Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Members of Henny & The Versa J's Featuring Ryan have been nominated for a Grammy award. Left to right, in front are Ryan Ogrodny and his mother Dee-Dee Ogrodny and in rear, Randy Koslosky, Butch Jasiewicz, Stas Ogrodny, Frank Gibala and leader Henny Jasiewicz. Click photo for larger image.

It was a moment to lose control. Dee-Dee Ogrodny and other members of the polka group, Henny & The Versa J's, had just learned that their work had been nominated for a Grammy.

"I'm usually not like that. I have some control, but I just couldn't believe it," she said of her reaction to the Dec. 7 announcement.

Ogrodny, 48, who sings and plays keyboard bass and piano, is one of seven members of the group based in the Haylor Heights neighborhood of McKeesport.

Also in the group are her nephew, Butch Jasiewicz; son, Ryan Ogrodny; brother and group founder, Henny Jasiewicz; husband, Stas' Ogrodny; and friends Frankie Gibala and Randy Koslosky.

"Even those guys who aren't blood-related are like family," Dee-Dee Ogrodny said.

The Versa J's May release of the album, "Come On Over," won the nomination for one of the music industry's top awards.

The group is up against four other polka bands when the Grammys are awarded Feb. 13 in Los Angeles.

Drummer Butch Jasiewicz says strong competition in the polka genre made the Grammy news especially hard to comprehend.

"Just about every band came out with a CD this year,'' he said. "I checked that list four times just to see if it was a mistake."

He kept thinking about how much work his father, Henny Jasiewicz, and Gibala had put into their music.

This may be the ultimate reward for Henny Jasiewicz, a trumpet player who recently celebrated 50 years in polka. He started Henny & The Versa J's in 1972.

Butch Jasiewicz credited Randy Koslosky's attention to detail and Ryan Ogrodny's musical talent for the Grammy honor. Koslosky sings, writes and plays accordion and piano. Ryan Ogrodny, a music student at Duquesne University, sings and plays the violin.

Koslosky said the group was careful to keep a traditional polka emphasis while weaving in a fresh approach when making the album.

"Polka is a generic term," Butch Jasiewicz said. "You have Slovenian and German and Eastern-styles. But Chicago-style is what we do. It's more in-your- face."

"What we accomplish on 'Come On Over' is that we go beyond the stereotype but still have broad appeal. The title song is a combination of a lot of styles, but still has the polka essence to it," he said.

"When you say polka, you get an initial reaction just from the word, " Ryan Ogrodny said.

"A lot of people at [Duquesne] are trained musicians, and for them to compliment me is the biggest honor because they look past [the stereotype] and really listen to the music," he said.

When writing songs, Koslosky employs an approach that is meant to be humanitarian.

"It's largely what is fascinating and what it means to be human. I see people's lives and what matters in their [personal] situations," he said. "There's just a moment that comes when I have to get off the couch and get over to the piano."

While creating, they have founder Henny Ogrodny's ear to consider and appreciate.

"Old-fashioned polkas are very simplistic. We'll play a song and it will be some new hit-jam that's fun and exciting. We'll finish the song and Henny will say, 'It doesn't sound like polka, but it is,' " Koslosky said.

The patriarch of The Versa J's encourages that youthful approach.

"You see more younger people into it now than many years ago," Henny Ogrodny said. "When we first started, it was mostly older folks. It was very rare you saw younger people interested."

The band performs at local venues such as church festivals and dances, but also has played in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Poland.

Koslosky said the band would like to give something back since receiving the Grammy nomination.

"We recognize this honor as an opportunity to say thank you and as an opportunity to do something good for the community," he said.

"We're want to arrange a dance that would be a benefit to raise money for some worthy cause.''