The Blazonczyk family has a long history of including youth-oriented events as part of the Polka Fireworks festival. This past Polka Fireworks was no exception. The below press release provides information about a special event that happened at the 2016 Polka Fireworks.

RELEASE OF “AS LONG AS I’M LIVIN’’ (THE RECORDING FROM THE YOUTH RECORDING WORKSHOP) AND LAUNCH OF WWW.YOUTHPOLKAS.COM

Check out what a group of over 50 youth from the polka world did at the 2016 Polka Fireworks weekend at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. A “Youth Recording Workshop” was held that created an opportunity for these youth to experience the process creating a studio recording and music video.

The song “As Long As I’m Livin’” (written by Randy Koslosky) tells of some people who are negative about the future of polkas, but these youth respond to that negativity. They are not just going to sit by and let things slip away and that “As long as I’m livin’, there’ll be polkas playing….” John Zelasko recorded the vocalist and instrumentalists. He also mixed the recording and created the music video.

The song and music video are being released in conjunction with the launch of a new website: www.youthpolkas.com. This site is dedicated to promoting and showcasing the talent of young polka musicians. The video can be seen at that site and the song can be downloaded for free. All are encouraged to share this song with others to show a glimpse at the future of polka music in action.

This special event couldn’t have happened without the efforts and dedication of so many people starting with the parents and families of the youth who participated.
Special thanks to the Blazonczyk family for their devotion to passing on polka music to the younger generation and for hosting the event. Also, thanks to others who made special contributions to this event including Gene Swick, Frank Stetar, Kevin Adams, Bernie Koslosky, Ted Lange, Lisa Koslosky and the International Polka Association.