♪[
♪[ MUSIC
♪[ MUSIC ]♪
>>>
>>> ♪
>>> ♪ CRAZY ♪ ♪ BUT THAT'S HOW IT GOES ♪
♪ MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ♪
♪ LIVING IN CLOTHES ♪
♪ MAYBE ♪
♪ MAYBE ♪
♪ MAYBE ♪ ♪ IT'S NOT TOO LATE ♪
♪ TO LEARN HOW TO LOVE ♪
♪ AND FORGET HOW TO HATE ♪
♪ DRIVING ME INSANE ♪
♪ I'M GOING OFF THE RAILS ♪
♪ ON A CRAZY TRAIN ♪
♪ I'M GOING OFF THE RAILS ♪
♪ ON A CRAZY TRAIN ♪
♪ TAKE THE LAST TRAIN ♪
♪ TO CLARKS MILL AND I'LL ♪
♪ MEET AT THE STATION ♪
♪ WE WILL BE THERE 5:20 ♪
♪ BECAUSE I MADE YOUR
RESERVATION ♪
RESERVATION ♪ ♪ OH, NO, NO, NO ♪
♪ BECAUSE I'M LEAVING ♪
♪ IN THE MORNING ♪
♪ AND I WANT TO GET ♪
♪ WE WILL HAVE ♪
♪ I MUST GO ♪
♪ OH, NO, NO, NO ♪
♪ AND I DON'T CARE ♪
♪ IF I'M EVER COMING HOME ♪
♪ I, I, I, I ♪
♪ I, I, I, I ♪
♪ CRAZY ♪
♪ CRAZY ♪
♪ CRAZY ♪ ♪ CRAZY FOR FEELING SO LONELY
♪
♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪ YES,
♪ ♪ YES, I'M CRAZY ♪
♪ CRAZY FOR FEELING ♪
♪ SO BLUE ♪
♪ I KNEW YOU WOULD LOVE ME ♪
♪ AS LONG AS YOU WANTED ♪
♪ AND THEN SOME DAY ♪
♪ YOU ARE LIVING ♪
♪ FOR SOMEBODY NEW ♪
♪ SOMEBODY SCREAM ♪
♪
>>
>> WOW,
>> WOW, THE ALEX MEIXNER BAND. TWO INSTRUMENTS AT ONCE,
SOMETIMES HE HAS THREE
INSTRUMENTS AT ONCE.
WHAT'S YOUR TOP INSTRUMENTS AT
ONE TIME?
ONE TIME?
ONE TIME? FOUR, FIVE?
FOUR, FIVE? AMAZING.
AMAZING.
AMAZING. ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, JACK
BLACK PORTRAYED THE INCREDIBLE
LIFE STORY OF MUSICIAN JUAN LA
JUAN IN THE POLKA KING WHICH HE
IS IN AS WELL.
HE'S HERE TO TELL US ABOUT
THAT: GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> WE ARE GOING TO REMIND
PEOPLE YOU ARE FROM POLAND
WHERE POLKA MUSIC AND MUSIC IN
GENERAL IS SUCH A STAPLE OF THE
COMMUNITY BUT YOU ARE ALSO A
SINGER.
SINGER.
SINGER. >> YES.
>> YES.
>> YES. I
>> YES. I USED TO SING IN OPERA WHEN I
WAS 20 YEARS OLD AND WHEN I
CAME TO AMERICA, I DIDN'T HAVE
ANY CHANCE TO CONTINUE WITH
THAT KIND OF SINGING, SO I
TURNED TO POLKA AND BINGO.
>> WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COME
TO AMERICA, ESPECIALLY AT THAT
TIME, POLAND WAS A DIFFERENT
PLACE?
PLACE?
PLACE? >>
PLACE? >> WELL, IT WAS VERY HARD TO
SURVIVE IN POLAND AND THEN MY
DREAMS WERE ALWAYS --
>> JUST DREAMS?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. AND THEN I WAS LISTENING THE
RADIO THROUGH EUROPE AND IN
AMERICA THE MONEY HANGING ON
THE TREES, JUST, YOU COME PICK
IT UP, YOU KNOW, AND I TRIED
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. DIDN'T WORK.
DIDN'T WORK. >> DIDN'T WORK.
BUT LIFE GOT REALLY GOOD FOR
YOU BECAUSE POLKA, IT TOOK OFF
HERE, YOUR PERSONALITY TOOK
OFF.
OFF.
OFF. >>
OFF. >> THANK YOU.
>> YOU WOULD BE SEEN WITH ALL
KINDS OF CELEBRITIES, DONALD
TRUMP, TOM JONES, GEORGE BUSCH,
SENIOR, ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU
WOULD HANG OUT WITH IN THE
CELEBRITY WORLD.
CELEBRITY WORLD. >> BUT THE BEST ONE WAS ALEX
MEIXNER.
MEIXNER.
MEIXNER. >> BUT THEN YOU RAN INTO LEGAL
ISSUES AND THAT'S WHAT MADE
THIS STORY AN INTERESTING STORY
AS WELL.
AS WELL.
AS WELL. YOUR SUCCESS, AND WE SEE THIS
ALL THE TIME, SOME PEOPLE HAVE
GREAT SUCCESS AND SOMETHING MAY
HAPPEN AND YOU COME BACK OUT OF
IT.
IT.
IT. REMIND FOLKS, IT WAS A POLKA
PONZI SCHEME THING THAT
HAPPENED?
HAPPENED?
HAPPENED? >> ALL RELATED WITH THE MONEY,
OF COURSE, AND THAT MONEY ON
THE TREES DIDN'T HANG THE WAY I
EXPECT.
EXPECT.
EXPECT. YEAH.
YEAH.
YEAH. SO
YEAH. SO I FOUND A WAY TO SUPPORT
MYSELF, TO PUT THE BIG BAND, TO
ORGANIZE BEAUTIFUL THINGS.
I DID THE SHOWS IN LAS VEGAS
AND THIS, BUT ALL EXPENSIVE.
SO -- AND THEN DURING THE
COMMUNIST, EVERYTHING WAS CHEAP
IN POLAND SO THE PEOPLE WAS
TELLING ME, LOOK AT, WE ARE
GOING TO GIVE YOU MONEY.
YOU BUY THE THINGS AND YOU ARE
GOING TO SELL 10 TIMES --
>> AND MAKE MONEY AND THEY SAID
WE CAN INVEST IN THIS, RIGHT?
>> I SAID, HUH, LET'S GO WITH
IT.
IT.
IT. BUT
IT. BUT THEN AGAIN IT DIDN'T GO TOO
GOOD.
GOOD.
GOOD. >>
GOOD. >> YOU'VE ALWAYS SAID YOU NEVER
INTENTIONALLY DEFRAUDED PEOPLE
BUT YOU LEARNED A BIG LESSON.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> YOU HAD TO GO TO PRISON.
>> YES.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> YOU ALMOST DIED?
>> THAT -- THAT WAS THE
DOWNLOW, YEAH.
DOWNLOW, YEAH. >> SOMEONE STABBED YOU?
>> YES.
>> YES.
>> YES. WELL, I DIDN'T BELONG TO THAT
KIND OF PRISON, YOU KNOW, AND
THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD CUT THE
BI FISH AND THEY WAS MAKING
THE PROSECUTOR AND EVERYBODY
WAS MAKING THEIR OWN CAREER ON
THAT AND THEN IT HAPPENED THAT
IT WASN'T WHAT THEY EXPECT, BUT
IN THE MEANTIME THEY PUT ME IN
THE PRISON WHEN I SHOULDN'T BE
THERE, AND THAT, OF COURSE, ALL
OF THESE PEOPLE AROUND ME, THEY
COULDN'T ACCEPT MY PERSONALITY,
MY -- YOU KNOW, THE OVERROUGH,
THE --
THE --
THE -- >>
THE -- >> I CAN'T IMAGINE YAN WHAT WE
PICTURE AS PRISON.
>> CAN YOU SEE --
THAT DIDN'T WORK TOO GOOD.
>> THE LUNCH TABLE WITH THE
TRAY GOING OLAY, OLAY,
EVERYBODY AND THEY ARE LIKE,
NO, THERE'S NO OLAY OVER HERE.
YOU GOT OUT AND IT'S THE STUFF
THAT HOLLYWOOD MOVIES ARE MADE
OUT.
OUT.
OUT. AND
OUT. AND THEN SOMEBODY SAID, WE
WOULD LIKE TO MAKE YOUR LIFE
STORY A MOVIE.
DID THAT SURPRISE YOU?
>> YES, VERY MUCH.
OH, YEAH.
OH, YEAH.
OH, YEAH. THAT WAS --
>> THAT WAS GOOD.
THINGS ARE GETTING GOOD AGAIN.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. AND WHEN THEY WERE LOOKING
WHO'S GONNA PLAY WITH.
AND THE PRODUCER SAID DID NOT
WORK FOR ANYBODY, I AM BORN TO
PLAY YOUNG LEVEN.
AND HE WAS RIGHT.
PERFECT.
PERFECT.
PERFECT. MY GOSH, HE JUST SOMETIMES WHEN
I HEARD WHEN HE'S SINGING, I'M
NOT SURE IT IS ME OR HIM.
>> OH, WOW.
>> YES, YES.
>> GREAT LESSON TO BE LEARNED
HERE, THOUGH.
HERE, THOUGH. A LOT OF PEOPLE GO THROUGH
TOUGH TIMES AND SOMETIMES
THERE'S A SILVER LINING OR
THERE ARE BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN THROUGH THIS
WHOLE EXPERIENCE WITH YOU?
>> FIRST OF ALL, I AM BETTER
PERSON BUT I ALWAYS CONCERNED
THAT I WAS OKAY.
I JUST TRIED TO GRAB SOMETHING
WHAT I SHOULD THINK TWICE, BUT
THAT WAS MY MISTAKE, I -- I'M
JUST LIKE BEING IN POLAND,
GROWING IN POLAND AT THAT TIME,
YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE EDUCATION
OF THE BUSINESSMAN, ENGLISH AND
ALL OF THESE THINGS, SO YOU
COME HERE AND YOU LOST.
NOT NECESSARILY EVERYBODY GO --
IT'S NOT ROSE GARDEN.
>> BUT NOW YOU ARE FOUND.
>> I FOUND MYSELF, YES.
>> YES, YOU DID.
AND I WANT TO ASK YOU WHERE YOU
FOUND THAT OUTFIT AND WHAT SIZE
IS IT BECAUSE I NEED TO BORROW
THAT TONIGHT.
THAT TONIGHT. >> I SENT IT, ALL OF MY
COSTUMES TO THE MOVIE PRODUCERS
AND THEY MAKE SAME ONES FOR
JACK BLACK.
JACK BLACK. THEY HAVE TO MAKE THE SAME ONES
THAT WERE TOO TIGHT FOR HIM.
>> WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEXT?
WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR YOU?
>> WELL, THE NEXT IS VERY
INTERESTING THING, THAT THEY
NEVER HAVE THE POLKA ON
BROADWAY AND IN THIS MOMENT MY
BOOK IS FINALLY FINISHED AND
IT'S A HUGE INTEREST OF THE
POLKA KING ON BROADWAY.
WE ARE IN THE --
>> THAT'S AWESOME.
THE NAME OF THE BOOK?
>> THE POLKA KING.
>> THE POLKA KING, OF COURSE.
WHAT OTHER NAME WOULD IT HAVE,
RIGHT?
RIGHT?
RIGHT? >>
RIGHT? >> I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT COME
UP.
UP.
UP. WE
UP. WE HAVE MANY POLKA KINGS.
ONE OF THEM IS ALEX MEIXNER,
THEN IT'S YOUNG KOVICH WHO
REALLY SUPPOSED FOREVER THE
KING.
KING.
KING. >>
KING. >> YOU'RE THE POLKA KING AND
ALEX, CAN YOU BE POLKA KING,
JR.
JR.
JR. >>
JR. >> PRINCE.
>> PRINCE. >> POLKA KING AND POLKA PRINCE.
Y'ALL WORK THAT OUT.
YAN