Volume 6 – #5 – May 2003

Sometimes I can’t remember which season we’re currently enjoying or which one we’re headed for. I think this means that the years are moving by so fast that months feel like weeks. Or maybe I’m just not paying enough attention. Or maybe winter in Texas is more like a mild summer and summer is like, well, summer. Whatever, we’re booking November and December gigs now and have several things penciled in for next year. And we’ll be tuning up the instruments in 2004 before we know it. By the way, it’s spring, heading into summer. I just looked outside and checked.

EXCITING NEWS. I am composing and recording the theme song for a future PBS children’s program called BARK PARK PLACE. It is being produced out of Kansas City, Missouri (KCPT-TV) and will have Wally Amos (Famous Amos) as the host. The primary focus of the show is to encourage reading. The song is a kind of swing thing with some nonsense lyrics. It’s cool and groovy. More news as it develops.

As you may or may not know, a national polka alliance, involving musicians, deejays, writers and promoters from all over the country, is being formed. Two meetings have been held, one in Nashville and one in Cleveland and many more are planned. The purpose of the organization is primarily to unite all the disparate polka factions and dramatically raise the profile of the genre. This was the brainchild of Ken Irwin from Rounder Records and he hopes that, by using the International Bluegrass Association as a guide, polka music can leap up to a new, more respected level. All of the attendees have been divided into committees and groups and I volunteered to spearhead the image committee. Anyway, I came up with a few suggestions for how to improve and make more visible the polka point of view.

PROPOSALS CONCERNING IMAGE From a musical perspective, what makes polka stand out? What makes it special? What does polka do better than other musical forms? How does one maximize polka’s impact? What are polka’s unique characteristics that should be maintained as one tries to expand its audience? What is essential to preserve? What can and should be cast aside? And what makes bluegrass or zydeco or any other ethnic or traditional music hipper than polka? All I can figure is that the public perceives all the other roots styles as coming from some wild place in the heart; deep and dangerous, almost. But polka music is generally seen as shallow and safe, not a force to be reckoned with or even noticed.

I don’t believe that polka music should be untrue to itself, but the point is to make polka more popular and accessible. This will mean letting some things go or at least have them take a back seat. Here are the cliches that I see most commonly associated with polka in the mainstream: square, funny clothes, sausage, beer, rotund people, nationalism, conservative and right-wing pride. There’s nothing wrong with any of these characteristics. People are free to be what they want, but defining an entire genre of music by these characteristics is uncreative, at best. Why can’t a skinny, left-wing vegetarian be a polka star? You know, maybe there will always have to be, as a law of physics, some style of music at the bottom of the pecking order. Most people would probably put polka there. To those people, polka doesn’t seem very important; not very deep. So, as a member of the image committee, I would like to make the following suggestions to help this beautiful, exciting music climb up the ladder of respectability.

1. Explore alternative radio outlets. 247 Polka Heaven is a great start. XM Satellite has just added six hours of polka programming to their schedule. What about a 24-hour super station in one market that plays all styles of polka that would be supported by a national fan base? Find out how much it would cost to fund two hours a week on NPR in a strong local/regional market.

2. Promote polka bands and music by performing with other kinds of acts (Bela Fleck, David Lindley, Beusoleil, a bluegrass band, a local symphony, etc.) Play more eclectic rooms and festivals. This may require performing for free occasionally, but worth it in the long run if you reach new people.

3. Perhaps there could be one billboard in every major metropolitan area with just the word “POLKA” in giant day-glo letters that fill up the entire space. Get NEA money for this. I can defend it from an artistic perspective (polka’s unique value to our culture).

4. A documentary film/video showing 20 bands (all styles) dramatically lit in unusual environments. I’m thinking each band play will play one song to keep the variety factor high. Another film/video idea could be 10 bands playing the same well-known polka; “The Clarinet Polka,” for instance. Styles would include Slovenian, Polish, Big Band, Traditional German, Dutchman, Czech, Conjunto/Tejano, Lounge, Chicken Scratch and International.

5. A documentary movie/video about some of the more notable/notorious polka musicians over the years. Some names that come to mind are Ray Budilek, Little Wally, Kenny Bass, Santiago Jimenez, Steve Jordan, Frank Yankovic, Whoopee John and Marion Lush.

6. Start thinking more stylish in a trendy way. Hire some local non-polka designers to create new, distinctive looks. Sex appeal can be a powerful tool.

7. Try to infiltrate the subliminal music world. Polka music has a lot of potential as Muzak, which is not just background music. The ultimate purpose of Muzak is to get the most productivity out of employees. This seems like a no brainer. We just need a good PR person to present it to the powers that be.

8. Put together a young, attractive, fashionable polka band to attract the more impressionable listeners. This could be a concocted band at first and hope that it can grow into something real. Think Monkees. Nickleodeon has been toying with this.

9. Encourage more women to get involved in polka music. This is very important.

10. Produce a film about the evolution of polka, starting with the young peasant girl that lived outside Prague, Czechoslovakia around 1840. It could include the astounding success story of The Beer Barrel Polka (started out as a love song and turned into the #1 beer drinking song of all time). Include a segment on someone like Li’l Wally or Scrubby or Frank Yankovic.

11. Think of ways to make the public envious of polka people. Polka people should be suspiciously happy. Our natural positive nature is our strength. Polka is all about tension and release. Maximize the tendencies.

12. Be radical. Be disruptive. The polka world needs to get attention and everyone else needs to be a little afraid of us. Not because we’re evil, but because our influence is growing.

13. Okay, here’s a really radical thought, and I’m sure it’s one that Jimmy Sturr has considered, with his Nashville television connections. Let’s all get behind a national PBS polka variety television show centered around Jimmy and his orchestra. Kind of like he’s the modern “hipper” Lawrence Welk. But the twist is this. There will be no “right or wrong” way to look or sound. This will be a way for Jimmy to achieve greater fame and a way that he can get the support from all polka bands, if they feel that his show serves as a vehicle for them as well. He’ll be the host and everyone else will be the parasites and the relationship is mutually beneficial. Maybe he could have a co-host that’s his total opposite, to give it an edge that balances any potential destructive squareness. I appreciate what Jimmy has done and he knows I’m a friend, but his profile is so much greater than any other polka band, he’s a log jam on the polka river. It’s hard to compete with his power and it’s generally discouraging. I say this with the utmost respect, and I hope Jimmy knows that. Plus there’s no reason to pussy foot around. Let’s all get together, focus on our strengths and be team players. This will be a tougher challenge for Jimmy than anyone else. In some ways, he made need to share more than the rest of us. The other thought, which I’m willing to consider, would be to do the show out of New York or Los Angeles, let me work on my industry contacts in the PBS/NPR world and I’ll be the host. We can make this the most outrageous thing on television. Or better yet, let’s see if someone like Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO) would be interested in hosting it. Success would depend on broad-based support throughout the polka community, including financial support to convince the PBS network to give it a shot.

14. Polka journalism needs to be harder on itself. Raise the bar and point out the weak links. Thin the herd. Or at least separate the professionals from the amateurs. This is important to polka’s credibility.

15. Why doesn’t anyone sing a polka on the TV show, AMERICAN IDOL? Groom someone to do this if the show continues. What if the best young pop singer in the country insisted on singing only polkas and waltzes?

16. Get to know as many rich people as possible and shame them into contributing.

So, that’s a beginning. If any of you MACHINE’S PUMP fans have ideas, I would love to hear them.

BOX OF GHOSTS, our new CD on Rounder is out and available everywhere. You should buy one for every person you care about. They’ll love you for it and we’ll love you for it. And, you know what? You’ll love yourself for it. We’ll have some pretty BOX OF GHOSTS posters soon. And maybe some BOX OF GHOSTS bubble gum or BOX OF GHOSTS shoulder pads or BOX OF GHOSTS couch covers.

TRAVELING FEVER. Brave Combo will be in many places around the USA this year. If you want to see/hear us live, keep an eye on the itinerary. We’ll probably be performing somewhere near you. Some high-profile gigs to consider attending are The Knitting Factory (Los Angeles), Botanic Gardens (Ft. Worth), All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival (Los Angeles), Lincoln Center (NYC), Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), Strassenfest (St. Louis), National Geographic (Washington, DC), Rhythm and Roots Festival (Rhode Island), Uncle Otto’s Oktoberfest (Portland, Oregon), Green River Festival (Greenfield, Massachusetts), Summerfest (Milwaukee) and The Bottom Line (NYC). So, pack your bags and hop a plane. You’re not getting any younger. Plus, it’s a beautiful country with lots of great souvenirs everywhere. Be sweet.