Extreme Polka

Marathon Polka Show

Friday night’s Polka Bike Ride show at Lincoln Square Lanes was a true test of my endurance! We were not going to start playing until a little after 9:00 pm but by 8:00 o’clock the place was filled with Critical Mass bike riders who were ready drink, dance and polka so at 8:30 p.m. we put on our “bike messenger” outfits and played not one, not two, not three, but FIVE sets of people pleasing polka until 2:00 a.m.

While I had a great time playing this show I do not recommend wearing rented bowling shoes as part of a costume, and then jump and down in them for over five hours- my feet were killing me!!

It was all worth it however because all of the Critical Mass bike riders that were at the show were truly wild and crazy! We thought that we would play 3 sets and be finished by

midnight

or so. For once I was happy to stand corrected as the polka was cranking and the people were still drinking and dancing all the way until the end of our forth set so we gave ‘em all one more.

Wow- what a hell of a great time!! As always the owner of Lincoln Square Lanes, as well as the bartenders, made sure that The Polkaholics were well stocked with ice cold Old Style. It’s a great feeling to have someone hand a six-pack of Old Style to me after each set! And they were nice enough to feed us a yummy sausage pizza after everyone had left and we had packed up all of our equipment, and they even let us hang out and drink a few shots before we officially called it night around

3:30 a.m.

For the record I’m not a big fan of Yagermeister, but I must admit that a Yager Bomb is rather tasty…that’s when a shot glass of Yager is set into a rock glass of Red Bull. The trick when you drink it is for them to go down your gullet at the same time.

And if the person who made the 10 foot tall freak bike is reading this I just want to say that I hope you were able to fix your chain!

So to recap- the 5^th annual Polka Bike Ride was another rip roaring and I hope that hope have us do it again next year.

Amateur Drinkers

Don't you hate amateur drinkers? Those folks that pass out after one 6-pack?
These people need to be taught a lesson and thankfully- there are professional drinkers out there whose life goal it is to make sure that the amateur drinkers of the world either learn how to consume alcohol in a responsible manner--or forever regret the day of their last drink!

5th Annual Polka Bike Ride

The Polkaholics®
Friday January 28th - Lincoln Square Lanes, 9 pm
4874 N. Lincoln Ave (just north of Lawrence above the Ace Hardware store)
phone: 773 561-8191
Chicago.

This will be a extraordinary night as the Critical Mass Bicycle Riders partake in their 5th Annual Polka Bike Ride. 
They’ll start the ride at the Daley Center at 5:30pm, bicycling all the way to Lincoln Square Lanes. 
So you can either join them downtown for the bike ride or just c’mon out to the Lincoln Square Lanes for the polka. 
We’ll be playing three sets starting at 9pm, and admission is FREE

For the past few years The Polkaholics® have played the Polka Bike Ride at The Baby Doll Polka Club. Since The Baby Doll is now a memory and a damn good one at that! this year the Polka Bike Ride has been moved to Lincoln Square Lanes- hey this could be the start of a new tradition!
For those of you that follow us you know that we really love to play at Lincoln Square Lanes as it's one of the hidden treasures that Chicago has to offer, and the folks that work there are always so nice to us. Hey come on out and listen to some polka, dance and bowl!

Critical Mass has a ride on the last Friday of every month- check out their web site and hop on your bike this Friday and head on out the Lincoln Square Lanes!

Goooooodbye Johnny!

Johnny Carson, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" for nearly 30 years, died Sunday of emphysema.

Hey he was 79 but he may have lived to have been 99 if he had not smoked. Ok- public service announcement for the day: Quit Smoking.

I remember seeing The Smiths on The Tonight show- that was a trip- Johnny did not quite know what to do with the screaming fans...he looked visibly flustered- and Carson never looked that way.

I miss Johnny Carson- he was the best straight man around.

Thanks to all who voted!

Believe it or not, The Polkaholics have been nominated for a Chicago Music Award in the category of “Best Polka Entertainer!”  Please help us win this prestigious award by voting here (item number 30 on the ballot).  Viva la polka revolution!!

The deadline for voting is January 20, 2005

Imagine- the Polkaholics at an awards ceremony with R. Kelly and Billy Corgan? It could happen if you vote for us, and we will be there in polka fabulous attire, that alone will make this ceremony a night to remember!!

Thanks

COLD outside- but HOT Inside!

Thank you to every single one of you that braved the cold this past Saturday in order to attend the Winter Wingding 2005 Concert @ Beat Kitchen. The place was filled to capacity, and at $15 a pop- with all of the money going to the Leukemia Research Foundation- plus the money that was collected and donated by The Polkaholics®- the night was a rip roaring success! Pardon the cliché but it warms my heart to know that so many people came out to not only support a good cause but to have some fun, drink some beer, and dance!

The Locals.
Their bass player was damn amazing, especially when you take into account that her MusicMan bass is just as big as she was! She was all over that thing, and if you were there at 8:00pm for their set you know what Im talking about. They are the loudest acoustic band around! Check out their web page and look for Danger Boy!!

The Commodes were a damn funny band! Any band that can sing about Schlitz, electrical pap smears and the bowel movements of the The King-Elvis- deserve my support. Keep on the lookout for an upcoming Commodes/Polkaholics® show in the future. Colonel Crapper of the Commodes put this entire show for the Leukemia Research Foundation together, way to go!

Goldstars. What can I say? A great power-pop group. Dag Juhlin is one the nicest guys in town and he can play the shit out of his gold Les Paul! And when you throw is two members of New Duncan Imperials- well you are in for a good time. The got the crowd ready for....

The Polkaholics®! We took the stage around 11:00pm and played for just over an hour. It's strange playing for only an hour because we usually play for 3 to 4 times that long!!
Dandy Don and I had some technical issues during the first couple of songs but we quickly worked them out, and I think I can safely say that we rocked the house! A big shout out goes out to Anne and Erin, two ladies who came to see us for the first time. They were brave (or should I say crazy!?) enough to get up on stage with us and do the Chicken Dance. Thanks ladies! I hope that you had a fun time and that you come out to see some more shows.

Seven Day Run. I was only able to hear one song by SDR. I was a little perplexed by the 6 string bass, hell you only need the E and the D!!
Ok a little bass humor there.
I was able to talk with these guys before the show and they were all cool guys.

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I almost forgot to mention that our annual New Year's Eve show at Zakopane was another success! The place sold out at 10:15! Thanks again to everyone that came out to support us and a HUGE SHOUT OUT goes out to Mis Lis and to Matt DePonte for helping us out.

And finally- to all of the perverts out there that have this blog pop up because they are searching for "naked" and "sex" all I have to say is SURPRISE!

Best Bet!

The Red Eye newspaper and Metromix featured this Saturday's show in their "bestbets" section along with a nice write up and a full color photo of The Polkaholics® in Thursday's edition

Thanks to Jessica Volpe for picking our show as a best bet!

See below (2 Good Causes) for all of the details:

2 Good causes

The Polkaholics® are playing a benefit show for the Leukemia Research Foundation, whose offices are in Evanston, Illinois. Their mission is to conquer leukemia, lymphoma, and myelodysplastic syndromes by funding research into their causes and cures, and to enrich the quality of life of those touched by these diseases. They are a non-profit organization.

I'm happy to play this show because I had an uncle who died of leukemia and I hope that we can raise some money for this.

Saturday January 15th - Beat Kitchen
2100 W. Belmont, phone: 773 281-4444, Chicago.
Please join us for this very special "Winter Wingding 2005"  a benefit for the Leukemia Research Foundation.  Besides us, this worthy benefit will feature several great bands including The Goldstars, The Commodes, The Locals, and Seven Day Run.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 day of show. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Beat Kitchen box office (2100 W. Belmont) or at Threshold Music (7901 W. 159th St., Tinley Park, IL. 60477, 708-429-0220). For more information on this show contact Steve "The Kernel" Crapper at foamedrubber@msn.com.

Music Begins at 8 PM Sharp!

1. The Locals 8:00-8:30 PM
2. The Commodes 8:50-9:25 PM
3. The Goldstars 9:45-10:30 PM
4. The Polkaholics 10:50-11:50 PM
5. Seven Day Run 12:05-1:30 AM

There is a nice write up about the show here.

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My blog is a year old this month and in that time I've wanted this blog to be a place to have some fun, bitch a little bit, and push the polka to the people, so I have been debating if I should mention the tsunami disaster on my blog- at first I decided against it, but so many lives were lost that I find it hard to comprehend, especially after all of the pictures and videos and stories I've seen and heard.
It was an incredible tragedy. If you can spare a few bucks, donate it to these people, The American Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund.

I know that there are always people asking you for your hard earned money- anything you can do to help would be appreciated, thank you to all of you that donated money at our last two shows!

Vote for us!!

Believe it or not, The Polkaholics have been nominated for a Chicago Music Award in the category of “Best Polka Entertainer!”  Please help us win this prestigious award by voting here (item number 30 on the ballot).  Viva la polka revolution!!

The deadline for voting is January 20, 2005

Imagine- the Polkaholics at an awards ceremony with R. Kelly and Billy Corgan? It could happen if you vote for us, and we will be there in polka fabulous attire, that alone will make this ceremony a night to remember!!