The Polka Country Musicians are one of the most popular polka bands on the scene and they will be playing the BVMC’s PolishFest ’04 on Saturday, September 25. PolishFest is located at 250 Maxwell Road in Latham, NY (www.polishfest-ny.org). PCM are part of a growing number of polka bands that are crossing over into the mainstream by incorporating elements from other musical genres, and, in the process, attracting younger fans. We asked Wally Dombrowski, PCM’s front man, to explain to all of those folks who aren’t polka fans why they are going to become polka converts after seeing the PCM show at PolishFest. "I think the main reason people who aren't into polka music will have a great time at our show can be summed up in two words - high energy." Dombrowski adds, "I know we're doing something right when I've been approached by people who would be considered ‘non-polka’ and they've made the comment to me, ‘You know, I don't like polka music, but I really like you guys!’ Hearing something like that from someone who's not into polka music is the biggest compliment to PCM and what we do."

Dombrowski explains why PCM seems to have so many young fans. . . teenagers even. Really. "The style of polka music we play is a definite factor. We're aggressive, contemporary, and full of energy. Also, we like to play music that everyone can relate to and understand. So, even though we can be categorized as a Polish style polka band, we tend not to sing too many songs with Polish lyrics. It has been my experience that the only way polka music can achieve a wider audience is to sing most of the songs in English. Give the people something to relate to and understand and they're more apt to take a closer listen and realize, ‘Hey, this stuff isn't that bad!’ We're also known for taking some songs from country music and adapting them into polkas. If people have heard the song before on a country music station and then hear our version of it, they'll relate to it right away and that further draws them in."

Another key ingredient to PCM’s success is having a set or two every gig in which Dombrowski and his brother, Rich, play violins. "We both play trumpet most of the night so when we switch over, the violin then becomes the lead instrument and that makes us unique. Rich and I get pretty mobile and animated in our performance! We move around, jump off the stage and go out on the floor with the people. For all intents and purposes, it is a stage show." Dombrowski, whose musical influences include a lot of ‘80’s rock (among other things) was asked in an interview on the Polka Maniac web site (www.polkamaniac.com) whether he’d ever been tempted to body surf the crowd. He replied, "The thought has crossed my mind. However, I've always held off because most people would freak out if they saw me suddenly launch myself at them from the stage. Let's face it. I don't think many folks who go to polka functions are too familiar with the terms ‘mosh pit,’ ‘stage diving’ and ‘crowd/body surfing.’ Anytime I have visions of doing a stage dive, all I can picture is me launching myself, body first, into the crowd and the people thinking that I'm making my usual jump off the stage. They would just clear out of the way in the middle of my dive, leaving me a nice, hard spot on the floor to crash."

Dombrowski says that even in the polka world, the advent of MTV has made the visual aspects of performance and the image of a band almost as important as the music itself. "Some bands play at the audience. We play for the audience. There's a big difference. I went to music college and took a few classes in songwriting while I was there. I had a really cool teacher who, on the first day of class, and I'll never forget it, grabbed some chalk, and faced the blackboard. As he was writing, he said, "It's called the music BUSINESS!" He wrote the word music in normal sized lettering, and then BUSINESS in big capital letters. Like it or not, some will say they're in it for the creative aspect and that's fine, but the bottom line is, it's still a business. If you intend to thrive, you better have something that's marketable and something people will like."

People who are not diehard polka fans may not realize the musical diversity that exists within the genre. Dombrowski notes, "What most people on the outside looking in don't realize is that, just like in any other forms of music, polka music has different styles. In jazz, you can find big band, be-bop, fusion, etc. Polka music has different styles as well. The main ones are Slovenian, German, and Polish. Our band happens to be of the Polish style. Even within the Polish style, there are differences, or sub-genres, if you will."

"You have Eastern style, which is a more antiquated style of polka music. Bands who play Eastern style, have a full orchestra, usually a large brass and reeds section, accordion, violin, piano, bass and drums. The music is played at a quicker tempo and pays tribute to the old days when most bands performed with 8 to 12 or more musicians in the band. Bands back then had little or no amplification so the extra instrumentation was made up for that and reinforced the sound. By the time the late 1950s came around, rock and roll took America by storm and, with the addition of amplification, not as many instruments were needed to project the sound of a band, so a downsizing took place. Newer bands began forming with fewer musicians. An innovator of the newer Eastern style sound was Happy Louie from Massachusetts. His music featured himself on trumpet with a clarinet doing a tight harmony with his lead trumpet. The accordion did a lot of bellows shaking to drive and move the band along. Louie's music also had a slightly slower tempo compared to the older Eastern style bands."

"The other sub-genres of Polish style polka music originated around Chicago in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The first style is more laid back, called ‘honky style.’ The instrumentation for this style includes a trumpet and clarinet. Differing from the Eastern style of Happy Louie, which contained tight, ‘note for note’ melody and harmony lines between the trumpet and clarinet, honky style breaks the rules by having both the trumpet and clarinet do much more improvisation within the music, closely akin to a Dixieland style. The tempo is typically much slower than the Eastern style and does not have what can only be referred to as ‘drive’ within the music. In addition to trumpet and clarinet, honky style also employs a concertina playing melody, or an embellished melody, behind the lead instruments and vocals. Note, I said, ‘concertina’ and not accordion. While some people may mistake a concertina for an accordion, they are very different. A concertina is much more difficult to play because it's known as a diatonic instrument. Unlike an accordion, which, when hitting a key or a button on the right or left hand, produces the same pitch pushing the instrument in or pulling it out, a concertina produces different pitches on each button when it's pushed in and out. It can be a very complex instrument to master."

"The last sub-genre within the Polish style polka music is simply known as Chicago or Push style. Typically, the instrumentation of a Chicago/Push band is two trumpets (sometimes you'll find a band that also has a musician who can play both clarinet and saxophone in the lineup as well), concertina, accordion, bass and drums. The tempo is noticeably slower than the Eastern style and its called "Push" for a reason. It is, without a doubt, the most aggressive sounding, and most contemporary, of the Polish style polka music, if not in all of polka music. The two trumpets play tight harmony with each other. The concertina provides embellished lead lines behind the two trumpets and the lead vocal most of the time. The accordion is primarily utilized for bellows shaking, giving the music movement and drive. The style works best with an aggressive drummer, one who's not afraid to play the drum kit. As far as the PCM goes, we, without a doubt, fall into the Chicago/Push style."

The PCM have a number of musical influences. Dombrowski’s polka influences include Happy Louie and Eddie Blazonczyk Sr. "Although Louie was more of the modern Eastern style, he had a driving sound and was considered high energy. He was quite animated when he played on stage. I think that's where I get the showmanship thing. I was about 6 years old the first time I ever saw Eddie Blazonczyk Sr. perform live and, because he played Chicago style and I was used to the modern Eastern style of Louie, it was very different. I immediately took a liking to the two trumpets that signify the Chicago style, as well as the concertina. Eddie Sr. also had this great singing voice, very high and very powerful. I've yet to meet anyone who could belt out a song like he could vocally."

As far as other influences go, there is definitely a country music feel, both old and new, to PCM’s music. Dombrowski, a fiddle player, also listens to a lot of bluegrass. Dombrowski adds, "I like a lot of '80s rock (yeah, go ahead and laugh.). That's when I became a teenager, so sue me. My CD collection varies quite a bit. It includes everything from Paul Simon to Seal, to the heavy metal sounds of Manowar, to Peter Gabriel to Yes, to The Black Crowes to Aerosmith. I'm, pretty much, all over the place. You never know what you can take away from the music you listen to and, somehow, incorporate it, either on a conscious or subconscious level, into something and make it a part of you." It’s this openness that makes PCM’s music so fresh and popular.