The Burclaws 50 years of Polish music

By KATE ZDROIK The Rosholt Record What began as a boy monkeying around with a button accordion his father brought home when returning from World War II has turned into a 40-year career as a bandleader and professional musician. When Duane Burclaw picked up the instrument at the age of 10, he immediately taught himself how to play, even though he didnt know how to read music. He didnt learn how to read music until he went to high school. But there was nothing stopping Burclaw he knew no boundaries, and he became a respected and well-known musician throughout Wisconsin and beyond. Burclaws first professional performance was in 1972 when he started the band, Duane Burclaw and The Golden Aces. The bands name came from his mother, Sadie, who thought of it while she was playing cards. For the first three years, Burclaw paired up with drummer, Billy Stanislawski. Burclaw met Stanislawski while working for Roman Stanislawski, Billys father. The pair mostly played the central Wisconsin bar circuit. Then they joined up with two trumpet players, Peter Stroik and Neil Kosobucki. Later the group added bass player, Gene Lorbiecki, and they finally started getting booked for weddings. In 1979, Stanislawski was killed in a car accident and Bill Simonis joined as the new drummer. By the 1980s, The Golden Aces were playing polka fests in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and wedding engagements as far away as Illinois. Nearly all the groups bookings came from word-of-mouth referrals and air time on a local radio show. The Golden Aces had no trouble finding enough jobs to keep busy. Burclaw remembers playing so often, hed play all weekend, get four hours of sleep Sunday night, then go back to work and he loved it! Often, the band would play a Friday and Saturday night gig, and then play two more on Sunday. And many times Sundays started off with a live stint on polka radio station, WXYQ. The show was recorded from 1:00 5:00 p.m. at various locations around central Wisconsin, including Eddie Os in Amherst Junction and the Super Bowl in Plover. Then, after the show, the group would pack up the equipment and head out for a Sunday night job.

Members of the Golden Aces on the cover of their first album, An Evening with the Aces, in 1984. From left is, Jerry Kowalski, Jeff LaRose, Duane Burclaw, Bill Simonis and Dennis Mocadlo.

There are many people who can say they played with Burclaw throughout the years. Some stayed just a few years, others only filled in periodically, while others played with The Golden Aces for many years. In the later years, Wally Stanczyk played drums with the group. Other musicians who played with The Golden Aces include: Dick Buss, Jack Kedrowicz, Joe Simonis, Dennis Mocadlo, Jeff LaRose, Dan Ziolokowski, Don Wayerski, Greg Laabs, Dale Shirek, Bob

Glodowski and Gene Nickoli. Two current trumpeters have been with The Golden Aces for a number of years: Jerry Kowalski, 29 years, and Gary Shirek, 15 years. In 2002, at the age of 11, Burclaws son, Steven, joined The Golden Aces on stage as the drummer Stevens first professional job. Coincidentally, Stevens first professional job was on the 30th anniversary of Duanes first job. Musically inclined since a small child, Steven often plunked away on a metal can or imitated his father on the concertina. He, too, taught himself to play a variety of instruments. When the elder Burclaw found his band short a drummer for a booking, he asked his son if he thought he could fill in. Steven spent hours on his drums learning the songs, ultimately agreeing that he could do the job. Steven, like his father, is the only one of his siblings to take his musical talent beyond high school and into the professional arena.

diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer in April of 2005. He was given a 10 percent chance of surviving and was predicted to live only four months. After nearly eight months of difficult chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Burclaw had surgery to remove his esophagus and reconfigure his stomach to form a new esophageal tract. The surgery was successful, but the treatments took their toll on his body and left him unable to play for nearly two years. At the age of 14, Steven started his own band, The New Polish Sounds. He also found himself filling-in for his own father with The Golden Aces in May 2005. Since Steven was now

Besides the drums, The son-father team of Steven, right, and Duane Burclaw, with their concertinas. The duo has over 50 years of professional musical performances between them. Steven also plays Submtted Photo the trumpet, playing concertina, his New Polish Sounds band keyboard and bass guitar. mate, Casey Kristof, also 14 years old, filled-in In the fall of 2004, the younger Burclaw on drums for the Golden Aces. secretly taught himself to play his fathers Both Burclaws have been recognized as concertina. The father-son duo played their first accomplished musicians. Duane was named the public dualing concertina routine for a Sunday Orchestra Leader of the Year in 2000 by the afternoon dance at Merryland Ballroom in Wisconsin Orchestra Leaders Association. He March of 2005. served as its president for a number of years and Stevens new concertina skills became is currently on the Board of Directors. Earlier valuable to his father very quickly as Duane was

this year, over Labor Day weekend, Duane was inducted into the World Concertina Congress Hall of Fame; an outstanding achievement for a self-taught musician. Steven received the Youth Achievement Award in 2009 from the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame. Burclaw and The Golden Aces have developed a style over the years. A style referred to as the Stevens Point style. Its a cross between Polish and Bohemian styles, influenced by whether the band has a bass player or a bass horn/tuba player on stage. The New Polish Sounds is thought to be the youngest polka band in the state. At 20 years old, Steven and his fellow band mates all are around the same age. Steven plays concertina with his band and sings many songs in Polish, which the crowd truly appreciates, especially coming from such a young musician. The band began with Burclaw and Kristof, but now includes Jordan Szemborski on drums and Dane Ostrowski on bass guitar. The New Polish Sounds has played for many events including Pulaski Days, The Event in Bevent and Polish Fest in Milwaukee. They recently played for a wedding in Marquette, Michigan. Duane has fond memories of the polka music heyday, when he and his band would travel far and wide to play festivals and perform in shows. One year, the group even traveled to Laughlin, Nevada, to play at the Gold River Casino. He also was called to play in Branson, Missouri. Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict interfered with the opportunity. The Cedar Polka Fest in a small town near Traverse City, Michigan, was a particularly fun event for the Golden Aces. According to Burclaw, nearly 6,000 people filled the grounds at the festival. The organizers even had to turn people away because the tents were too full. He remembers the event as being heavily attended by college-age kids. The kids had their own hats

and outfits in tow, which they pulled out for the many renditions of The Chicken Dance. The Golden Aces have recorded a number of albums over the years, beginning with a live show at Eddie Os in Amherst Junction, Wis. in 1983. The groups first album was titled, An Evening with The Golden Aces. This music was taped in the basement of Greg and Dorothy Kizewskis home in Stevens Point in January of 1984. It was produced by a studio in Minnesota and recorded on a vinyl album and an eighttrack tape later that year. The groups next two albums, An Ace in the Hole and The Best of The Aces, were both recorded at a studio in Green Bay. In 1993, the group released Zip Bang, and in 1996, Dedicated to You. Their most recent recording, Whos Gonna Love You, was recorded in 2007, just as Burclaw was getting back into performing. It was recorded directly onto compact disc (CD) in Stratford, Wis. The group recorded enough songs for two albums at that time and there is still one recording waiting to be produced and released. Both Burclaws have much to be proud of and, although The Golden Aces dont play as many shows as they did in the past, they are still going strong. Duane thinks they could play more often, and I believe his spirit would love to do that, although I think his body might not keep up as well. With a second generation of polka musicians in the family, the Burclaw name is not likely to fade away in the polka world any time soon.