Into the Music podcast: POLKA! The soundtrack to your favorite Oktoberfest celebration!
Into the Music podcast guests Frank Anderson, DJ Shotski and Ike Arumba with host Rob Marnocha in front of The Avenue radio station in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Back in December 2023 I made a goal for DJ Shotski to be a guest on more podcasts and radio shows. Spreading the gospel of the joy of polka music during the 30th anniversary of polka becoming Wisconsin’s official state dance meant that I needed to get out of my home radio station’s studio and behind other hosts’ microphones.
I was invited to be a guest on the Into the Music podcast based in Appleton. I visited the podcast Producer and Host Rob Marnocha at the studios of The Avenue in Appleton just a few days before the city’s Mile of Music festival which had everyone buzzing about the huge festival. Joining me in the studio were Ike Arumba and Frank Anderson.
Ike Arumba leads the Ike Arumba and the Infidels band and is the host of The Ike Arumba Show that airs Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. on Code Zero Radio. Ike’s polka connection is his time playing bass for Alvin Styczynski.
Frank Anderson host of the Wisconsinology podcast on 91.1 The Avenue. Frank has deep knowledge of the history and culture of Wisconsin music. He recorded an episode of Wisconsinology in which he argued that polka is very dead, but in our conversation I made the case that it’s poised for a comeback (see the events section below for my upcoming Nerd Nite talk).
We had a lively talk about the past and the future of polka music in Wisconsin. I think Rob, Ike and Frank left the conversation feeling positive about the possibilities of a polka revival.