The Polkaholics
Since 1997, The Polkaholics have been playing a high-speed collision of polka and rock, creating a sound that is simultaneously new and old. As noted by Mary Houlihan of Chicago Sun-Times, “The Polkaholics stun and amaze while wreaking havoc to both traditional polka and rock genres!” Using a rock-trio format of guitar/bass/drums to power their polka, The Polkaholics shake some action with a heavy polka beat, creating a sound that fuses the beergarden with the mosh pit. In other words, something for everyone! Some love the rocking sound of the band, while others appreciate their mission to keep polka alive and vital in today’s music scene. Playing old favorites like “Beer Barrel Polka” and “Chicken Dance,” or new classics like “Polkas on Guitar” and “Blue Haired Lady,” The Polkaholics repertoire is filled with songs that are all about FUN! Throw in their glittery outfits and wild showmanship, and you’ve got a band that is intent on Entertaining, with a capital E, and creating the “life of the party” atmosphere at every show.
The trio features founder Dandy Don Hedeker on guitar and vocals, who started the band when he had a mid-life crisis in 1997. But instead of buying a bad toupee and a cheesy sports car, Dandy Don greased his diminishing hair back, baptized himself with old-spice, and started bashing out POLKA on guitar! On bass and vocals is Blitz Linster, who joined The Polkaholics in 2012 to bring the oompah-POW to The Polkaholics sound! Simultaneously defying the speed of sound and musical logic, Blitz’s fingers throttle the fretboard to prove that it’s all about the POLKA bass! Action Jackson Wilson, who joined the band in 2001 (for a polka odyssey!), is on drums and vocals. Using a cacophony of cowbells, tom-toms, and cymbals, Action Jackson creates a 1-2 polka punch that simply can’t be beat!
Over the years, The Polkaholics have released several CDs and have won Chicago Music
Awards a number of times for Best Polka Entertainers. Their most recent CD is “Say YES to Oktoberfest,” a collection of a lucky 13 warped polkatrocities released in Summer 2023. They have been featured numerous times on TV and radio, and have played shows across the United States and Canada. The Polkaholics have also crossed the Atlantic to bring their crazy polka sounds to Europe in 2013, 2014, and 2017, including an appearance at the 2017 polkaBEATS festival in Cottbus Germany. Clearly, this is a polka revolution for everyone!
The Polkaholics are available for all kinds of events, from street fests to parties, from bars to parades, we’ve done it all and continue to push the polka! For further information on our polka dementia-nation, please contact: Don Hedeker ([email protected] or 773 544-7828).