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Pint Size Polkas Volume One
I recently purchased Pint Size Polkas Volume One and gave it to a
five-year-old daughter of a co-worker. The co-worker told me that as
soon as her daughter got the CD she went into her room, played it, and
after a while called mom and dad in to watch her polka dancing show.
She had dressed up, put her stuffed animals in rows and then started
dancing to the CD. Looks like with the help of your CD we will have
another young polka fan in the world. Thanks for the great CD - I
can't wait until my only Grandson is old enough for Grandpa to give
him a copy also!
- Charlie Pufahl
Pint Size Polkas Volume One
I just wanted you to know we found an unexpected flaw with the CD! We
gave one to our son's daycare for Christmas because they have dance
time when it's too cold to go outside. Yesterday was the first time
the director used Pint Size Polkas for dance time and the kids
went nuts! She said they were dancing and jumping around so much that
the CD player kept skipping. She's never had that problem before!
She's going to copy the CD onto a tape so the kids will be able to
dance their hearts out without skipping the CD player next time. It
was a huge hit! All the daycare kids heartily approve.
- Sadie Weber
Pint Size Polkas Volume One
I recently saw Uncle Mike and his Polka band on YouTube with the song
Jolly Lumberjack Polka. My five and four year olds liked it so much
and were so excited about the video that I looked for the CD. I have
downloaded it and played it for them. We all LOVE it! The kids are
already singing along to the Alphabet Polka and swaying in their car
seats to Tiny Bubbles. As soon as the radio turns on and they hear the
accordion they shout Uncle Mike! My son is five and absolutely loves
the Flying Machine, otherwise known as the airplane song. He will
spread his arms and fly around the room to it. He has also claimed
this as "his" song! So, if you have young children and you love fun,
upbeat, yet educational music, I highly highly recommend Pint Size
Polkas [Volume One]. I know your children will fall in love with
it!
- Sarah Speakes
Pint Size Polkas Volume One
Uncle Mike
Schneider and his Pint Size Polka CD is a HIT in my book. This
CD is fun for the whole family and is a MUST for any music collection.
This collection of 15 songs teach, educate and most importantly
entertain youth and their families. It makes learning fun in a style
that has not been attempted to this degree. Uncle Mike and his Polka
Band capture the true spirit of polka music with that great polka
tempo, excellent recording mix and FUN lyrics sung with well-balanced
harmonies. We will feature this CD on our show, The Polka Party
Express 88.5FM WMNF Tampa on December 14, 2008 as our way of
supporting this remarkable effort by Mike Schneider. No matter what
age, 5 or 95, all the Polkateers on my Christmas list will be getting
Pint Size Polkas for Christmas!
- Wackie Jackie Z.
WMNF 88.5 FM Tampa, FL
www.polkapartyexpress.com |
Television
WMTV-TV
NBC 15
with Chris Papst
02.27.2010 -
Madison, WI
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Radio
96.3 Star Country
with John & Tammy
12.16.2008 - Madison, WI
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WMNF 88.5
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12.14.2008 - Tampa,
FL
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Print
Pint Size Polkas help Make-A-Wish
Through Christmas, Uncle Mike and his Polka Band will donate $2
from every Pint Size Polkas Volume One CD sale made to Wisconsin
residents via
www.pintsizepolkas.com/wish to
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin. Customers will be able to
download a free MP3 copy of the "Jingle Bells Polka" featuring
Uncle Mike and his Polka Band with their purchase.
Pint Size Polkas CDs and live performances are designed to
entertain children while providing education on concepts like the
alphabet, numbers, occupations, relationships, personal hygiene
and foreign language -- all through the happy sounds of polka
music. Uncle Mike and his Polka Band, from Milwaukee, have been
invited to appear on newscasts and talk shows on 17 major network
television affiliates in seven states.
The Wisconsin chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in
1984, and more than 3,600 families statewide can attest to the
power of a wish. The chapter's field office, located in Appleton,
opened in 1996 to better serve children and their families in
northeastern Wisconsin. Last year, the chapter granted a
record-breaking 289 wishes.
- Wisconsin
Rapids Tribune
12.10.09
- Wisconsin Rapids, WI
This article also
printed in
- Marshfield News
Herald
12.11.09 - Marshfield, WI
- Stevens Point
Journal
12.11.09 - Stevens Point, WI
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A Different View
On Tuesday, the McMillan Memorial Library provided another evening
of top-notch entertainment, this time, it was polka music for
children. Hosts Uncle Mike and Lumberjack Doug gave a good
performance of this jolly music on their accordion and banjo,
while children (and a few adults!) danced in the aisles. With
their Pint Sized Polka educational inserts shown on a video
screen, they taught the children about accordion manufacture,
polka history, and a little about lumberjacking. As with most of
our Library events, this was totally free, and this week's concert
is eagerly anticipated.
- The Voice, by
David Farmbrough
10.19.09
- Wisconsin Rapids, WI
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Local polka fan,
Wisconsin accordionist
bringing the music to a new generation
Ryan Krygier is the first to admit that when he goes to polka
concerts around Grand Rapids, most people in the audience are,
well, a little older than he is. At 33, he's usually the youngest
one there - unless you count the musicians' grandkids.
But Krygier, who is active in the local Polish community and also
writes a column for a publication called "Polka Times," is out to
change that.
Krygier works with junior kindergarten and kindergarten students
at Sacred Heart of Jesus School, where he is an unpaid staff
member. Recently he organized a special appearance at the school
by Mike Schneider, who is touring the nation promoting his new CD
for kids, "Pint Size Polkas."
Schneider has already recorded several polka CDs with the Mike
Schneider Band, and has won numerous awards in his home state of
Wisconsin. But "Pint Size Polkas" is his first foray into music
for children.
And his appearance at Sacred Heart last month was his debut
performance before an audience made up solely of pint-size fans.
Students in the school's junior kindergarten through third grade
attended the show, learning new steps to the chicken dance and
interacting with Schneider and the various props he brought along.
Schneider played all 15 songs from the CD, including "Tiny Bubbles
in the Tub" and a "polkafied" version of "I've Been Working on the
Railroad."
He also brought out a U.S. map to show the kids all the cities
where he'd stopped to promote the CD, taught them the German words
to the polka "Ein Milch," and let them try pushing the buttons on
his accordion.
"I wanted to do something that was fun for the kids, but at the
same time had educational value," he said.
Schneider said he had always noticed while performing that kids
just seem to like polka. "There's something about polka music that
lends itself really well to children, whether it's the message the
lyrics carry or the happy beat itself," he said. But it was his
wife, Heather, who came up with the idea of a polka CD for
children, he said.
The CD was released in November, so he has just started putting
together his show for children, he said. In addition to the music,
the show touches on subjects like the alphabet, numbers,
occupations, personal hygiene, and a foreign language.
But he also hopes to teach kids to embrace their talents and not
be afraid to share them with the world, he said.
Schneider was making stops throughout the Midwest last month to
appear on television and radio news shows. Krygier said he saw in
a newsletter that one of those appearances would be in Grand
Rapids. Although he had never met or spoken with Schneider, he
didn't hesitate to contact him.
"I said 'You're going to be 15 minutes from my school - please
come to my school," Krygier said. "What Mike Schneider has done
with his project is wonderful. He's trying to bring polka music to
the younger generation, which is what I try to do."
When he got up to introduce Schneider to the students, Krygier
told them exactly what was going on in his mind.
"I've brought something before you today that I love, which is
polka music, and the other thing I have my heart into is you
kids," he said. "I've brought together the two things in this
world that mean a lot to me."
- Northwest
Advance, by Sheila McGrath
03.02.09
- Grand Rapids, MI
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Uncle Mike and
His Polka Band
Pint
Size Polkas Vol. One
Considering the good vibes that polka seems to naturally engender,
it's something of a wonder that the children's market hasn't been
further exploited. Milwaukee bandleader/radio announcer Mike
Schneider goes a long way in remedying that with Pint Size Polkas.
The polka, waltz and schottische material sounds musically
authentic to the Slovenian-American style Schneider proffers
outside of his guise as Uncle Mike, replete with banjo to
accompany Schneider's accordion.
Ditties about drinking milk, recognizing numbers and taking naps
may be especially geared toward junior ears, but some of the
numbers are obvious repertoire favorites for audiences of any age.
Schneider truly does sound like a doting uncle wanting to bring
some ethnic culture and amusement to his nieces and nephews. The
only thing that could improve future volumes would be the addition
of background voices from Uncle Mike's target demographic.
- Shepherd Express, reviewed by Jamie Lee Rake
02.22.09
- Milwaukee, WI
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'Mom, there's
nothing to do'
Books,
music, movies and more for when you have to stay indoors
In the liner notes to his band's first children's CD, Milwaukee's
Mike Schneider admits that as a kid he fell in love with polka
music "at first sound." Now he's hoping to introduce a new
generation of young people to the genre with the 29-minute first
volume of Pint Size Polkas.
These songs (a combination of originals and Frankie Yankovic
tunes) should put a bounce in your offspring. After all, many of
them are built around already-familiar lyrics. There's the
"Alphabet Polka" and an accordion-fueled version of "I've Been
Working on the Railroad," plus "Numbers Schottische" and "Tiny
Bubbles in the Tub" (which borrows from the song Don Ho made
famous, while also reinforcing the importance of good hygiene).
One listen to Pint Size Polkas can make for wholesome family fun.
Repeat spins, however, may convince non-polka-minded parents that
it really is okay to let their toddlers dance around the living
room by themselves. (Mike Schneider will perform at the Essen Haus
on Feb. 21 and 27.)
- Isthmus newspaper, reviewed by Michael Popke
02.06.09
- Green Bay, WI
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Polka musician tunes kids into 'happy music'
Mike Schneider still gets goose pimples when he thinks about
falling hopelessly in love with the accordion and the joyous
sounds of polka music at the tender age of 5.
The occasion was a church picnic where America’s reigning polka
king, Frankie Yankovic, was holding court with his Baldoni
accordion.
“The idea was I was going to go on the rides and my parents were
going to listen to Frankie Yankovic, but I got into the music tent
and heard the first note and I was hooked,” said Schneider, a
29-year-old Milwaukee area native. “That’s actually the day I knew
I was going to play the accordion.”
Largely self-taught, Schneider has been performing Yankovic’s
Slovenian-style polka music in public since middle school, and has
gone on to be considered one of the great hopes in keeping polka
alive. While he’s certainly up to the task, Schneider recently
realized there was a whole other market for polka music that he
had been overlooking, even though it was part of his own roots.
“I have played church festivals throughout the state for many
years,” he said. “I have always seen parents bring little kids
into the tent. Invariably, the kids will be jumping up and down.
They love the music, but I never made the connection to do a CD in
all those years, even though the answer was standing right before
me.”
Adopting the name Uncle Mike, Schneider recently released Pint
Size Polkas: Volume One, a 15-tune CD of what Schneider describes
as “the happiest form of music on the face of the earth.”
“I remember feeling overwhelmingly happy when I heard polka as a
child,” he said, “and that’s become our slogan – Pint Size Polkas:
We’re bringing happy back. That’s what it’s all about and that’s
what it was for me when I was 5. I still get tingles up and down
the spine thinking about it.”
But even though his polka roots go back to childhood, Schneider
said it was his wife, Heather, who came up with the idea of a
polka CD for children
“Well, yeah, duh…it was a great idea,” Schneider said. “About two
years ago while we were still dating, she gave me a call. The idea
came to her to do a children’s polka CD. In the same call she had
the title for the CD and everything. I was very grateful to hear
that from her.”
Assembling a children’s polka CD forced Schneider to think about
his own early love for the music.
“The project really did make me think about my own polka roots,”
he said. “In fact, one of the songs on the CD is ‘The Happy
Wanderer.’ That’s one of the first songs I remember hearing
Frankie Yankovic playing live. So remembering the feeling I had
when I was a kid, I want to give it back, either giving the kids a
lifelong love of polka music or just giving them a lot of fun and
education.”
The songs on Pint Size Polka range from polka favorites (Yankovic’s
“Whoop Polka”) to reworkings of children’s classics (“I’ve Been
Working on the Railroad”) to Schneider originals (“Parents Polka”)
to kid-friendly rewrites of adult polkas (“Ein Milch”).
“It was amazing to me when I first started this project how kid
friendly polka already was,” Schneider said. “It’s such an
inherently happy music that I think the children’s market is
perfect for it.”
And the response has been amazing, Schneider said.
“I heard from a daycare in South Dakota where they had to record
the CD to tape because every time they played the CD, the kids
would dance so hard the CD would skip,” he said.
Volume II is a couple years down the road, Schneider said, which
begs the question, when you are in a niche market such as polka,
aren’t you worried about becoming even more of a niche artist with
children’s polka music?
“I wouldn’t mind that niche,” he said. “I will continue to do
traditional polka as well, but the stronger a niche you can
create, the better off you’re going to be in the long run in terms
of selling product and making a market happy. I think if I’m
creating that niche for myself, that’s fine with me.”
You can order Pint Size Polkas at Schneider’s website,
mikeschneiderband.com.
- The Scene newspaper,
interview by Jim Lundstrom
02.02.09
- Fox Valley, Central Wisconsin, and Lakeshore editions
To Top
Start 'em young:
'Pint size Polkas'
If you're
a polka fan looking for a stocking stuffer for the kids, there's
something new that may fill the bill. Milwaukee polka musician
Mike Schneider recently released his first children's polka CD,
"Pint Size Polkas Volume One" ($11.99). The 15 songs include some
that are educational and entertaining, such as "Alphabet Polka,"
"Numbers Schottische" and "Tiny Bubbles in the Tub." Others are
just for fun, including the familiar "I've Been Working on the
Railroad," "The Happy Wanderer" and "Hey Baba Reba." Schneider,
29, says he heard his first polka music at age 5, played by
Frankie Yankovic, "America's Polka King." He credits his wife,
Heather, with coming up with the "Pint Size Polka" concept. A song
sampler is at www.pintsizepolkas.com, where a video of "Jolly
Lumberjack Polka" may be seen as well. Schneider has traveled
throughout the Midwest and eastern Caribbean with his band.
- Press-Gazette
12.09.08
- Green Bay, WI
This article also
printed in
- Marshfield News
Herald
02.01.09 - Marshfield, WI
- The Sheboygan
Press
02.01.09 - Sheboygan, WI
- Stevens Point
Journal
02.01.09 - Stevens Point, WI
-
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
02.01.09 - Wisconsin Rapids, WI
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Internet
Review: Pint Size Polkas CD
You want happy? You got it! In this uncertain economic climate,
everyone needs to slow down, take a cleansing breath, and crank up
a polka album! And Uncle Mike has just the one for you and your
family: Pint Size Polkas gets the party started and doesn't let up
until the accordions come home.
The Mike Schneider Band have recorded five albums of polka music
for grownups, and Pint Size Polkas is their first CD for kids. The
album includes familiar tunes like "The Happy Wanderer," "The
Chicken Dance," a re-written "Tiny Bubbles in the Tub," and "I've
Been Working on the Railroad," as well as a couple of classics by
Polka King Frankie Yankovic.
But the fun doesn't stop there: check out the can't-be-missed
"Teach Me How to Yodel," the awesome sing-along "Hey Baba Reba,"
and the bottle-hoisting "Ein Milch," which may be the best
drinking song for kids ever recorded. You can also get in some
letter and number practice with "Alphabet Polka" and "Numbers
Schottische," then enjoy the "Jolly Lumberjack Polka," already a
hit on YouTube.
Tons of fun for young and old!
- Reviewed by
Warren Truitt, Senior Children's Librarian
The New York Public Library
03.11.09
-
kidsmusicthatrocks.blogspot.com
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Review: Pint Size Polkas CD
Last fall I was contacted by a very loyal reader* who said her
husband had produced a music CD for children. She asked if I would
consider reviewing it and giving a couple away to my readers.
What kind of music was it? Polkas for kids.
No-really!
I know, the only two polkas I even vaguely know are the "roll out
the barrel" song from Zoom (geez, am I showing my age there?) and
hearing The Chicken Dance at many a wedding. But Buddy and
Princess love music-and Yankee Bill's father grew up in Northern
PA and grew up dancing and listening to Polkas all his life**, so
even though I don't do a lot of reviews I decided to give it a
shot.
It also didn't hurt that I love to be able to give something away
to you guys.
But then life intervened-and here it is March and I am very
embarrassed to just be getting around to conducting the review.
Sigh.
Pint Sized Polkas retails for $11.98 and contains 15 fun and
educational children's songs. You can head on over to their
website to listen to the songs (just click on "music"). From the
website:
"Children of all ages will learn about the alphabet, numbers,
careers, the benefits of drinking milk, personal hygiene and even
a fancy new dance step or two! Put the fun of polka together with
great education..."
I wasn't sure how my kids would like polka music.
One of Buddy's (age 5) favorite songs is "Thank God I'm a Country
Boy" by John Denver, which is full of bouncy, happy banjo music.
Since Polka music is happy music-have you ever heard a sad
polka?-I figured there was a pretty good chance that Buddy would
like it.
Princess (age 7) on the other hand seems to be desperate to become
a preteen as soon as possible and adores Hannah Montana, Jonas
Brothers and The Cheetah Girls. I was laying even odds that she'd
just turn up her nose.
The first day I had the music on Princess wandered through the
room and commented on the "weird" music. The next day I asked
Buddy to hang out with me and listen to the CD. Princess came in
while it was playing and wound up sticking around just to listen.
Their comments?
Buddy: It's good. Can I keep the CD up in my room?
Princess: I think it's cool. I started thinking it was silly, but
the more I listened to it the more I liked it. It made me laugh-it
was really funny music. I really think that this is pretty cool
music but it is pretty funny, and any moms with kids-the kids will
probably like it.***
They proceeded to listen to the entire CD twice through. They
played the Chicken Dance alone about 4 times.
So yes, I would recommend this CD for someone looking for some
happy, fun music for their kids.
What, you don't have money in the budget to spend on children's
CDs? That's ok, we understand. Lucky for you I have 2 copies of
"Pint Sized Polkas" to give away to readers! If you are interested
in winning a copy, just leave a comment with a way to contact you.
If you have a twitter account you can get a second entry by
tweeting a link to the drawing and then coming back here and
leaving another commnet letting me know about it.
The drawing closes on Sunday at 12 Noon EST, and I will be
randomly drawing 2 names and posting them by 5pm.
If you don't win the contest :( and are interested in buying a
copy of Pint Sized Polkas-buy it through one of the links here on
this post-Uncle Mike will waive the shipping & handling fee.
*Note: Really -
this wasn't just a PR person who read 2 posts and tried to pretend
they knew what was going on.
**Note: The only song that my FIL danced to at our wedding was a
polka. Up till the day he died, every Sunday morning he would
listen to a local radio station's special once a week polka show.
***Note: I did not tell her to say that! She's a born saleswoman
that one.
- Reviewed by
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate,
one of Walmart's Elevenmoms
(more
info)
03.05.09
-
frugalupstate.blogspot.com
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