Captain Tom & the Hooligans

          This story begins with a boy from Buffalo raised by two bluegrass musicians, “Captain” Tom. Captain Tom was surrounded by music growing up as his parents would take him to hear all kinds, most notably Polka, Folk, Irish Folk, Bluegrass, and Jazz. Captain Tom originally wanted to play the bagpipes but to his parents' delight he picked up a trumpet instead and later would pick up harmonica, banjo, guitar, and finally the accordion.  Captain Tom dreamed of forming his own band such as the ones he had grown up seeing and listening to such as The Irish Rovers, Penny Whiskey, Jimmy Sturr, Frankie Yankovic, Walt Solek, Stan Rogers, Flogging Molly and many others!
        In 2019 Captain Tom and 3 other friends in Depew NY would get together and form Captain Tom & The Hooligans. They began putting together a mix of original and traditional and covers songs from any genre they wanted with an emphasis on polka! They would play regularly at the Clarence Center Coffee Co. Soon they would be invited to play a friend's Christmas party, and the first Public Gig at Ale-oops in Lancaster NY.  Immediately after this performance tragedy struck as the world would go into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic and cancel all shows for the foreseen future. During this time the band would continue practicing and would add a fifth member. This created the first official line up of Captain Tom & The Hooligans, “Captain” Tom Sieracki, Jake Simon, Dylan Stoj, Nicholas C. Sugg and Mike Bryzski.
       Time went on and things slowly got back to normal around the world but Captain Tom & The Hooligans would continue to keep things weird!  They continued playing the music they loved all around Western New York, but eventually Dylan and Jake would leave the party to serve their country in the military. The Hooligans then went through many phases experimenting with all different sounds till eventually finding their current sound. 
         The band now consists of a rotating cast of characters with different kinds of instruments to help create a uniqueness to their shows because you never know what's gonna happen, except that the party is coming! The current most regular members include Captain Tom on accordion, “Madman” Mike Bryzski on guitar, Karl Zielizinski on trumpet, Ray Skalski on trombone, Commodore Dave Sieracki on Sax and clarinet, Shavonne Pucula on the upright bass and Trevor Jennings on drums.  Other affiliated members consist of Nick Sugg on piano, Dom Testino on trumpet and Sally Schaefer on fiddle.
          Captain Tom & The Hooligans play everything from festivals such as “FolkFaces Fest” and the “General Pulaski Festival” to Breweries, clubs, town parks, or your private parties! The band also has shared the stage with great bands such as The Dreadnoughts,  The Zambonies,  Taillight Rebellion, McCarthyism, Pa Line, Folk Faces, The Buffalo Touch. If you are interested in Booking Captain Tom & The Hooligans please reach out to us through our Email, Website, or Social Media.