Profile
Joey Miskulin---"The CowPolka King!"---is no stranger to any medium or genre. Accordion in hands, he's garnished audio and video recordings, movie tracks and live performances for rock 'n roll artists and polka bands alike. Though he's played the gamut of musical homefronts, Joey specializes in two areas that represent our rich culture: polka music and Western music. (That's "Western" as in Gene Autry.) This unlikely marriage has brought a special, wonderful sound to Joey's most recent projects.
Riders In The Sky proclaimed him "Joey The Cowpolka King" after he appeared on their recordings and their radio show, Riders Radio Theater. Joey then began touring with Riders In The Sky, and now tours as part of the group, performing more than 200 shows per year throughout the U.S. and other countries. With Riders, Joey's skillful musicianship rounds out the groups' fine sound on the road and on recordings, and it garnishes the drama in Riders' Radio Theatre.
Joey has also produced Riders In The Sky's albums, beginning with "Cowboys In Love" (Columbia Records) and continuing with the Wrangle-award winning "Always Drink Upstream From the Herd" (Rounder Records) and multiple others, including the most recent Riders' collection---the Grammy-award winning "Woody's Roundup featuring Riders In the Sky" on Disney Records.
"It was through my association with the Riders that I met Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, Baxter Black, The Sons Of The San Joaquin, and first attended the Cowboy Poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada."
Joey's association with Michael Martin Murphey lead to the two co-producing Warner western recordings featuring Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, and The Sons Of The San Joaquin. Joey's role as producer has expanded to include other artists, as well as additional Michael Martin Murphey albums, including a recent collection of his greatest hits.
Joey has also produced Riders In The Sky's albums, beginning with "Cowboys In Love" (Columbia Records) and continuing with the Wrangle-award winning "Always Drink Upstream From the Herd" (Rounder Records) and multiple others, including the most recent Riders' collection---the Grammy-award winning "Woody's Roundup featuring Riders In the Sky" on Disney Records.
"It was through my association with the Riders that I met Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, Baxter Black, The Sons Of The San Joaquin, and first attended the Cowboy Poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada."
Joey's association with Michael Martin Murphey lead to the two co-producing Warner western recordings featuring Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, and The Sons Of The San Joaquin. Joey's role as producer has expanded to include other artists, as well as additional Michael Martin Murphey albums, including a recent collection of his greatest hits.
Joey's list of treasured friends is long, but he is especially grateful to several who were instrumental in helping him pursue his career in music: Ronnie Lee (Joey's first band leader), Roman Possedi (who encouraged Joey to pursue music and used him to record), Frank Yankovic (who introduced him to major label recording and the road), Roger Bright (who never lost faith in him), Steve Popovich (who suggested the move to Nashville and introduced him to Jack "Cowboy" Clement). "I give special thanks to Jack for taking me under his wing, as he did so many others, and introducing me to the Nashville recording community."
Joey manages to tour with Riders, perform occasionally with other artists, and also record and produce in the studio. He combines these segments of his career very successfully.
"I started traveling on the road back in the 60s and I guess it's in my blood. If I don't perform before a live audience for an extended period of time, I start to miss it. I also love my studio work, so I try to maintain a good balance between the two. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive family. They seem to understand when I go on the road, or bury my head in the studio for days or weeks: I'm doing what I love."
While Joey claims no philosophy as his own, he does cite one espoused by Jack Clement: "We're in the 'fun' business, and if we're not having fun, we're not doing our job."
Joey manages to tour with Riders, perform occasionally with other artists, and also record and produce in the studio. He combines these segments of his career very successfully.
"I started traveling on the road back in the 60s and I guess it's in my blood. If I don't perform before a live audience for an extended period of time, I start to miss it. I also love my studio work, so I try to maintain a good balance between the two. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive family. They seem to understand when I go on the road, or bury my head in the studio for days or weeks: I'm doing what I love."
While Joey claims no philosophy as his own, he does cite one espoused by Jack Clement: "We're in the 'fun' business, and if we're not having fun, we're not doing our job."