Friday, June 27, 2025
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If polka be the food of love, play on. The story of a Polka Band and its search for the perfect Polka
POLKA BAND GOBI
Thik Polka…the band ( now known as Polka Band Gobi)
When you hear the words THIK POLKA your immediately think of one of the biggest Polka Bands in the U.S. and standing with a group of your best friends in some concert hall or outdoor stadium or at a friends wedding in a small hall and yelling, “We want TP, we want TP” . You think of Yosh doing his accordion solo for Dark Side of the Moon. You think of cabbage rolls and Lederhosen and of you watching your mum making you a special batch of pierogies...with cheese and potatoes. Every time we think of Thik Polka we think of all those times, each and every one of us.
This site has not been long in the making and is a tribute to the world’s best Polka Band…”Thik Polka” ( or TP for short) a band that I and so many have followed and loved and treasured for many dozens of years. When you look back on the history and fame of Thik Polka, the band, what imediately comes to mind to so many people is a band that ;
1) Made Lederhosen popular to people in all walks of life.
2) That the phrase “ where’s the TP” has a whole new meaning to music lovers everywhere.
Thik Polka’s history is known to many and does not bear repeating other than to state that when everyone thought the story ended…it just began. While on the final dates of their Upper Western New York State World tour, Thik Polka left their accordions in their hotel room and left a note for their nephew, explaining their absence. In this note, it was explained that they were tired of all the fame of all the glory and were off to India to search and to discover the “Perfect Polka”, to find the source of the Polka and then to play the perfect polka at the Taj Mahal. Through these pages I hope to bring to life, the journey of Thik Polka (now known in India as Polka Band Gobi)and their search. Prior to leaving for India, TP developed a strong bond with a Mr. Kumar of Mysore India and Kumar I am sure will be an invaluable resource for Polka Band Gobi
p.s."Gobi" means cabbage in Hindi
______________________________________________
When you hear the words THIK POLKA your immediately think of one of the biggest Polka Bands in the U.S. and standing with a group of your best friends in some concert hall or outdoor stadium or at a friends wedding in a small hall and yelling, “We want TP, we want TP” . You think of Yosh doing his accordion solo for Dark Side of the Moon. You think of cabbage rolls and Lederhosen and of you watching your mum making you a special batch of pierogies...with cheese and potatoes. Every time we think of Thik Polka we think of all those times, each and every one of us.
This site has not been long in the making and is a tribute to the world’s best Polka Band…”Thik Polka” ( or TP for short) a band that I and so many have followed and loved and treasured for many dozens of years. When you look back on the history and fame of Thik Polka, the band, what imediately comes to mind to so many people is a band that ;
1) Made Lederhosen popular to people in all walks of life.
2) That the phrase “ where’s the TP” has a whole new meaning to music lovers everywhere.
Thik Polka’s history is known to many and does not bear repeating other than to state that when everyone thought the story ended…it just began. While on the final dates of their Upper Western New York State World tour, Thik Polka left their accordions in their hotel room and left a note for their nephew, explaining their absence. In this note, it was explained that they were tired of all the fame of all the glory and were off to India to search and to discover the “Perfect Polka”, to find the source of the Polka and then to play the perfect polka at the Taj Mahal. Through these pages I hope to bring to life, the journey of Thik Polka (now known in India as Polka Band Gobi)and their search. Prior to leaving for India, TP developed a strong bond with a Mr. Kumar of Mysore India and Kumar I am sure will be an invaluable resource for Polka Band Gobi
p.s."Gobi" means cabbage in Hindi
______________________________________________
Polka Band Gobi ...How did it all start
A little know fact is that in 1969, Yosh and Stan lived on a farm around a bend and over a hill from Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel New York. During the weekend of August 15 -18 in 1969 Yosh and Stan noticed the throngs of people cutting through their uncle's farm on their way to some Woodstock festival over the horizon. That weekend changed their young lives. That weekend they played their accordions to the music drifting over the fields. To the sounds of the "Who", the "Grateful Dead" and all the rest, Yosh and Stan stood on the mountain top (really a little hill) till the early morning hours pumping that squeeze box till their little fingers bled. Polka fanatics playing in their uncle Wujek's polka band every weekend they now had discovered the missing and needed sound towards the perfect polka. Polka would never be the same after this moment. This has been a trivia moment of Polka Band Gobi ( formerly Thik Polka).
POLKA BAND GOBI
Our Poster for band
History of Polka Band Gobi
Polka Band Gobi ( also known asThik Polka...the Band) started playing at weddings and small halls on the "Polka Belt" of upper western New York state.
Wowing the crowds in Tonawanda. Cheektowaga and points nearby they soon attracted a very large following. As their fame grew and as they expanded into areas of the Polka never touched before Yosh and Stan introduced a new "beat" to their polka ,introducing accordion solos that some have called,"breathtaking." As one fan stated,"it was as if Stan was swatting bees his hands moved so fast." In the summer of 2008 Stan and Yosh, influenced by the music and sounds of India brought forth the sitar into their repertoire and would do accordion and sitar duets on their songs. Their rendition of
the Iggy Pop classic, "Wild One" with the sitar/accordion duet is still written about today by many people I am sure. Shortly after their last concert(Aug 08) on their world tour, Thik Polka, the Band left for India and this blog is the current story of their adventure,... they changed the name of Thik Polka to "Polka Band Gobi" and continued Their search for the perfect Polka.
Wowing the crowds in Tonawanda. Cheektowaga and points nearby they soon attracted a very large following. As their fame grew and as they expanded into areas of the Polka never touched before Yosh and Stan introduced a new "beat" to their polka ,introducing accordion solos that some have called,"breathtaking." As one fan stated,"it was as if Stan was swatting bees his hands moved so fast." In the summer of 2008 Stan and Yosh, influenced by the music and sounds of India brought forth the sitar into their repertoire and would do accordion and sitar duets on their songs. Their rendition of
the Iggy Pop classic, "Wild One" with the sitar/accordion duet is still written about today by many people I am sure. Shortly after their last concert(Aug 08) on their world tour, Thik Polka, the Band left for India and this blog is the current story of their adventure,... they changed the name of Thik Polka to "Polka Band Gobi" and continued Their search for the perfect Polka.
Our goal...our vision..play the polka here
This is in India
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