BMP (Buffalo Music Players) BREAKING EPISODE: Captain Tom

Our friend Captain Tom, of Captain Tom & the Hooligans, came on the BMP podcast a few days ago after a trip across the country and the same genuine, riotous sense of humor that led him to transform the polka world with his own performances across the city.

At least that's what he envisions. An act and character that can be seen all over the region, Captain Tom isn't one to sit at home when there's an audience to be in or performing for. We hope you enjoy this episode of the BMP podcast and join the Hooligans for their residency at Darien Lake on Sundays in August. It's a damn good time.

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Captain Tom & the Hooligans

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:08

It's the B and P podcast. If you are artists, no matter discipline, we'll help you out. Don't believe in gatekeeping. We all gotta eat and this is our way of helping out Avengers. So here we go. Like, why you got a podcast? Everybody got dogs. To be quite honest, I don't got a job. Living there, prospects like who I'm going wrong. Thank you, Joe, for the pot. I'm not designed to cry. I'm too pretty for present. But talking off the dome. I'm finna make a kill. If your rogue can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I've got the upper hand. If your rogin can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I got the upper hand.

unknown 1:02

It's the B and B pocket. It's the B and B pocket. It's the B and B pocket.

SPEAKER_04 1:16

After a long day, it's hard to turn off. That's why I go to Mammoth Cannabis on two twelve Ohio Street. There's a double heavy laid out flattered in a mammoth. From flour to pre-roll, vaporizers to concentrate. You can rest assured that something big is waiting for you at Mammoth Dispensary. Just keep in mind, if you smoke cereal from the General Mills factory nearby, they can't help you. You have to go home and get a bowl yourself. It's a dispensary, not an eatery after all.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Hey listeners, this is the BMP Podcast. My name is Benjamin Joe. And I am Max. And we are with the very famous, very uh humble person from the last time I talked to him, Captain Tom of Captain Tom the Hooligan.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Tom, introduce yourself to the listeners. Hey guys, uh, I'm Captain Tom, uh, Western New York, born and raised. Um I play the accordion. Uh as you just heard I have a band called Captain Tom the Hooligans, as well as playing with uh many other local musicians here, and uh wherever I can spread uh accordion joy and yeah. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

How's your summer make going?

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Uh my summer's been great. My summer's been great. Um been playing a lot. Uh I just went to Portland, Oregon. Okay. Oh, sweet. Yeah, yeah. And uh that was a very enlightening experience. Really? Yeah. Well, what is what about Portland different than Buffalo? Uh I don't know. Well, it was just like um I stayed there for a week. I have a good friend Ariana, she goes by Flapperbot online, another accordion player. Uh I stayed with her and her friends, and everyone there was just so nice, and uh there was just so much art and music going on there, and there's just a very strong community feel there that I feel like uh we could use a little bit more of back here in Buffalo, and it was very inspiring to like experience how strongly they care about each other and have like each other's backs there, the people I was hanging out with, and uh you know I want to continue that on, you know. Yeah, yeah, wherever I go.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

You feel like that camaraderie is missing in the scene in the city?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Um I I think there is camaraderie here, uh, but not to the extent where I saw it there. Yeah. Cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

It's always good to know that that there are other places other than Buffalo out there that can maybe like give us a little of their flavor and we can we can give them some Buffalo chicken back, you know, they'd go exactly. You know.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

Um How did you come up with the name, uh Captain Tom and the Hooligans? And is there any like relation or are you inspired by Captain Beefheart in any way?

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Uh no relation to Captain Beefheart. Uh in fact, there's actually like no relation to sailing or anything like that. Uh I was given the name uh in high school by my friends uh as a joke.

SPEAKER_04 4:20

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah. I'll tell I'll tell the real story. This is uh real information that I uh exclusive information. Uh but yeah, it was started as a joke when I used to do sports in school because I was never actually like a captain on those teams. But my friends thought it was really funny to call me a captain. And uh so that just became became a bit that they stuck to because I don't know, it irritated some people when they called it.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

The actual guy. The actual guy.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

It was funny enough that we I don't know, it stuck. And then came the hat, and then the band's uh the hooligans that uh I give credit to Dylan, our original drummer and bass player, he came up with that just because he thought it was really funny when uh I don't know, uh in Europe when they're talking about foot football hooliganism. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Football hooligans, yeah. Uh he just took the name from that. He just thought it was a funny name. Yeah. It is a funny name.

SPEAKER_04 5:19

So your band name is something you basically like a grab bag of different stuff?

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Yes. Cool. Respect. That's really awesome. So I actually see you all over the place. Like, whether you're playing or not, you'll just suddenly be there with your accordion. And um, it's it's really like it's funny. I I mentioned your name once, and like they were like, oh, he should be here soon. And like five minutes later, I think it was at Amy's place or something like that, or um, I was talking to um I forget who I was talking to. Uh um I forget his name. Oh, jeez, that's terrible. He's a really good artist. I I should know him. Patty? It wasn't Patty, it was the other one. Um Sally's Oh, Tyler. Tyler! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Duh. Yeah, Tyler. Yeah, he was just like, oh yeah, he shows up at everything. And I was like, I've seen him at everything. This is crazy. Like, what is it about the scene of Buffalo that that you're so happy to go and be a part of? Like, you know, that you show up at random shows that you're not even like a part of. Like, you're you're really like visible in the scene because uh because why? Like, why why do you why do you make such an effort?

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Uh I guess I'm always like looking for inspiration wherever that may be. Um I also I I'm not much of a homebody. I like I like being out and interacting with people, um, interacting with new artists, making new friends wherever I can. Um like playing the niche kind of music that I do, the accordion, uh trying to revitalize polka music. Uh yeah, I could use all the friends I can get. So yeah, just trying to spread the word a little bit, and if I could support as many, I want to support as many people as I can while also sharing, you know, the good word polka accordion.

SPEAKER_04 7:09

What made you want to pick up such a storied instrument as the accordion?

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Um I really don't know why I first did, but I remember like being a little kid and like hearing the accordion and just being like, that's cool. That's what I want to do. Like, I just thought it was like the coolest thing.

SPEAKER_04 7:30

Can you tell us like the moment that you like saw the accordion?

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Like when you watch like a weird album, Yankovic, like music. I wish I remember, but uh like the first time I saw an accordion, I think I was always kind of aware of it because uh my parents raised me around like a lot of niche music or like ethnic music, uh Irish music, uh Polish American music, uh places where there would be accordion. Right. So like it was always just like there growing up, or I'd always hear it. My dad was a Polkan musician, um, he was always playing the songs, so like you know, I just always heard it. It was always there, and I was always like, that's cool, and nobody in my family played it, so I was like, I want to be the guy who plays that.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

So you were like a young prince in a castle. And like you just knew that eventually the old king would die, and you'd have to go and go on the throne and have his sword and his crown and everything, like, and the accordion being that that symbol of the uh the passing of the powers, so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Well, I guess I never even I I I never saw it that way, or it's like I never saw it as a way that I was like carrying a torch. Well, it's a very niche lineage that you're a part of, you know. Yeah, but like uh growing up I didn't know that. Did you think like you'd be like a rock star with the accordion and just have like a? No, I just I never even thought I'd be like the guy who plays accordion, like uh like you know, everyone associates me with accordion now, but like uh I don't know, I played so much music uh growing up. I also I also played the banjo a lot growing up, and I've been. For a while I thought I was gonna be the guy who played the banjo. And like the accordion was just another thing I did, but um, I don't know, as time went on, uh uh when COVID like locked everything down is when I really locked in on the accordion and was like, uh, okay, I I want to actually really focus on this instrument and uh get better at it.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Was there ever did anybody ever like tell you like, you know what, stopped your dreaming? Like you'll never play accordion right. Maybe your neighbors or something like that. Maybe maybe something growing up to see me, like, you know, like stop all this nonsense and become a good idea.

SPEAKER_04 9:45

It's like an accordion, be an adult, play guitar.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Um, yes. Uh yeah, well, I guess what when you know, especially like in high school, you know, I was really cool because I wanted to play the accordion, you know. Um, it was a slice of sarcasm. But uh, yeah, um when I told people my idea of like forming Captain Tom and the Hooligans, which is like I want to form a band that plays, you know, traditional uh Polish American music, but I wanted to make it more modern, mix it with other genres, kind of like what bands like the pogues or flogging Molly did with Irish music. Yeah. And I wanted to do that with like uh Polish American music, Slavic music, um, you know, uh kind of almost more like what Gogo Bordello does, but uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

I I I can't check it. I don't know with it. I guess we were on the right track with what you're doing, right? Yeah, so when you told people that and they were just like, no.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah, they didn't see it. Most people didn't see it, and it is funny that like uh I I've like reconnected with like some old friends in the last couple years, and they're like, Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think you were gonna go anywhere with that.

SPEAKER_04 11:11

I'm being serious when I asked this. So, has it ever been difficult being have you ever felt like very isolated being a trailblazer pretty much in this this field?

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Um, it's just always been like, yeah. I've always had such good friends behind me. Yeah. Um that like even though I might be doing it unique, I've always had so many people that support me. I'm surrounded by unique people, um, or similar mindsets. Uh I'll shout out Tyler Bagwell right now. Tyler Bagwell, another local Buffalo musician who's name I forgot. Playing, you know, doing I'll say kind of we're doing a similar thing where he's doing inspired by a lot of historical American music, uh Irish music, and writing new songs in the tradition while also keeping it more modern, have a kind of punk edge to it. Um and he's been you know a big supporter of mine. I've been a big supporter of his. And uh because of people like that, I'll also give another shout out to uh the Snake Oil Serenaders, uh the great band locally, who I think they're doing something very similar with they have like a kind of Dixie Land jazz thing, but it's got this edge to it that makes it more modern, and it just playing with those guys and having those guys around me and being able to go hear them and see what they're doing in the similar vein, you know, even though it's not accordion or whatever, it's uh it's good. It's very it sounds homey, it sounds comfortable.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:47

It's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

I'm comfortable here in the Buffalo scene. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:51

When I listen to your music, I I did hear some of the pogues influenced, and you you mentioned them a little before. Can you talk a little bit more about how they influenced you?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Yeah, um, I love the pogs. It's I don't know, it's probably one of my favorite they're probably one of my favorite bands of all time. Shane McGowan, great songwriter. Uh lyricism, crazy. Yes, uh, incredible lyricist, but um, yeah, I don't know. He was like, the pogues were they may have not have been, but they really were the first, at least popular band to take, you know, folk music and their their specific uh genre of like Irish Celtic folk music and add uh like a punk rock element to it, and that like we can be rowdy and like we know how to have fun. Uh but what they were doing I think is really interesting is they preserved a lot of uh traditional ballads and stuff like that, but they did it by combining what was uh like exciting and fun to them because you know punk rock had just like was exploding at the time, and they had come from the punk scene, but they also were, you know, all came from this Irish background in the UK, and uh combining those two things, the old and the new, to create something completely new and continue on the tradition as well. And uh that's like you know, big inspiration to me is I'd love you know uh you saying that there's you heard Pogue's influence, you know, that's a huge compliment to me because it is there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

But it's more than just using some chords, like it's actually like doing what they were doing at that time. Like you're a big picture guy, I can I can respect that. Like you're just like I'm not just another of the bands, like I'm like Basquiet over here, like it's really cool. I I gotta wonder, with a name like you know, being influenced by the pogs and um being uh in a band called the Hooligans, has it ever gotten a little bit rowdy at one of your shows? Like, is people who are going to your shows, can they expect to go and be jostled around some? Um what how you describe uh a Captain Tom and Hooligan show?

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Um, yes, it definitely depends on the show you come to because we play a variety of shows. We'll play shows where it's all traditional music or polka shows, uh, where we have a much older crowd, and uh at those shows it's very much more of a slower dancing kind of crowd. And then more what I call you know our real like hooligan shows, uh where we're playing, you know, a punk venue or something like that. We're playing, you know, five times as fast, and uh, you know, just getting rowdy. Uh you know, we've we've had mosh pits at our shows, had people getting on stage. Uh I've been knocked over a few times on stage. Um yeah, I I think that was the uh a big moment for me is like when we first started the band, we were extremely like uh a softer sound, more traditional acoustic instruments. And then um one year for St. Patrick's Day, we were playing with uh Folkfaces. Shout out Folkfaces. Um the most famous bands from the uh area. We uh uh we like opened up the set, and uh literally not even ten seconds into the set, someone jumped on stage and like knocked over me and my beer onto the ground. And I was like, okay, I guess we're officially a punk band now. That was like, you know, that was awesome.

SPEAKER_04 16:32

Well, it was St. Patrick's day. I'm sure they would have done that even if like Joan Baez was playing.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

So how prolific are you guys? I actually saw a very giant list, so I know that you do a lot, like you play a lot of shows. Like, what what does that look like for you um in the summer, in the winter, what whatever season it is? I'm like, how about how much time do you dedicate to being Captain Tom?

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Um to being Captain Tom, uh I dedicate uh 90% of my time to, I'd say, like uh like I don't know, we were just talking about earlier, like me going out and uh supporting other shows, but like I'm always out, I go to like two or three open mics a week here in the city of Buffalo. You know, a lot of people go to open mics just to dip their get their feet wet into the scene, but you know, I love seeing I don't know the the community at those open mics, people's new songs, uh just mingling with people, as well as trying to go to shows, just hanging out at venues, you know, yeah. Making sure uh everyone's doing well, doing alright, my friends. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:41

Is Captain Tom almost like a Batman situation where it's like you're Captain Tom all the time, but you have to figure out how to be Tarom sometimes?

SPEAKER_01 17:49

So yeah, sometimes, because you know, I also I write a lot of music that um sometimes I'll write and I'm like, you know, this isn't a very Captain Tom and the Hooligan song or something like that, and then I'll uh we'll rarely play it, but then every once in a while I'll I'll play something out of the blue. Like uh I have some like slower uh acoustic reggae songs I've written. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Gotcha. That's very cool. Complicated guy. I suppose. Can you talk a little bit more about acoustic reggae songs? How did you what what got you into that?

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Um Clash obviously is the only band that matters. Clash, yeah. Clash is the only band that matters. But um, no, I uh I remember uh when I was very young as well, I had a moment the first time I ever heard reggae music, I remember this. Uh there's a gentleman named Hakeem. He does sound uh kind of in the Rochester area a lot. He's always at Folk Faces Fest. Um Hakeem. He does uh great job of sound, but uh when I was uh very young, um my parents knew his family, and uh we were hanging out for some reason, and I just remember he was like, Tom, Thomas, whatever I was at that point. He was like, You like you like reggae music? And I was like, what's that? And he put it on, and you know, the the bass and everything, I was just blown away. And I forget we had like you had some like PlayStation 2 game on, and we just listened to reggae, and um that was one of my first introdu introductions to uh Jamaican music, which you know, another huge influence of Kevin Tong Hooligan's is ska. Okay. Right, oh yeah. And I'd say, you know, ska is probably the biggest, one of our biggest influences, um, and naturally rock steady and reggae as well, but not nearly as much. But I've written I've just written some songs myself, and I find myself um not even necessarily on purpose, but just kind of putting that beat on a lot of these songs. Yeah, it just feels natural. I don't know. Gosh, cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

That's really awesome. Um, I was wondering, I guess this is the time of our show. Is there any song that you like to showcase? It can be one of your songs, or it can be a Hogan song, or it can be another local band song.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Sure, let's let's play a Captain Tom song. Um one of the first songs we released on our EP uh entitled Mr. Tapster. We played at pretty much every show, and I wrote that uh with the original group of guys in the band, so uh it's a cool little polka fusion song. I don't know. So uh let's check that out. Alright, folks, let's give this a listen.

SPEAKER_04 21:33

The bringer of life, the bringer of unimaginable joy, the cause of catastrophic destruction. Knowing that you have something so powerful, wouldn't you want the best to take care of it? Pardon me for saying this. I am just a humble announcer. But if I had a Gucci, I'd probably get it waxed at Cheyenne's waxing studio on 8 30 Elmwood L. You have power in between your legs. So why not have it taken care of by the best?

SPEAKER_02 22:09

And we are back. So uh Tom, tell us uh you uh you you gathered up these hooligans for for for your band. I'm kind of curious, how where did you where did you find these people?

SPEAKER_01 22:20

So the original band of hooligans um were entirely from my high school, the Pew High School. Nice. Uh just guys I went to school with who was uh Nick Sugg, Nicholas C. Sugg, um Jacob Simon, Dylan Stoy, and Mike Brisky. Uh that was my original band of hooligans, and um they're all uh actually three out of four of them are all in the military now.

SPEAKER_04 22:48

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

They all joined the military, um, except uh Mike Brisky's still in the band. Uh he was our drummer at one point, now he's our guitar player. Um uh yeah, so he's been one of my day ones. Uh I always saw him playing guitar in the high school, thought he was a really cool dude. I was like, I'll I gotta play music with that guy, and uh we've been ever since. But uh we got some other really great people in the band. Uh a couple years ago we needed a new bass player, and uh I asked my sister to join the band. Oh, cool. Um, so she ended up learning the bass. She's been playing with us. Uh she's she's been singing now as well in the band, like her own songs, and uh uh she also is a dancer and she teaches the crowd some dances, gets the you know audience involved. Oh, that's cool. That's been great. Um my father's in the band as well. Your father is mad. Uh he plays the saxophone and clarinet, uh, and he writes out all of our horn arrangements for the band. So someone's gonna do it. Yeah. And uh he's very good at it, so uh I'm very thankful for him. And then uh the rest of the horns, we have uh Carl Zalazinski, who uh is our trumpet player. Uh I went to school with his son actually uh at the Pew High School, and uh I met Carl because he had come to my band director and was putting or helping put together like this community polka band at the time to get young people into polka music, and he went to the band director and he said, Do you know anyone who might be interested in something like that? And he said, I know one person in particular, and it was me. And uh I played trumpet with him for a bit in that band, and uh so that's how I met Carl, and then eventually I was like, Carl, just come join my band. Um and then we have Ray Skolski on trombone, who I met through Kyle Yagilski, uh who leads uh the brass machine, the Buffalo Brass Machine. He does booking at Nietzsche's as well. Cool. Um but I asked Kyle to fill in on a gig or two. Kyle couldn't make it. He said, I'm sending someone your way. Uh Ray showed up with a trombone, his sunglasses on, and uh he's been with us ever since. He's an incredible player, and then um let's see, we got I shouted out uh my father, Commodore Dave Siraki. I forgot to mention his name before. We got my sister Diana Saraki, Carl Zelzinski on trumpet, Ray Skolski on trombone. Um skis. Yeah, a lot of skis. Uh very Polish name uh band. Uh Mike Prisky on guitar, and then uh finally we have um uh Trevor Jennings on the drums. And uh I I feel like the addition of Trevor is what officially made us uh sonically more of like a punk band. Uh he comes from a background of playing with scout punk bands, uh Celtic punk bands, and country music, which was uh a perfect, you know, background for the hooligans. Uh he really rounds out our sound and makes us Captain Tom and Hooligans, all of those guys together. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

That's cool. Awesome. So where are you guys, what's going on? What's going on? What's happening um in the near future for you guys and hooligans?

SPEAKER_01 26:05

Uh near future, um it's July when we're recording this right now. August coming up, we're gonna have a residency at uh Darien Lake. Wow. Um so we'll be in the park playing around uh some Sundays in August. So if you're in the park and you hear accordion and some horns, um checking it, you know?

SPEAKER_04 26:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

And then um coming up in September, I believe it's September 12th, we'll be at West Um with West Almond, New York for the West Almond Stomp, as well as some other uh a bunch of other great Western New York bands. Uh Folk Faces will be playing that uh Friday night. Uh well there's Saturday, um, and then October 1st, possibly. I believe it's whatever that Thursday is, first Thursday of October. We're gonna be playing uh right across the street from Darien Lake at Folkfaces Fest. Oh, so uh some great festivals, come check out. Uh we'll be in Ohio September 19th, both Twinsburg, Ohio, and Canton, Ohio. Check out our social media for more info. Very cool. Well, it's just been great having you on the pod, uh, Tom. Well, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

You're a very trailblazing niche figure, and I think everyone in Buffalo should know who you are and uh and beyond if you ever get as far as outside Ohio. I appreciate that. I'd like to see you in Chicago sometime, Osai. Chicago would be great. I think Chicago or Boston, like those two cities in particular, would be really awesome, really fun for our show to uh I'd love to do it.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

We played in Boston one time. Cool. So Chicago will be next on the list. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:42

Before we go, what do you have to say to the kids that like to play like niche instruments and feel like they're a little misunderstood? Do you have a few words for them?

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Uh just keep doing what you're doing. Um yeah, don't listen to the naysayers. Just uh make your art. Um at the end of the day, that's uh all we can do as artists is just keep making our art and uh you know, do it for yourself. Do it for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Absolutely. Alright. Some wise words from the captain. Those are very wise words. Um uh anybody who is listening to this, remember to do follow on Instagram, Buffalo Music Players, and that's a wrap. May the sauce be with you guys. Alright.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

This just then, a double scoop of bad news.

SPEAKER_04 28:40

Man, life just isn't letting up. I feel like the walls are closing in, and I don't have a way to stop it. I wish there was somewhere I could go. Some place where I could just get away from everything and just be creative.

SPEAKER_03 28:59

Creative workshop. Use our space or our supplies and equipment to your heart's content. Let us hope you beat back the stress and feel centered again. Wow, that sounds great.

SPEAKER_04 29:21

I'll check it out.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Always remember, if the world has your creative spirits in a rudd, come to the Buffalo Creative Workshop for a big meal. More about Buffalo Creative Workshop can be found at Buffalo.creative Workshop on Instagram.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

It's the B podcast. If you are artist, no matter discipline, we'll help you out. Don't believe in gatekeeping, we all gotta eat and this is our way of helping out. Ben Joe's the host, Ben Max the cult. We try our best, so here we go. Like, why you got a podcast? Everybody got dumb. To be quite honest, I don't got a job. Looking at prospects like one going rock. Thank Joe for the pot. I'm not designed for crime, I'm too pretty for present. But talking off the dome, I'm finna make a kill. If Joe Rogan can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I've got the upper hand. If Joe Rogan can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I've got the upper hand.

unknown 30:44

It's the B and B pocket. It's the B and B pocket. It's the B and B pocket,