Bob and Kurt had a big idea.
Maybe it’s serendipity. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s that the world simply needs another polka/misc band to find balance. Whatever the case, one day in 2021 Bob was a solo accordion act who, in a desire to expand his performance opportunities, introduced himself to Kurt and several others who were performing at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Nashville one evening. After a short bit of time, Bob called Kurt and they ended up performing as a duo at the same venue. Some time passed by, and the popular German music venue was seeking out a full band, so as it turned out Kurt knew a few guys who might be a nice addition to the full band experience.
And so it happened. Four dudes who just love playing music came together for a jam session at Rob’s house. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll be fun.”
*Morgan Freeman monologue voiceover: “It turned out to be very fun indeed.”
Vocals, banjo, tenor guitar, trumpet, kick, occasional accordion
Rob has many years of experience in professional studio work and performing live in world- class venues around the globe, which served to finally raise him up to the rarified air that is the polka genre, the pinnacle of all music as we know and understand it today. Rob’s got skills. Just watch him do what he does and you’ll be like, “Wow that website bio was right, look at him go!” He’ll take you on a journey and you won’t know what will happen next.
Vocals, accordion
Have you ever driven a vehicle that has an engine? Of course you have, and that’s Bob. His accordion prowess is the engine that keeps this train moving. Without Bob’s vast skillset navigating the absolutely-bonkers complexity of this gloriously-cursed instrument, we’d be just some weird trio with ZERO German-ness anywhere in sight. He truly puts the bellows in Good Bellows, conjuring melodies, bass lines, and rhythm seemingly out of thin air.
Clarinet, saxophone, kazoo, hammer, occasional harmonies
Eddie has a background in barbershop quartetting which is almost as useless as his clarinet performance degree from Baylor University, which afforded him many opportunities to perform in concert bands and orchestras in Texas and New York. Then he moved to Tennessee. Since he’s unable to do anything else, Good Bellows took him under their wing and gave his clarinet and sax a new home. When he’s not inadvertently squeaking notes on his saxophone, he’s accidentally playing the wrong notes on his clarinet. These wrong notes are what we in the business call “jazz.” Hire Good Bellows and let Eddie use his degree, please!
Tuba, snare, trumpet, vocals, rubber chicken, tin whistle, feet jingle bells (foot jingle bells?), bike horn, spoons, this clacker thing, some Dutch busking organ? Lute, maybe? We dunno, he plays literally everything. If you hand him an instrument he doesn’t actually know how to play, he’ll just bang on it with sticks and turn it into a new instrument.
Why be excellent on just one instrument when you can be excellent on just some of the instruments listed above? Come see us play and you’ll quickly learn which ones. We’ll help you out: Bike Horn is 100% one of Kurt’s best instruments, he shreds it. But oddly, playing instruments in a polka band is just his side hustle. During the day, Kurt takes photos of the stars and has dabbled a little bit in composing and songwriting. But only just a little bit, don’t get any Big Ideas (Productions).