Remember the strange Slovenian polka-rap video (with bikini babes on mini-tractors) from a few weeks ago? Since then we’ve been turned on to Atomik Harmonik, another Slovenian group with a flair for bizarre videos. Mixing traditional Slovenian folk music with a hyper dance beat, Atomik Harmonik is a quartet of two male singers (one who always carries/plays an accordion) and two scantily-clad blonde bombshells.
Check out the video for their first hit, “Brizgalna Brizga”, which was #1 in the Slovenian charts for several months. (It sounds like they later re-recorded this song as “Turbo Polka”, but I prefer the original.)
Hailed as Seattle’s #1 polka band, the Smilin’ Scandinavians play a mix of Midwestern polka, Scandinavian folk, traditional country and western, Dixieland and big band swing. Led by accordionist Toby Hanson, who formed the band while at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, the group’s name is an homage to both the “Happy Norwegian” Myron Floren and legendary polka band The Six Fat Dutchmen.
I’ve been listening to their music all morning and I love their bright, bouncy, accordion-driven sound. This is a song from their most recent album, Northwest Polka Country:
I also found a great video clip from a documentary about the Smilin’ Scandinavians. In it, Toby describes how the band got started and warns of the dangers of playing polkas in 100-degree weather:
Thirty years ago, Dolgan ghostwrote Yankovic’s autobiography, The Polka King: The Life Of Frankie Yankovic. His new book chronicles the accordion legend’s rise to fame, as well as his complicated relationships with family members and fellow musicians. Dolgan admits from the start that his book shows all sides of Yankovic’s personality — there’s no sugarcoating here and that’s just how Frankie would have wanted it:
“In this book, I have tried to tell the honest story of Frankie Yankovic, the foremost musician in American polka history. Some readers may feel it is too frank and revealing and that it may damage the Polka King’s image and, therefore, the struggling polka culture. But I don’t think so. Yankovic was a realist who never wanted to play it safe. As he said when I ghosted his autobiography almost thirty years ago, ‘Let’s tell everything. People will like it better that way.'”
WCPN, the public radio station in Cleveland, has a brief interview with Dolgan about his book, as well as some great clips of a 1995 interview they did with Yankovic himself. Thanks to the book’s publisher, Gray & Company, you can download the preface and first two chapters here:
Forget watching football and falling asleep on the couch; I’d rather spend my turkey day at Tony Petkovsek’s Thanksgiving Polka Party.
A lifelong promoter of Cleveland-Slovenian music, Tony Petkovsek and his Thanksgiving weekend polka events have been drawing thousands to Cleveland for over 40 years. Tony also hosts the longest running daily polka radio show in America (45 years!), currently heard on WELW-1330AM in Cleveland and online at 247PolkaHeaven.com.
This year’s Thanksgiving Polka Party runs Thursday through Saturday and features a cornucopia of Cleveland-style polka bands, including the Joey Tomsick Orchestra, the Mike Schneider Band, the Eddie Rodick Orchestra, and many more. Accordion legends Walter Ostanek and Joey Miskulin will also make appearances. The weekend is capped off by the 19th Annual Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony.
Few musicians, polka or otherwise, can match the success that Jimmy Sturr has enjoyed over the course of his career. He has recorded over 100 albums, plays over 150 dates a year, and — to the consternation of some in the polka community — has dominated the polka category at the Grammy Awards, winning 15 times in 20 years.
We had a chance to talk with Jimmy in San Francisco last month before he headed to Polkapalooza Reno.
How did you first get into polka music? What drew you in?
Well, I’ve lived in a little town all my life called Florida, New York, and we probably grow at least 30% of the nation’s onions — we’re the Onion Capital of the World. A lot of people from Europe, especially Polish people, came over to work on what we call the “black dirt”, and brought their traditions with them — one of which was their music. The high school dances and weddings all had polka bands, the radio stations played polkas everyday… that’s how I grew up and fell in love with the music.
When did you start your first band?
I started out at 11 years old and had a five piece band. My very first job was playing for the PTA and the only reason I got to play was because my mother was the president! (laughs) There were a couple of other polka bands in the area and, if they were booked, people would come to us — only because we were the only ones left. Eventually, we moved up that ladder.
What bands inspired you when you were first starting out?
There were bands on the East Coast — guys you’ve never heard of, most of whom are passed away now. You know, everyone’s heard of Frankie Yankovic, but I don’t really play that style. Whereas that Cleveland style really featured the accordion, the East Coast bands featured trumpets and saxophones more (of course, everyone still had an accordion). And those are the bands I grew up on; bands like Frank Wojnarowski, Ray Henry, Gene Wisniewski, the Harmony Bells Orchestra, and the Connecticut Twins Orchestra.
Not everyone is lucky enough to live somewhere where polka bands play live every weekend. So for those of us outside of the Midwest/East Coast “polka belt”, sites like Polka Videos are a fantastic way to see what we’re missing. Set up by Michelle Genrich, president of the Polka America Corporation, Polka Videos includes high-quality footage of bands like the Polka Family Band, Stas Golonka and his Chicago Masters, The Music Connection, and others.
Meanwhile, over on YouTube, Thad Seaver has been posting an impressive collection of polka videos himself. Featured bands include Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, Dynabrass, Brave Combo, and more. Of course, these videos are no substitute for going out and supporting your local polka bands, but they sure help pass the time between shows!
I don’t know where to begin with this one — it’s a video for a Slovenian (I think) group named Skuter. The song is called “Na Pomoc” and can best be described as cheesy polka-pop, featuring accordion and synthesizer melodies over a thumping 2/4 beat. The video, though, takes a page straight out of the hip-hop video playbook — a pool party with bikini babes gyrating around fancy cars — but adds a twist in the form of… tractors. Yup, tractors.
A handful of Let’s Polka stickers to anyone who can provide a English translation of the lyrics, or just explain what the hell is going on here.
When it started in 1961, Wurstfest was a small, one-day affair. It capped a week where the restaurants and meat markets of New Braunfels, Texas showcased the sausage-making techniques their ancestors brought from Germany over 100 years earlier.
Today, Wurstfest is more than just a sausage festival. Drawing over 100,000 people from around the world, Wurstfest lasts ten days and pays homage to all things German: the food, the music, and the culture. Naturally, amidst the sausages, strudels, and beer, there’ll be plenty of accordion and polka music (and dancing). Featured performers include 15-time Grammy winner Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra, the Al Meixner Trio, the Seven Dutchmen Orchestra, Die Schlauberger, Alpenfest, and many more.
Wurstfest kicks off tomorrow and the official “biting of the sausages” will take place at 5pm. Good Morning America will be doing a live preview of the festival early tomorrow morning though, be warned, it’ll probably make you hungry for pigs in a blanket.
While I spent my Halloween stumbling around as a drunken Santa Claus, Anna was playing accordion at her library’s Halloween party. The video may not win any MTV awards, but I love how her co-workers really get into the chorus of “Roll Out the Barrel”…
Want to build a kickin’ polka collection overnight? Or just want to add some new tunes to your existing library? I’ve found a few eBay auctions that fans of polka vinyl might enjoy:
30 Different Used Polka LPs A collection of 30 LPs, including multiple titles by Marion Lush, Eddie Blazonczyk, and Happy Louie. Ends Wednesday.
Lot of 65 Midwest Polka LPs If you’re a Midwestern polka fan, this might be the mother lode: 65 polka albums from hard-to-find Minneapolis-based labels. Includes tongue-twisting artists like Matt Vorderbruggen, the Chmielewski Brothers, and the Deutschmeisters. Ends Thursday.
Lot of 20 Polish Polka 45 Records Prefer 45s? This is a lot of 20 Polish polka singles “straight from Hamtramck” (apparently they belonged to a bar owner there). Includes records by Frank Yankovic, Gene Wisniewski, and Lil’ Wally. Ends Wednesday.
So dust off your old turntable and start bidding! And if you win one of these auctions, be sure to invite us to the listening party.
Posted October 31st, 2006 in eBay, Polka · Comments off
Remember the strange Slovenian polka-rap video (with bikini babes on mini-tractors) from a few weeks ago? Since then we’ve been turned on to Atomik Harmonik, another Slovenian group with a flair for bizarre videos. Mixing traditional Slovenian folk music with a hyper dance beat, Atomik Harmonik is a quartet of two male singers (one who always carries/plays an accordion) and two scantily-clad blonde bombshells.
When it started in 1961,