Bob Kravos and the Boys In The Band

Cleveland, Ohio

Slovenian-American style polka music

              Bob Kravos was born 1967 into a Cleveland, Ohio based Slovenian-American family where the heritage of Slovenian-American style polkas flourished.   His great uncle Frank Yankovic was the legendary polka king who popularized the Cleveland-style of polka music. At the age of six, Bob saw his great-uncle playing the accordion on stage, decided he would like to do the same, and began taking piano accordion lessons from Joe Delcazo and practicing with her father Bob Sr.

              When Bob graduated from high school he toured with Yankovic for about six years, then with other groups, playing venues both local and global. Around 1987 he formed his own band “Bob Kravos and the Boys In The Band.”

              In the early eighties, received an Ohio Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant Bob to study with another legend, Joey Miskulin who played second accordion for many years as part of The Yankovic Band and who now resides in Nashville where he known as The Cow Polka King and a member of the popular group Riders In The Sky.   Kravos credits Miskulin for teaching him excellent finger work on the accordion keyboard and Yankovic with teaching him how to be an entertainer.

              At the 2005 Great Lakes Folk Festival, Bob Kravos (accordion, button box, keyboards, vocals) will be accompanied by Norm Kobal (sax, clarinet, flute and vocals), Frank Okicki (banjo, guitar and vocals), Denny Bucar (bass, vocals), and Johnny Gerl (drums, vocals). The Polka Hall of Fame has honored the band and all of its members with multiple awards, including, for Kravos and Kobal, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Return to Music and Dance Page

Go to next Artist Page - Mountain Heart