Mitch Polzak & the Royal Deuces + Dance Lesson

The ace guitarist in an array of hot Bay Area dance bands, Mitch Polzak switches hats and leads his own group, the Royal Deuces, in a honky-tonk/Cajun dance that’s meant to be a nonstop party. Polzak is well-known to Ashkenaz dance regulars for his sizzling guitar playing in the Cajun Cottonpickers, MotorDude Zydeco, and Andrew Carriere’s Zydeco/Cajun Allstars. He launched the Royal Deuces in 1999 to play rockabilly from the late ’50s Sun Records era, Bakersfield honky-tonk and truck-driving music, even guitar instrumentals influenced by such pickers as Joe Maphis, Merle Travis, and Chet Atkins. Polzak says of this show, “There will be plenty of two-steps, shuffles, and waltzes for the folks!” Along with Polzak, the Royal Deuces are bassist Hank Maninger and drummer Les James. Polzak has worked and/or recorded with such artists as Deke Dickerson, Peter Rowan, Lazy Lester, Chris Sprague, and Johnny Cuviello (Bob Wills’ drummer) and has published articles for Play Guitar magazine. The Royal Deuces have torn it up at big fests across Europe and from Seattle’s Shake the Shack Festival to Las Vegas’ Viva Las Vegas event. There’s a reason that the band’s latest album is titled “Everything You Want and Nothing You Don’t.”