Watch this site!
Originally published February 1990
POP GOES THE RADIO
It's called POP radio. You can't turn it off. You can't switch to another station. You may even listen to it without being aware that it is on. POP, which is an acronym for Point of Purchase, radio is that "in store" sound system you hear in drugstores, toy stores and supermarkets. These closed circuit programs pitch products, advertise specials, promote items and play while you shop.
The statistics say it works so why not add one more letter and create POPP, Point of Purchase Polka radio. Of course the usage and applications would vary from the original commercial version. Let's give you an idea of how The Insider's version of POPP radio would work.
Imagine yourself on an elevator at the Seven Springs resort
during Polka Fireworks and from the ceiling speakers comes
Another scenario finds a group wandering the midway at Polka bration. Danny Cyronak, Rhode Island DJ, is heard on the park PA system suggesting you "pick up" that new Pillar LP, following it with a cut from the same.
Perhaps some day you'll be walking through the Broadway Market in Buffalo, kielbasa and rye bread in your shopping bag, and you'll hear Big Steve or Greg Chwojdak suggesting you stop down the street at Ruda's to purchase your favorite polka record or catch lunch at the Polish Villa. Next, of course, would be a tune from a Happy Richie, SCB or Dynatone album. This would segway into a Redlinski meat special at the back wall of the Market.
By now you've realized the possibilities of POPP radio and the ways it could further polka music. Why, in years to come, POPP radio will be heard in every polka record store, Polish meat market, and restaurant. This will stimulate the creation of businesses to feature POPP radio. Soon, springing up all over the country will be chains of fast food outlets with names like, Pa's Pierogi Palace, The Kiszka Kanteen, and Grab a Glombki. POPP radio will bleed over into mainstream Point of Purchase and you'll be hearing the Versatones in Rite-Aid,Pillar in P & C food markets and Sturr in Toys R Us. Eventually we'll see the POPP music awards with Favorite DJ, Most Unique Commercial, Best Band in Produce and Butcher's First Choice Prize.
Now, all we need is someone to start the ball rolling. The Insider has planted the seed. Can you make it grow?
Originally published January 1988
The Polka Insider
Let's give some "sidemen" some recognition and into the Polka Music Hall of Fame. Many of these musucians have spent decades in the field and certainly have done more to promote polkas than most. The countless hours on the road, the hundreds of one-nighters and the time away from family are all part of a sideman's life. They rarely receive the glory or recognition the leader of a band may receive but their devotion to the music they play keeps them on the polka circuit. Without sidemen there would be "no" band and without a band there would be no leader or polkas.
Isn't it time to give the sidemen the credit they so justly deserve? We think it is.
Polka Bands are the key reasons why most attend a polka festivaL and this year's Polka Fireworks at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort presented some of the best in the business. To mention one above the other wouldn't be fair because all bands tend to play "up" at "The Springs." The stage is more than the festival stage, it is the platform for presentation, the window to the fans, the place to put out your top job.
There are other bands at Seven Springs that some fans never see or hear, but those in the know are front-row center when these bands make their music. Every year The Futa Family Jam, a daytime event at the back garden area, collects musicians like iron to a magnet. It is not unusual to have 20 or more musicians, on a variety of instruments, playing music as if they had been on the same stage for 20 years.
The Concertina Jam, marking its 24 year, brings together dozens of concertina players in a casual venue to plays songs called out by the group. Dozens of these button pushes share their enjoyment for the music and the instrument in a setting that rarely seen on stage. Novice sits alongside expert and everyone is equal and there for the love of the music.
Let's not forget many other impromptu music events like Big Dan's party with the Dynabrass or Roger Majeski and his balconey jam, entertaining the entire mountainside.
Afterall, many polka tunes had their origins in villages where small groups of musicians gathered to play and entertain themselves in an unplanned setting. The polka jams of today continue this.
Last Updated: 24 February 2011