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Tubby Esquire

Recipients of the
2000 Minnesota Music Awards for
"Best Polka Band" and
"Best Polka Recording"

Tubby Esquire is a band from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota U.S.A.

Their music is a blend of Polka, Pop, Rock and Country inspired by the music of performers such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash to Spike Jones, Roger Miller, Pantera and the Jolly Fishermen.

Tubby Esquire has been honored in 2000 by winning the coveted Minnesota Music Awards for "Best Polka Band" and "Best Polka Recording" for their CD "The Return of the Last Castrato." They have also had several complimentary things written about them in the local newspapers.

The band plays throughout the Midwest area of the U.S.A. and is not only available but is also actually well suited for all types of events. This is a band that is either appreciated or not by people of all age groups!


Photo of band, all three holding accordians

Tubby Esquire is (Left to Right)

Rob Browne: Drums and Vocals.
(Rob is also the clandestine CEO of Widowmaker Inc. A non-profit company that makes mindbogglingly usefull items out of crap most people throw away, for they lack either the foresight or the spare time required to render the true beauty of said crap. It is a non-profit company because they never sell anything. Ask nice and maybe he'll give you what you didn't even know you needed but can now see as indispensable!)

Harry Pulver Jr.: Accordion, Guitar and Vocals.
(Harry is also an accomplished commercial artist and you should check out his Web page via the links at the bottom of this page. Don't bookmark the band's page. Bookmark Harry's page because he'll be around a lot longer than this band probably. Though you just never know with artists. They lead such sedentary lives. You can almost hear the arteries hardening.)

John Schech: Bass and Vocals.
(Don't get John going about recording equipment or ever mention the words "direct box" or "digital reverb" in his presence unless you want an earful. On the positive side, John loves animals, never litters and brings the most expensive beer to rehearsals)

And sometimes...

Kent Peterson: Congas, Bongos, Glockenspiel and percussion.
(Kent is a musical Jack of all Trades and plays with several groups in our area so his schedule doesn't permit him to make every show. Kent says Tubby Esquire is his favorite band to play with, but we bet he says that to all the bands. )


Recordings

Tubby Esquire has released 2 recordings in the 4 years they've been together. In 1997, they released a short cassette demo called "Tubby Esquire's Cavalcade o' Value" which is no longer available so that's all we'll say about it. In June of 1999, they released a full length CD entitled "The Return of the Last Castrato" which (I repeat) won a prestigious Minnesota Music Award for Best Polka Recording.

Now think about it for a minute. Minnesota is Polkaville USA. This state has a long and rich Polka history that I'm sure does not need to be elaborated on if you have any knowledge of Polka. And here Tubby Esquire sweeps the Polka awards in a state revered for its Polka prowess. Cripes, that's not too shabby! Anyway, you can check out material from the CD three different ways:

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  1. Buy a CD! The recording is available by sending a check or money order for $12.00 (if international, please add $2.00) to PO Box 23191, Minneapolis, MN, 55423-3191. We think you'll get a kick out of it but if you don't, just send it back to the same address with a note requesting a refund and we'll promptly send you your $12.00 back no questions asked.
  2. , or

  3. Visit our MP3.com Web site ( http://www.mp3.com/TubbyEsquire to download some sample music

  4. download two small MP3s:
    The One Leg Too Short Polka (2.3 MB), and
    Tubby Talking (1.5 MB)

You may contact the members of Tubby Esquire by sending a note to:

Tubby Esquire
PO BOX 23191
Minneapolis, MN 55423-3191

Or, Email:

Rob Browne: rfb42@juno.com
Harry Pulver: hpulver@pclink.com
John Schech: schech@bitstream.net
Kent Peterson: kent.peterson@telex.com

Dancing Lil' Heine - charicature playing accordian

Don't send any attachments though. We'll just delete them. And we won't send you any either, unless you ask for an MP3.

If you are interested in the band's schedule, please email Harry and ask to be added to the Email list. You'll receive an email every other week or so telling you what's happening. If you decide you don't want to receive these emails, just reply to one and put "unsubscribe" or something similar in the subject line. Don't worry about hurting Harry's feelings. He's a grownup. Some of his best friends have asked to be removed from the list. Isn't that right, BOB M.?

If you'd prefer to receive your info via regular mail, just drop us a note via email or at the PO box and we'll send you post cards prior to any performances in your area.


If you have some time to kill, here are some links to explore:

Check out some of Harry's art at: http://www.pclink.com/hpulver/

The best syndicated Polka Radio show we've ever heard! http://www.itspolkatime.com/

Checkout this big ball of twine. Kent wonder's "what's inside that big ball of twine?": http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/towns/Cawker/twine.html

John says someday all band WebPages will look like Man or Astroman's WebPage http://www.astroman.com/Frames/frames.html

Cartoons and stuff!: http://www.spumco.com/

Tubby Esquire loves the music of Blue Oyster Cult from the Bouchard Bros. era. Want to learn more about Blue Oyster Cult? http://members.aol.com/bocfaqman/

Wow, this is the best Christmas ever!: http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/ProdList.asp

woman with beer steins topped with band members

Web site designed by Joel Johnston