Music & Dance Music-Dance News July-Aug '19 | Page 16

Music & Dance News
July/August 2019
Page 16
Mike Wendolek continued
Mike played the drums with Jim’s Brewers, here in 2017, with Jerry Kadlec and Jim Wendolek.
York, Chicago, Ohio,
and Michigan.
As a Jolly Brothers
member, I recorded two
LP albums on the Studio
5 Recordings label and
dubbed in on a couple
other artists’ recordings
at Studio 5.
I attended technical
college during the day,
and worked with the Jol-
Alsleben Music Fest
ly Brothers at night. Most
of the sleep I received
was in the car going to
or from the job, or in my
friend, George Chap’s
car going to school.
George joked that his
car had permanent knee
marks on the dash where
I slept going to school in
the morning.
Big city life, Mrozinski
Brothers Aleatroric
Ensemble
I left the band to work
in a sales/management
career in Chicago, IL
shortly after graduating
from technical college.
Although I liked the
company and the re-
sponsibilities presented,
I was still a country boy
at heart, not adjusting
well to big city life.
I came back to Min-
neapolis as often as I
could, to revitalize my-
self in the music scene
and keep in touch with
my girlfriend, Susan.
Tom Mrozinzki left the
Jolly Brothers band and
formed his own group,
along with his brother,
Pete, calling the band
the Mrozinski Brothers
Aleatoric Ensemble.
They had a unique
style of Polish polka mu-
sic that was technically
more difficult than other
forms of similar music
being presented.
Pete Mrozinski was
their drummer, but hav-
ing his own business and
having suffered a freak
accident injury during
one of the playing gigs
prevented Pete from
dedicating full time to
the group.
So, Tom contacted me
while in Chicago and
asked if I was interest-
ed in coming home and
joining their band.
My next position with
the Chicago company
was scheduled to be in
their lower New Jer-
sey office. I had toured
that area with the Jolly
Brothers band and did
not want to live in that
area of the country. So,
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