Playing music as a family is a tradition he has kept going. Marty and two adult sons, Dustin and Troy, are joining in this impromptu night of music. His one-year-old grandson is just barely walking and is already keeping time on Dustin's drum kit.
While three generations of the Shimek family take the stage, other families are teaching their children to dance along. There is only a tiny area between the tables, but one or two couples dance at a time. One mom dances with her little boy, just knee-high and also learning to walk. Halfway through the song she picks him up, then another woman from their table joined them and helped twirl the baby around. As he giggles and dances, I realize this baby was literally following in his parents' footsteps.
Howard also grew up in Shiner, in one of the German families sharing this small town with the Czech-speaking polka-playing Bohemians. Howard spent the 1970s listening to and playing music in San Antonio and Austin before moving back to his hometown. He has played with Marty in several regional bands, most recently backing up Bill Pekar as they played the South Texas party circuit down to the border at Cuidad Acuña.
Their latest project is a collaboration with two new compadres, Carlos and Ruben. They bill themselves as Los Kolaches, poking good-natured fun at the combination of the influences from their Bohemian, Mexican, and German roots, with a large dose of both country and rock.
Howard describes how rock and country music are easy to play, you can generally tell where a song is going and which chord progressions to use. However, the progressions in Tejano music and Texas Swing are very different from the simpler ones in rock and country. They are deceptively complex to play. Marty explains the harmonicas come in major keys, and he's often bending notes to get the sounds the music demands.
Tonight's impromptu band brings together three members of Los Kolaches: Marty, Howard, and Ruben. Tonight, Ruben Torres is the sole representative of the "Los" portion of the band. His uncles taught him to play accordion when he was a young boy, but he hadn't done much with it until Howard encouraged him to start playing with this group. Ruben's fingers dance over the buttons of the pearly white accordion. When he sings, he deftly switches between English and Spanish lyrics, his white teeth flashing.
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.