Accordions in the Cutover
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ACCORDIONS IN THE CUTOVER Field Recordings of Ethnic Music From Lake Superior's South Shore Accordions in the Cutover Field Recordings of Ethnic Music From Lake Superior's South Shore Produced by Northland College Ashland, Wisconsin Project Director, James P. Leary With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Copyright © 1986, Northland College Historical photographs courtesy of Clara Sveda, Stan Stangle, and the Ashland Historical Society Published by Northland College and the Wisconsin Folklife Center A companion booklet for the LP recording Accordions in the Cutover Distributed by: Wisconsin Folklife Center Rt. 3 Dodgeville, Wisconsin 53533 .// "I don't know if we play like them old timers. I don't know if we're as good as them." -Matt Pelto 2 SIDE ONE BOB MATHIOWETZ, concertina. MOQUAH SLOVAK SINGERS: Tom 3. Bodaj By Vas A retired motel/gas station operator, Bob Johanik, two-row button accordion and vocals; Lyrics stress the bygone and contemporary was born in 1918 and grew up in Ashland, Elmer Johanik, Joe Johanik, George Galik, and interrrelationship of dance and courtship. The youngest of ten children in a musical family. Stanley Augustine, vocals. cymbal is an archaic stringed instrument, His Czech-German parents hailed from New "We used to sing. Some people like to fight, while the kolache-a pastry filled variously with Ulm, Minnesota, where Bob's dad knew the but we would sing. We'd go to a dance in our cottage cheese, poppy seeds, or fruit-remains father of legendary German bandleader younger days and somebody'd be feeling good. an important festival food. "Whoopee" John Wilfahrt and played baritone They'd start to sing. Pretty soon there'd be The song's musical form is irregular, in horn, bandonion, and concertina. The twenty people in the group. Sometimes people dicative of the improvisational nature of infor "Mathiowetz Concertina Orchestra," a family wouldn't dance. They'd sing all night ." mal community performances, as an eight-bar band featuring two concertinas, trumpet, piano, -Tom Johanik appendix to the first verse is deleted from verses and drums, played for Ashland dances from two and three. The button accordion's 1928-1932. Bob was the trumpeter but he also Moquah ("Big Bear" in Ojibwa) is a somewhat "out of tune" sound, especially evi learned harmonica, button accordion, piano predominantly Slovak-American rural dent in the persistent use of a slightly flat sixth accordion, chordovox, and concertina. From community that was settled from 1908-1915, at degree scale in the bass, produces tones akin to the early 1940s until the mid-70s, Mathiowetz the instigation of the James W. Good Land Afro-American "blue notes." Indeed "blues participated in regional bands-"The Gloom Company, by immigrant families laboring in the tonality" typifies the reed and brass playing of Chasers," "The Northernaires," "Bob and mines of Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Minnesota. former and present day Wisconsin Bohemian Rod,"''The Solid Sound"-that combined In 1934 Professor G. Humphrey of the brass bands led by Romy Gosz, Elroy Berkholtz, various "old time" or ethnic styles with Big University of Wisconsin's Rural Sociology Joe Karman, Tom Siebold, Larry Hlinak, and Band, Dixieland, and Country music. Department visited the community, was others. impressed by song and dance at house parties, 1. Concertina Galop and encouraged the formation of a "Slovak "Theme Song" of the Mathiowetz Dance Group" that performed at regional Concertina Orchestra, the galop was a couple agricultural fairs. The second generation dance incorporating 2/4 time at a slightly performers heard here carried on the tradition, "crisper" pace than the polka. Bob has a from 1949-1953, as the "Moquah Dramatic tattered copy of the sheet music, probably Club." Today their ethnic songs are limited to published in Chicago by Vitak-Elsnic: a an occasional wedding, public dance, or to the company which marketed arrangements for community's annual "Pioneer Days" celebration. piano and concertina through Joseph Jiran, Tom Johanik, son of the first generation's another Bohemian music publisher who ran a premier accordionist, currently heads "The store, stocked "For All Your Musical Needs," at Polkateers," an eclectic "old time band." 1333 W. 18th St. in Chicago. 2. Madre O~i (Blue Eyes Waltz) A "standard" for the Mathiowetz Concertina Orchestra, this Bohemian tune remains widely performed by German, Polish, and other "polka" bands. Related Recordings: "Whoopee" John Wilfahrt, Waltz With Whoopee , Polka City 385. The Happy Notes, Something You Haven't Heard, Gold Crest G-1000. 3 Bodaj by vas, vy mladenci, Doggone you young fellows, 4. Rychtarova Dcera cert vzali, Let the devil take you, This Slovak village song emphasizes class ze ste si mna na ten tanec Because you didn't invite me to and ethnic stress created by the wandering nepozvali, the dance. gypsy's attraction for a rich man's offspring. A ja by bola tancovala, I could've danced and concluding verse, not sung here, alludes to the aj na cymbal nieco dala Paid the cymbal player suitor's motives: "The gypsy hasn't had his a vas vsetkych pobozkala. And kissed all of you. marriage banns announced yet / but the gypsy is already rocking in a rocking chair." Co sa mamka tejto noci Oh how my mother troubled herself natra'pila, this night, Trebars som ja rychtarova dcefa, a by sa vafu. len nejako Just to please you fellows somehow. predsa budem ciganova zena! za vdacila; She baked three measures of flour spiekla muky na tri korce with ingredients added, Cigan sa mi prevelice lubi, pre vas, chlapci, na kolace, For you fellows, for Kolaches, preto, ze ma pekne biele zuby! lena by som tancovala. Just so she could dance at the party. Biele zuby, kuceravevlasy, Uzje amen, uz je koniec, to cigana prevelice krasi! mili chlapci, Now it's Amen, now it's the end ked je uzraz, ked je uz raz my dear fellow. Even though I am the mayor's potom tanci; When it's finally-when it's finally daughter, ked sa novy tanec strhne, after the dance. I would be the wife of a gypsy. pamatajte chlapci na mne, When a dance is planned, trebars bude po polnoci. Remember me my dear fellows. I have great love for this gypsy, I'll come even if it's late at because he has pretty white teeth. night. White teeth, curly hair, that gypsy is very beautiful. References: James P. Leary, "The Musical Traditions of Moquah's Slovaks," North Country Folk 1:4 (September, 1981): 4-7. JERRY NOV AK, harmonica and vocal. Group, served as Town Clerk and Farmer's Born in 1895 in Podebradi, Bohemia, Jerry Union president, and compiled a local history. emigrated to America in 1902, living with his His repertoire in 1981 included 7 3 songs in parents and eight sisters in Jennings, Wisconsin, Bohemian and Slovak, plus three dozen early Michigan's Saginaw Valley, and Cedar Rapids, twentieth century American parlor tunes. "I lowa, before settling on a Moquah dairy farm in always had a good memory." Jerry's father and 1911. He worked the homeplace until his death grandfather were peasants and his old country in October, 1982. The Novaks were a musical songs detail agrarian life with particular stress family; Jerry played harmonica duets with his on the joys and tragedies of love, economic dad and sang with his eight sisters. He helped inequity, and the hard lot of foot soldiers in the Jerry Novak found the aforementioned Slovak Dance Austro-Hungarian army. 4 V V 5. Vy Reznici 6. Sli Panenki Jerry's vocal and instrumental versions of ..., this piece are quite distinct. Because of the Sli panenki silnici; and Potkali je mysli,myslivci. structural limitations imposed by language v meter, the vocal rendition is relatively stable. Sli penenki silnici; Meantime Novak's improvisational harmonica Potkali je myslivci dva. playing absorbs snippets from other tunes while incorporating new rhythms; only its refrain Kam panenki, kam dete? mat ches the melody of the vocal. Such con Ktera moje bude,budete? trasting versions derive from the song's alter Kam panenky kam dete? nate use as a regularized choral number for the Ktera moje budete vam? Moquah Dramatic Club's formal programs and as a variable strictly instrumental tune for infor The girls went down the road; mal community dances. The hunters waited for them. The girls went down the road; Vy reznici, vy reznici; remesnici The two boys waited for them. cove zviku mate? Kdyz vy nee kupjete, v~dycky slov volate. Girls, where, oh where are you going? Which one of you will be, be mine? Zac toho vol~, da' te do slova; Girls, where, oh where are you going? Zac toho vola, date do slova. Which one of you will be mine? Zac ho date, nikdys nerikate; James P. Leary, "The Peasant Songs of Jerry Zat ho date, date do slova. Novak," North Country Folk 1:3 Qune, 1981), / Acho date, nikdy nerikate; 4-7, 30. Za~ ho date, date do slova. Jerry Novak, The History of the Moguah Area You butchers, you butchers; tradesmen (Ashland, Wisconsin: Northland College Press, what kind of habit do you have? 1966). When you buy something, always cry out words. What's he crying out? Put it into words. What's he crying out? Put in into words. What'll you give? You never say. What'll you give? Put it into words. If you're giving something, you never say. What'll you give? Put it into words. 5 CLARA SVEDA (nee Belsky), vocal and Za na~i vesnici, na hlavni silnici, CHORUS: piano. Bosensky rostou lvestky. Bajo! In our alley, plums are lying around.