Can Emmitt Smith dance a polka? Maybe, but he won’t be one of the contestants at Polka Dancing Stars, an event next week that will showcase five top polka dancing couples and highlight a variety of polka styles. Michelle Genrich, president of the Polka America Corporation, hopes the event will help bring polka into the mainstream:
“We want to put polka music more into the (general) music scene… It’s a lot more than lederhosen and the foofy skirt.”
Polka Dancing Stars takes place next Friday night at the Grand Theater in downtown Wausau, WI, with music by Neal Zunker and the Music Connection (named 2006 Band of the Year by the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame).
Posted January 20th, 2007 in Events, Polka · Comments off
If the Chicago Bears needed any more motivation for their playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks this weekend, they’ve got it now. Vlasta, the (self-proclaimed?) “International Queen of Polka” has resurrected the polka she wrote for the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl run and hopes it will inspire this year’s team to bring home another championship.
If the Bears go all the way, will Vlasta’s polka become the new “Super Bowl Shuffle”?
Like many polka bands, the Kielbasa Kings play a mix of polkas, waltzes, and obereks, but they also throw in an occasional traditional Polish tune (sung in Polish). What really caught my attention, though, were their polka-fied covers of alt-rock songs by artists like Barenaked Ladies and Violent Femmes. Check out their waltzing cover of Elvis Costello’s classic “Alison”; some might consider it blasphemy, but I think their aim is true.
There was a fascinating profile of polka bandleader Eddie Blazonczyk Jr. in the Chicago Tribune earlier this week. For more than forty years, Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones have been the gold standard of Chicago polka bands. Eddie Blazoncyzk Sr. was a pioneer of the Chicago style, evolving the sound and promoting it around the world.
But after he suffered a stroke in 2002, the torch was passed to his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr., who had been playing concertina with the Versatones since the 1989. With “Junior” at the helm, the band continues to record and tour relentlessly, but the polka crowds have shrunk over the years and it’s difficult for even a top band like the Versatones to make a living. And for Eddie Jr.’s wife, Cheryl, it’s especially hard raising a family with a husband who’s always on the road:
“I’m impressed that he can play so well, but I always ask Eddie, ‘What’s the difference between a musician and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four.'”
Ouch. On top of all this, everytime he performs, Eddie Jr. must face inevitable comparisons to one of polka’s living legends: his own father. But Eddie Jr. carries the legacy proudly, and the Versatones’ latest record, Batteries Not Included recently earned a Grammy nomination (their 18th overall) for Best Polka Album. We’ll be reviewing that album — along with the other Grammy nominees — over the next few weeks.
Posted January 5th, 2007 in Polka, Profiles · Comments off
If you’re like me, you were probably up late on Sunday night, waiting anxiously for the clock to strike midnight so you could begin celebrating National Polka Month. Positioned far enough away from National Accordion Awareness Month (June) to avoid conflicts, National Polka Month encourages fans to support local polka shows during a time when attendance typically slows due to bad weather.
Among the big polka events scheduled this month are the International Polka Association’s Festival of Bands in Chicago and Benefit Dance in Ludlow, MA. For those hoping to escape the cold weather entirely, a handful of polka cruises are setting sail, including the Ultimate Polka Cruise and Jimmy Sturr’s Polka in Paradise.
If you can’t get out of town, tune in to one of the many Internet radio stations devoted to polka music, like 247PolkaHeaven.com, the Polka Jammer Network, or Prime Time Polkas. If you’re at work, pump up the volume and share the polka spirit with your co-workers.
So as you begin making plans for this special month, I leave you with this rumination on polka music by Carl Finch of Brave Combo:
“As nature and society become more unstable, humans will return to the basics and retreat from the overbearing self-consciousness of pop culture. Polka serves two purposes: good music and freedom from pretense in an environment where the hip and unhip freely mix and mingle.”
I think that’ll be our new motto — “Let’s Polka: Where the Hip and Unhip Freely Mix and Mingle.”
Remember those old K-Tel compilation albums — 22 Dynamite Hits, 20 Great Truck Drivin’ Songs — bearing the “as advertised on TV” label?
Check out this 1971 commercial promoting the very first K-Tel album, 25 Polka Greats. Frankie Yankovic, Myron Floren, and Six Fat Dutchmen play classics like “Pennsylvania Polka”, “Too Fat Polka”, and “Liechtensteiner Polka”… all for only $3.99! You may not be able to find it at Woolworths anymore, but we found a copy at Rasputin’s for $1.
Anna and I spent our holiday weekend in Fresno — catching up with family, eating pumpkin pie, and even doing some antique shopping on Christmas Eve. While we’re still kicking ourselves for passing up the accordion-shaped bar set (with shot glasses!), we did bring home this novelty record featuring Fresno accordion legend Dick Contino and comedian Bobby Volare.
Recorded in 1983 as a tribute to the Fresno State men’s basketball team — which won the NIT that year and brought Fresno some rare positive press — the single features two songs: “Bulldog Polka” (a cheesy reworking of “Beer Barrel Polka”) and “New York, New York” (I’m surprised Sinatra didn’t have Volare “whacked” for this rendition). Contino’s playing is solid, but given the material, neither tune will be appearing on his greatest hits record.
If you’re a fan of bad novelty records, go ahead and listen to “Bulldog Polka.” Otherwise, steer clear of the link below. You’ve been warned.
A few weeks ago, the Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times ran a seemingly innocuous profile of accordionist Gene “The Polka King” Sadowsky, leader of the Little Bohemian Band. In the piece, Sadowsky boasted about his band’s recent appearance on the “Big Joe Polka Show”, their packed touring schedule, and his brand-new, $12,500 Diamond accordion. Nothing too controversial, right?
This past Friday, however, the paper printed a follow-up in which a former bandmate of Sadowsky’s — Richard Kadrmas of the R-K Polka Band — stakes his own claim to the Oregon polka crown. Kadrmas claims Sadowsky “only knows how to play 10 or 15 songs… [and is] just doing it to make a buck,” and has even challenged him to an accordion duel.
Now I like a good feud as much as anyone, but come on — these guys are old enough to know better. Isn’t the Willamette Valley big enough for two polka kings?
This year, make it a Li’l Wally Christmas. Head over to the Record Robot, where they’ve posted a couple MP3s from an old Christmas record by Li’l Wally and the Harmony Boys. The tracks are “Merry Christmas Mom and Dad” (a Wally original) and “O Christmas Tree”.
If you want to pick up some holiday polka albums, check out the selection Jimmy K. Polkas. They have Christmas recordings from Li’l Wally (including two albums of Polish Christmas carols), Eddie Blazonczyk, Lenny Gomulka, Jimmy Sturr, and more.
While Best Polka Album may be the most accordion-friendly category, those weren’t the only nominees who featured accordions in their work. Julieta Venegas was nominated for Best Latin Pop Album, the Klezmatics for Best Contemporary World Music Album, Weird Al for Best Comedy Album, and pretty much every group in the Best Norteno Album category has an accordion player. The full list of nominees is on the Grammy website.
The awards ceremony (hosted by Stephen Colbert) will air live on CBS on February 11, 2007. Of course, since there are 108 categories, most awards — including Best Polka Album — will be handed out in a ceremony before the televised show.
Between now and the awards ceremony, we’ll post an in-depth review of each Best Polka Album nominee. Will Jimmy Sturr walk away with his 16th Best Polka Grammy or will someone else get a taste of Grammy glory? We’ll find out in February!
Posted December 7th, 2006 in Events, News, Polka · Comments off
