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There once was a little boy who grew up in Fairmont, Minnesota with a family tradition rooted in old tyme music. That little boy, Adam Sandhurst, was born on May 24th, 1983. Adam’s mother often thought that bringing Adam to a lot of dances in the womb may have contributed to Adam’s love for music. Adam grew up listening to polka music so, in his words, his love for polka music was “in his blood.”
His mother (Karen Muehlbauer Sandhurst) came from a musical family out of New Ulm, Minnesota - the Muehlbauers. His father (Ron Sandhurst) came from another musical family out of Fulda, Minnesota - the Sandhursts. Adam went to quite a few dances at a young age. With Mom and Dad playing on Vince’s Concertina Band (Adam’s great-uncle), this was convenient and entertaining for Adam. Adam would always marvel at the concertina players on any band. It got to the point where Adam would stand by Vince and fake playing along side of him. Mom and Dad decided to make Adam a cardboard concertina. Adam would bring it along to his grandpa’s (Delmar “Boots” Muehlbauer) and play next to him. (A picture of this is featured on Adam’s first recording)
So when it came time for Adam to choose an instrument for band in 4th grade, he picked up trumpet, just like Dad. Adam continued with trumpet and went on to play the 2nd trumpet book for Vince’s Concertina Band (Adam’s great-uncle). He also played a couple dance jobs with the Peter & Paul Wendinger Band (Adam’s distant cousins). Between the ages of 13 & 14 is when Adam picked up the concertina. Learning off of a small double reed Pearl Queen that was borrowed to him by Vince. Adam started to progress on the concertina and would learn off of recordings by Karl Hartwich & Brian Brueggen. He would also try and get as much music as possible to learn new songs. Still today, some of Adam's biggest influences are Karl Hartwich, Brian Brueggen, & Gary Brueggen.
In the year 2000 Adam decided to start his own band “Adam & The Jolly Jammers”, featuring the traditional Czech, German, and Dutchmen style. Starting out as a five piece band, the band progressed and put out a recording in 2002 called “Keeping the Tradition.” This recording featured three of Adam’s original compositions, along with a duet with Vince. As time went on the band grew to a six to seven piece band and put out another recording in 2004 called “Memories Are Precious.” This recording really showcased the writing ability of Adam’s uncle (Myron Muehlbauer). “Memories Are Precious” includes tunes like “Fritze Polka” and “Beloved Be Faithful.” These selections were played by great bands like the Earl Schmidt & Jerry Schuft Band and the Ivan Kahle Band. This recording is proof of the admiration Adam had for these bands while growing up. We put out our latest recording in 2009 called "Premium Old Tyme Music". This recording features songs like "Loveless Polka", "Cherry Pickers", "Bartender Polka", and "Finska Valsen (Silver Lake) Waltz". This recording really showcases the wide varitey of music of our library. This recording also features a bunch of vocals in songs like "Please Maria Don't You Cry", "Swissboy Waltz", and "The West A Nest And You Dear Waltz".
Adam is really thankful for the success of his band, which is due to the great musicians that have been involved in his band: Ron Sandhurst (Adam’s dad), Karen Sandhurst (Adam’s mom), Brent Sandhurst (Adam’s brother), Randy Sandhurst (Adam’s uncle), Myron Muehlbauer (Adam’s uncle), Kimberly Malek (Adam’s sister), Eric Malek (Adam’s brother-in-law), Bill Rasmussen, Jerry Kahle, Steve Moran, Lisa Moldan, Chris Langen, Jeff Langen, Crystal Malek, & Gary Schroeder, just to name a few.
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