Andy Nester was born in Flint, Michigan of Austrian and Czechoslo-vakian ancestry. By the age of fourteen, the Nester Brothers Band, he and brother Mike on drums, was booked almost every weekend.
One of his biggest thrills while playing occurred back in 1950 when he sat in with Frankie Yankovic and his band, who were playing at the old Edgewood Gardens near Owosso. Since then he has tried to emulate the Slovenian style because of its bright tempo and melodic harmony.
He is a strong promoter of polka music because of the fun and good times he shares with hundreds of polka music lovers. He says it’s hard to express the joy and satisfaction he gets from playing such happy music and the wonderful people he has met while playing has enriched his life tremendously.
John Shollack, originally from Detroit, Michigan, has been playing the accordion since he was six years old. Coming from a musical family, his father told him about his Uncle John Krachtus, an accordionist from Germany, who settled in Chicago and had a music studio and publishing house in the early 1900’s.
With his father’s encouragement, John was given an accordion and was playing professionally at twelve. He studied the instrument with the legendary great accordionist and educator Tony Dannon. His love and passion for the accordion is reflected in his ability to play any ethnic style, jazz, classical, etc.
John has performed across the United States, Europe and Canada. He has written many original songs and has numerous arrangements and recordings to his credit. He has shared the stage with likes of Frank Yankovic, Myron Floren, Art van Dam, Frank Marocco, Peter Soave and Tony Dannon, just to name a few. John celebrates his heritage with German, Slovenian, Austrian and Swiss musical stylings.
