I got a call a week or so ago from my friend Hank Guzevich, (awesome musician, legendary bandleader and supposedly a decent basketball player)-to play a few gigs with his band, Polka Family. For those of you familiar with the Polish polka world, the band needs no introduction. For the rest of you– check out their clips on you tube and you’ll find a kicking band led by Hank on trumpet and vocals that ignites audiences throughout the USA.
I knew I was going to be in for a good time, as well as a musical challenge-as this is the first time I’ve ever played accordion in a Polish style band-and I was playing with some of the best in the field. Add to that, the snow storm stranded the other regular accordionist in New Jersey, so there were 2 of us newbies subbing!
From the start, everything really clicked. The band was grooving and a lot of fun and the audiences both in Daytona on Saturday and Vero Beach on Sunday were very enthusiastic. Thanks to Hank, as well as Glenn, Johnny, Josh and Nicky D for a great time– hope we can do it again sometime!
I’m really looking forward to a string of dates in May in which Hank and I will be teaming up with Fred Ziwich and Ed Klancnik for some special performances in North Jersey through Ace in the Hole Productions (www.aceshows.com). It’s a real fun combination of musicians/ entertainers and should be a great show….
In the meantime, hope you’re staying warm wherever you are!
alex