Polka lovers chime in

[Ogandydancer]

Been watching Big Joe Polka show now for several years on RFD-TV and I must say that one of my all time favorite groups are "The Polka Nuts" just wonder how many others like them.

[bmcgilvray]

I enjoy playing polkas on the accordion but don't much like listening to them strangely enough.

[mgo]

Originally Posted by Ogandydancer

Been watching Big Joe Polka show now for several years on RFD-TV and I must say that one of my all time favorite groups are "The Polka Nuts" just wonder how many others like them.

Back in the 50s when I was just starting out in radio as a disk jockey, there was a station in Denver that played nothing but polka. I heard that the announcers there were ordered to never pronounce it, "Whoopee John Wil - FART", but rather to say, Whoopee John Wil - FERT" so as not to offend the listeners.

That was back when station owners were scared to death of the (now completely toothless) FCC.

[Dan Cash]

Have always enjoyed polka, both playing it on my hand harmonica (button accordian) and listening to others play. We have a station in Dickinson, ND that plays all German/Russian/Czech polka and waltz each Sunday AM from 6 to about 8:30 AM. Wonderful.

[mkk41]

Being of Polish decent and having gone to too many church picnics , weddings , funerals and other family gatherings when I was growing up , I never , ever want to hear another Polka or accordian for the rest of my life! Oh , the flashbacks , oh the nightmares!

[Bullseye 2620]

Being of Polish, Russian, and German descent--and from the Upper Midwest--it wasn't until I was 13 and we moved to a different part of the country that I realizeed there was any other kind of music!






Bullseye

[Ogandydancer]

One of the parts I enjoy most is seeing the ethnical dress of the different cultures. There is a radio station online that plays polkas 24/7 it is WRJQ from Appleton, Wi.

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Uh......no
Sorry
Not my cup of tea
But I will defend to the death your right to play it, sing it, dance to it or listen to it.
Just stay far away.

Of course this comes from a guy who listens to a bunch of drunk cajuns one playing a wash board on his chest, another a fiddle and another with a squeeze box and they're all screaming AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE so go figure

[feralmerril]

Cousin fuzzy was big in wisconsin when I grew up.
Play the accordian and go to jail!

[Bullseye 2620]

No thread on polka music is complete without. . .




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHYLbKzK7cM



Bullseye

[litauer]

A gentleman is one who can play the accordion---but won't.

[bmcgilvray]

Why do some people automatically hate accordionists?

It saves a lot of time.

[litauer]

It all started with Myron Floren and ''Lady of Spain.''

[TheHobbyist]

Once in a while I will turn on the AM radios and listen to some "Um-pa" music

[BarbC]

Well, I did read Accordion Crimes (Accordion Crimes -- book review ) but by the end I had had enough of that too.

Of course, a litre or two of good beer will help anything go down easy.

[LHS]

Been listening to it for many years! I try never to miss the 4 hours of it on WZIP Akron U. radio Saturday mornings!

I had my life threatened (jokinly, of course) for posting polka music threads on another gun forum. Seems some peole just do not have such wonderful musical tastes!

(I also listen to mostly Christian music, but also to Italian Opera a lot along with polka.)

Ever hear of the "Twinnies"? Bavarian girls who play polka while rollerskating. I have their CD on order.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpmDAu_47OE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPNnr...watch_response

[LHS]

(I have to confess I also have 2 Tiny Tim albums I used to listen to before my record player broke.)

[don95sml]

The Lawrence Welk videos sure brought back memories. I played accordion as a youngster in the late 1940s, but gave it up when in high school. When I was about 40 I took piano lessons, which were made easier by that previous accordion experience. With the piano I would only play classical pieces - the polkas were gone for good.

[sheriffoconee]

Originally Posted by LHS

(I have to confess I also have 2 Tiny Tim albums I used to listen to before my record player broke.)

your record player didn't break, someone BROKE it

[Ogandydancer]

[QUOTE=LHS;135600893]
Been listening to it for many years! I try never to miss the 4 hours of it on WZIP Akron U. radio Saturday mornings!

I had my life threatened (jokinly, of course) for posting polka music threads on another gun forum. Seems some peole just do not have such wonderful musical tastes!

(I also listen to mostly Christian music, but also to Italian Opera a lot along with polka.)

Ever hear of the "Twinnies"? Bavarian girls who play polka while rollerskating. I have their CD on order.


I just love music bluegrass, celtic, polka, classical, bluegrass gospel, Old time/mountain music, bagpipes. Another one of my favorite groups would be the Erie Shores Button Box Club from Cleveland. THanks for the link they are great!!!!

[jkc]

As far as I know, polka afficiaonados (a condition which ought to be in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) aren't actually able to "chime" in --- they can wheez in, oomph in, horn in, etc., but anything so sonorous as a chime is just not in the polka repertoire.

[ArmyCop]

No polka down here (Alabama) that I know of. The little I've seen on TV has been enjoyable tho...

[LHS]

Originally Posted by sheriffoconee

your record player didn't break, someone BROKE it

No, wore it out. I only had it since 1982. Thought it'd last a few more years....

[LHS]

YouTube - AL BATTISTELLI & ERIE SHORES BUTTON BOX AT STATION SQUARE

Music from above!!!!!

[M&P777]

In my few years surfing gun forums, this is the first posting I have encountered that addressed accordians. Reading it has re-ignited my "Accordian Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Years ago, my father (himself a frustrated musician from a former life) persuaded me to begin accordian lessons. I was a reluctant participant in this musical lab experiment through most of my teen years. "Did you practice today?" That prompting question haunted me for years. I developed a nervous tick. "Why don't you bring out your accordian and a play a little bit for our company, son?" Soon, a morbid revulsion filled by soul whenever anything associated with the accordian was mentioned. I couldn't even stand the sight of polka dots.

In my lessons, I encountered polkas, marches and the Flight of the Bumble Bee, the last a stinging challenge. I also met Tony Musco, a professional accordianist in Knoxville, TN. Tony used to play with Chet Atkins on WNOX radio years ago. Tony tried his best to instill in me a love for the squeeze box, but it was to no avail. My relationship with the accordian had turned dark.

But there was a bright spot at age 16. I saved up my money and purchased from Service Merchandise a Ruger 10/22, my first firearm. There was something in that walnut stock and the smell of gunpowder that calmed the musical mayhem in my heart. The Ruger was a ray of hope.

After leaving home, I stopped playing the infernal 120-bass button machine but couldn't bring myself for many years to part with it. It seemed disloyal to my father, who so wanted another Lawrence Welk in the family. Meanwhile, the Ruger gave rise to a wonderful obsession with Guns & Ammo magazine, old copies of which I still treasure, and a line of gun purchases and trades that almost made me forget the accordian that still lurked in the back of the closet.

There were times I imagined what the impact of .357 diameter slugs would do to the accordian. Had anyone before me ever thought such things? How could I contemplate it? Oh, how the keys would fly! The wood, plastic and canvas would come apart under the relentless impact of lead. Even now, my hands sweat on the computer keyboard at the thought of releasing my musical mischief on that instrument. (Excuse me, I have to take one of my APTSD pills.)

At last in my 30's, I secreted away to a downtown antique shop in Paducah, KY with the accordian in tow. The shop owner agreed to display the item in his store, and if the sucker sold, we'd split the proceeds. The deed was done. I was free - feeling a little guilty for chucking the instrument so loved by my father - but I was free.... until today when all the memories came flooding back when I logged onto this gun forum. So the flashbacks begin again.

After thought: The above account is exaggerated somewhat for entertainment's sake. My years of lessons taught me music, for which I am grateful. My dad was in fact a wonderful person. I didn't sell the accordian until after his death. His thing was music. Mine is guns. My son's passion may be something entirely different. I hope I have the wisdom to let him do his thing and not mine.

P.S. - I still don't like polka dots.

[jkc]

Originally Posted by M&P777

In my few years surfing gun forums, this is the first posting I have encountered that addressed accordians. Reading it has re-ignited my "Accordian Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Soon, a morbid revulsion filled by soul whenever anything associated with the accordian was mentioned. I couldn't even stand the sight of polka dots.

P.S. - I still don't like polka dots.

A funny and excellently crafted post --- thanks!

I'm with you --- were it up to me, the world's accordians, and instructions for their use and manufacture, would be burned in great pyres, using bagpipes, along with those extremely obnoxious South African horns heard at the World Cup, as kindling.

[LHS]

I feel empty since I missed "Saturday Morning Polka" on WZIP this morning.