Welcome to our morning show studios.
Thanks, Bo.
We're here live radio, baby.
And Richard Canuth is in the studio with us.
And Molly B as well.
We appreciate you joining us, Richard.
You got a big show coming up here real soon, don't you?
Yes, we got a veteran show.
Molly is doing a veteran show for us.
It's open to the public.
And it's going to be on June 1st at 1 o'clock.
It's a Saturday.
And we're promoting it, of course.
And Molly's promoting it, and we hope to see more people and fill the house.
Tickets are available, it sounds like.
Yes, we're still got tickets available, probably an area of 150 to thereabouts.
And there are $36 and $34, and yes, we got seats available.
The Cal Center in Readsburg.
So your events coordinator for American Legion post 350.
And this is a special show to salute veterans again, isn't it?
This is the attribute to the veterans that Molly and her cast is putting on.
So if you're a veteran or a non-vetron or anybody in the public,
and wants to see a nice show, and enjoy themselves of two and a half hours of enjoyment,
and happy music, this is the place you want to be.
You sure do.
Well, good morning, Molly.
How are you?
Good morning, I'm doing very well.
Thank you, how are you?
Oh, wonderful.
So every time you come down here and stop and see us, I always say,
would you please play someday, and you're always busy?
Yes.
But you did bring the concertina today, didn't you?
Well, I got to correct you.
Yeah, this is technically a button accordion.
Oh.
Yeah, so it's like a concertina.
The only difference is my left hand on the button accordion is actually bass notes.
And chords.
And I just, for those at home, you didn't see it, but I only played two buttons.
If I wasn't to do that on a concertina, I would have had to play one button for the
first one, and then four for the next, all at one time.
So this is a little bit easier?
Maybe.
Oh, I don't know how you do it, because you're both sides of the brain are working overtime,
aren't you?
Yeah, they are.
They are.
Very much so.
So I know you went to Wisconsin Heights High School again this year, didn't you, or
cross planes?
Cross planes high school.
You did a little thing for them for the students?
I did.
I did.
That was very fun.
And I taught them off the instruments, taught them out the history, a little bit about
me, so I understand like how my music career has developed, and then they got to dance
in the evening.
We had a dance as well, so yeah, it was very, very fun.
We do it every year.
That's great that you introduce that style of music to a new crowd.
That means it's going to live on, right?
Hey, that's what I say.
And I was told some statistics this year that they're band and orchestra program are actually
growing at cross planes.
And they feel it's because of our workshop that we do, so that's really awesome.
Oh, that's wonderful.
And of course, you were involved in band and music and choir back in high school.
Everything I could get my fingers in, I was involved in, I even started our show choir
at our school.
It wasn't much compared to like what you see today in show choirs, but I, you know,
I started a show choir.
I was a student director for the band and choir, I wrote songs that being choir.
That was just when I was little.
And so just kind of continued.
So what instrument did you first take up, Molly?
It could be piano.
Oh, the piano.
Yes.
Piano when I was four and then trumpet when I was 10.
My goodness.
And you don't play them a little bit in the show, don't you?
Oh, yeah.
Most definitely.
I don't play, you'll never hear me play like classical style piano unless I'm playing
for church.
Other than that, usually just hear me do courting and more simple melody lines on the piano.
So I don't get to express myself on there, but hey, I got my other, how many, I'm teen
instruments I can play.
So I'm good.
So you've stayed busy?
You in the band?
Yeah.
Yeah, actually.
So I've been a part of Squeezebox for 18 years now.
And the band is actually taking some of our break this year.
We're only doing about 30 to 40% of our gigs, but that doesn't mean I'm not performing.
So I'm performing with the band I put together called Molly Bee and Friends.
And then I also am performing with the band out of Wasaw, Wisconsin called the Music Connection.
So between Music Connection, Molly Bee and Friends and Squeezebox, my schedule has remained
very full.
That's awesome though, right?
Yeah.
Oh, it's very awesome.
Doing what you love.
Oh, my goodness.
I can't imagine doing something I don't love.
I'm like, this has just been great.
Would you play us a song since you have the instrument in hand?
Yes.
I've coerced you to finally play for his live on me.
Yes.
I am wearing the accordion right now.
So yeah, I'm going to play the first song I ever learned on the accordion.
And if it's getting long, Phil, you just got to give me that like cut, Molly.
Okay.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Oh.
So much fun.
Oh, goodness.
Oh.
I say songs in two four times, you just can't go wrong with them.
You can't.
You're a happy snappy.
It's such a happy, happy sound, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I was watching that physically after a show.
Are you like worn out?
I mean, you're doing all your work out.
So the instrument I'm playing right now is the one that I don't.
You'll see me play probably maybe up to four songs on this, up to four songs.
Other than that, I'm playing a variety of other instruments.
So I actually get more of a workout from running around on stage.
When I go out in the audience, switching between instruments and just trying to stay on
top of things.
Like by most, the song, it's kind of funny.
I often go from a song where I play 15 instruments, literally running around stage because
I play the drums and I go over and play my husbands accordion running around stage.
And then I stop and I take 30 seconds.
Now I'm going to sing Schubert's Ave Maria.
Oh, it just is there.
What?
So my breath support for the first four measures is probably a little short of what it should
be.
But I make it through.
I guess there's no lip syncing in the Molly B show, is there?
Absolutely.
You know, we honestly get that question.
Since Ted and I started, he covers the bass.
He covers the accordion.
He does the male vocals.
I do the female vocals.
I do the courting on piano.
I play piano and trumpet at the same time.
That's right there.
We're covering six parts, potentially.
And then a drummer.
So people, they see, they see three people, but they're hearing six instruments and between
voices and instruments.
And they're like, this has to be tracked.
And no, we've never ever done anything tracked.
It's kind of been against like, I don't want to ever do that, but who knows, maybe five
years from now, I'll try a song just to do something fun like that.
But no, and never tracked always the full, real deal when you see Molly B.
That's amazing.
Explain how the instrument works, too, because you know, you're, you're bringing it into
the top, you're bringing it down to the bottom, you never come in together, right?
Correct.
Side to side.
How do you play it?
Correct.
And the reason why is because the accordion has the bellows.
And without, without me pushing the bellows, I get nothing when I push down a key.
I absolutely have to have the bellows being pushed in or out as I play.
Otherwise, there's no air coming through these reads.
If I'd open this up, you'd actually see metal reads.
And so when I allow the air to be pushed, the reads can vibrate.
So when I push down, so when I push on a button, that's exactly what happens is it's allowing
air to flow through and the reads vibrate, creating a sound.
So now for those that are not in the studio, I'm going to tell you, I just play to note,
obviously, I'm going to keep my, keep my finger down on that key, but I'm going to push
the other direction.
So every button I play has two sounds it can make.
So in that way, my brain has to go in an overload and from musicians out there, it often
fits in like a one chord and then a five, or a five seven chord or five nine, whatever
you want to do, but not always.
And that's when it gets really tricky when I end up hitting some weird buttons all around
the button accordion.
And I am just, I consider myself just a, just a player, not someone that's a phenomenal
and author to win any awards or can, like my husband's very good and I know many good
button accordion players.
It's amazing that it works that way and works that well.
Do you think that that answer gets a bad rap?
I think, I think polka music in general just does.
I think people are always wanting to advance music, advance thoughts and forget the quality
and the uniqueness, just the reason why we have the traditional polka music.
So I think as in general, people are trying to move forward and don't want to grasp onto
their roots or their grandparents or whatever.
And for that reason, yes.
But other than that, I mean, there are bands that have accordions and if you look at recordings
of country music, you'll often find a recording, excuse me, an accordion listed on there.
And it adds a lot.
Like, I just released my country recording a few years ago and Ted was not on it.
My husband initially said, can you please add accordion?
This is what this recording is missing and once he played it, man, did it fill it out.
So yeah, I think it gets a bad rap just because it's associated with polka music and polka
music isn't always, even though we know it's happy music, some people consider just old
or old people music and they don't want to give it a chance.
Well, in Texas, you have like Tex Maxx, that's a little bit different than a polka.
But you pretty much have to have an accordion in the band in Texas too.
Oh, good golly, you do.
They say fiddle, but I think accordion too.
Oh, no.
You go down there and hear those, yeah, Tex Maxx bands and man, can they play.
My jaw just drops when I watch them.
But yeah, and down there in the state of Texas, the accordion is actually, it's definitely
an instrument that people look up to and just respect more than I think they do in a lot
of other areas.
And you're right.
It is because of the influence of the Hispanic culture that respect it, love it.
It's a treasured instrument.
Could you play another one?
I sure can.
Before you put that one down.
Yeah.
Please bring me back my heart and please don't tear it apart, you left me feeling blue
when you found someone new.
Yeah.
Please bring me back my heart and please don't tear it apart, you left me feeling blue
when you found someone new.
Oh, yeah, good.
A lot of fun, even though it's a sad song.
Oh, I know.
Someone poured it out to me because I don't think much about lyrics or at least didn't
as a child.
Have you ever listened to the lyrics you sing?
And we take country songs and we cross them over in the polkas and they're always the
sad ones.
And I'm like, and it's just, yeah, I'm always singing sad lyrics with a big smile.
Woo, here we go.
Here we go.
You broke my heart again.
Yay, huh?
And all it's just, what did you do?
What can I say?
I always think of many people love the song, you are my sunshine, but the lyrics are horrible
after you get past you are my sunshine.
Absolutely, horrible.
Absolutely.
I did a mother's day show and like, do I sing this or do I not?
Because it's just, yeah, I mean, you get, like you said, you get past the first, first,
even the chorus.
Please don't take my sunshine away.
It's almost indicating like that person's going to leave and then, yeah, but we people
sing it.
Oh, yeah.
He knows it.
It's a fun sing-along song.
You're right.
It is.
And we like sing-alongs.
That's one thing we do at our shows.
We always try to keep the audience engaged.
Oh, sing along with us or, oh, let your mind, you know, we're going to do a song that that
you're going to remember.
Like we're obviously, we're here promoting our show on a lot of the, veterans of the audience
are going to be those from the Vietnam War.
So we actually chose a song from that era to perform that we're hoping it just just
brings out some, some memories, but in a good way, in a very good way.
Yeah.
So the show's coming up on June 1st.
We'll talk more about it.
Maybe we'll convince Molly to play another song here in just a little bit.
We'll be back with more in a moment on WRC.
A show for veterans day coming up on Saturday, June 1st at the KELSEH Center in Readsburg.
Richard Canuth is in the studio, Molly B as well.
Oh, Richard, we got just a little sample, a little sample size of Molly B.
Well, that was a very good sample.
Yes, it was.
No, you've done these shows in the past and I'm guessing veterans are really moved by the
show.
Yes, veterans are there.
They're honored to participate and have quality music.
And we like to see the house as full as possible.
And it's a kind of a pleasure for us to be involved in it.
You stay busy during the year.
I mean, this isn't the only event that you do, is it?
This is only part of my job.
I take care of all the broad stands and the food stands in a raffle tickets for the American
Legion.
And we do it.
We're involved in the Christmas show and yeah, we're involved in a lot of things for
the American Legion and a lot of our monies that we do have all season in the area.
We basically give it all back out to the community.
And if we do support Camp American Legion up in Rhinelander, they're a camp where when
you come back from military and you come back from war and the issues overseas, you have
a place to go and kind of wind down with your families and no charge to the veteran.
And just all kinds of, if you're as a person in need in the community, that's a veteran.
We've paid rent already.
We've paid the LP bills and we make sure that the, the, the, you know, get the monies to
keep going.
Yeah.
They just have to apply for it.
They just have to apply for it and then we've never, I don't think we've ever turned
anybody down.
I mean, it's, it's a, it's kind of what you want to call it, a tight, tight net group.
And when you're a veteran, it's only basically veterans, they're only 1% of the population.
And when, under root school, pretty deep, my, my dad was a veteran of World War II and
my dad's uncle was in World War I and then my brother, he was a military and his son
is military.
He's retired military now from Fort Brage and now Saturday we're going down to Fayetteville,
North Carolina because his son is going on to the military too and 82nd Airborne.
And it's, it's, it's in the family.
My goodness.
Your roots do go deep, don't they?
They go deep.
They go deep.
Yeah.
So it's, it's certainly near and dear to you, Richard.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you just hope a good group will come out.
How can people get tickets for the June 1st show?
Well, right now you have to basically either go on the Molly's web page, the website.
Yeah.
L-L-I-E-B dot com.
And she's got tickets.
You can put on credit card.
And the other way you give me a call and we will put you at will call.
And at that point in time, you can basically see if you send a check, I guess at this point
in time, they're probably not take a check because sometimes they get lost in the mail.
So you just tell me where you want to sit and we'll put you on will call and you show
up and pick up your tickets.
Not a bad seat.
The house there at the Cal Center.
They're not a bad seat.
It's, they're, they're, the biggest problem we have is sometimes getting to the seat because
we do have steps.
When you get to the back of this of those, um, Cal Center, there are steps, they're large
step, they're not, there's a, they're about four or five inches high and there's a platform
of about four feet and then there's another four or five inches and so there are steps.
Mm-hmm.
But that's the only, but that's what it is.
We're not charging that $50 extra per ticket and then another 40 for parking and all that.
No, we don't have that.
We do, we do have a, uh, a lunch that we will be serving.
Mm-hmm.
Starting about on 10, 11 o'clock, we're having hot pork sandwiches, potato chips, pickle,
cookies, uh, drink, uh, for $7.
So if you, if you come in hungry, we can feed you and, uh, so that's, uh, that's another
thing that we do is we make the food for them and make food for Molly and we take care
of them too.
We've got to feed them.
We've got to feed them to make it hungry, honest and so we take care of that.
You sing for your supper then, Molly.
Right.
Exactly right.
Uh, so you mentioned you've stayed busy and you're going to be, uh, heading out, uh,
you said on Monday for another show.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm actually heading down to the country of Brazil.
I've never been in the Southern hemisphere.
So this is going to be wonderful for me.
Um, I'm working with the Luther College Jazz Band.
So I was, uh, I'm an alumna of Luther College.
So this is just very fitting for me to join them and I'll be singing with them and playing
my trumpet with them.
And then I, I fly back in the very next day.
I do three gigs and the second one is, is the June 1st show.
So I get a go, go, go, um, but I got thinking this, I've had a lot of shows in Wisconsin,
but looking at my calendar for the rest of the year, I've, this one on June 1st, I have
one in Milwaukee on the day before Father's Day.
I've won in La Crosse the last Sunday of, uh, of October and then it's a Christmas show.
So there's not many opportunities to catch me anymore in Wisconsin this year.
So I hope people do come out because I do a lot of my, um, national travel than once
the summer hits and the fall, so throughout the whole country then, huh?
Yes.
Yeah.
Every, um, East Coast to West Coast, uh, North Dakota down to Texas.
I probably play Wisconsin and, and Texas the most probably.
Yeah.
Is the show still on the air and our show is still on the air.
Yeah.
So it's on Wednesday nights at 5 30 and is that right, Richard?
5 30.
Yes.
And then, uh, Saturday night, it's at 9 p.m., I had to ask Richard because I sometimes
get confused in time zones like, oh, yeah.
So I often talk Eastern 6 30 and 10, but no, we're in the, we're in the Midwest.
So that is a correct time and it's an hour long show.
And people still really, really enjoy it.
And right now I am advertising my schedule on there.
So people watch the show, they can also get my, my performance schedule on there.
Wonderful.
So you're still making new shows from time to time?
Not making new shows, just new commercials at the, new commercials, okay.
That's it.
Yes.
But maybe back into production sometime for that.
You know, we don't really know.
It's so up in the air.
I always say, you never say no.
So that's still my answer.
Um, I should just, there's absolutely nothing planned, unfortunately.
So.
What about any more Clint Eastwood movies?
Well, I wish I could say yes, I'm not one too, but no.
There's nothing happening in that manner right now.
But it's interesting.
The Clint Eastwood movie, I hate called me in March and by junior recording by
December, it came out.
So that's how quickly those things can happen.
And the chance of it happening again, I think I actually, very good.
I just have no idea what that looks like at all.
Yeah, well, never a dull moment is there?
No, no.
And I actually, my husband, I started a travel company this last year too.
So this summer, we're going to year it for two weeks.
We do a Greek island tour in September.
And we're working on our next year's schedule.
We plan on taking three or four international trips.
So that's crazy.
Yeah.
The music you play, though, is pretty much universal worldwide, isn't it?
It really is.
Everyone has some form of polka they can relate to.
I would say the least relatable was when I was in Japan, but it's very accepted.
When I performed in Japan, it was like, we were rock stars.
I mean, I'm not kidding.
I mean, we'd be driving on our bus and they got their peace sign out.
You know, it's so it's cool.
Very, very cool.
That's awesome.
I knew who you were, though.
So more so they knew we were American musicians.
Oh, yeah.
It's more about that.
And then what we played, I don't know how much it mattered.
They liked it and they liked that we were American musicians.
They're performing for them.
Good.
Any new releases coming out?
Ah, no, we got a couple.
There's three, three we're working on.
And one is just going to be all polka standards, you know, beer, beer, polka,
Pennsylvania, polka, tiktok, polka, all those that people think of, like when someone says,
name a polka, that's the one they think of.
It's going to be on that CD.
So I don't know the release date of those.
It's just projects in between everything else going on.
Is beer, beer, beer, number one, though, of all time?
I would say so.
I, I, and then Pennsylvania is right up there.
I would say and then tiktok, believe it or not, is right up there too.
So, but yeah, beer, barrel, Frankie and Kavik made it very popular.
Andrew, sister's made it popular.
So that started back in late 40s and 50s and there's just continued.
And the odd thing is the beer, barrel polka on the chorus.
You never hear the word beer.
No, you don't do you?
We'll have a barrel of fun.
Yeah.
Roll out the beer.
Exactly.
In heaven, there is no beer is pretty fun.
Oh, yeah.
That's another one's going to be on there.
Yeah.
It's one of your favorites, isn't it, Richard?
I'm very much.
I used to, I used to, I used to be able to dance and I loved the dance
a polka, but my legs don't allow it no more.
I just kind of, kind of wait from it, but you're listening to it.
Oh, yeah.
It's fun, fun to listen and people can get up and dance a little bit in the
eyes, right?
Well, there is not too much of a place to dance.
It's, uh, it's all carpeted and you know, that is.
But sometimes they try.
But, uh, we, we have a good time.
Put it that way.
Yeah, we certainly will.
Well, we look forward to the show coming up on June 1st.
Anything else you'd like to add today, Molly?
I just, I'm very thankful for the American Legion.
I really am.
I think they're doing great work and Richard has done a great job leading them.
And I appreciate their support.
And one thing that we do want to point out as much as we stress this,
this is the show is for the veterans.
It, we are honoring them in our show.
And we're doing songs we hope they can relate to.
But the show truly is for the public from a child through an elderly adult.
And it's going to have a variety of music from focus to waltzes to songs,
like my brother singing in Elvis tune.
And we're doing some jazz tunes.
We're doing an Andrew sisters number.
We're doing, um, our military tribute.
Um, we have such a variety that I don't want.
Um, I don't want something to go.
Well, I'm not a veteran.
I don't know a veteran.
Well, that's absolutely no reason not to attend this.
It's going to really be a great show.
I started working on it in February.
That's how much time I put into this.
So I'm really excited to finally have a come to flourishing.
Yeah.
The last time you played, uh, it reads,
where I talked to a young man, uh, who was high school college age.
And so, and he really, and it was saying how much, how much he enjoyed it.
Uh, it's not just older people, it's younger people, it's people of all ages.
Yes, yes.
And we have, we have three comedians that are part of the act as well.
I mean, it really is a variety show meant for everybody.
And every, I don't, people don't leave disappointed.
They, they just don't.
It's always a good show.
Wonderful.
We hope people will take it in.
Richard, anything else you'd like to add?
I just, just basically, we appreciate Molly coming.
She's been doing it for now for six, seven years.
And, uh, it just seems like we always have a good time.
And we'd like to, uh, see the, uh, the people in home.
I'm glad the people have a good time.
The guests are always the guest and they'll have a good time.
And I thank everybody for coming.
And we'll, we'll, we'll keep on for a few more years doing this.
And hope so too.
And plug that website one more time.
I said it so quickly.
It's my, it's my name, Molly B.
So M O L L I E B dot com.
And you can click on tickets and get tickets there.
And my phone number is 608393 7314.
If you need tickets, call me anytime.
That's people even call me at 24 hours of the day.
They do.
Oh, sure.
For a good time.
Call Richard.
Well, that's true.
Thank you for a good time.
Come June first.
You'll enjoy that two and a half, three hours at a go by so fast that you can't believe it.
It's just starts and it continues on.
And two and a half hours, you say, what happened?
It's less two and a half hours, but it goes fast.
Well, thanks for doing what you do, Richard.
Thank you.
Appreciate you coming over and promoting it.
And Molly, thank you so much.
I know it was a sacrifice to lug in the music.
But thanks for playing with us on the area today.
It's awesome.
So yeah, you bet.
Molly B, Richard Knuth, Johnny's in the studio.
Don't forget the show is coming up Saturday June first in Redsburg at the Cal Center.