The Michigan Beat 1-15-14
- PostEagle
- January 21, 2014
- Uncategorized
- 0 Comments
Starting things off this month by wishing all of the readers of The Post Eagle and The Michigan Beat a Happy New Year.
Wow! This edition of my column marks “one year” that I have been writing for The Post Eagle newspaper. I really enjoy writing for this newspaper and for the fearless leader of this newspaper Christine. I hope that we have the Post Eagle around for many more years to come and that I can continue to bring you, the readers, many more years of The Michigan Beat.
Thank you to everyone who has supplied The Michigan Beat with all the excellent information over the past year. I look forward to a great year of 2014 for The Michigan Beat, spreading wonderful Polish and also polka related information across the nation.
Just before Christmas, Grand Rapids, Michigan held a huge polka dance called “The Holly Hop”. This dance has made its “return” to Grand Rapids, MI after being gone since the year 2000! I want to say this dance (The Holly Hop) originally began in Grand Rapids, MI in the late 1970’s. Moving once from one place to another and then sadly ending in 2000. This polka dance (The Holly Hop) always featured the Nation’s Number One Polka Band, Eddie Blazonczyk & The Versatones. Well… this great event was brought back in December 2013 by restaurant owner and polka supporter Laura Shipanek in Grand Rapids, MI to her eatery “The Polka Pops Cafe”. An excellent Polish buffet was served at this event along with fabulous music by Jerry Kaminski’s Polka Network from Grand Rapids, MI and also the great sounds of a new and upcoming polka and variety band “Box On” from the Traverse City / Internockin, Michigan area. This is a family band which is led by father Rick Vinecki and includes his wife and kids playing all the instruments and singing. Everyone reading this column knows Mrs. Vinecki as being a part of the Polka Family Band. This band does do and did an excellent job of playing many different styles of music including Polka, country, rock and also Mexican. One of the children in the band, Alex, does an excellent job of imitating his uncle Hank of the Polka Family.
Now on to other parts of the United States and a few other polka bands. The band Squeeze Box from Ohio has been playing in Arizona, Texas and Florida not to mention the Caribbean. This band will be heading home in February. Mike Schneider is going to be busy with the act Pint Size Polkas. This act is taking the nation and polka community by storm! Shows include Minnesota which is coming up in February of this year. The Mike Schneider Band also played for the Wisconsin Polka Boosters Club’s Christmas Dinner. In closing, the band Dennis Polisky & The Maestro’s Men would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!