Brave Combo

Grammy Award-Winning Band from Denton, Texas

Let’s Get Social

You are here: Archives for Featured News 1

The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #9 – September 2021

3 Comments

Okay, apparently, there really is a Brave Combo, with real human beings, who can play live music for people, who are right there, in the flesh, listening and looking and often dancing, at the very same moment, in real time and in a real space. This is mind-blowing. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, it’s a fact! Since mid-August Brave Combo has returned to the stage. Outside only, but that seems to be cool with everyone. The crowds have been fantastic. Lots of folks appear to be getting out and whooping it up. We’re feeling the love, for sure. But an intense feeling of conflict is also there. It’s been my job, for over 40 years to encourage the audience to throw caution to the wind and pack the dance floor. Now it seems like yelling at everyone, through a big PA, to become sardines, is not exactly the responsible thing to do, even if that’s what I’ve been hired to do. I know the members of Brave Combo have all been vaccinated for a while and we’re usually a good distance from the fans and party-goers, but, damn, that “Hokey Pokey” thing’s got some power. It’s a communal experience! And, jeez, polkas and waltzes require dancers to cling to each other and exhale heavily. EVERYONE wants to get back to normal. Live music has been and, I guess, will continue to be a way for a lot of people to blow off some steam; to let go and submit one’s will, without hesitation or fear. The tension and release built into some music can, indeed, be a tonic for weary souls. Live music provides immediate entertainment, a distraction from everything that sucks and, oddly enough, HOPE! Whatever, there’s my dilemma. Maybe we could start playing everything really, really slow and as softly as possible, while the whole band is sitting down with our backs to the audience. And just ditch the PAs, so no one can hear me. Hmmm, that sounds kinda fun, actually, especially the parts about playing slowly with our backs turned. We could craft that into some bold statement about something not even related to Covid-19. There are plenty of worthwhile causes which have nothing to do with a virus.

Speaking of the virus, though, if you have not yet been injected with the engineered DNA altering fun juice, please do it ASAP, so you can stop thinking about it. You must be losing a bunch of sleep over this. It’s gotta be driving you crazy. So just do it! Get the shots. They are delicious!!! And, as well, if you are already vaccinated, get the booster shot. Brave Combo wants to go back inside, but only if the venue is limiting the fun to vaccinated fans and patrons. Some clubs/performance spaces have made this bold move. I salute them all! Others are still reluctant. I don’t get it, but I can only think like me and I am quite used to being perplexed about many things. For those no-vax-required shows, I do wish everyone would, at least, wear astronaut helmets like mine. I would LOVE to see that and I think everyone would dig it….for about 5 minutes. But that’s something, right? Have you seen me dancing around, wearing my astronaut helmet? It’s a good look! In fact, it looks good on anyone. I’ve noticed, also, that I’m way more brainy when I’m wearing it AND I’m executing incredible dance moves wearing the helmet, which I could never have done before, without it. Also, I like spinach!

So, here we are! One foot in and one foot out. Do the “Hokey Pokey” and turn yourself around. You have myriad opportunities coming up to see Brave Combo, in person. Put on your thinking cap and/or astronaut helmet and come on out. We are having a blast playing and we’ll do our best to pull you in….but not TOO close. Check our itinerary now and make your plans! We can all still feel the rock and roll, even around other rock and rollers, if we all do our best to be smart and responsible, until we start drinking!!! Hey, Baby, lots of super cool stuff lies ahead! LET’S POLKA (responsibly)!!!!

So, keep an eye on our shenanigans! The big polka machine continues to move forward. Earth is still intact, for now. The night sky is always magnificent. Cats and dogs are a lot of trouble, but also a lot of fun. I loved monster/horror movies when I was a kid. Did you see DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS? I went to see it with a friend at a theater in downtown Texarkana and we were given triffid seeds to plant in our yard, which I did. And they grew like hell. Freaked me out! Out of fear, I tore them down. They were just sunflower seeds. Since then I almost always think of triffids when I see super tall sunflowers. Sleep well, little ones.

The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #8 – August 2021

5 Comments

Hooboy! Is it just me, or does it feel like everything is really starting to unravel? Pandemic, wildfires, monster hurricanes, health care systems collapsing, civil unrest and societal breakdown, including angry people, with guns, losing control and, of course, crazy people with computers, losing their minds; all fun stuff to the far-right, evangelical end-timers, especially if they can make money stoking fear, while awaiting the Lord’s next prophetic message. Whatever, we’re all in this together, whether we like it or not. We’re all stuck on this big ball of dirt by gravity, actually. Everything is stuck here unless one has the means to briefly escape gravity’s hold. I learned about gravity in science class, probably. I also ate a sugar cube with a vaccine on it, to protect me from smallpox. Everyone had to do it. I remember looking at the sugar cube and the top of it had turned slightly yellow from the dose of vaccine dropped on it. Then I put it in my mouth. It tasted fine and was better than a shot. I don’t remember what I did the rest of the day. I was very young. But none of this is news to anyone. You can look around and see the mounting chaos and everyone knows that sugar cubes were used for three things: (1) to sweeten coffee or tea, (2) as a vaccine delivery system, and (3) LSD parties. I can’t enlighten you much on any of the current hot topics. You already know about Covid, January 6th, and massive wildfires. As I write this, New Orleans, and much of Louisiana, has no electricity, because a Category 4 hurricane, fueled to that intensity by the very warm gulf water, just slammed into it. I know you’ve heard about climate change and gravity. You might even know more about both than I do. But I’m a curious human, so science has always seemed to be something worth considering in certain situations. I don’t always agree with the means by which various scientists achieve the answers to their questions, but, specifics aside, science is A-OK. Let’s hear it for the positive ways science has impacted our lives! Hip, Hip, Hooray! I mean, I am sure science was involved in figuring out how to make vegetarian corn dogs taste like regular corn dogs. By the way, this is a great time to be alive if you don’t eat or wear animals. A staggering number of options are available now which were only futile wishes 25-30 years ago. Jeez, even 10-15 years ago.

But none of that is why we’re here today. There’s a much bigger problem afoot than anything mentioned above. I worry that most people are becoming too accustomed to what I call “lazy listening,” which is, basically, listening to music over just your phone, without connecting external speakers or using headphones. Come on, admit it. I’m guilty of this, as well, but am making a change because the music deserves it. Recording musicians spend a lot of time honing the sound of their “masterpiece” and the end result generally involves a wide range of resisters and tones, including both the high AND low end. There was a time when bass was important to all listeners, not just those guys in pickups. Boomboxes were all about the bass. Now it seems like high-end-only facsimiles, squeezed through smartphone speakers the size of crickets’ heads, are fine with most folks. When I was a pre-teen, I got a transistor radio for Christmas one year. It had only a place to plug in a cable with an earpiece. As I got older, sound quality improved dramatically for all. Extreme stereo was thrilling! Hordes of people got way into the fine art of high-fidelity (HiFi) listening. Refined tuners, turntables, and speakers became a lot more expensive and desirable. This journey into the ultimate aural experience lasted until cassettes began to rival vinyl LPs in sales. Cassettes were convenient and portable. Vinyl record albums, not so much. Then CDs popped onto the scene and, at first, it appeared there was going to be a return to sound quality being scrutinized. But, no. The wonder of the crystal-clear sparkle of CDs was short-lived. Maximum volume became the new rule. Everyone only wanted their track to just stand out when/if it was played somewhere. Dynamics, in particular, really suffered and it was, in some ways, the beginning of a new end. Brave Combo has spent a lot of time in myriad recording studios over the years. They’re fun places to be and the point of the fun is to craft something new and special. Consequently, much of the time is spent creating the perfect balance of sound, which really requires the eventual listener to take that next step and connect a couple of speakers or put on headphones, to fully appreciate all the effort. In most cases, the difference is eye-open…I mean, ear-opening! This is an important topic, which I hope you will take to heart when your favorite artists post new songs and videos. Okay, now that I have made you feel guilty and willing to please, here’s a new video for you to check out. Ear-bud time! You know, I don’t even care if people see me walking down the street and say to their friends, “Hey, there’s that guy who wants people to go to a whole lot of trouble when they listen to his stupid music. What a self-centered jerk!” It would be pretty funny, though, if this became a big political issue and a bunch of people became anti-external speakers on smartphones.

Okay, fasten your seat belts! Brave Combo is, theoretically, returning to the stage, and, theoretically, playing a bunch of gigs, starting right now! We encourage everyone, who is vaccinated, to attend the show(s) of your choice and, of course, practice healthy protocol. All of our upcoming wing-dings will be outside or in gigantic tents or halls. No indoor clubs for a while, still, which really, really sucks. Bands like playing packed rooms, where bodily fluids fly freely, and viruses easily spread. Having the audience’s sweat rain down on me used to be exciting. Now it’s hard to imagine. But perhaps the experience of live music isn’t dependent on just one or two typical scenarios. Maybe live music can still be uplifting even if your mouth and nose are covered up and you’re not packed in like sardines with everyone else.

Well, I have expressed myself again and you have read to this point, I assume. Thank you! Now, go out and pick up some new groovy speakers for your phone. They are everywhere!

And, of course, come to one or several BC shows this fall. Outdoors and safe! Now! Let’s Polka (but only with someone you know very well)! It’s Party Time (within reason, keeping a healthy distance from other partiers)! There’s a new kind of wild in town and it hasn’t been defined yet!

The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #7 – July 2021

1 Comment

I really thought the pandemic, in the United States, at least, was sorta winding down, despite the anti-vaxxers best efforts to thwart the positive progress. Things were almost looking up. Ah, yes, I remember it well. It was a time for cautious optimism. I even stopped wearing a mask at stores for a couple of months and laughed at how many unopened ones I still had. The same with bottles of alcohol and antiseptic wipes which destroy both bacteria and viruses. It was great! But, noooo! No need to elaborate further on the frustration. You know what’s going on. And you know where you stand on this. However, I guess I have to crawl back inside my head again, imagine stuff and keep working on creative things I can do without an in-person audience. This means, back to spending lots of time playing around with video and trying to figure out how to have impact and make interesting sounds and images which will resonate with someone else. This is the goal of anyone who puts it out there for others to see/hear and judge, but making it to be viewed only on a screen is, obviously, challenging in different ways.

Whatever, I learned a long time ago I can only be myself. Some people love me, some people like me and, unfortunately, some people don’t get me at all and that seems to irritate them. It’s a good thing developing a thick skin also goes with the territory and if one does not develop a really good sense of humor, this biz will never work.

So, here are examples of what I’ve been doing and enjoying. These are just the tip of the iceburg, but a lot of my videos suck, even to me. Anyway, I am getting revved up and am excited to continue exploring this medium, especially if Covid gets out-of-control again and gigs start cancelling. Oh, the future just loves being a mystery. We try to make plans but the next several months look pretty hazy. I’m sure you feel the same. “Que Sera, Sera,” Baby! Embrace the ?

  1. “Hora Bialik” is an Israeli folk song and it has an accompanying dance you should see sometime. I screwed around with it a bit.
  2. “Expanding Crate Mystery” is self-explanatory and very short.
  3. “There Is No Happy Love (I’l N’y a Pas d’Amour Heureux)” is a song I first heard by a French folk/pop singer named Francoise Hardy, when I was in high school. Somehow, I had a couple of her albums, and they were often my just-before-bed listen. This song, in particular, has stayed with me over the decades.
  4. “Flying Saucer Verse 3” I composed for a fan of Brave Combo who was in the last months of his life. He’d been around forever and I would talk to him in Austin at our gigs for years. 2020 was not a good year for him. I found out he wanted to be an astronomer when he was little. So did I. Both of us knew a lot about outer space in grade school. He got to hear the verse.
  5. “Can’t You Tell, etc.” explains me perfectly, in case you’re curious.
  6. “Levan Polka” Well, this is a standard in some circles now; old news, actually. Here’s a snippet of me rehearsing it. It’s a catchy little thing. Have you heard it before?
  7. “All My Trials” is an old Bahamian lullaby, which has been adopted by myriad causes. It became an anthem for civil rights in the 1960s and has often been considered an old-style spiritual and some people claim it’s in their hymnals. Elvis even included it in his medley, “American Trilogy.” Basically, the original is about a dying mother, telling her children it’s okay and to not worry about her because better things come in death. Kind of a downer, but it’s a great song. At this point the video is just a bunch of images; a vehicle for the audio. Some may make it to the final edit, but maybe not. Don’t worry.

Two quick news items. We’re currently working on some unreleased Tiny Tim tracks and it appears our recording of “O, Holy Night (Cha, Cha, Cha)” will soon be in another movie.

Okay, that’s it. Please check our itinerary. We are adding dates like crazy for the fall and keeping our fingers crossed that they don’t have to cancel, yet are safe to attend. No matter what, believe it or not, it’s still a wonderful world, even if you do have to go back into your head again. Just make that a fun place. You’ve certainly had plenty of practice by now! Let’s Polka, I hope!

X