There was a time when learning to play the accordion was on par with learning to knit. But being Texas State Accordion Champion at the age of 13 didn't exactly make Mark Halata a big man on his junior high school campus during the MTV '80s.
Mark is unfashionably in tune with the Czech-Moravian music of his ancestry. He taught himself to play during his formative years. The songs he performs today are songs he has performed his entire life. Weekend trips to Moravia, Texas and exposure to Texas polka bands such as Joe Patek, Wence Shimek and The Red Ravens kept Mark in touch with the music and culture that has always been a part of his life.