the Serfs are led the Accordion Warrior - Gary Sredzienski (www.garysred.com), with Jim Taylor on electric bass (and webhead here, and at www.theserfs.com), Jamie Decato plays the drums, and his bro' Chris Decato plays guitar and just about everything else! (check him out at www.decatosound.com).
Influences
you had to ask ... let's start by saying Herb Alpert, the Ventures, Henry Mancini, Esquivel, the Mermen ... more to follow ...
Sounds Like
The Red Elvises (when they don't sing), or Brave Combo (if they'd loose the horns and turn up the accordion), or the Ventures (on accordions)! Sounds like world music, but it ROCKS! Sounds like Gypsy Music that ROCKS! The Serfs are sort of like the Polish/American version of HOT TUNA! They are musicians who went back to their roots and rocked them with a brand new twist.
SO WHAT'S THE SERFS ALL ABOUT? IS IT SERF MUSIC? WELL .... THE SERFS PLAY ACCORDION DRIVEN ROCK INSTRUMENTALS - WITH AN ETHNIC TWIST & SOME REALLY FAST "XTREME POLKAS", THROWN IN TO SPICE UP THE DANCE PARTY .... IT'S MORE LIKE WORLD MUSIC THAT ROCKS! .... SUMMER OF 2005, GARY LANDED TWO TRADITIONAL POLKAS FROM HIS SOLO CD "FROM POLAND TO AMERICA" INTO THE PARAMOUNT PICTURES REMAKE OF "BAD NEWS BEARS 2" STARRING BILLY BOB THORNTON .... LISTEN DURING THE SCENE AT THE GERMAN RESTARAUNT, EARLY IN THE MOVIE .... MOST RECENTLY THE SERF'S TUNE "TANGO DONATI" WAS LICENSED BY SONY MUSIC TO APPEAR IN THE SOON-TO-REAPPEAR (SOMEWHERE) CBS TV WEEKLY "LOVE MONKEY" .... IT'LL BE ON EPISODE 5 WHEN THE SHOW RESURFACES .... THE SERFS PLAY A COUPLE OF BARS, BUT MOSTLY IN CONCERTS, PARKS, FESTIVALS, AND MANY PRIVATE FUNCTIONS ... GARY IS EVEN THE SUBJECT OF A MADE FOR TV PILOT, SORT OF A REALITY TV VERSION OF HIS RADIO SHOW, NOW IN IT'S 18TH YEAR - "THE POLKA PARTY" ... IT'S SORT OF A 1950'S ETHNIC HOMETOWN RADIO SHOW WITH A CAST OF CHARACTERS (ALL GARY), SPENDING SATURDAY MORNINGS FROM 9 TO 11 US/EST, AT WWW.WUNH.ORG, SPINNING THE WORLD'S HAPPIEST MUSIC & SHARING THE MULTI-ETHNIC STORIES AND CULTURE IN A VERY ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATING STYLE .... IN THE LINER NOTES TO THE SERFS 2004 CD, "CRUISIN' THE CREEK", GARY SAYS, "WHERE I GREW UP YOU DIDN'T PLAY ROCK'N'ROLL ON THE ACCORDION. IT WAS DONE IN SECRET. ACCORDIONISTS WERE EVEN BEING EXPELLED FROM THE FOLK MASS. LAWRENCE WELK AND THE BEATLES DROVE THE FINAL NAILS INTO THE ACCORDION'S COFFIN ... THE ACCORDION BECAME NEARLY EXTINCT, AS IF IT WAS WIPED OUT BY A VIRUS FROM OUTER SPACE .... THE SERFS DRAW ON A LARGE ARRAY OF OLD WORLD MUSICAL TRADITIONS, MANY EASTERN EUROPEAN FOLK STYLES, EARLY AMERICAN MUSIC, AND PROUDLY AND BOLDLY GO WHERE FEW BELIEVE THE ACCORDION BELONGS! .... GARY IS A NH STATE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, AND HAS REPRESENTED THE GRANITE STATE PERFORMING AT BOTH THE KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, AND AT THE SMITHSONIAN FOLK LIFE FEST IN WASHINGTON, DC. HE ALSO TRAVELED TO ROMANIA AS PART OF A STATE DEPARTMENT SPONSORED CULTURAL TOUR. GARY HAS PERFORMED AT THE TEXAS FOLK LIFE FESTIVAL, AND AT THE LOWELL FOLK FESTIVAL .... YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GARY AT HIS WEB SITE, WWW.GARYSRED.COM .... ALOHA FROM THE BIG SERF KAHUNA!!!
A blatant plug for our upcoming show at the Cave in Chapel Hill on 4/25. Four all-instrumental bands goin' at it in a pile of lyric-free Ambrosia. Alert your relatives in Hillsborough!
