Fritz's Polka Band inducted into SAMMY's Hall of Fame

2010 SAMMY Hall of Fame Inductees:  Dave Frisina, Tom Campbell (of Fritz’s Polka Band), Steve Frank, Duane Hitchings, Fritz Scherz (of Fritz’s Polka Band), Gabe Vaccaro (of Fritz’s Polka Band), Frank Nelson (of Fritz’s Polka Band), Mike Faraino (of Fritz’s Polka Band), and Jeff Tortora. (Photo courtesy of Jack O Bocchino)

Verona, NY: Jagermeister-sponsored, Fritz's Polka Band (FPB) from Verona, NY, was inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYs) Hall of Fame on October 7th during a ceremony at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse, NY.

“Mark Bialczak gave my band a great introduction, and we were truly thrilled with the great reception we received from the packed audience,” said Fritz Scherz, bandleader of FPB. "After my acceptance speech, I had fun playing a song (‘Fritzie’s Lendler’) that my Dad wrote, as a small tribute to him. Once again, I thank the SAMMYs Executive Board, Mark Bialczak, our great fans, djs, music critics, the media, and of course, our great sponsor, Jagermeister. Thank you very much!"

Fritz's Polka Band has been performing for over 31 years, and made history in 1999, when they became the first polka band to perform at a Woodstock Festival in Rome, NY. On September 15, 2007, FPB made history again by becoming the first polka band to perform at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. FPB has now made 17 recordings. FPB even appears on "The Manchurian Candidate" DVD which was released in July 2004. FPB previously won a Just Plain Folks Music Award in the Best Polka Song category for Bialczak’s Polka on November 4, 2008.

In November 2008, FPB won their first Upper State Independent (USI) Award in Syracuse, NY, in the International Category. In June 2009, Fritz’s Polka Band won their first ever Syracuse Area Music Award (SAMMY) in the Best Recording: Other Styles category for their “Reflections” recording.

In early November 2009, FPB won their second USI Award in Syracuse, NY, in the International Category. Recently, FPB was nominated for Best New Recording by the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid, OH. FPB is also nominated for a 2010 Upper State Independent Award.

Here's a video of the presentation ceremony. A little rough, but emotional nonetheless.