ROTONDI’S IMPURE POLKA

“This band does urge people to, uh, love each other,” says Rotondi’s drummer, Paul Lacques, 31, with a self-conscious laugh.

“The fact that it’s corny to say that, or that I would hesitate to say it, shows where we are today. It’s not a kind world right now. Maybe it never was, but it seems like it could be.”

Yes, it could be--if only more people would heed the words of Rotondi lead singer Tony Patellis: “Let’s polka!”

Polka? Don’t laugh. Rotondi’s first show 18 months ago was before a crowd of punks at the Anticlub. And within a few songs the band had the entire place spinning in an impromptu slam-polka. It’s now reached the point that the Lingerie is hosting a full- scale polka war on Saturday, when Rotondi faces off with San Francisco’s Polkacide and Austin’s Brave Combo.

“This is so different from everything that’s going on now,” says accordionist Richie Lawrence, 33. “It’s like a safe vehicle to just have fun with and dance and not put on any airs.”

Adds Lacques, “If you let your goofy side out and let go of your aspirations toward the cool, this is what comes out. We didn’t analyze home movies of polka bands or anything. We just put on these tasteless jackets and went out and played this music.”

Rotondi’s music is a distinctly bent version of the classic oom-pah sound. Only a few of the eight members (Lacques, Lawrence, Patellis, bassist Peter Curry, mandolinist Ray Symczyk, guitarist Peter Lacques, violinist Hilary Marcus and clarinetist Mike Rizinski) ever played polka before joining the group, so while the result may not always be pure polka, it’s always fun.

“Some of it is right there and a lot of it isn’t,” admits Lacques. “It’s hit or miss because we didn’t approach it from being kids who grew up with polka. Some of it sounds like the Milwaukee Rascals and some of it is just Rotondi.”

And there’s nothing wrong with just Rotondi. For four months last year, the band worked out of downtown’s Boyd Street Theater doing “Rotondi,” a farcical play written by Lacques about a polka band that revolts against its power-mad singer. Last month, the group received four Drama-Logue magazine 1985 Theater Awards in writing, music, direction and performance.

The fact that the band can work in both a theater and in an avant-garde music room like the Anticlub points up the strength of Rotondi’s unique approach. And according to Lawrence (who co-writes most of the songs with Lacques), the 2/4 time signature can be a liberating experience for musicians as well.

“There’s a lot of stuff I haven’t been able to write in a rock format,” he says. “I love rock ‘n’ roll. I grew up with blues and R&B; and I love it, but there’s no way I could pull off a waltz in other formats. I tried to do (them) in other bands and people would just laugh.”

Polka in general is a fairly zany experience, admits Lacques, and one not to be taken too seriously.

“A lot of polkas are throw-away stuff, kind of insipid,” he says. “It’s like listening to Muzak. It’s not like something is art polka and something else is commercial polka. It doesn’t work that way. Right in the middle of some schlocky thing there will be this beautiful melody.”

Rotondi’s polkas are more memorable than most, thanks in part to the lyrics’ humor and style. Consider “Let’s Lower Our Standards (and Have a Real Good Time)”: “I hit a car the other day when no one was around / I didn’t have insurance but I wrote my number down / The minutes passed, I stood in thought, and not a soul came by / I tore my note to shreds and took a nice long ride . . . Here’s a word to the wise . . . Life is one long compromise.”

For Rotondi, however, compromise doesn’t appear to be necessary. The band has a number of outlets now, with an expanded version of the play, two video scripts, scores of original songs, and a “polka movie” in mind. And, of course, there’s always the Anticlub.

“That whole (Anticlub) scene is very responsive,” says Lacques. “It’s not a passive audience. It’s an alternative to pop radio.

“We’re not going with the tide with what’s on the radio now. As far as where it’s going to lead, it’s hard to say. It didn’t start with any particular goal. It was really just for fun.”