By Holly Kline
Jake Kouwe is originally from Fishers and always knew he wanted to play music. Now 28 years old, Kouwe is a successful professional musician in Cleveland who fronts the popular The Chardon Polka Band. Not your typical Lawrence Welk polka band, Kouwe and fellow musicians play the classic polka tunes as well as pop hits from current artists.
Kouwe lived in Fishers until he was eight years old. “Fishers is where I got my start in music,” he said. “I grew up watching PBS and Lawrence Welk.”
Another musical influence was Kouwe’s own father. “My dad was Fire Chief for Fishers and he invented a fire prevention program in the 1990’s for schools that included skits and music,” explained Kouwe. “From a very young age I wanted to be a fire chief because I thought they always got to do music in front of kids.”
While Kouwe did not become a fire chief, he did develop into a sought-after performer, as his band regularly tours the country playing Oktoberfests and festivals. The Chardon Polka Band even has its own reality show on the Reelz network called “Polka Kings.”
“Our TV show airs every Saturday for the next few months,” Kouwe said. “It’s wild and goofy and a lot of fun. It shows, in a good way, another side of polka that people don’t think of and we have new people watching us saying that they want to get our music.”
Kouwe insisted his band members contribute heavily to the band’s success and he called them “energetic and awesome.” The Chardon Polka Band occasionally performs locally; St. Benno Fest in Indy is a regular gig and they have played the Upland Brewery Oktoberfest a few times.
Kouwe’s full-time job is music. “In the beginning I had to call 20 to 40 people and hope one would give us a job,” he said. “Now we sometimes have five different offers in one weekend. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t succeed; you can make a living in the arts.”
