Let me begin by saying that I am not a very sociable person and have a lot of difficulty talking to people I don’t know. This, for as long as I can remember has been a major impediment to me because it has made conducting interviews nearly impossible. So it was setting up and carrying out my interview that I had the most difficulty with.
Knowing that I could not bear to set up a formal, sit-down interview, I knew that it would have to be massively informal and as quick as possible. For this reason among many I chose to have my interview be at the same time as my performance attendance. I chose Henk’s European deli because I knew that they were the only place in town that had live polka music on a regular basis. And on the occasions that I have been there, the scene was very intimate and the performers definitely wanted participation from the audience and would be happy to answer a few of my questions.
I had my interview last Saturday night. I had to come on the bus because no one could give me a ride. But really that is more fun, which made it an adventure. Or at least I preferred to thin k of it that way, if only to relieve my anxiety. I came in, ordered the Bavarian omelet and patiently waited for the funky polka tunes to start. I was thrilled to see that the performer took suggestions and since his main instrument was an accordion, I could not help but ask if he knew any Weird Al Yankervic (which of course, he did). After which, I asked him a few quick questions about how Polka came to Texas and how it has changed. In summation, polka originated in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia and the immigrants form those countries came and brought their music to Texas and once here it mixed with the Mexican music.
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