Polish flags, Polish food and plenty of cold piwo set the stage for an amazing Polish music jam session in downtown Bremond, the Polish capital of Texas on June 25, 2011. The Polish pride was apparent as Texas Polish danceband fiddler Brian Marshall took the stage around 4 pm on this hot Texas afternoon. Brian introduced an all-star cast of around 20 musicians and then proceeded to rock the house with good old time Polish music.
The standing room only crowd that filled the Texas Slav & German Boutique warehouse on Main Street clapped, stomped and danced for over 4 hours as the musicians took their turn on the stage. The list of musicians read like a who’s-who of Texas Polish music and included Brian Marshall, Chuck Bolin, Kevin Syzdek, Ronnie Dutka, Frank Motley, Sonny Janczak, Mark Hopcus, Ron Ohendalski, Jimmy and James Mazurkiewicz, Eddie Marshall, Jakub and Michal Marshall, Gerald Krusleski, Ed Filar, Phillip and Kyle Berger, Ron and Jake Kasowski, Raymond Yanowski and Ronnie Slafko.
It was close to 100 degrees outside on the streets of Bremond but the jam session hosts Jason and Denise Gouge had graciously installed an air conditioner in the warehouse especially for this event. The Gouge’s have recently opened a web based business that sells Polish, German, Czech and Russian goods including t-shirts, pottery, mugs, nesting dolls and books. Their slogan is “Their story, your heritage, your story…it’s hip to know your roots.”
After all of the fun was over, everyone in the building left with a renewed sense of pride in their Polish heritage.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of many more photos on page 2. There are a few music videos in the Polish Texans Video section or you can see more videos on our YouTube Channel.
James Smock has always held an interest in his Polish ancestors and heritage. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond, Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.