April 17, 1971: The Goral Boys
April 17, 1971
Make Room for Another Polka Giant
Short, round-faced Frank Gnojek leans a muscular Penn Central
freight yard arm on the bottom half of the Dutch door in his
For three years it was quiet. His son John, who put in all
the acoustic tile and built that little control room, empty now, had rehearsed
bands down here for 10 years. That was until things broke up in 1967 and, well,
you could hear the TV better, but it wasn’t the same.
Now John’s back, weaving his trumpet across those two-four
and three-four rhythms since December with this new group. And there’s poster
for the up on the wall and this band is really something.
* * *
THE GORAL BOYS.
For the people who get their music at the Strand Ballroom on
Not only do they come from five of
* * *
“THIS IS the
first time anybody’s put a band together like this,” John explains. “It sort of
like
“We figured we’d have a band which didn’t have an organized
leader,” says other trumpeter Ken Machelski. Look at the sheet for Goral
Enterprises Inc. and you find seven subsidiaries, each band member a president.
The seven presidents also had to put up a membership fee, the
idea being that the group will be stronger through this common commitment.
* * *
THEIR first
appearance Jan. 17 in the Strand Ballroom drew two notices in the next edition
of bi-weekly Polka World (“Happy Music for Happy People”) out of
One story said: “Never before has the city or its surrounding
areas had a band which features a violin and concentrates on playing ‘the
old-country style’ of polkas.”
The other reported: “While the fabulous Goral Boys were
playing the ‘Fiddler’s Polka’ on the dance floor, the entrance was filled with
squad cars, fire rescue units and an ambulance.” No, not a riot. They were for
promoter Wally Czaska’s wife, who moments later gave birth to a girl.
* * *
FROM THIS
auspicious start, the band has moved to bookings under such polka giants as
Li’l Wally (May 9, Strand Ballroom) and Marion Lush (May 22, Glab Post).
There’s the possibility of TV appearances, too.
They’re also at the
Not an easy schedule for seven musicians with regular jobs,
two of them at night. Like Harry tonight. That’s why he left his violin home.
He didn’t figure they’d be playing.
He also didn’t figure he’d be more than an hour late for
work. But the band cuts into a polka and Harry, waiting for a ride, learns from
his watch he’s an hour and a half overdue and there’s nothing to do but play
tambourine or invisible violin and take a spot next to singer Joe Grenda.
* * *
UNDER normal
circumstances, there are four lead instruments – three horns and the violin.
The horns play harmonies with each other in a double-time tapestry over Joe’s
sonorous accordion and a two-four polka beat
which sounds almost rockabilly on Hank Krzykowski’s drums and Bill
Barnas’ five-string bass.
They add a saxophone or one or two concertinas for variety in
a repertoire of polkas, waltzes, obereks (fast waltzes), Rheinlanders and
“English numbers” – recent pop songs like “Knock Three Times” and Herb Alpert’s
“A Taste of Honey.”
* * *
THEY’LL sing
an occasional English verse in a polka, depending on the crowd, but the strong
point with people who feel strongly about the old country is the Polish. And if
the pronunciation isn’t good, you’re in trouble.
The Goral Boys say theirs is among the best, with Joe’s
parents being from the old country and Joe speaking nothing but Polish at home.
His mellow tenor forms vowels and consonants that sound like
a reversed recording to the ignorant ear. The words seem to march, not to Hank
Krzykowski, but to some other drummer in some other phrasing that’s all twists
and turns.
* * *
SMALL wonder
that engineer Bill Levy left all the production up to the group two weeks ago
when they went into
Essentially it will work the way The Goral Boys’ record will
work – recording and mixing at Act-One, production, promotion and distribution
by Goral Enterprises.
For that first record, they’ll choose from “Fiddler’s Polka” (which
Harry says is a polka version of the square dance “Flop Eared Mule”), “Hupaj
Supaj” “My Dearest Mary Oberek” and an untitled fourth song.
* * *
THEY’LL send
it to polka deejays listed in the polka newspapers, then record an album this
summer for Ray Records, a
“We’d like to get as big as Li’l Wally,” Ken Machelski
observes. “He’s a millionaire. He’s even got hotels in
The box/sidebar
All from Polish Families
Pertinent and impertinent
information about The Goral Boys:
John Gnojek, 25, trumpet,
Ken Machelski, 21, trumpet, concertina and vocals, Hutchinson
Tech, Army Reserves, architectural draftsman for
Ted Darlak, 22, sax and clarinet, Burgard Vocational, Army
Reserves, printer, married.
Joe Grenda, 18, accordion and vocals, Seneca Vocational,
works in a
Harry Burdick, 59, Masten Park High, class of ’27, attended
Bill Barnas, 20, bass and concertina, Canisius High, sophomore
at UB nights, assistant manager of
Hank Krzykowski, 22, drums, Kensington High, Army
“We just adopted this style,” says Ken, whose father has
played Polish music 35 years. “We all come from Polish families, we’ve got to
Polish weddings and seen everybody having a good time. That’s what the music is
about.”
* * *
THE BAND
grew around John, Ken, Ted and Hank and got moving in December after Hank got
out of the Army. Goral means “mountaineer” and The Goral Boys chose it to
suggest the old country to their audiences.
They play the newer, slower, easy-dancing
“He really knows his stuff,” Joe says, “and he’s as enthused
about this band as us younger guys.”
* * * * *
PHOTO CAPTION:
THE GORAL BOYS in
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE: In
1995, Ken Machelski became a founding member of Jerry Darlak and the Buffalo Touch,
serving as lead vocalist, trumpeter and emcee. The Touch was nominated for
Grammy Awards for Best Polka Album in 2003, 2004 and 2009. Since Darlak died in
2010, he’s been the leader. (Saxophonist Ted Darlak does not seem to be a
direct relative of Jerry, who came here from
The
band Ken left to join The Goral Boys was the Buffalo Hi-Notes. And between the
end of the Gorals in the mid 1970s and the start of the Touch, he was leader of
the popular nightclub band New York Transfer, which evolved out of the Gorals.
In his job with
At
least three of the other Gorals wound up with other major local polka bands –
John Gnojek went on to Big Steve and the Bellares. Singer and accordion player
Joe Grenda resurfaced with the Dynatones. Bassist Bill Barnas also became a
Dynatone and has played with Stephanie’s Polka Band.
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