Ray Dorschner and the Rainbow Valley Dutchmen: Something Old Something New
Plus, why Ray resisted playing “cornball” polka.
The other week in the Shotski Lodge, I mentioned Ray Dorschner and realized I didn’t know where he was from. I knew he was a Wisconsin musician, but I didn’t know what town he was born in.
On December 20, 1929, a mere two months after the stock market crashed, Ray Dorschner was born in the unincorporated community of Zittau, Wisconsin. I didn’t grow up in Wisconsin. The state’s history and geography are things I’ve had to learn slowly as I’ve made Madison my home for the past 20 years. People who grew up here may have heard of Zittau or have had the occasion to pass through it. But I had to look it up on the map. Even the U.S. Census passes over Zittau, so we don’t know exactly what the population of the area is.
You can find Zittau if you head due west from Neenah-Menasha
I’m really glad Zittau introduced Ray Dorschner to the world. Ray and his Rainbow Valley Dutchmen band is one of the best examples of the Dutchmen sound. In the notes (PDF) of a 1988 interview of Dorschner and his son, Randy, Jim Leary and Richard March talk to Dorschner about his influences. Among them are Whoopee John and Babe Wagner, New Ulm-style Minnesota musicians who toured and brought their iconic sound east of the Mississippi.
A notable comment in Ray’s interview was that he wanted to take his music seriously. The notes describe Ray’s remarks:
About methods of dealing with slighting remarks about polka avocation. Reckons they do it so well, they can hold their heads up. Thinks some radio stations play cornball, sloppy polka music, worthy of low brow status. Mentions Dr. John Check with his Ph.D. and music teacher players.
I can feel this respect coming through in Dorschner’s music. I try to play as much straight-ahead Dutchmen style dance music on Polka Time as possible. Songs that are more comic or irreverent are fine on occasion or for a special themed show. But I think listeners can hear Dorschner’s music and feel the same spark as they would listening to big band or jazz.
Listen to this week’s episode of Polka Time with DJ Shotski to hear the “Three Yanks Polka” and the “Nine Rounder Polka” by Ray Dorschner and the Rainbow Valley Dutchmen, along with songs from other bands that influenced Dorschner’s music.
The show will air LIVE on 98.7 FM WVMO on Sunday, March 17. Tune in on your terrestrial dial in Monona or on Madison’s east side, or stream it online. The show will rebroadcast on participating stations the following weekend.
All stations stream on the web at the links below. All times CST.
Polka Time: Where and when to listen
LIVE
Sunday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona
Streaming
Saturday, 6 p.m. - WPCA-FM 93.1 Amery - support WPCA
Saturday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona - support WVMO
Sunday, 7 a.m. - WOJB-FM 88.9 Hayward - support WOJB
Sunday, 8 a.m. - WILW-FM 96.3 Waupaca
Sunday, 9 a.m. - WOCT-FM 101.9 Oshkosh
Sunday, 4 p.m. - WLSP-FM 103.5 Sun Prairie - support SPMC
Thanks to these community-powered stations for keeping vintage polka on the air waves.