John Gora really knows how to throw a party and what a party he hosted on Friday April 30th at the Polish Hall in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
On the left stage were The Knewz from Buffalo NY and on the right stage Ed Guca and the Polish Canadians were set up.
The party started at 7:30. Unfortunately, due to travel and prior commitments I was unable to get there till shortly after 8:30. At that time, on the left side of the stage, The Knewz were playing.
The Knewz really are masters at delivering that festive polka party sound. The band consists of band leader Tom Picciano, (also Trumpet, Clarinet, Vocals), Andy Bojczuk (Drums, Vocals), Mike Burka (Trumpet, Vocals), John Fomenko (Accordion), Brian Urbanczyk (Bass) and Tommy Wanderlich (Concertina, Clarinet, Sax, Vocals).
Based in Buffalo, New York, The Knewz was started in 1990 by Mike Burka, Tom Picciano, and Tommy Wanderlich. The band plays many original songs, as well as covers of country and rock songs, and also traditional Polish polkas, obereks, and waltzes.
In 2008, The Knewz received two awards from the USPA - Favorite Recording of the Year for the album "Headlinez", and Favorite Song of the Year, "When I Call Your Name", which was written by Tommy Wanderlich.
During the first set some of the songs they played included the I'll Always Be There Polka from the Headlinez cd as well as Fortunes of War from the 4th Edition cd.
As soon as they completed their set, Ed Guca & the Polish Canadians took to the right side of the stage.
In an earlier review I had done I had said that John Gora's Polka Playin' Fool should go down as a polka classic, and indeed it did win the 2010 PAC Award for Best Original Song.
Well, this year, I think a very strong condender for the award should be Ed Guca's Raise Your Glasses, with vocals and lyrics by band member Joe Banel, and which is track 3 on this album. I have now listened to this track probably over 50 times, and each time I listen I enjoy it more.
Celebrating more than 50 years in the polka arena, 2009 International Polka Assiciation Polka Hall of Fame Inductee Ed Guca released an incredible cd this past Decemeber, his 15th recording with the Polish Canadians. The cd offers 13 excellently produced and thoroughly enjoyable tracks, mostly with vocals in Polish but with a few English tracks as well.
Niech Sie Gra , the first track on the cd, and one of 4 Guca originals, starts the cd off with a bang. And this is a bang that continues throughout the whole cd. Guca also presents excellent arrangements of many traditional songs such as Z Tamtej Strony, Rano Rano, Tylko We Lwowie, Czarne Oczy, Na Polskiej Zabawie, Pod Mostem Niebieskie Oczy and White Table, and does a great cover of Li'l Wally's classic Night After Night. Once you get to the end of the cd, all you want to do is start over, and over and over again.
The graphics on this cd must also be commended and the liner notes provide very good background information on all the members that contributed to this great musical work. It must also be noted that Jerzy Krzeminski, leader of the famous Polish rock band, No To Co contributes greatly on guitar and vocals.
Everyone was having a grand time and most of the night the dance floor was hopping, whether for a polka, waltz, oberek or even a 2-step.
In addition to hosting the whole event, John Gora also joined in with the Knewz to sing along with a couple of songs.
One of the highlights of the night came when Ania Piwowarczyk joined Ed Guca and the Polish Canadians for a good part of their 2nd set.
I had first heard of Ania last year when I purchased from Jan Lewan the "Last Performance at Trump's Taj Mahal" DVD. Ania was featured in a number of songs at that show as well including her signature song "Cyganeczka" which he sang with Jan Lewan that night and with Ed Guca this past April 30th.
It was a pleasure to hear in person the voice that had won, in 1998, the IPA Female Vocalist of the Year Award. In the spring of 2008, Ania was also honored by the Government of the Republic of Poland, when she was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit for her continued work with the youth of her community, and for her efforts in the continuation and promotion of Polish music, both in Canada and in the United States of America.
Just to give you some background, Ania was born in Montreal, Quebec ( Canada ) to parents who were Polish immigrants. She later moved to Mississauga, Ontario, where she still resides. She was first introduced to Polka lovers with her hit song "Cyganeczka" which she originally recorded with Scrubby and the Dynatones, and later with Jan Lewan and his Orchestra. In addition to her appearences with Lewan, she has also appeared with Joe Macielag, and most recently with Jolly Joe and the Bavarians.
At the show there were a number of cds for sale. I already had the latest 2 John Gora cds in my collection and considering how great I thought they were I thought it was time to add a 3rd. The cd I chose to add to my collection was Can-Am Polkas and like the other 2 cds that I have listened to over and over again, it is a great cd that, along with all John Gora cds should have a prominent place in any serious polka collection.
I also picked up Ania Piwowarczyk's latest cd, produced in 2008 and titled "Life's Too Short...Thank God For Polkas."
All I can say is "wow", this is one incredible cd. Great music, great sound, great variety, vocals in both English and Polish, and of course a great great voice. I have many favorites on this cd. Two of them are in a unique style that Ania appropriately calls Polka-Sals, "a little polka with a twist of salsa". Track one, "He Said: OLE OLE" starts off the cd with a bang and is something salsa radio should be playing on a regular basis, as is an Ania original, track 14, "Senor You Are So Fine". I think Ania should do an entire cd in the Polka-Sals style as it fits her style very well, and it works, and it sounds great, in a fun way.
Ania has many originals on this cd and they are some more of the best tracks on the cd. Anyway You Like It, Tesciowa (Mother-In-Law), the final track Life's Too Short, Nie Chee, Cie, all of them are of the quality to become true polka classics and I enjoyed listening to them over and over again.
Also on this cd are outstanding versions of many traditional songs such as Czerwone Jagody, Jednej Deery Matka, Rozmowa and many others. I also especially liked the Ricochet Polka as well as a cover of an Abba song done in a Beguine Style, I Have A Dream. I also remember Ania singing this song on the Jan Lewan Final Performance DVD and I am having a hard trying to figure out which version I like better, the original Abba version which I also have on cd, or the Ania Piwowarczyk version.
As I learned from her website, www.aniapiwo.com Ania is an Honorary Lifetime member of the Polish Singers Alliance of America, and an active member of the Marie Curie-Sklodowska Association in Toronto. She is a regular performer at festivals such as the Cheektowaga Polish-American Festival and the Polish Heritage Festival in New Jersey. In Ontario, she is a regular performer at banquets, senior homes and hospitals. Her love and appreciation of both polkas and music in its entirety is illustrated by her lively and interactive performance, and her enthusiastic audience contact.
In addition to his regular lineup which includes Henry Szarota (Accordion, Bass, Piano, Keyboards), Joe Banel (Drums, Perciussion, Vocals) and Brian Tos (Trumpet, Vocals) ,Ed Guca had a couple of special guest artists with him on April 30th - Special Guest Performers:
Bass Guitar - Joe Poper - who also has his own band named Atlantis (pictured above)
Keyboards (and accordion) - Tom Butash (formerly from Pennsylvania MERRYMAKERS) - pictured below
Shortly after 1 am the party appeared to be winding up though many people were still there and dancing and it was scheduled to go till 2. However, since I was already a few hours beyond my regular bedtime I thought it was time to head home. I want to thank John Gora once again for the invitation to and for hosting a great party that I am sure just about everyone in attendance will remember for years.
For polka and Polish cultural fans out there you may want to consider the following future events.
October 23-30, 2010 John Gora will be hosting a Caribbean Polka Cruise on Carnival's newest ship, The Dream. Fly to Orlando, Florida for a 7 day cruise from Cape Canaveral. For more info email john@johngora.com or visit the website www.ultimatepolkacruise.com .
Tuesday August 3rd, 2010 is Polish Festival Night at the Buffalo Bisons baseball game. There is a pre-game tent party from 5-7 pm with live Polish music performed by The Knewz.
August 24th to September 6th, 2010, go on the ULTIMATE TOUR OF CENTRAL EUROPE with John Gora as your host. TOUR OF PRAGUE, VIENNA, BRATISLAVA, BUDAPEST, ZAKOPANE & KRAKOW $3200. Includes flights, hotels, all taxes and two meals per day. Brochure. Day by day itinerary is available from Wanda at Chopin Express Tours in Toronto 1-800-533-0369
or email: wanda@chopintours.com
JUST POLAND 2011
MAY 24 to JUNE 7
15 days from north to south and points in between, including: Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot, Bydgoszcz, Torun, Lichen, Warszawa, Lublin, Zamosc, Lancut, Rzeszow, Tarnow, Zalipie, Nowy Sacz, Zakopane, Wieliczka, Krakow & more. Plans are being made by Chopin Express Tours. Wanda 1-800-533-0369 Brochure coming soon.
Price will include: 2 meals per day, flights from Toronto, New York or Chicago, hotels, tourguides, luxury bus, sight seeing admissions, all taxes, entertainment by John Gora and folk groups and more. Aproximate cost will be $3299. p/p. Space will be limited to first 50 people. Deposit of $300. p/p is required.
