen, as well as help out a few other bands before cranking up CATS. Living in the Zapletal house meant you were also involved in promoting Czech heritage. The festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in DZ served for 18 years as the director of festival. Michelle has been the secretary of the festival for over 15 years keeping Czech heritage alive in Ennis.

Mark at July 4th St. Dujka Brothers have been performing at the picnic since McKee In a triangle within the towns of East Bernard, Wallis, and Rosenberg is the small community of Tavener, founded as a railroad stop in This flat, fertile blackland area, populated by Czechs in the early s, is well known as a high producer of row crops such as cotton. The Czechs who come from there are men of the soil and the people who till it. Two of these men are the Dujka Brothers , John and Mark.

San-Antonio Polka (San-Antonio #52) by San-Antonio

Their father, Willie, who along with his 14 brothers and sisters, carried on the tradition of their forefathers who conquered this tough black gumbo oasis and raised their family. Their mother, Mary Lou Brossmann from St. John, southwest of Schulenburg, was raised in a similar situation. John and Mark shared the chores around the farm from an early age. John, the oldest, seemed to be musically inclined and was taking piano lessons by the first grade.

Younger brother, Mark, seemed to have the music gene also and began taking piano lessons at the same age. By the time they were in grade school, their music teacher, Jane Turner, owner of Rosenberg Music, confirmed their talent by getting them on television. Every few months through their grade school years they made appearances on the show singing and playing. It was their first taste of bright spotlights and structured performances, but hardly their last.

Most traditional piano lessons are based on classical music, however, Ms. Turner, was open minded and exposed them to other forms of music, opening their minds to country, jazz, and pop sounds. They hadbeen to many picnics and heard bands, but it was their grandfather playing at his house that made a huge impression. Though German, he played many Czech songs which the brothers absorbed and learned on the accordion.

Mark still plays the same accordion on stage. Al has his own band, Al Sulak and the Country Sounds , which has kept the dance floor full for over 30 years with their unique blend of country and polkas. After graduation, Mark started attending college in Wharton as a music major. However, the blackland under his fingernails, spoke to him and he got a degree in agriculture-business at Southwest Texas State University now Texas State University , and came back home to farm with his father.

After 12 years and a bad back, Mark decided to change careers. A local financial institution was looking for a person with a background in agriculture and business. Mark fit the bill perfectly, and soon had a day job, but still farmed in the evenings.

He received lessons on the Czech language in song and how to use the most commonly used lyrics and melodies to make their music even more authentic. John had been playing more frequent solo gigs, but injured his hand, so Mark, who had been learning the bass guitar, stepped in. They found that they made a pretty good duo, but they still just played small events. The Bleiblerville south of Brenham Fish Fry offered them a paying gig and The Dujka Brothers premiered to the general public at this fun little gathering.

Sablatura began encouraging the brothers to make a cassette of their favorite songs. They returned to their roots and recorded their first cassette, At the Dance , in the Tavener house that they grew up in. Their version of The Hills of Shiner Polka was the first song that the brothers heard on the radio, giving them pause to think that maybe that there is a chemistry between them. The song and cassette were received by the public like a fresh batch of kolaches right out of the oven.

From then on the brothers never looked back. John has returned the KULP favor by having his own weekly polka show, which carries on the tradition of playing requests and helping new bands get exposure. The Dujkas have always been very thankful for their fans, and the liner notes on their releases have, whenever space allowed, included English translations of the Czech songs. Just prior to completing the Road to St. John , famed musician and disc jockey Lee Roy Matocha passed away. The brothers went back into the studio and recorded a tribute medley to Lee Roy. The brothers have never had an actual band.

In the beginning, John utilized a drum machine to back his personal piano playing. When Mark joined his brother, he brought saxophone, guitar, and bass instruments, so the drum machine was still used. As the duo began performing at larger venues like the St. John picnic continuous appearances since July , John brought in his laptop computer to produce a fuller sound. Mark and John would record all the necessary parts tuba, sax, drum, guitars themselves to be played later, as if there were five or six Dujka brothers.

This writer remembers a St. John picnic, in the last century, where some of the old timers would walk around the stage looking for all the extra musicians they were hearing. John Picnic , and Pivo and Kolaches, Cerveza and Tamales not only tell of rural culture, but are just plain fun to sing and dance to. John said the Pivo song came about when there seemed to a large number of Hispanics in his music classes.

He is a music professor at Blinn College. A song was born. By the early s, The Dujka Brothers were averaging 75 gigs per year. John has been a professor of music at Blinn College in Brenham since Mark marked his 10th year in the banking business helping farmers and ranchers of his home territory keep the tradition going, and has helped transition his family farm into a cattle business. The Dujka Brothers strive to keep the music vibrant and speak to the heritage of their forefathers. The four winners also received cash prizes and a Polka On!

The winners shared why they entered the contest and their future plans. I wanted to do Sengelmann Hall because of the detail in the architecture. I have been to many Fayette Co. Buildings like these are no longer constructed. I plan on pursuing a career in art. I have never been to a dance hall in Fayette County, but after researching them I want to go and hear some good music! Preservation of the dance halls is very important because it is the same as preserving the culture and the heritage of the people here.

I have been to just about every dance hall in Fayette County. I really enjoy dancing and listening to good Texas country music. Maintaining the dance halls in Fayette County is important because it is a major piece of the culture and history of this area. I would like to attend TSTC after high school to become a diesel mechanic. This gave me a chance to express my appreciation on a larger scale. My piece allowed me to create a representation of Sengelmann Hall without using conventional drawing tools.

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Preservation of the dance halls is important because it gives people a glimpse at how things used to be. My goal is to major in International Business and Marketing. He died from complications of cancer, and his last public appearance was in June. As well, for the last 33 years, the Cotton Eyed Joe has been played during the 7th inning stretch of the Texas Rangers home baseball games. Al developed a special straight and perfect pitch singing style with variations of beats for different styles of the Texas two-step.

As a young musician, I was totally impressed with the outstanding quality of the singing and style of playing by the talented musicians, plus they played most of the latest songs heard on country music radio stations. They also impressed me with their custom-made western suits and 5-inch brim white cowboy hats and boots. I had never seen nor heard of a country band that had a girl drummer. In , he made the decision to go full time in the music business due to the popularity of his music and successful record sales. Over the years, more than 12 musicians played steel guitar in the Al Dean band.

This was a personal challenge and privilege as my predecessor was the late Ray Smith, a very talented musician and long-time Allstar. My career with the band ended in when accepting a shift-work job at a local refinery. I continued to play special events with the band up until a few years ago when I began my DJ services Dancehall Sounds.

I also had the honor of playing steel guitar on the entire album, On The Bandstand recorded in Houston, for the Glad Music record company. Al was easy to please so long as the musicians played the songs his way and kept the music straight without any fancy ad libs. He was very honest and always paid the musicians what was agreed. Al traveled in two different full-size buses over the years and the last bus was the most comfortable as it was fully air conditioned. Bring your own lawn chairs, snacks, and drinks.

Call for information. Your favorite bands have new recordings just in time for holiday giving. Mollie B and Ted Lange have recorded a collection of 15 songs most requested by fans at their performances. North Shore Polka features Ted on Polish vocals. Rock and Roll Waltz is a classic waltz originally performed by Kay Starr, featuring Mollie's vocal talents on this fan favorite. Schneider Polka is a Six Fat Dutchmen number performed on two trumpets and sax, plus accordion, bass, and drums.

Crazy , a lighter ballad sung by Mollie with unique accordion and piano work by Ted, is performed in a jazz ballad style. Waltz of the Angels , is one of the band's most requested waltzes. Beer Mug Polka is one of the standards SqueezeBox plays to get the crowd going. You will hear Mollie's classical training in this song. Polish Boyfriend Polka is one of Mollie's signature songs. The Rose , is a ballad featuring Mollie. Barbara Polka , is a traditional Czech number featuring the button box. This new CD is the third recording for the band. The Little Fishermen CD tracks: Mollie is also offering a special discount to Texas Polka News and polkabeat.

Mollie will send you the discount via PayPal. Inspiration came for the latter tune after Chris and his band performed for a party at the Popeyes headquarters in New Orleans. In addition to Chris on accordion, keyboard, and vocals, the CD features Bonnie Riley on fiddle, Jonathan Statsky on rubboard and vocals, Marvin Kremling on maracas and vocals, Ronnie Hermes on guitar and vocals, and Edita Rybak on vocals.

Available in the Polka On! The band enjoys taking trips to play in new places and looks forward to spreading the joy of polka music for many years to come. Matthew Matous accordion, trumpet, sax, vocals , Chris Trojacek accordion, guitar, trumpet, sax, vocals , Adam Rejcek, drums, vocals, Josh Goodwin, tuba, bass, Zachary Matous keyboard, bass Phillip Cryer sax, guitar, vocals , Tyler Prasifka trumpet, vocals. This CD is non-stop polka party fun! John and Mark have selected 20 great tunes to celebrate their 30 years in the polka party business.

If you love brass in your polka, then this is the CD for you. The band is anchored by original members Dennis Svatek lead trumpet, lead vocals and music arranger , Dave Bedrich trumpet and vocals and Thomas Durnin stand up bass. CD available in the Polka On! Expand your music search to polkaconnection.

Owner and musician Chuck Stastny has been collecting this fine polka music for 25 years, 10 years on the web. His catalog now features 2, different CDs and DVDs for sale, and the website has over 34, song samples. Chris Rybak , a Hallettsville native, was surrounded by music from day one, as he was born into the sounds of his father's band, the Leroy Rybak's Swinging Orchestra, a fixture on the polka scene for over 40 years.

Chris would hop up on stage playing a plastic trumpet. When he reached the advanced age of six, he started learning music by ear on a small keyboard. By the ripe old age of 12, Chris received his first accordion and soon played solo at a family event. Playing several instruments with his father's band through junior high school, Chris joined the Hallettsville High School marching band, and was the first student to play an accordion. The highlight of the halftime show was when he and the bass player would play a brief solo using a new, state-of-the-art wireless sound system.

They always received a standing ovation. When it came time to graduate, the school counselor asked Chris what direction he wanted to take his life. The counselor suggested he think about pursuing a different career, and perhaps later in life he could play music. Heeding this sage advice, Chris worked in a print shop for a very short period of time before taking a giant leap of faith to follow his passion and become a fulltime musician at the age of With the basics of music firmly in hand, the next lesson he needed to master was the art of self promotion.

At the Yoakum Country Opry, Chris brought along a box of 50 cassette tapes, thinking he might be able to make gas money by selling them. He sold all Most of these events happened during the 8 to 5 timeframe. Bob Wills and Adolph Hofner grew their fan base this way. Chris said the most rewarding of these type of shows were performances at senior citizen centers. Another facet of this solo life is the equipment needed to make it work. Chris, who has been playing a conventional accordion for 25 years can make a joyful sound, but to enhance the performance, a band was needed.

In , musical powers-to-be smiled upon Chris. Roland located Chris through an Internet search. They offered him a "free" chance to own the first digital accordion. As with all things "free," there was a catch. He had three days to learn how to play this revolutionary instrument and then wow the music store owners at the convention. Chris was successful, so successful that Roland made him an advisor and flew him to Italy to assist with the introduction and design of a new model. The digital accordion has allowed Chris to have the sound of a back-up band while playing all music live, not a preprogrammed music track.

Life with Roland has been very good exposing Chris to many different cultures as the company sends him and his accordion to venues throughout the U. He showed his gratitude with a CD called Shiner Time , produced in Chris has also reached out for collaboration with other artists, the most notable being his friendship with conjunto accordionist Santiago Jimenez Jr. The duo has toured on educational jaunts and heritage festivals, and collaborated on a CD — Two Kings of Accordion , recorded in The latter had hometown boy Chris headlining Cajun Night this year.

It features the song Going to Hallettsville , which tells the story of going to the Fiddlers Frolics. Chris has also been a mainstay at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville at the Arborhaus Biergarten since He was the first and only accordionist there for a while, although the fest now features other accordionists. Chris reported most of the other stages now usewireless. Depending on the event, Chris recruits other musicians to round out his band. Chris also brings in brass, reeds, tuba, fiddle — whatever is needed to keep the polka party going. Since , they have taken music fans overseas 14 times, and this past September took travelers to Europe for a tour of Italy, Vatican, Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

On May , , Chris and Edita will host another Mediterranean cruise tour; their first was held earlier this year. Many polka fans have toured with the couple more than once. She is showing much interest in music and has even appeared in national newspapers and television programs, such as the Mollie B Polka Party and early morning news programs. Chris Rybak is an excellent example of the American Dream, a small-town kid who stuck by his accordion, and followed it halfway around the world many times.

Chris' CDs are available in the Polka On! For most of the year, Alex Meixner and his merry band travel the nation bringing polka to the masses. But once fall approaches, he kicks it up a notch. Able to leap across the stage whipping fans into a polka frenzy. Alex said he loves Texas fans. I love to build the bridge between both of those populations. We throw pepperoni into the audience. It has been a great association with the company.

Hormel is years old this year. Did you know they have only had 4 CEOs in their entire history? Now out of jail and working with Jack on the movie, Jan called Alex and asked if he would bring his accordion to the recording session. He made some mistakes in the past, spent some time in prison. He has atoned for those mistakes. Alex said working with Jack was a hoot. And that brings us to the backyard of Wurstfest at Faust Hotel and Brewery. Alex worked with Brewmaster Ray Middledorf for about nine months, tasting and perfecting a brew that has been born and named the Alex Meixner Polka Pilsner.

You want to have a few, dance, have a good time, and still have control of your faculties. The perfect place to enjoy the new brew, other than Wurstfest, is while staying in the Alex Meixner Suite at the Faust Hotel. Texas Polka News will mark its 30th anniversary in We will be distributing campaign flyers and order forms to groups through September. Flyers and forms can also be downloaded from TexasPolkaNews. Adolph's daughter, Kathy Hofner Fielding, will be there, and maybe join the band for a tune or two.

Texavia played at the Pearl Stable last year and everyone had a ball. Boasting apartments, 15 restaurants, 13 retailers, and 18 resident businesses, as well as a twice-weekly Farmers Market, Pearl has formed an exciting neighborhood on the upper San Antonio River just north of downtown known as Museum Reach. The newest addition is Hotel Emma, which opened last fall in the Brewhouse. The polka world has created its own outrageously strong, constantly evolving style.

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Brave Combo BC is one of the most accurately named bands in the music scene today. Leader and founder Carl Finch has been taking his musical cronies into little known realms of rhythm without fear of repercussion for 37 years. Brave Combo has earned Grammys, performed in movies, written and performed television show soundtracks, been animated in a couple of episodes of The Simpsons , and Bob Dylan covered one of their songs, to give a short list.

Carl continued, "I look at all of these things, but the Hall of Fame means that my adventure through this art - polka - has now been not only recognized, but lauded by people who have been doing this forever. All sounds like a great musical resume. But marching in Macy's parade? BC had been performing as a wandering polka band at the Texas State Fair for several years, when they got several gigs in New York over Thanksgiving weekend in the mid s. On a whim, Carl contacted Macy's Parade officials and asked if they needed another marching band. All they could say was "No", right?

Carl sent in a demo tape, Macy's accepted, and they were playing polka in the parade behind the Woody Woodpecker balloon and in front of Dionne Warwick 's float. BC had a wandering gig at the State Fair for 10 years until October fests filled their schedule. But this year, they're back.

BC will be headlining the main stage on Thurs. The Arkansas side of the street is lined with honky-tonks and the Texas side has a lot of churches. This environment might have influenced Carl to start polkasizing rock-n-roll songs. In extreme northeast Texas, polka was nonexistent. In the late s, Carl had been collecting 45s and albums while learning about different music genres. Venturing into the local Woolworth's, Carl distinctly remembers it was on the left hand side just at you entered, and there it was, a large stack of polka albums for sale REAL cheap.

Not sure what polka sounded like, he bought them all. Remember, they were REAL cheap. Us record collectors understand. Dragging his growing record collection to college in Denton, he studied graphic design, art, and music. Figuring the best way to combine his talents was to form a band. While attempting to figure out which direction to take his music, the Texarkana influence kicked in and he started listening to his polka LP stash more closely, discovering a whole new world of rhythms and musical textures that felt authentic and was nowhere near mainstream music.

I was confused about why polka music was always the butt of the joke - why it was always the music that people would use to sell beer and sausage. Attempting to recreate these rhythms was difficult as they were clueless on the music itself, which was mostly Polish polkas.

This accounts for early BC songs having a real fast beat, which over the years Carl said was slowed down to the "peppy" speed of today. After feeling secure in their musical abilities, BC took a gamble in restructuring worshipped, traditional music and then rebuilding it as something new and refreshing. This theory was applied to all genres. But their version of Ave Maria is played so reverently that you can smell the incense and hear the priests chanting in a huge cathedral. It has never been a joke to us. BC's mission has also been to expose their followers to the different styles of music from around the globe, such as Skokiaan , a s SouthAfrican song about making bootleg liquor.

Carl has interpreted musical voices from Japanese pop to zydeco to multiple Latin rhythms. A critic noted while attending a BC gig, "You might come for the party, but you will leave with an education. Carl said that one main goal of his band's music is to "destroy people's misconceptions about what's cool in music.

He has been a vegetarian for years and mostly abstinent when it comes to alcohol Texas side of Texarkana. As BC climbed the ladder of success and started logging lots of festival invitations, his diet and non-drinking ways might have irritated the hospitality folks at events that tend to celebrate beer and bratwurst.

When on a bill with Tejano bands, Carl said, "It's a complicated thing, but I wanted to be part of it Tejano festivals even though I knew someone was going to want to go eat cabrito at some point. That funky red top hat that Carl has been wearing for several years is the only fashion statement that he makes on stage. For years, he wore a black T-shirt and black jeans so as not to distract from the music. When he decided to brighten up his stage dress, he hit the jackpot when he found his "fab" red hat at a costume supply shop in Denton.

The very first weekend he wore it was at a gig in Odessa, Texas. One last BC story. Westfest , held in the town of West, Texas, is a bastion of Czech polka and waltz music. The festival oozes authentic Czech music like peach filling from a kolache. BC has been the house band for over 30 years. They were given a corner of a small tent.

After the first set, the crowd kept growing. The IPA's acknowledgement of Carl and his music is a refreshing acceptance of the diversification of polka. Unfortunately, Carl won't be able to attend. For more information, visit ipapolkas. Several fellow polka lovers offered their congratulations to Carl Finch, recently inducted into the International Polka Association Hall of Fame.

Read the cover story by Gary E. When I first heard them I thought these are unbelievable musicians. The music was wild, different and so much fun. The crowd was just going crazy. Dancing on the floor, tables, chairs, on the grass. People were eating them up.

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I used to actually dance those super fast polkas. That entire CD is my favorite. My favorite tune to watch them get the crowd going has to be the Hokey Pokey or getting the conga line started. These guys are a lot of fun. Carl and I go way back and he has always been professional. He has helped a lot of bands get a chance to play for entirely different audiences. That's a wild scene. Brave Combo has become a huge part of our festivals in Texas. They know how to play for the people. He and David Slovak playing two accordions together really gets the crowd going. He has done so much good for polka music and the entire polka scene.

They created their own style and sound, but can still play traditional style polkas and waltzes. Brave Combo started a new wave in polka music. Carl has made Texas proud. The Jodie Mikula Orchestra. Their recordings of classic tunes like Julida Polka and Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie , plus original tunes and arrangements of the old traditional songs blew me away.

I could tell they weren't your normal, everyday polka band. The first time I heard Brave Combo live was at Wurstfest in the s. Me and the late B. They were doing their show in the big tent right across from us.

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There were a couple of thousand people, mostly college students partying like crazy with Brave Combo getting them all wound up. It was like a rock concert. We had Carl come over and talk with us on the air afterwards. They were leaving for Holland and a European tour the next day. We feature their recording of Must Be Santa during our Christmas holiday programming.

Carl is a musical genius covering all styles. As I said earlier, they blow me away! We've shared the stage with BC numerous times and the entire group, especially Carl, has been very complimentary and cooperative. I was raised in a household with a lot of different kinds of music, but that opening of Happy Wanderer was totally shocking for polkas. I inhaled that record. I would play Lovesick over and over. When I finally heard and met the band in person, years later, it was awesome to jam with them and especially have long conversations with Carl about all the different polka styles and how they cross over to other music.

I've greatly enjoyed and respected his dedication to the music - especially since he wasn't "born into it. Bubba Hernandez and I had just started putting the Polka FreakOut project together and we were playing Uzmi for Steve Popovich the famed record man from Cleveland International who was a deep Serbian tamburasi and Carl came running over with such an excitement for the music- as the phrasing, structure was different than many polkas. We talked for about an hour about all of the intricacies of the style.

It just struck me that he had won Grammys, performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, and had maintained his pure love of music. Something I have watched only continue to grow in the years since. The recognition is long overdue. Thank you for all you have done to inspire other musicians and entertain so many audiences in all of these years. I was 16 and had just begun to listen to rock-n-roll by choice, but when I thought of hearing polka, I expected the traditional stuff. It took a little while to get over that, but their energy was infectious, and I'm hyper, so it became symbiotic.

Flying Saucer is one of my favorite BC tunes. It's fast, it's loud, it reminds me of being a child and imagining cool things. Another fave isn't a polka, it's a South African folk song called Skokiaan. Carl and the guys can deliver that song like no other! Carl and the musicians he works with are musical chameleons. They can work any crowd. I wish I could have been there when they did the Lowlands festival in the Netherlands in I listened to the audio of that concert, and listened to the man introduce them in Dutch and the audience's reaction. Then, I heard how the audience just went wild and stayed wild for the rest of the show by the second song.

All of a sudden, polka was cool. My very favorite memory of seeing BC in concert was when Ross and I were on our honeymoon in Ennis in Carl invited Alex Meixner to play some songs. WOW, what a show! Carl invites Ross and I up to help lead Edelweiss from time to time, and he asks me to teach Schottisch lessons during their shows. He's always been very kind to help promote me and our band. He's asked me to jodel Auf Der Jodeleralm with them a few times.

He sings the words, I jodel, then we get distracted headbanging. My dad got a picture of it from the Saint Arnold Brewery Oktoberfest. Valina Polka, Das Ist Lustig.