Fritz Scherz and Gabe Vaccaro, (remaining founding members of Fritz's Polka Band) from Verona, NY, have been nominated for national awards by the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame (CSPHOF) in Euclid, OH.  Fritz (accordionist/vocalist) and Gabe (bassist/vocalist) have both been nominated in the “Musician of the Year” category, while Fritz is also nominated in the “Vocalist of the Year” category.  The winners will be announced during the CSPHOF Awards Show, being held on Saturday, November 28th at the Cleveland (OH) Downtown Marriott Hotel as part of the annual Thanksgiving Polka Weekend.

“The members of FPB were already looking forward to playing again in Cleveland on November 27th and 28th, as we had such a great time there last year,” said Fritz Scherz, band leader of Fritz's Polka Band.  “Now, with Gabe and I nominated for national awards again, this has raised our anticipation for Thanksgiving Weekend tenfold. To think we get to play twice this weekend AND attend the awards show as nominees is a fantastic feeling! We encourage our friends to join the CSPHOF soon and vote for us, as the voting deadline is October 5th!!!”

Fritz's Polka Band has been performing for over 36 years, and made history in 1999 by becoming the first polka band to play at a Woodstock Festival in Rome, NY.  FPB has made 18 recordings and appears on "The Manchurian Candidate" DVD, released in 2004.  FPB won a Just Plain Folks Music Award in the Best Polka Song category for Bialczak’s Polka in 2008.  FPB won an Upper State Independent (USI) Award in Syracuse, NY in 2008 and 2009.  In 2009, FPB won a Syracuse Area Music Award in the Best Recording:

Other Styles category for their “Reflections” recording.  In 2010, FPB was inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame.  In 2011, FPB had two songs (Grandparent’s Polka and Here Is Fritz’s Polka Band) included in two episodes of the TV show, ‘Breaking Bad’.  FPB was nominated in 2012 for two USI Awards. In 2013, FPB released their 18th recording, a double live CD entitled, “The WSKG Sessions”. In late summer of 2014, all FPB members were nominated for national awards by the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame!

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