Description
Music with My Friends is the latest album by Grammy-nominated accordionist Alex Meixner. The collaborative process with current and former members of Alex’s regular touring band is showcased in repertoire that ranges from the bluegrass inflected solos on “When Tears Become Laughter” to a mashup of the AC/DC rock anthem “Thunderstruck” with the Sousa march “The Thunderer”. Other highlights of this collection include Polka Hall of Famer, Hank Guzevich vocalizing on his Grammy-nominated composition “Fiddle Faddle”, a new Austrian vocal tune entitled “Wildes Mad’l” and the “Air Accordion Song” which is encouraging audiences to get into the groove by playing along with Alex!
Polka Chips Patushka
Rock Mi-Amadeus-an Die Freude
When Tears Become Laughter
Wildes Mad'l
Air Accordion Song
Thunderstruck-the Thunderer
Fiddle Faddle
Ann & Len's Polka
Ice Cubes and Beer, Baby
Hazel Eyes
Make It Happen
Blitzkrieg Bop
Don't Cry
Medieval Mambo
Faust Alex Meixner Polka Pils Song
Dale Martin –
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung – It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan and close friend of Alex Meixner. I’ve followed his career since his early days playing in his dad’s band. Once Alex started his band, he truly found his niche and his popularity took off faster than Jeff Bezos’ rocket. If you’ve seen him live, you know that few performers can match his on-stage energy. I like to say it’s the Ever-Ready Bunny on steroids. The challenge an artist like Alex faces is capturing the excitement of his live show on an album. With his new release, ‘Music With My Friends,’ he gets as close as possible to recreating his live concert. I own all his albums and this one is my favorite. After a year-long pandemic, it is the perfect time for Alex to release some new music. It kicks off with ‘Polka Chips Patushka,’ a song first recorded by the Alaska Polka Chips in 1980. Alex changed the lyrics to fit his life story, ‘I was born in Pennsylvania, I grew up on the stage, some folks think I’m rockin’, some folks think I’m strange.’ Up next is a fun mash-up of ‘Rock Mi / Amadeus / An Die Freude’featuring two 1980’s Austrian pop hits mixed with a Beethoven classic. ‘When Tears Become Laughter’ has some amazing fiddle playing by Paddy King. Alex wrote ‘Wildes Mad’l’ with good friend Ed Marakovits and it’s cool to hear a snippet of Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild’ at the end of the song. On ‘Air Accordion Song,’ we get a sing-along chorus that includes the band and Alex’s lovely wife Paula. ‘Thunderstruck,’ the AC/DC hit, has always been a crowd favorite, but this version is the best one yet. Jimmy Meyer just wails on guitar and vocals while drummer Tom Haller provides the thunder on the backbeat. The return of Hank Guzevich on vocals for his original song, ‘Fiddle Faddle’ is a pleasant surprise. Hank was a member of Alex’s band for years so it’s good to hear his voice again. ‘Ice Cubes and Beer, Baby’ is a hilarious mashup of ‘Ice Ice Baby’ and a cool Star Trek dialogue that features Chris Heslop. Special guest Dave Kline provides lead vocals and guitars on a rocking polka remake of the Ramones punk rock hit ‘Blitzkrieg Bop.’ Polish polka star Joe Oberaitis sings lead vocals on his song, ‘Don’t Cry,’ even adding a verse in English. The album closes with a full band instrumental on ‘Medieval Mambo,’ written by Chris Heslop during a band rehearsal. For a tasty bonus track, Alex adds the tune he wrote to promote the Alex Meixner Polka Pilsner beer brewed right here in town at the Faust Brewery. With Wurstfest back on the schedule plus Alex’s first-ever Christmas show at the Brauntex Theatre in December, we are all ready for a healthy dose of Meixner’s special brand of music. This album checks all the boxes. It’s time to polka. Prosit!