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Polish Festival Performer Biographies
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 MAESTRO'S MEN
The Maestro's Men are a versatile Polka Band formed in 1996. They currently have five CD recordings released. Their release "Strike Up
The Band" was nominated for a Grammy in 2003. The band attended the 2004 Grammy Ceremony in Los Angeles, CA. The band was awarded "Favorite Band Of The Year" by the
International Polka Association Music Hall of Fame Awards in Chicago, IL for 2002 and 2004. They also have been awarded the WARE Radio Massachusetts "Band Of The Year". The band
has also had several top ten hits within the Polka field. In addition to performing true authentic and original Polka melodies, they are also known to perform lively swing, big band and
traditional standards. Combined, the band's members share many years of performing experience. The leader and clarinetist Dennis Polisky (Colchester, CT) has been entertaining Polka fans for 35
years. Be sure to catch this lively energetic group.
Jerry Darlak & The Touch
High energy, Entertaining, Good Time and "Plenty of Dancing" is how to describe the shows performed by Jerry Darlak and the TOUCH.This Award Winning POLKA band, including two
I.P.A. Hall of Fame members, performs music sure to put a smile on the face of everyone young and old alike from Los Angeles to Atlantic City. Jerry Darlak and the TOUCH have received
consecutive Grammy nominations for "Best Polka Album" and were the sole representatives of Western New York for the 45th and 46th annual GRAMMY AWARDS.
Recently Jerry Darlak and the TOUCH has made an appearance on the Lifetime TV network new show "Face the Family" in April of 2006. In addition, a regional release of the new Dyngus Day
Anthem "Everybody's Polish On Dyngus Day" flooded the local airwaves the 2nd week of April 2006.
A new recording, the bands 5th
, is in the works along with local and out of town performances and maybe even a third trip to the Grammy's as well!
 Crusade
By March of 1996, Crusade was performing publicly, starting with a local gig at Davis' DC Ranch in Perrysburg. Ten years after its birth, Crusade
continues to perform at the forefront of polkas playing modern and progressive tunes that are flavored by a variety of musical influences and
styles, to breathing new life into all-but-forgotten traditional tunes. This is the group's way of appealing to a wide audience. At a Crusade event,
you'll hear original songs, rock 'n' roll crossovers, as well as tunes in the Chicago (Push), Honky, and Eastern styles of polka music. Crusade continues to remain one of the
few bands in the industry that covers all these styles so effectively. The band has always prided itself in being different, meaning, playing songs that you won't hear anywhere else and avoiding
material that is viewed as "overplayed."Crusade has made eight recordings, all of which have been well received by fans. "A New Twist" was
Crusade's debut album, and it told the story of who the band was, and all the types of polkas the band played. "A Powerful Story" was Crusade's way to showcase all its favorite cover tunes. With
"Utopia" and "In Response to Exile", Crusade attempted to reach new listeners and still offer traditional songs. The new album titled "The Tournament" is to be released in June 2006.
Honors include 2002 USPA Male Vocalist, 2002 USPA Favorite Band, and 2002 Favorite Song for Ready to Dance, and Whammy Awards for Utopia and A Powerful Story. Bandleader Eddie Biegaj
has also won the IPA Male Vocalist Award for 2005 and the USPA Male Vocalist back in 1990. He has been involved in two Grammy-nominated projects. The band is also pleased to announce that
Eddie's eldest daughter, Krystal Biegaj, has been named the USPA Female Vocalist for the year 2005 for her work on the album "Purple."
Crusade looks forward to another ten years of high-energy and innovative polka music and hopes you will ENJOY!! The present members are:
Eddie Biegaj – Bandleader, Lead Vocals, Concertina, Accordion, Drums Frank Dramczyk – Drums Eric Hite – Lead Accordion, Bass, Vocals, Piano, Concertina
Richie Kois – Trumpet, Vocals, Clarinet, Dave Pietrzak - Clarinet, Saxes, Vocals
For more information on Crusade, call Eddie Biegaj at 419-475-4755.
 BRAVE COMBO ARTIST PROFILE
GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS FOR THE ALBUMS POLKASONIC (1999) & LET'S KISS (2004)Brave Combo. Rarely, if ever, has a band name been more apropos, not only at the group's inception, but even more so
25 years after the fact. At first glance, back in 1979, the Denton, Texas, based outfit was, in shorthand, pegged as a new wave polka band, a courageous if not almost
oxymoronic endeavor during that particular rebirth of the cool. Yet it clicked and launched a stunning run that has now catapulted it into the new century. Over the last 25 years, Brave Combo has
collected a dizzying array of descriptive musical pegs, boldly going where few bands have gone before, and even fewer could (or would) dare to venture. Succeeding in its first mission, Brave Combo
is America's premier contemporary polka band, and a Grammy winning one at that. In the same breath, to name some but hardly all of the colors found on Brave Combo's musical palette, one can
describe them as a groundbreaking world music act, a hot jazz quintet, a rollicking rock'n'roll bar band, a Tex-Mex conj unto, a sizzling blues band, a saucy cocktail combo, a deadly serious novelty
act, a Latin orchestra, and one of America's dance bands par excellence. It's all in a night's music for Brave Combo, often in a synergistic fashion that includes everything from klezmer surf rock to
rocking cha cha to what The Washington Post calls "mosh pit polka," as well as to the hokey pokey and the chicken dance. And zyedeco, acid rock, Muzak, bubblegum, cumbia, classical, and the
twist, to still not exhaust the list. This plethoric multitude of musical styles and flavors is frequently mixed, matched, and melded, into delicious, new concoctions by an imaginative team of musical
gourmet master chefs. "We're just trying to be a brave combo," is how bandleader Carl Finch explains what Billboard calls
the band's "world-wise, unclassifiable music." The prime directive is to "break down people's perceptions about what's cool to like in music. Our deal is to shake up people's ideas about what
they label hip, or right or wrong." In the process Brave Combo also shakes listeners' hips and tail feathers, sparks delight, provokes imaginations, rocks all night long, and elicits more than a few chuckles. Brave Combo launched its 25th Anniversary year with the ultimate cultural sanctification by making one of its most prestigious appearances, of many, to date. On March 21, 2004, they played
Oktoberfest in the beloved American burg of Springfield on an episode of "The Simpsons." As followers of both Brave Combo and the long running animated hit should not find surprising,
"Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is a devoted Brave Combo fan. "They prove you can be hip and still be happy," says Groening. "Really, Brave Combo should have their own cartoon." After all, Brave Combo's quarter century of music certainly displays a fascinating yin and yang mix of the utterly and delightfully surreal, juxtaposed with perfect sense and wisdom. What Finch calls
its "barrage of incongruous elements" flows from its deep sincerity, outstanding musicianship, and a firm belief that music should be fun and life-affirming.
This mission statement has yielded more than two dozen albums that range from Japanese pop to Latin American dance tunes to the orchestral classics to more permutations on the polka than you
can shake a beer stein at. They have marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade underneath Woody Woodpecker, recorded with the late Tiny Tim, and played such private fetes as David Byrne's
wedding and the 200th episode party for "The Simpsons." The Brave Combo trail also includes festivals of all stripes, rock clubs, colleges, roadhouses, dances, state fairs, and cultural centers
(including the annual Midsummer Night's Swing at Lincoln Center in New York City) and more - basically anywhere there's a stage and an audience willing to open up their minds and dance.
Along the way they've won the admiration of such fellow visionaries and iconoclasts as Groening, Byrne, Garrison Keillor, and Harvey Pekar, as well as audiences of all ages, persuasions, and
musical tastes. Brave Combo has charmed countless listeners and won avid devotees as they play some 150 dates a year that include everything from the Labor Day weekend West Fest Czech polka
festival in Central Texas to being perhaps the world's finest (okay, maybe only) St. Patrick's Day polka band. They've taken their polka-plus-more sound multiple times to Japan and
Europe, including appearances at such Continental festivals as Roskilde (Denmark), Printemps de Bourges (France), Steirischer Herbst (Austria), Storsjoyran (Sweden), and Lowlands (Holland).
Brace Combo's vivid music can be heard in the films David Byrne's True Stories, Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions, Late Bloomers, Fools Rush In, Envy, The Academy award winning The Personals, and
Fox Television's "Bakersfield P.D." In addition, 1994 U.S. Olympic Ice Dancers, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow have skated to their music during numerous competitions and Brave Combo has
been frequent guests on such public broadcasting shows as The Lonesome Pine Special, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, The Next Big Thing and A Prairie Home Companion, whose host Garrison
Keillor calls them "entertainers who just won't take no for an answer." The Brave Combo that has accomplished all that and more is a five-piece veritable orchestra that originated and is still based in
Denton, TX. Keyboardist, guitarist, accordionist, and singer Carl Finch founded the band in 1979, releasing their first records on the band's own Four Dots Records. He has also produced artists like
Little Jack Melody And His Young Turks, Trout Fishing In America, Santiago Jimenez Jr., and Mingo Salvidar, compiled the Rhino Records collection Legends of the Accordion, and released on Four
Dots the debut album by Sara Hickman, Equal Scary People, that helped win her a major label record deal. Alongside Finch for most of Brave Combo's 25 years have been multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Barnes
(who joined in 1983) and bassist-singer Cenobio "Bubba" Hernandez (1984). Barnes is known for his lively and imaginative stage wear, as well as playing an array of reeds and woodwinds, harmonica,
pennywhistle, guitars, you name it, sometimes in multiple, simultaneous combinations. Hernandez gifts the band with his fluid, melodic bass lines and rich, romantic Latin vocals and sensibility.
Rounding out the current line-up are trumpet and flugelhorn player Danny O'Brien and drummer and percussionist Alan Emert.
The band's musical agility and diversity has no doubt helped it win "Pop/Rock Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" honors three years in a row in the annual Critics Poll for the jazz bible
Downbeat. And yes, Brave Combo remains a band, despite all the achievements, whose music all but begs wider airing, even if they have succeeded in winning over the various, finicky, disparate
factions of the polka world, garnered consistently high praise in the music press, and picked up new fans every time they've played.
Does this mean Brave Combo is a cult band? Well, if it is, it's one with converts and outposts across North America and south of the border, as well as around the world. And like any
self-respecting cult, there is an underlying international agenda behind the music, as The Chicago Tribune divined when it dubbed Brave Combo a "party band with a purpose." And yes, there is a
purpose. "Peace through polka" may sound like a quip, but the way Brave Combo can erase musical prejudices and seduce people to like music they thought they wouldn't or didn't, does serve
a higher calling. "I do think the acceptance of polka and other dance rhythms can help bring about world peace. If the people of the world can start dancing together, they can learn to respect each
other's cultures, too," concludes Finch. "That kind of understanding will give us all a better chance to survive."
 Ania Piwowarczyk
Ania's first appearance on the American Polka scene was her release of the hit song
"Cyganeczka" – "Oh, Oh, Oh Ale Fajnie", which she recorded with "Scrubby" and the Dynatones on the album entitled, "Ania Meets The Dynatones".
For the past seven (7) years, Ania has appeared as the vocalist with the Jan Lewan orchestra making numerous appearances in the United States and Canada. She teamed up with Jan Lewan on the vocals for the
orchestra's last four (4) recordings. She also recorded her own Polka album, "Come Dance With Me", with the capable assistance of the multi-talented Musical Director of the Jan Lewan Orchestra, Stephen
Kaminski. Additionally, Ania Piwowarczyk was the recipient of the IPAO – Female Vocalist of the Year Award in 1999.
The multi-talented Ania Piwowarczyk is a High School Chemistry teacher, by profession, in the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. She is the mother of a 17-year old son, JAREK, a twelfth grade high school student. Ania also serves as the Artistic Director of the Polish Vocal Dance Group, "Radosc-Joy", which has made several appearances at the Cheektowaga Polish American Cultural Arts Festival and has
always been a tremendous crowd pleaser. Her repertoire includes fine earlier Polish recordings: KolĄdy, ZoĄnierskie Tangos & Waltzes, Polish Folklore plus Children's Songs.
Ania is also an active member of the Maximillian Kolbe Parish In Mississauga, Ontario where she has been the organist and vocalist for the past twenty (20) years.
A favorite throughout Western New York, Ania has performed on a number of occasions with Joe MacielĄg and the Pic-A-Polka Orchestra.
 Alizma
ALIZMA is an acronym representing a musical group
composed of three identical sisters named Aleksandra, Izabela and Monika Okapiec. They are all 22 years old and specialize in voice, violin and other string instruments.
Aleksandra, Izabela and Monika were born in Poland, an Eastern-European country where they lived for the first 16 years of their lives. During this time it was their mother
Halina Okapiec, who first introduced them to the world of music and continues to inspire them to this day. Their mother, a kindergarten teacher, began teaching them songs
even before they were able to walk, which led to their first public performance at age three. By the age of six, Alizma had begun their continuing study of the violin. At age 16, Alizma
began performing on national television in Poland, being featured on such shows as "Shansa na Sukces," "Na Kazdy Temat," "Piknik Country," "Super
Express," and "Kurier News." Shortly thereafter, they began performing abroad in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Another wonderful opportunity Alizma
had in their lives was the privilege of coming to the United States at the age of 15 for one year as exchange students. After that year, they went back to
Poland, but were so enamored with the United States that they returned for their Senior Year of High School. While in the United States Alizma continued to hone their musical skills, being awarded
with music scholarships to the Wilmington Music School, where they studied violin with Antonio Rincon and jazz improvisation with Diane Monroe. They graduated from Mount Pleasant High
School in Wilmington, Delaware in 2001 and decided to continue their education at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia where each one of them received a full, four-year scholarship in the
Arts Management program with a concentration in Violin Performance and minors in Voice and Piano. In addition, Alizma studied opera and were involved in Harambee Gospel Choir to widen their
musical horizons. Not focusing exclusively on musical pursuits, they joined the Shenandoah University Dance Team to gain practical experience in dance and choreography.
Aside from studying at the University to gain theoretical knowledge, Alizma continued to develop their skills as professional artists. They have undergone over 15 years of classical training at some
of the finest music schools in Poland and the United States, which they strongly believe is the base of all music. However, Alizma's true passion lies in commercial music combined with violin
improvisation. Not wanting to delay their professional careers any more than necessary, they graduated from Shenandoah University with a Bachelors of Science in Arts Management/Music one semester ahead of schedule.
Alizma currently lives in Los Angeles, where they perform and work on their Masters Degrees in violin performance. In The United States, Alizma
continues to build their musical resume by performing whenever possible. Among the more notable opportunities they had were performances at US Senator Joe
Biden's Christmas Party, the Polish Embassy in New York City, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Trade Conference in Richmond, Va, the Chamber of Commerce Conference in Delaware,
the Bethleham Music Festival in Pennsylvania, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They also performed as guest soloists with Dover Symphony Orchestra in their Annual Dover Days
Pops Concert and at the Bach Handel Festival in Winchester, Virginia as soloists with the accompaniment of the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra. Most recently, Alizma
began to perform on United States television, being invited to appear on "Soap Talk" with Lisa Rina & Ty Treadeway, the opening of the "Rose Parade 2006" with LeAnn
Rimes , "Last Call" with Carson Daly, the "Montel Williams" Television Show, and also Steve Harvey's "Big Time", where they performed live on two separate occasions. All of the
aforementioned performances included interviews by the show's respective hosts as well.
 CITY SIDE BAND
Ted Szyrnanski (bandleader, accordion, keyboard, vocals, composer and songwriter for the City Side Band and the present members Jim Raczkowski
- drums and vocals, Dennis Ratajchak - sax, clarinet and vocals, Bob Krupka – trumpet and guitar, Ron Urbanczyk - concertina, bass and vocals and Gene Rzeznik - bass,
guitar and vocals were all born and raised in Western New York..Established in 1986, the City Side Band has succeeded in taking Polka Music out of the ethnic quarters of Buffalo and into non-polka
territory such as the New York State and Erie County Fairs, Fairgrounds Gaming and Racing Center, Darien Lake, Miss Buffalo, Kutzi Ball, Dunn Tire Park and the Taste of Buffalo to name of few.
Ted Szyrnanski, the leader and the City Side Band have remained in the public eye as perfomers for over 20 years. Without doubt, they have the areas largest following of polka fans. As promoters, City
Side works with other national polka acts and brings them into the Western New York area. Eddie Blazonczyk and the Versatones, Jim Weber and the Sounds Reunion, Toledo Polkamotion,
Crusade, Touch of Brass, the Mass Brass, and (TBC) The Brass Connection have all made stops in Buffalo. Currently, the band
has embarked on their fourth CD project, which they hope to release sometime in 2006. Their three CD releases are entitled: Buffalo Past & Present, Just Like Downtown and
Perfect Harmony all are on Sunshine Records and are distributed nationally and available on the internet.
During the mid-nineties, City Side gained local recognition by writing and recording several polkas to root on the Buffalo Bills including the 8uffalo Bills Polka; Go Bills Go and the Doug Flutie Polka.
In celebration of one of the largest ethnic polka events of the year, Ted also wrote the "Dyngus Day" Polka in recognition of this Polish holiday and celebration, which occurs the Monday after Easter
each year. On "Dyngus Day", Buffalo and Western New York become the party capital of the world with over 10 venues of polka music and celebrations at local establishments. City
Side performs at the largest Dyngus Day party in the area, which is hosted by the Chogin Singing Society. This event draws over 2000 people to Hearthstone Manor each year. This year, we have added an afternoon show at
Fairgrounds Gaming and Racing Center in Hamburg, NY. City Side can be seen performing locally at the Potts' Banquet Hall the second Sunday of every
month; regularly at one of the three Polka Clubs in Buffalo (BuffaloPolkaBoosters, PolkaVarieties Social Club or the Polka Originals Social Club) and at many of the large Polish festivals, lawn fetes
and dances throughout the year. They are in high demand and play regularly around the area. In addition, City Side is the only band in Western New York performing a Polish-American Folk Mass.
In recent years, they have taken their act outside of Western New York and now perform regularly at many of the major Polka Festivals throughout the US. City Side has performed at the Polka Jam
in Ocean Beach, CT; Polka Spree by the Sea in Wildwood, NJ, Seven Springs PA, Pulaski Polka Days, Pulaski, WI, Polkamotion by the Ocean, Ocean Ci, MD., Polish American Citizens Club,
Ludlow, MA, Three Rivers, MA, Bristol CT, Bay Way, MJ. and for the Coal Crackers Club, Barnesyille, PA,
Quo Vadis Choir
Beginning with a small group of singing enthusiasts, in 1987, comprised of a cross section of the Polish Community, the ensemble soon grew into a four voice mixed choir concentrating on
preserving and promulgating Polish culture and language via music. The choir earned success through humble beginnings. Early on, the first challenge and accomplishment took place in 1988
singing Polish religious songs on the weekly Order of Franciscan Friars radio program the "Father Justin Rosary Hour." Since that time, the group's interest was to sing only Polish religious and
liturgical music and did so in many churches.Soon after, "Quo Vadis" Choir began to include Polish secular music into their repertoire. In 1992,
the ensemble entered a competition during the Polish Singers Alliance of America Tri-Annual Convention, held in Detriot, Michigan and came home with the most coveted Cardinal Hlond Trophy,
the top award for the highest points in all categories, namely, mixed, female and male choruses. Currently, the ensemble enjoys a diverse repertoire of various ancient and contemporary Polish
music that was introduced to audiences in the United States, Canada and Europe, e.g., Poland, Italy, and Lithuania.
In addition to performing many formal concerts, the choir members enjoyed entertaining groups in nursing homes and senior centers and assisting to host choirs, music directors and clergy from Europe and Canada. |
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