I grew up in a musically inclined household where I would go to polka’s to see my father, Walter Jedziniak, play accordion and drums. I do have a bias about discussing Walter’s thoughts on how Polka’s has been immersed in the United States by being his daughter. However, I have tried to filter out my bias to the best of my ability. There are large stereotypes surrounding polka; the musicians aren’t as talented as others, the music is too cultural, and polka’s are only for those of polish decency. In reality, Polka’s are for every person no matter their background and where they come from. In this interview, Walter explains how he started playing polkas, how polka originated in the United States and the stereotypes around polka that have caused it to not become mainstream music.
Walter Jedziniak started playing accordion in second grade by his mother’s influence, who also had played accordion when she was his age. In fifth grade, he decided to pick up the drums as his second instrument. His parents would always play polka’s on the radio and they would bring him to listen to live polka bands. This led him to want to be a part of a polka band and he decided to start taking lessons with a musician, John Jeski, who ran a polka radio station, played accordion and was in a popular polka band at that time.
Walter started helping John, out on the CCSU and Trinity College radio polka station. This experience influenced him to start one at UCONN when he became a college student. He went to the UCONN radio station numerous times, asking to host a polka station but every time he was laughed at. People did not believe that polka was meant for everyone to listen to and they thought they would not get college students wanting to listen to his radio show. After lots of persistence, he managed to host a radio show called, Polka Magic, from 6-8 am every Saturday. This two-hour show was the most popular show on the radio station at UCONN. As his audience grew, he got pushed to a longer time from 8-11 pm every Saturday and continued Polka Magic for 10 years. Walter realized that the issue of why college students never listened to polka before wasn’t because they did not like it, it was because none of them was exposed to the music. Many people only knew two polkas and thought that that was all that polkas were and had to offer. It wasn’t until his radio show that students actually understood what polka was and understood the industry. The best way to immerse the United States in polka music is by playing it for others without pushing the culture on them.
Polka music is not a growing industry because it is associated with Polish American heritage. When the first immigrants from Poland came to America, they brought their folk songs with them. As they settled into different parts of America, they created different styles of Polka. There is New England Polka which is a large band with 8-11 instruments being played and Chicago style which has only 4-5 instruments. There are many other styles for each part of the United States you visit. Polka’s are a cultural tradition that can be passed down generations. However, the more generations that pass, the less likely it is for the music and cultural aspect of Poland to be passed down to children. This makes it hard for polkas to become mainstream and for there to be young musicians playing in polka bands.
The polka music industry does not have the resources to bring their music mainstream. Not only this, but much of polka music is all in polish which makes it hard for those who do not speak the language, to want to listen to this music. The polka industry is content in not making themselves mainstream. They like having a small, tight-knit group of polka lovers. However, Walter believes that the industry should broaden their audience and reach out to people who wouldn’t normally listen to polka. From his experience, he knows that the only thing you have to do is play polka for people and let the music speak for itself. The name, polka, is also misleading because it sounds like it is only meant for those who are polish. However, this is not the case. Those in polka bands have the same main goal, get everyone dancing. Whenever polka musicians play, they will also alternate between genres of rock, jazz, tangos, polkas, and other genres. This is because they want everyone to have a good time and be able to join in the dancing. Polka music has a very specific type of dance that is needed for the song and if people do not know it, then they are not likely to participate. The more varieties of style a polka band is able to play, the more people will come and enjoy their music. This allows for polka to captivate a larger audience and a wide range of ethnicities.
