Ray is the son of Frank and Lottie Budzilek, who were both born in Warsaw, Poland. He played polka music at about 8 years of age on a toy piano. He then switched to accordion and began playing at weddings. He organized a musical aggregation in his…
Gene Wisniewski, was the son of Polish immigrants who settled in Connecticut where his dad, a tailor, worked in the weaving Mills in Manchester. At the age of 15, with three months of instruction on the accordion, he played his first jobs at weddings and taverns with his…
Mattie Madura’s musical career began with an old broken violin given to Mattie’s father by an old friend. With time and bits of wire and glue, it was pieced together. When it was finished he gave it to his younger son, Mattie. From then on Mattie was “that boy…