Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999
This is not your average polka band. The Grammy-nominated dance band Brave Combo performs traditional and modern polka music with the power of rock’n’roll. One of the most exciting live acts on the road today, Brave Combo plays with wild abandon and an irresistible beat. Now you can experience the sheer energy of Brave Combo in concert with this all-new live album, recorded at polka dances in Dallas and Denton, Texas. Find out what everyone’s talking – and dancing – about. Let’s polka!
1. Pretty Dancing Girl (Czech polka/trad., arr. Brave Combo)
2. Hosa Dyna (P.I. Wowarczyk/public domain) 3. Turkish March (Beethoven/arr. Jeffrey Barnes)
4. Pop Goes the Weasel (reggae schottische/trad., arr. Brave Combo)
5. Three Weeks (Carl Finch)
6. Cuando escuches este vas (Juan Garrido)
7. Don’t Get Married (Polish polka/trad., arr. Treltones-lyrics, Carl Finch)
8. Peanut Polka (trad., arr. Brave Combo)
9. Do Something Different (Carl Finch)
10. Polka Medley: Tinker’s Polka/Lichtensteiner Polka/Beer Barrel Polka/Pennsylvania Polka/Monday Morning/Laughing Polka/La Adelita/Los Coronelas (trad., arr. Brave Combo/trad., arr. Brave Combo/Vejvoda/public domain, arr. Brave Combo/Lee-Manners/trad., arr. Toledo Polka Motion/trad., arr. Brave Combo/trad., arr. Brave Combo/trad., arr. Brave Combo)
11. Come Back To Me (Carl Finch)
12. High Bounce Polka (Polish polka/trad., arr. Brave Combo)
Founded by Carl Finch in Denton, Texas, Brave Combo has spent nearly twenty years playing dance music from around the world for increasingly enthusiastic audiences in America and overseas. The group has performed on A Prairie Home Companion (where host Garrison Keillor termed them “entertainers who just won’t take no for an answer”); provided music for Olympic ice dancing; marched in the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade; appeared in films; and recorded over a dozen acclaimed albums, including a Latin-themed CD and a remarkable collaboration with Tiny Tim. Brave Combo’s album Polkas for a Gloomy World was nominated for a Grammy award in 1996; the band’s passion for polka continues to win new fans and pack dance floors coast to coast. Visit Brave Combo’s home page at http://bravecombo.com for more information about this uniquely American band.
Jeffrey Barnes: tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, clarinet, vocals Joseph Cripps: percussion Alan Emert: drums Carl Finch: guitar, accordion, keyboards, vocals Bubba Hernandez: bass, tuba, vocals Danny O’Brien: trumpet, flugelhorn
Brave Combo arrangements: No Class Music, BMI Produced by Carl Finch and Brave Combo. Recorded by David Castell at the Sons of Hermann Hall, Dallas, Texas, Friday, September 26, 1997; and by Coy Green at Rick’s Place, Denton, Texas, Saturday, September 27, 1997. Mixed by Eric Delagard at Reeltime Audio, Denton, Texas. Coordinated for EasyDisc by Louisa Hufstader. Mastered by Jonathan Wyner at M-Works, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Design by mooremoscowitz. Thanks to Nancy Given, Steve Netsky, and Beth Stadnicki.