Bratwurst: Cook 'Em Right!

An excellent article by Bob Currer on how to properly cook a brat. It also gives mention to TDA's "First Bratwurst Of Summer". I'm looking out at the grill and thinking it might be time to attempt a mid-winter fire-up.

AOL Radio Launches It's Polka Channel!

AOL Radio launches it's Polka Channel today and I'm honored that they asked TDA to be a part of it. The channel will feature all different styles of polka. Here's some easy to follow instructions I received from AOL on how to tune in.

"You do not have to be a subscriber to AOL to listen and there is no charge to you to listen. It is free to all plus we have a great tuner app for iPhones.
Here’s how you tune in from your computer.
Point your Internet browser to: www.aolradio.com and you’ll see a button on the page that says “Listen Now.” Click that and a player pops up. There will be a big column on the left hand side that says “Stations By Category.” Polka will be in the category “World/International” at the bottom of the alphabetical category listing. For a short time it will also be listed in “What’s New” at the top of the column.

Be sure to rate the songs you like, because that's how they decide which ones to keep playing. (Hint,hint)

Who knows, this could be the first step to bringing back the Polka Grammy!

Say It Isn't So! No More Polka Grammy!

Dang! Just when TDA was putting together songs for our first polka CD, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has decided to eliminate the category. I was really hoping to give Jimmy Sturr a run for his money. Ah well, I'm glad we found out now, rather than after we had the finished CD in the can. I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Outrage: Grammys Kill 'Best Polka' Category

The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is eliminating the Grammy for best polka album.

The latest slap in the face to accordion lovers everywhere, announced Thursday, is a move to keep the Grammys "pertinent within the current musical landscape," according to the recording industry group.

"It's not that the polka world's not used to it," said Carl Finch, leader of the mighty Texas band Brave Combo, which beat out perpetual winner Jimmy Sturr for the polka Grammy twice in the last decade.

"The polka world expects it," said Finch. "It's like, 'Yeah, the man did it to us again.'"

No kidding -- this is an outrage! The academy now wants polka records to be nominated in the folk category.

This is all part of the gray-beard music industry's drawn-out death throes -- the old categorizations don't work anymore. The old ways of selling records don't work anymore. The superstar system doesn't work anymore. MTV doesn't play music, people don't buy CDs, even the giants don't reliably sell millions of units anymore.

Maybe the Academy will replace the polka category with a "best manufactured band created for a television show and marketed via a soft-drink tie-in" category. Because it's clearly not about the music anymore.

Jimmy Sturr Does It Again!

Congratulations to TDA pal Jimmy Sturr for bringing home his 18th Grammy. Dang, we'd settle for one. Watch out Jimmy, we just might put out own polka CD later this year!

Are You In The TDA Tribe?

An interesting talk from marketing guru Seth Godin on the state of the music business. I like the fact that he refers to polkas several times in his speech.

Squeeze Machine Makes Let's Polka's 'Best of 2007'

The party-lovin' folks at Let's Polka list Squeeze machine as one of 2007's best accordion records.

"We’re not as prolific as Rolling Stone (yet)," master polka blogger Chris writes, "but we did review a bunch of new accordion albums. Some of our favorites included new releases by Those Darn Accordions, Acadian accordionist Elly Kelly, Tom Hagerman (of DeVotchKa), and Zevy Zions."

You can read the full review here.

Thanks for the shout out, Chris. And keep on crankin' out the polka news in 2008. Cheers!

And the Best Polka Album Nominees Are ...

Here are the bands competing for the Grammy for best polka album of 2007:

• Brave Combo for Polka's Revenge


• John Gora and Gorale for Bulletproof Polkas


• Bubba Hernandez and Alex Meixner for Polka Freak Out


• Walter Ostanek and His Band & Brian Sklar and the Western Senators for Dueling Polkas
  


• Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra for Come Share the Wine

We've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Brave Combo and Bubba many times over the years, and we got to hang with Alex at this year's Cotati Accordion Festival. But we've never met the old-school guys like Jimmy Sturr and Walter Ostanek -- we just don't seem to mingle with the straight polka crowd. (Guess that's sensible enough, considering the oddball nature of our music.) Maybe someday ...

Congrats to all the nominees.

P.S. I'm intrigued by Brian Sklar and the Western Senators. Turns out the band has an alter ego called the Tex Pistols, which sounds like essentially the same group, sans accordions. The Tex Pistols say they "play the (country) classics with today's sound and energy" -- they even dress up in Nudie suits, just like the pre-outlaw greats.

P.P.S. I'm equally curious about the National Polka Festival in Ennis, Texas. And the more time we spend in Texas, the more I like that musically rich state.

Carl Finch's Polka Faves

Brave Combo leader Carl Finch runs down his top five favorite polka albums for the Houston Chronicle, then goes on to list other "essential artists" in the genre. Shockingly, Those Darn Accordions did not make the list -- but our friends in Polkacide, Polka Freakout and The Polkaholics did. Time for some kielbasa, beer and sauerkraut to celebrate!

Canadian 'Polkapalooza' Draws Accordion Army

The Kimberley International Old Time Accordion Championships sound a little like a squeezebox Sturgis, only with motor homes and polka fans rather than motorcycles and wet T-shirt contests. The Globe and Mail describes it as "an annual festival that floods the mountain community with devotees of the stretchy instrument."

"The stretchy instrument"? That's a new one.

But hordes of squeezebox fanatics descending on a small town sounds interesting, to say the least.

"People are accordion crazy up here," says Alex Meixner, one of the judges who rates competitors on "'old-time feeling,' technique and the danceability of their style ... gauged by a lone couple dancing offstage at the Civic Centre during competitions," according to the paper.

At least one stomach Steinway aficionado at the gathering is thinking more avant-garde than "old time." Reports the Globe and Mail: "One festival goer struts around wearing a white T-shirt that reads: Accordions rock."

Boy howdy they do.

Turner Hall Starts 'Squeeze Box Night'

Turner Hall of Monroe, Wisconsin -- a lovely place TDA had the pleasure of playing for the first time last year -- is launching a monthly "Squeeze Box Night" in the rockin' Ratskeller. The Monroe Times has the scoop on the series, which is designed "to offer people a chance to reacquaint themselves with the instrument in a fun and nonthreatening way, as well as offering veteran players a chance to come together and play."

It's guaranteed you won't meet a nicer bunch of people than the folks who run Turner Hall, and they'll even be serving light dinner (in case you want to just listen to the accordion music while dining). If you go, keep your nose peeled for the limburger!

P.S. We'll be returning to Turner Hall on Aug. 17. Get more tour info here.

Polka, Sausage and Integrity

An anonymous Wall of Wheezer sends a polka-related comic for your enjoyment. Please help yourself.

LynnMarie Ditching the Polka?

This press release makes it sound like accordion queen LynnMarie -- shunned yet again for the polka Grammy -- is ready to move beyond the genre.

"Polka got me to the party, but now I want to get out there and start making music with and for people who think and create beyond the safety net of pigeonholing," she says. "Creatively, this experience is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m excited to be moving on to bigger and better things in my career. I’ve been a bridesmaid four times now but it’s great to be single again and have the freedom to explore new opportunities."

Her Grammy-nominated record, Party Dress by LynnMarie & The Boxhounds, fell to Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra's Polka in Paradise. That would be Sturr's 15th Grammy.