Robert Todd responded to an ad on Craigslist. A polka band looking to play weekend music at a German restaurant needed a tuba player.
Todd got the job, and for about three years, almost every Friday and Saturday throughout the year, Die Sauerkrauts played for people dining on German cuisine.
“I majored in music in college, and my goal was to win an orchestral job or start playing in movies,” he said. “And then I kind of just fell into polka.”
Thirty-six-year-old Santa Clarita native Todd, the tuba player and leader of Die Sauerkrauts, a polka band with a twist, is set to bring his band to his hometown for the city of Santa Clarita’s Celebrate event from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, at the Canyon Country Community Center on Sierra Highway.
Todd said in a phone interview that Die Sauerkrauts started as a restaurant band, but when the Thousand Oaks eatery that employed them closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened, they took the show online and then on the road.
Die Sauerkrauts is currently an eight-person polka band that, according to Todd, is all about fun and entertainment. While they regularly travel the state playing Oktoberfest shows that feature acts with beer-drinking activities, the upcoming show at Celebrate, Todd said, would be a family-friendly one and like a vaudeville act.
In addition to the traditional polka music that they play, Die Sauerkrauts often take modern music from the likes of Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg and give it a wild polka twist. Even comedy musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, who’s known for his own brand of polka music, called Die Sauerkrauts one of his “top 10 favorite Weird Al polka cover bands.”
“We did a cover of one of his songs and posted it, and he loved it,” Todd said. “He shared it on Twitter or X — or whatever it’s called these days — and that was the quote he used.”
And while Todd was born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley — where he said he also teaches low brass at Hart, West Ranch, Golden Valley and Castaic high schools — his band has never played in the SCV.
“Well,” Todd admitted, “outside of the live shows we did in my parents’ backyard, yes, this is the first time we’re playing in Santa Clarita.”
Todd said he’s particularly thrilled to play the Celebrate event.
According to the city’s website, Celebrate brings the “history and traditions of people and places from around the world” to the Santa Clarita Valley. Past events celebrated Brazil, South Korea, Sweden, Cuba and Japan. The Sept. 13 event, which shares Germany’s culture with SCV residents, will be the last event of the Celebrate series for 2024.
Those coming to see Die Sauerkrauts should anticipate “der gemütlichkeit,” which Todd said is German for the “feeling of togetherness.”
“Expect to also be fully entertained for all three hours that we’re going to be playing,” he added, “and expect the unexpected. Because we might just pull out some songs that aren’t necessarily German. Maybe we’ll even pull out a Mexican medley of bonga music, because it’s the same music.”
The bandleader pointed out that it was the Germans who introduced the accordion and tuba to Mexico.
In addition to the music of Die Sauerkrauts, the Celebrate event is planned to offer on-site food trucks, arts, crafts and other activities in an attempt, the city’s website stated, to “ignite curiosity and promote a greater understanding of Santa Clarita’s cultural diversity.”
For more information about Die Sauerkrauts, go to the band’s website at DieSauerkrauts.com. For more about Celebrate, contact the city of Santa Clarita’s Arts and Events division at 661-250-3787 or [email protected].
