Toledo Idol: Polka Floyd Show

MAUMEE, Ohio - In the past two years The Polka Floyd Show, yes, Polka Floyd, has gained some major popularity in the region. It was mainly because the musicians took a big risk.

They paired up songs of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Pink Floyd with traditional polka sounds. It ended up being a happy accident.

The melding has made for an interesting collaboration at the various venues they call home.

"We stumbled upon the idea to do Pink Floyd songs in polka, basically from me making fun of them," said Ken Haas, lead singer. "These guys have been playing polka since they were little kids."

Haas' teasing aside, the combination actually turned into a successful concept for Polka Floyd.

"I started making fun of them one day at rehearsal and began playing 'Comfortably Numb' polka style on the guitar," Haas added. "They all just fell in as well, and we said wait, that was cool. So we started doing it at soundchecks."

Two-and-a-half years later, the marriage between Floyd and polka has stuck.

"We get a lot of people who say, I didn't know what to expect, and I really enjoyed it," said Penny Haas.

The group plays songs like "Another Brick in the Wall" with a completely different feel from the original.

"The Pink Floyd music tends to be kind of melancholy, but everybody knows the songs and the melodies," Haas said. "It's some of the most timeless melodies that have ever been put into rock and roll. So the nature of us taking that music and doing it in 2/4 and 3/4 time and really upbeat and changes the whole attitude of it."

Bandmate Eric Hite has been into traditional polka music for years, but he definitely has been open to the idea of trying something new.

"Adapting the accordion to that was a challenge, but you basically have to write your own part as you go," Hite said. "I had always liked them, I never listened to them all that much, but it gave me a whole new appreciation."

"Every time you listen to it, you find something new, that you didn't hear before."

Drummer Frank Dramczyk said the marriage of Pink Floyd and Polka Floyd really wasn't too much of a stretch. He grew up listening to both.

"While my folks were listening to traditional polka upstairs, my brother was listening to Pink Floyd in the basement," he said.

The integrated sound is played for audiences throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

Polka Floyd is happy to give concertgoers a pleasant surprise, every show.