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News & Editorials
► Folk Library's Doug
Henkle May Need Your Input
Monday, June 28th
The other
day, while browsing the polka band section of Doug Henkle's Folk Library,
I noticed that his
listing for my band also included the names of four musicians
listed as "former members." A typical polka band, my sidemen have
changed over the years, and vary from job to job. I did not want
those four musicians permanently
singled out as having been "members" as it does not do justice to the
many other musicians I've shared the stage with over the years.
Kindly, I asked Mr. Henkle to remove the four names.
Mr. Henkle did remove the names, however, he added some misleading
information to my band's
listing:
[Tom Brusky] is the only known "band" that ever
existed that NEVER had a
"regular member", so all information about this band with no members
has
been removed from this site. Every other band on this site, no matter
in
what genre, either lists all known current and/or former members, or it
is
assumed by me that there are, or were, regular members in the band, but
I
just don't know their names. If you know of any other specific band
which
also NEVER had even one regular member, please send written proof from
the
leader of the band, and I will remove that band also. To be listed
here,
exactly like ensembles, choruses and orchestras, a "band" MUST have
regular members.
I provided Mr. Henkle with a list of
eight prominent bandleaders, just from the Milwaukee area alone, who
operate
exactly the same way as I do. We all have our preferential picks
of sidemen that we hire most often, but we still all hire from the same
pool of talent. Who we hire often depends on the type
of event, the location of the event, and who is available. For
these
reasons, we generally do not name any particular band members on our
websites.
Also, for those same reasons, some
bandleaders
may prefer that
no past sidemen --
not even
the ones they've hired quite regularly -- be
permanently
associated with their bands. Personally, that is my
preference.
I'm having difficulty getting Mr. Henkle to understand that this is how
many bands across the country's polka belt operate these days.
I've explained it the best I could, but I believe he'll need to hear it
from several other people before it will begin to sink in.
I would
appreciate it if you take a minute of your time to contact Mr. Henkle
and simply offer up a few words in support of my explanation.
Contact Doug Henkle: http://www.folklib.net/index/help.shtml
Update July
15th: Even though Doug Henkle received a list of many bands from
the Milwaukee area who, like me, do not name their sidemen on their
websites, he has not
retracted the statement, "...it
is
assumed by me that there are, or were, regular members in [every
other band on this site]..." from
my band's listing, and still wrongfully singles me out as being
different from all other polka bands in that respect. Based on
this observation alone, unless Mr. Henkle retracts the misleading
statement from my band's listing, then his ignorance of the polka band
circuit will appear to be completely willful. Unfortunately, it
also means that he allows his ignorance to compromise the
credibility and accuracy of the information he presents on his website.
► National
Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Blunders?
Wednesday, June 16th
For the
second time in a row, the Hall of Fame omitted my latest recording from
their nomination list of eligible CDs for the Recording of the Year award.
As you all know by now, I don't care much for awards, but the fact that
this happened twice has raised a lot of suspicion for obvious
reasons. I contacted a representative of the Hall of Fame to try
to find out what happened, and the rep cited clerical error as being
the apparent culprit both times.
No apology, nor a correction of the error, was offered.
The Hall of Fame is now aware that an apparent clerical error made by
their gift shop staff is giving some recordings a decisive advantage
over another to get on the ballot. In my opinion, clerical errors are no
big deal. As humans, we make mistakes all the time. But,
how an organization handles a
mistake speaks volumes about the integrity of the organization. I
requested that the Hall of Fame issue an official statement in response
to this matter. Hopefully within the next few days, I'll have
that statement to share with you.
Update: June
28th: Still no response from the Hall of Fame.
Update:
July 2nd: I had a positive
conversation with Tony Petkovsek this morning. (He had been away
for the past week, and did not receive his email until
yesterday.) We agreed
that mistakes are unfortunate, but we are all human, and they do
happen. In the case of
my CDs missing the nominations forms in 2006 and 2010, those were
indeed a result of human error.
Tony
stated that my CDs could still get on the ballot if enough people write
me in
on the nomination forms, but I emphasized that my concern had nothing
to do with being
nominated. My concern is that even though the mistake
made by the Hall of Fame gift shop staff was accidental, it nonetheless
resulted in an erroneous nomination form being mailed out to all the
members. [If the Hall of Fame allows that nomination form to be
used, then it is knowingly engaging in unethical activity.] He
understands and
shares
the
seriousness of my concern. The Hall of Fame has a nominations meeting
coming up. They will discuss this matter and get back in contact with
me.
Until then, I think
it would be proper to hold off on the
speculation until they respond to the matter. We now know that they are
taking the matter seriously, and that's an important, first step to
resolving it.
Update:
July 15th: I have not heard from the Hall of Fame.
Update:
July 21st: I still have not heard from the Hall of Fame.
Update:
July 29th: I still have not heard from the Hall of Fame.
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