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The
Tom Brusky Band is versatile polka-variety
ensemble comprised of
talented, award-winning
musicians...
 We are an authentic, third-generation
polka
band from Milwaukee, carrying on the music of the great bands from the
past. We can rile up crowds with all the beer hall favorites
like Roll
Out the Barrel and Who Stole the Kishka, and strike sentimental chords with
classic waltzes such as Waltz Across Texas and The Blue Skirt Waltz, but we actually
boast a repertoire of over three-hunded polkas and waltzes. We
are firmly
established in Wisconsin's polka music circuit, and are
regularly hired
for weddings, Oktoberfests, festivals, fairs, and more.
Our
repertoire
outside of the polka genre
consists of over two-hunded popular standards, foxtrots, two-steps,
rhumbas, cha-chas, swing, classic country, and
Christmas songs. Our variety music features such
familiar classics as Sentimental
Journey, My Happiness,
and In
the Mood. Even though
we
are a genuine polka band, we are often hired by dance clubs for
our
variety music alone. But it is our combined repertoire of polkas,
waltzes, and variety music that makes us the premier band in town for
birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and so much more.
We play
regularly
throughout our home territory of Southern Wisconsin and
travel
abroad to
wherever our music is desired. We've entertained
crowds from ten to over a thousand, which have included everyone from
nextdoor
neighbors to United States presidents. |
We
provide music for all occasions...
- Anniversaries
- Parish
Festivals
- Trade Shows
- Retirement
Dinners
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- Birthdays
- Fish Frys
- Conventions
- Reunions
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- Corporate
Events
- Christmas
Parties
- Senior
Picnics
- Block
Parties
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- Weddings
- Banquets
- Oktoberfests
- Graduations
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- State/County
Fairs
- Benefits
- Grand
Openings
- Funerals
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We
tailor
the size, volume, and repertoire of our band to suit all
occasions and budgets, from intimate gatherings to outdoor music
festivals...
Two-Piece Band
* Literally sounds like a three-piece band
* Perfect for when quality
music is needed for a smaller party, or when the entertainment
budget is tight
Three-Piece Band
* Our standard band configuration for most occasions
Four-Piece
Band
* For
when your event requires the very best musicianship to provide an
unsurpassable experience in polka-variety
entertainment
* Ideal for festivals, corporate events, and larger private parties
desiring an
authentic, Milwaukee polka
experience
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Sample
Our Live Sound
To present to you the full
breadth
of our band's sound, we went into the
recording studio and cut roughly thirty minutes of live
music tracks. What you
hear in these demos is a sample of the polka and variety repertoire we
bring to our live performances. We recorded these tracks using
the same instruments, equipment, and musical arrangements we use on
stage. Enjoy!
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Contact
me for a quote...
If you are
interested in hiring my band for your event,
send me an email. I'll check my availability and
provide you with
some price
quotes. Please include these three key details about your event in your
email: date, location, and time.
E-mail:
tom@tombrusky.com
Mail:
Tom
Brusky Band
4055 S. 103rd
Street
Milwaukee,
WI
53228-2005
Phone:
I removed my phone number as
a method of contact, because my schedule often makes it very difficult
for me
to return phone calls in a timely manner during normal hours. I
apologize for the inconvenience. If you
prefer to do business over the phone, please send me an email with your
phone number and the best time(s) to reach you.
Oktoberfest
2019:
We receive a lot of inquiries for Oktoberfest events, and most of them
tend to fall on the same weekends, so as a courtesy to all those who
are planning events with live music, here is my band's current
availability for the upcoming Oktoberfest season:
SEPTEMBER
Friday, 13: Booked
Saturday, 14: Booked
Sunday,
15: Booked
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Friday, 20: Available
Saturday, 21: Available
Sunday, 22: Available
---
Friday, 27: Available
Saturday,
28: Booked
Sunday,
29: Booked |
OCTOBER
Friday,
4: Available
Saturday,
5: Booked
Sunday,
6: Available
---
Friday, 11: Booked
Saturday, 12: Available
Sunday, 13: Available
---
Friday, 18: Booked
Saturday,
19: Reserved
Sunday,
20: Available |
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Frequently-asked
questions...
● How
large
of a band does our party
need?
The
size of your event and the limit
of your
entertainment budget are usually the two main factors that will
determine how large our band should be. Our default band size for
most private events (anniversaries, birthdays, retirements, etc.) is
three pieces, however, we are regularly hired for smaller parties and
dances as a two-piece band. Larger parties and events may hire us at
four pieces. If you're not sure
how
large of a band your event needs,
I'll offer some suggestions and quote prices for all three band sizes.
● What
instrumentation is
in your band?
The
first two pieces in our band are always accordion and drums. My
accordion has digital electronics installed and provides the sound for
the bass and other instruments such as piano, vibes, strings, horns,
etc. From
there we will add either guitar/banjo or a second
(fill) accordion. In some cases we may add a sax/flute player or a bass
guitarist. The instrumentation we add to our band will depend on the
nature of the event and musician availabilty.
● Is your
band Polish or German?
A very common
misconception about polka music is that it's either Polish or German,
but it's actually neither. Its roots come from 1800s Bohemia. Over the
years, various styles of polka music
developed and flourished in the United States, which include Polish and
German styles among others. Our
style of polka music is the
Slovenian style, also known as the Cleveland style, which is the most
popular style of polka music from Southern Wisconsin and across the
Penn-Ohio "polka belt".
● Do you
offer solo
accordion performances?
Sorry,
this is not a service I provide. The difference in the entertainment
delivered by an amplified band versus a solo, acoustic
accordionist is
significant. It is impossible to fill the entertainment
role of
a traditional band without
the accompanying bass, rhythm, and amplification that only a band
configuration can provide. If the cost of
our
two-piece band is more than what you wish to spend for your party's
entertainment, I will be glad to recommend musicians who can
provide less expensive entertainment options.
● For how
many hours should we hire you?
Live
music for most private parties
typically runs anywhere from about 90 minutes up to four hours, with
the
majority of performances being either two or three hours in length. We
will
perform
for as long or short of a
performance as you need and adjust our rate quotes accordingly whether
you need us to play for three
minutes, three hours, or three days.
● How far
in advance
should we hire you?
Like
most bands, we book
on a "first come—first
serve" basis. Last-minute inquiries are
always
welcome, but booking as far in advance as possible is always
recommended, especially for events during the Oktoberfest season (from
mid-September to mid-October)
● How do
your prices compare?
As
one of the Midwest's top
Cleveland-style polka/variety bands, we pride ourselves in providing
quality music at prices that are very competitive for a band of
our caliber. Our prices are gauranteed to be fair,
always.
● Do you
play any contemporary, mainstream music?
No,
that's simply not the kind of
band we are. When our guitarist is in the band, we can touch
on rock 'n' roll from the '50s and
'60s, but that
is admittedly not our specialty. The bulk of our variety music is
comprised of standards, light pop, classic country, and
ballroom favorites from the 1930s through the 1970s — songs that your
parents and grandparents remember fondly. This is what has made
us a popular band not just for polka dances and festivals,
but for events like 50th anniversaries and senior citizens' birthday
parties. If you
would like more up-to-date music played at your party, we'll be glad to
patch your CD/MP3 player into our sound
system to play
during our breaks.
● Can we
hire your band and a DJ for
our wedding?
Absolutely! This is actually the norm
nowadays. We occasionally still play for weddings as the only
entertainment, especially for brides and grooms who grew up with polka
music, but for most weddings, we are hired as pre-DJ entertainment. If you'd like
to bring some traditional, live music into your wedding, consider
hiring us to play lighter cocktail music before or during dinner, and
then we can kick out an hour of polka music prior to the DJ taking over.
● How
long does it take you to set up?
It usually takes us anywhere from 20
to 60 minutes to set up (and roughly just as long to tear down)
depending on the size of our sound system.
● Do you
travel?
Have
trailer – will travel!
As both a
bandleader and
sideman,
I've enjoyed playing all over the country from as far east as
Pennsylvania and Florida to as far west as Arizona and Colorado. The
Tom Brusky Band is available to perform anywhere within the
contiguous 48 states.
● Why
don't you advertise
your awards?
Although
my band members and I are grateful
to be recipients of
multiple music awards, award programs with large voting memberships
tend to recognize popularity
over talent [see
my News section's "Nominations" article]. Any polka band,
regardless of
their level of talent, can win music awards if they make
it their mission to win them. That's simply not our
goal. We do not ask for
votes, nor do we vote for
ourselves. We prefer that you hire us
strictly
based on the quality of our music — not the quantity of bullets on
our
resume.
● Are you
loud?
This
is a known problem with many bands, but not with us. At private
parties, our
job is to provide music for dancing and listening enjoyment – not to
cause ear
strain. We can literally play polka music as quietly as a small jazz
combo when
desired, which
is what we are often called upon to do for cocktail
receptions and dinners. We
have
several sets of amplifiers and speakers from which to choose, and will
bring a sound system that is volume-approriate for the event and
venue. For small parties, we have a
custom-built, ultra-compact PA
system. For
outdoor concerts, we have one of the best-sounding, bi-amplified,
multi-thousand-watt, full-range PA
systems of any polka band around. For everything else in between, we'll
configure the
perfect sound system. When you hire
us for your event, YOU have the
final say over our volume, not us. If our volume seems too high
or too
low,
please let us know and we will gladly adjust it.
● Do you
require a
deposit?
For
some private parties, especially
those on Saturday nights and on weekends during peak festival seasons,
a band
may require a deposit. A
deposit is a portion of the band's fee paid in advance, which is a
standard practice in the entertainment industry. If you cancel your
party at the last minute, the band will not only lose the
income from your party, but any one of the other parties they turned
down for that same night since you hired them. The purpose
of a deposit is to
ensure
that your last-minute cancellation does not leave the band you hired
entirely
without income. We may request a deposit for
some private parties. If you cancel our services, your deposit will be
fully refundable,
partially refundable, or non-refundable depending on how close to the
event you declare the cancellation.
● Are
there any official videos of
your band
available?
Not
yet. I do plan on taking and
posting some band videos on YouTube in the near
future, but there are no official band videos available as of yet.
(There is an old
video of me on YouTube playing Rosamunde,
but it
is
from a 1990's jam session with various musicians in Florida and in no
way
exemplifies the sound of my band.)
● Where
is your
Facebook page? Twitter? Instagram?
I literally don't have time for social
media. All the information I need to disseminate has to go on my
website anyway, so that's what I use. If you'd like information sent to
you, please sign up for my mail list on the main page of this website.
I send out approximately three or four emails a year.
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