Lustige Leute Newsletter November 2021

Oktoberfest is past.  Ach du lieber, how time flies!  BUT Wurstfest is around the corner!  The roller coaster continues, with the loss of a friend, the birth of our Niece, and the continued craziness going on in the world around us.  We're so thankful for the feeling of happiness when seeing crowds of smiling faces who left the outside world outside for a moment.  We're exhausted, and we're thankful to each and every friend, client and guest who made that possible!  We can't wait for Wurstfest, and should be rested up, laundered and packed just in time!   I've said it before, but will say it again, it has been "prima" to see so many of you these past months!  Thank you for coming out, and thank you for your support! 

It has been a record season!  We were blessed to play 28 shows in 31 days in October!  That adds up to 54 hours driving to and from venues, 96 hours of load in, set up, sound checks, packing and loading out, 70 hours of actual performance time, and about 40 hours of maintenance / repairs, turn around between shows, office, errands, lawn and home care.  We're energized and ready for Wurstfest where we have 19 shows for you to choose from; each one will be a little different from the rest.  We're excited to have Jeff drumming in every one, Robert Herridge on fiddle in a few, Randy Adams on trumpet in a few, and dancers on the weekends!  When are you coming?  Do you have a special request for a song you'd like to hear?  We'll play it for you if we know it! 

If you are planning to attend Wurstfest and would like to join us, we're having our annual "Wurstfest family reunion" with friends on Sunday at 10am at Krause's Cafe in New Braunfels.  You're invited to join us!  Let us know by Friday Nov 5, so we can claim enough space for our group.  It's always fun to spend a leisurely breakfast together before the glorious chaos of the festival!  Here's a link to their menu:  https://www.krausescafe.com/menu/   They accept cash and credit.  Parking is possible on the street and in the bank lot across the street if Krause's lot is full. 

November performances: 

--The Sauer Kraut Grill, 734 Crabb River Rd, Richmond, TX; Stubenmusi (pub music unplugged) with the Duo 
Thursdays Nov 4, 18;  6 - 8pm  Keep an eye on the calendar in case there is a date added near Thanksgiving. 

-- Wurstfest, Landa Park, New Braunfels, TX; 
Das Kleine Zelt: 
Saturday Nov 6; 6:05 - 7:05, 8:40 - 9:35, 11pm - 12:00;  Ross, Robert, Jeff, Valina & dancers 
Sunday Nov 7; 3:30 - 4:50, 6:30 - 7:30, 9:05 - 10:00; Ross, Jeff Valina & dancers 
Stelzenplatz: 
Tuesday Nov 9; 6:45 - 7:40, 8:55 - 9:45; Ross, Robert, Jeff & Valina 
Wednesday Nov 10; 5:30 - 6:25, 7:50 - 8:45; Ross, Robert, Jeff & Valina 
Friday Nov 12; 5:30 - 6:35, 8:15 - 9:20; Ross, Randy, Jeff & Valina 
Saturday Nov 13: 2:10 - 3:10, 4:50 - 5:45, 7:15 - 8:15, 9:40 - 10:35; Ross, Randy, Jeff, Valina & dancers 
Sunday Nov 14; 2:15 - 3:15, 4:50 - 5:50, 7:30 - 8:30; Ross, Randy, Jeff, Valina & dancers 

The homepage of our website reflects every performance except the private ones.  Often when we're on the road, we don't have access to update our facebook pages, but will always (as long as my cell phone works) update the home page on our website if there is a last minute change.  You're always welcome to give us a call or send a text if you want to make sure we're going to be where our calendar shows we're going to be. 

Looking ahead: 

Sauer Kraut Grill Thursdays Dec 2,16,23,30; possibly special shows for Holiday dates, we'll update the web calendar when we know more. 

Dec 11 - 12; Tomball German Christmas Market; Times and stages TBD; The 3 piece band with guest drummer Glen Renfro 

Friday Dec 17; Bavarian Brauhaus in Bryan, 109 N Main st; 6:30 - 9:45; The Duo 

Wednesday Dec 22; Krause's Cafe in New Braunfels; 6pm - 9pm; The Duo 

Wednesday Dec 29; Momma's At Sengelmann in Schulenberg; 6:30pm - 9pm; The Duo 

Host your own Christmas party!  Call us for pricing and availability if you have something to celebrate in December!  We're available to play for you as a duo unplugged, or we can bring the sound equipment and specialty folk instruments.  Nothing says Christmas like German Christmas carols played on Accordion, and even Alphorn! American ones played on Accordion and cowbells!  Need an authentic European (Dutch) Saint Nick?  We can offer him as well!  Our Saint Nick is fluent in Dutch and German, and knows the history of how Saint Nick came to be. His beard is real, and his robes are hand made. 

Hosting our trips to Europe   Both trips for the summer of 2022 are close to capacity.  Would you like to travel with us to Germany and the Czech Republic, Tuesday June 7 - Tuesday June 21, 2022?  Or to the Black Forest and Switzerland June 22 - July 7, 2022?  Our small groups have a ton of fun together!  Can't choose?  There is an option (and a discount) if you go on both trips.  There are two double rooms left available on the first trip June 7 - 21.  The Swiss tour June 22 - July 7 has two double rooms available.  The number of guests for each trip will not exceed 24, so there is plenty of space to spread out.  If you're interested, let us know soon!  https://www.prostyall.com/lustig-tours-holiday 

If you'd like to join us for travel in the future, we'd love to hear from you!  There have been requests to return to Austria, The Netherlands, and also requests to do a Christmas Market tour.  We tailor these trips to your wishes! 

Website:  You can always find out what's happening with us at http://www.prostyall.com.  We update our calendar as information becomes available, and always keep the upcoming gigs and last minute changes on the home page.  The shop page https://www.prostyall.com/shop has koozies! (they fit party cups, pint glasses and Wurstfest cups!)  The famous "Prost Y'all" sign is in stock and available for sale too!  Won't that look awesome on the wall of your favorite relaxation spot!  We also have shirts, hat pins, and CD's that can make great gifts for your Biergarten loving friends.  Christmas is coming!  Spoil them with something they can't find at the stores! 

Social Media:  You can find us on Facebook, and Youtube.  You can subscribe to our Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/valinapolka , friend us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/valinapolka  "like" us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prostyall/  We have an instagram, but don't know how to use it. 

Behind the scenes: 

  Did we tell you about all the crazy fun on the road these past few months?  (Besides Ross' injury, which thankfully is fully healed!)  Our drummer Jeff celebrated his birthday this year playing at Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest with us. Our fiddler Robert celebrated his birthday rehearsing for Santa's Wonderland.  His big season starts on Sunday Nov 7, so he'll only be with us on the first Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Wurstfest.  As luck would have it, the hotel we stayed in during the Fort Worth Oktoberfest was just a little less than hospitable to us - well, pretty nasty to all of the performers who were staying there.  Long story short, they messed up all of the reservations for the various bands staying with them, and kept pushing us out of our rooms in to other rooms. Finally kicking Jeff out completely while he was heading to the festival to work on Saturday.  Friendly to business travelers indeed.  Don't ever stay at the Courtyard by Marriott on I30 west near NAS JRB.  Absolutely awful!  The only person who ever greeted any of us was the night janitor.  The desk personnel were rude to Jeff as they moved him THREE TIMES in 2 days, then just fully threw him out.  Jeff did nothing wrong, and we've never met someone who didn't like Jeff.  The hotel made the mistakes in the reservations, and caused problems for other bands too.  We have yet to hear all the stories.  They also locked Robert out of his room at 6am Sunday as we were trying to load out to head to Houston for a show.  Jeff slept in his car after working in Fort Worth all Saturday, and driving to Houston for the Sunday gig.  The elevator buttons did not work properly, and by Sunday morning, the only way to get an elevator on the ground floor was to go up the stairs and come down in it.  Fun fun!  Got lots of exercise while staying there for sure!  Lost precious office and prep time too with all the room moving.  Anyway, then a couple of weeks later, Ross and Jeff went for a late night meal at a Waffle House in OKC.  They ordered drinks and food, were sitting and talking, and realized after about 30 minutes they still were not receiving anything to eat.  They then noticed the stove was not attended.  Shortly after that, the staff asked everyone to leave.  Aint nothing like getting kicked out of a Waffle House at 1am when you're hungry and tired after a 3 hour show in Louisiana, followed by a 10 hour drive, followed by a 3 hr nap, followed by a 3 hour load in / sound check, followed by a 4 hour show...  I wasn't there, they dropped me off at the VRBO.  I was tooooo tired, and so glad I didn't go, cause I just would have had a toddler style meltdown.  I'm hyper, but at 30 hours of no sleep, I tend to revert to my inner 3 year old for etiquette...   I've been busy busy in the office with invoices, paperwork, continuing Tomball planning and tour plans, turning merch around for shows, laundry and ironing, mowing the grass, raking the leaves... this life is still not really that glamorous!  I do the yard work during the season to spare Ross' shoulder injury, and allow him time to keep his accordion chops.  Although he spent several hours today sewing his lederhosen back together.  The other half of today, he spent making a birthday cake for his Mom.  We'll do some rehearsing tomorrow morning.  Music is not learned once and then performed forever, it is a constant living thing to maintain on a daily basis.  Back in Tulsa last weekend, while jumping around on stage leading the Zumba Aus Tirol, I felt a "pop" in my left calf, then pain.  I flat footed the rest of the performance, and headed over to first aid to make sure I didn't pull a tendon or ligament.  Those were intact, but there was definitely pain when I flexed the muscle, so I stretched good, kept the muscle warm, and finished the last two sets with a little less bounce than normal.  Took some ibuprofin and kept drinking tons of water, and it was already much better the next day.  People often ask us why we don't drink much on stage.  Well, part of that reason is that what we're doing is athletic in nature.  I am very glad I didn't damage the muscle while tipsy, because I likely would have pressed on and caused more damage.  Plus, it messes with the vocals, which after half a liter, I tend to be unable to support properly (you should hear my badly executed high notes in Sweet Caroline, HA!) I noticed this week Saturday that it felt all normal again, so I guess it's healed just in time for Wurstfest!  It truly has been a whirlwind month, and interesting too. On the 31st, after we finished playing for a very successful and well attended Lutherfest, we finally got to go meet our new niece Jane.  She's 11 days old now!  We sat on the front porch with my parents, my brother and his wife, and the baby, people watching as the trick or treaters came and went.  Most were cute, most were polite.  One couple was old enough to drive, and were celebrating date night... Parked the car, got out, picked up some candy, went next door and got candy, got back in the car, and moved on further down the street.  Can you imagine?  At least walk!  Seeing all that candy, Ross and I got the bright idea to stop in to Walmart on the way home for Reese's peanut butter cups, Almod Joy, and Candy Corn.  We said "trick or treat" just like we're supposed to, but the lady at the check out said "nice try, that will be 8.92."  No free candy date night for us.  :\  We bought the candy, came home, fell asleep on the couch watching Young Frankenstein.  A good Halloween if you ask me!  We'll probably close the office for a day or two after Wurstfest, and head somewhere quiet for a day to let our brains and muscles rest.  But then, we'll begin rehearsals for Christmas music.  We can't wait for Christmas! 

Always allow joy and hope to be in your life!  We pray every day that health and strength will remain for our friends, family, fans, and ourselves, so we can continue passing happiness on to others.  We thank the Lord every day for the talents he loaned us and the people he has brought around us.

That's all for this newsletter.  Your support and friendship means so much to us!  Stay healthy, stay safe, share a smile with a stranger, and we hope we get to "prost y'all" at Wurstfest!

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