Born in May 1953, the only son of a vocally-talented mother and father, Kenny Polcak found his earliest exposure to music through the gifts of classical music from his father and the collective influences of his mother and father from their church choir. Together, these musical gifts from his family led naturally towards a love of many styles of music. In the late sixties, Kenny was drawn to the bass guitar through the early rock supergroups like The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Mountain, Jimi Hendrix and, most notably, Cream and the improvisational style of Jack Bruce, whom he credits as his primary influence. At the same time, he also discovered the major folk artists, songwriters, and vocal giants of the time such as Crosby, Stills, Nash &Young, the Eagles, James Taylor and, sometime later on, Jimmy Buffett

These newfound musical influences led Kenny to seek formal lessons on the bass guitar, which spanned about a year. Within that time period, he discovered an inherent ability to memorize and “play by ear”. Kenny’s first performance on stage was at the age of 15 in his high school talent show.

In the mid-seventies, with a civil engineering degree in hand, Kenny entered the working world in the field of acoustical engineering, ironically specializing in noise pollution control. All during his college days, music continued as a passion and mode of relaxation, as Kenny performed with friends at local coffee houses and other similar venues and events.

For over 30 years, music has been a passion that has not diminished with time. Kenny has played with several local Maryland bands, first performing with STC doing Top-40, Big Band and Standards. Later came a nearly 5-year run with the Rock and Top-40 group, GYPSY, followed by a 22-year run with the Baltimore-based Top-40/Classic Rock group, WIND. He has even more recently ventured into the world of blues with a newly 3-year run with the Blues/Rock trio, WILD RICE, featuring local guitar legend Larry Dennis. Then, through a chance encounter in 2000 with keyboardist Kevin Johnston, Kenny ultimately became one of the founding members of CAPTAIN QUINT.

As well as covering bass guitar duties, Kenny provides harmony and background vocals. Captain Quint has provided a vehicle for his rediscovery of the challenges of vocal harmonies that are such an integral part of the musical stories and images crafted by Jimmy Buffett and others in tropical rock/island music genre. It has provided that return to the summer days of surfing, lazing on the beach, and sailing the beautiful waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

As one of Captain Quint’s founding members, Kenny has experienced the full evolution of the band - from performances at small bars, private parties, dances, and charity events around Maryland to having been the opening act for five Jimmy Buffett concerts in Northern Virginia , Maryland and Pennsylvania. He has performed as far away as Pensacola Beach, Florida; Bourbon Street in New Orleans; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Cleveland, Ohio; and at numerous other events and venues in Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

Here’s a breakdown of Kenny’s gear list:

Kenny plays a custom-built Lexa model four-string electric bass, crafted by master luthier Kevin Brubaker of Westminster, Maryland. His primary backup bass is a four-string Ovation acoustic/electric Celebrity model. Additional instruments include a 1978 Fender Precision Special, and a 1971 Gibson EB-3 (the model most associated with Jack Bruce’s days with Cream); these basses are primarily reserved for special events or occasions.

Kenny’s primary bass rig is the Hartke Kickback 12. Depending on the venue, he will use a custom-built bass cabinet housing a front-loaded 15” Peavey Black Widow speaker, in place of the onboard 12” Black Widow housed in the Hartke cabinet. Other variations include a Peavey Bass power amp driving a Hartke 2x10 cabinet along with the custom single 15 cabinet. Kenny also utilizes a Sabine model RT 1601 rack-mounted tuner, dBX model 163X compressor/limiter, and Carvin model UH-5000 wireless guitar system, all protected by a Furman model PL-8 power conditioner.