Instrument cases start showing up. Troy and Dustin Shimek are sitting on a bench, quietly swapping a few licks on an unplugged guitar, which has a beautiful flame maple top on the wooden body, and conga drums. Howard brings out speakers, a sound board and amps, and then sits down with a bright red electric guitar.
Soon a band is plugging in and tuning instruments to treat us to an evening of live music. Marty Shimek plays the 'harp' (the harmonica) at one of the two microphones. Ruben Torres takes the other microphone, playing his button accordion, and taking the lead on most of the vocals. Dustin starts out with conga drums, and is soon playing a full drum kit. His brother Troy ruefully tries plugging in his guitar, although he has already told us something blew out the last time he plugged it into an amp, and takes Dustin's side at the congas.
At one of the tables, a woman explains that she has been listening to Marty and the Shimek family play music all her life. Her parents went out to dance the polka, and would take her along. Marty was one of thirteen kids, and they all played in the most popular polka band in the area.
On break, Marty Shimek tells more of the story. Like many Shiner residents, his Czech-speaking family came to the U.S. from Bohemia. His granddad started the Rudy Kurtz Orchestra in the 1940s, and his parents, Wence and Helen, kept it going into the early 1990s. During the day, they worked hard each day on their family farm, 50 acres of terraced cotton fields that surrounded their house.
When Marty's parents had a Friday or Saturday engagement at one of the local dance halls, the kids could choose to stay home and continue working the fields and watch the smaller children, or come out and play in the band. This gave them a strong incentive to pick up an instrument and play, Marty says.
Sunday was respected as a day of rest, the one day when the Shimek family didn't have farm work. Marty and his seven brothers and five sisters would play music all afternoon. Neighbors would listen from their yards, as much as three or four miles away, and call in requests on the party line telephone.
Article comments
1 - Coni Kurtz Jenkins
It was very intersting to read this article. It brought to mind a multitude of childhood memories of my family. Marty Shimek is my 1st cousin and as a child of 4 years old I attended the private school run by Ms. Gloor, Howards mother. This story was every weekend of my life growing up as a member of the Kurtz family. Even though over 20 years ago I moved on to surburbia and embraced an urban lifestyle, I am proud that this is my family and the rich heratige in which I grew up. It made me who I am today.