Brave Combo

Grammy Award-Winning Band from Denton, Texas

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The Machine’s Pump Volume 22 – #9 – September 2019

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Okay, be honest with me. Is music really all that important to you, anymore? I know there was probably a time when it was right up there with food and water, maybe even air, but where does it fit in your life in 2019? It certainly makes sense if it’s not near the top of your priority list. I totally understand. We’re all trying to cope with the constant distractions which, apparently, go along with modern life, but let me ask you a couple more questions. Do you spend any time searching the web for information on the exciting new band or musician you just discovered? Or, better yet, how often do you let yourself go on fanciful musical journeys to who-knows-where, on YouTube? You know, like when you start out with Sandy Nelson’s “Let There Be Drums,” and end up at a Romanian wedding. That sort of thing. I’m not trying to put you on the spot with yourself, just curious about how involved professed music lovers actually are with music. I have some friends who rarely miss anything with melody and rhythm in and around Denton. They seem to sincerely dig being around music, especially live music, whoever, wherever. Those are the obvious true believers, but not the majority. For musicians, things started changing rapidly in the early 2000s. Big crowds at clubs were no longer a given and our once-reliable methods of promotion were not cutting it anymore. Plus, after 9/11 it took a long time for the masses to even remember that bands and clubs and concerts were still around. Unfortunately, by the time the country was ready to party again, the word “party” had been redefined and the old, packed venues were now struggling to stay open. The musical landscape had become almost unrecognizable and eventually there was so much of everything the landscape practically disappeared. The pie was now cut into a thousand slices instead of a hundred. Brave Combo was very lucky that we were as established as we were when everything went wonky, but we still spent a lot of time trying to figure out which way was up. Every musician, artist, PA engineer, club owner, booking agent, radio DJ, studio recording engineer, etc. were in the same WTF boat. The explosion of social media helped at first, but, eventually, as everyone knows, too much is just too much. Right? Everything’s a cluttered mess now and we’re all too busy getting the basics done to tend to anything extra. That’s just reality. Anyway, I’m only pondering all of this because it’s market research. To be honest, I’m not glued to any idea about how the public is supposed to react to, respond to or interact with music. I can see a future with no live musicians or tangible objects, such as LPs or CDs, just music in its most pure form, barely out of someone’s head, straight to someone else’s head. Nothing scares me along these lines, but I would rather make money than not make money. So, here in 2019, I have to ask myself, on a fairly regular basis, what’s my best way to communicate and share any artistic efforts I feel inclined to release. How much more of me can this world tolerate! This is important. The new album of recordings we just finished may not go beyond the streaming realm. Video has become just as important as the music, in terms of what a viewer/listener is inclined to do. Pretty much, for me, this just has to be seen as a big, weird-ass game with impossible rules, but a game, none-the-less. And, for what it’s worth, selling one’s art has always been as important as making it. Jeez, there’s also been a massive swing toward tribute acts in recent years. Baby-boomers have the money and they want to hear Queen and Steely Dan (and Billy Joel and Tom Petty). Maybe Brave Combo should become a Kinks/Procol Harum band. I loved both of them and have most of their recordings and already know most of their big hits. We could even morph into a Merle Haggard band. I know a set’s worth of his songs, too. Don’t be surprised! Que sera, sera!

Okay, this is how I see it; the way things are. The Conservative Right folks are straight-up scared about lots of things and over-the-top freaked out when it comes to gun regulations, LGBTQ issues, pro-choice vs. pro-life, immigration, etc. and nothing will change their passionate feelings about these core topics. The Liberal Left folks are scared of a collapsing eco-system, evil corporations and greedy rich people, loose gun controls and feel strongly, with bleeding, yet optimistic hearts, about creating an even playing field for all, even if it means propping up the less fortunate, which likely translates into higher taxes. Many on the right are Evangelical Christians who firmly believe God is on their side. The left are convinced that’s ego-driven insanity. No left-wingers are going to jump on board with the Evangelicals and vice-versa. So, what do we do? Maybe, if we citizens of the United States are going to be this polarized, and, apparently, we are, we can try to just start classifying everything in the simplest terms possible. For instance, I could write a song with lyrics such as,

I don’t mind if you’re white, just please don’t be a jerk
I don’t mind if you’re black, just please don’t be a jerk
I don’t mind if you’re brown, just please don’t be a jerk
I don’t mind if you’re red or yellow or green or blue
Just please don’t be a jerk

You know, if you have a different point-of-view, by all means, express it. Get it off your chest, just don’t be a jerk about it. None of us, cause we’re still alive, knows the ultimate truths yet, anyway. So, say your piece and get out of the way so someone else can do the same. If I can see that your convictions are sincere and that you’re not just a pissed off me-me-me ninny, I can respect and accept some pretty crazy philosophies. Look what I’ve done with myself for the last 40 years. I don’t eat meat, I’m not a big fan of beer or alcohol, I lean way to the left, I see the potential perils in national/cultural pride and I only wear what I wear (no lederhosen, Hawaiian shirts or puffy sleeves for me). Yet, I have spent hours and hours and hours having a blast at polka festivals all over the USA with humans who are my opposite. What’s wrong with that? If someone is just pleasant, I’m cool with it. I feel sorry for my Evangelical friends who have been brainwashed and conned and I’m sure they’re worried that my beliefs are paving my path to hell. Whatever, who gives a shit, just don’t be a jerk. Stop trying to be so tough and scary. Most likely, you won’t be attacked on the street corner tonight. Put your gun away, little fella. It’ll be alright. How about a game of checkers and a root beer? We’ll get Lucy to come over and dance on her pole. No, wait, can’t do that anymore. Okay, how about some kale with that root beer, then.

RIP Ed Loftus, lead singer, keyboardist, and songwriter for Denton legends, Schwantz LeFantz. They were the cat’s pajamas of Denton bands when Brave Combo first started. We all got to be great friends during those amazing times. Ed was enormously talented, had a huge smile and was often the sharpest wit in the room. It’s hard to imagine him being gone.

Have I covered everything? Oh yeah, Brave Combo is playing lots of shows right now. Go directly to our itinerary and pick one or two and come out and lose your mind for a while. Did you know it’s POLKATIME?

The Machine’s Pump Volume 22 – #8 – August 2019

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In 1979, a lot was going on in the world of pop music, and pop culture, in general. Punk was in full bloom. New Wave was pushing the dinosaurs off the charts. Disco was burning down corporate rock icons and Reggae was introducing an exotic sound to ears eager to escape the increasingly empty vibe created by artists like Phil Collins, Hall and Oates, Van Halen, who were, by this time, considered dullsville and pointless. No offense to any of those folks, but I remember the feeling well. Rock radio couldn’t be worse. It was completely disconnected from reality and becoming, well, embarrassingly uncool. I knew many musicians and who were disturbed and confused by the changing landscape. They were caught up in instrument acrobatics and formula lyrics. But to many others, it was obvious that energy had left the building. The edge was gone. The intensity was gone. The danger was gone. Rock and roll had become squeaky clean. Heavy metal morphed into hair metal; a pitiful joke. The excesses of pop stars were no longer exciting. They were now irritating and boring. There was simply no substance left. But, as is sometimes the case, the balance of nature took over and adrenaline started to flow again, but outside the mainstream. Suddenly everything was getting stripped down and music was roaring back to the basics. Screw the establishment! In 1979 Brave Combo played its first show. Fast and loud polkas, because no one else was doing it. We were cheerful punks. Lyle (original bass player, currently with the band) often referred to us as “happy metal.” Whatever, it was the beginning of what continues to be a hell of an education. We also tried to rock the cumbia, the cha cha, the twist; anything that “normal” white America would consider square and unworthy of attention. Our motivation was the music. We were as sincere as we could be. It was not a novelty to us. It was just different; a new way to look at things. And, most importantly, people liked our groovy sound right off the bat. How lucky could four nerds be? Well, one thing led to another, and before Brave Combo knew it, four decades had zoomed by. And here we are, more than halfway through 2019. Jeez! I think about how I fit into the puzzle way too much and having a band like Brave Combo has kept me constantly wondering about the big picture; what this all means. You have no idea what it’s like to live with me.

Speaking of our 40th Anniversary, Brave Combo’s long life is the cover story of the current Dallas Observer. For all of you history buffs that are interested in BC’s early days, check it out! My appreciation goes out to Daniel Rodrigue for doing his research thoroughly and writing a great piece

Beyond the celebrating and patting ourselves on the back and milking the milestones for promotional gain, we have work to do. IT’S POLKATIME, in a big way. The season is here! Look over our itinerary and make plans to have a good time. Polka is the ultimate tension-and-release music. It’s designed to make you feel better. And, of course, we’ll be mixing it up, as usual. You know, Czech meets Polish meets Tejano meets German meets Slovenian meets American, and so forth. Musically, Polkafests and Oktoberfests are pretty all-over-the-place events, for Brave Combo, so prepare accordingly.

RECORDING NEWS. Ten new tracks are finished and almost ready for mass consumption. I just haven’t figured out the best way to present them. Does it make sense to manufacture CDs or arty cassettes and LPs? Those are all expensive investments and it takes a long time to recoup the costs, not to mention actually make a profit. Sadly, those once-popular means of listening to music are now, primarily, live-show souvenirs. And, sadder still, they’re not even as popular as t-shirts and drink koozies. Think about it. If you are inclined to listen to music, what do you do these days? I go straight to my YouTube app. So, no matter what, I intend to have videos, on YouTube for all of the new tracks. You can then get to them anytime, anywhere, immediately. And watch some moving images accompany the sound. Many of the videos are well on their way. We had a huge garden spider right outside one of our windows for a couple of months. I shot a lot of video of her just hanging around, gently swaying. On a particularly hot day, I poured water on some leaves right below her and she stretched and climbed down and embraced a leaf full of water for a while, then ascended back to her spot. About a week later she was gone, which sucked, but I’m really glad I shot the video. She now has a prominent role in one song and is destined to be a star. I hope she left willingly, in one piece.

Well, as you know, I could go on and on, so I’ll take this opportunity to bail and let you return to your normal life. Keep your head up and your hopes high. What you see happening in front of you, day in and day out, is all there for your “edu-tainment (education and entertainment).” And, by the way, it’s okay to laugh at all the stupid stuff you do. You’re only human, after all.

The Machine’s Pump Volume 22 – #7 – July 2019

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Oh, there are so many things to cover. First of all, if you need proof about whether a so-called leader’s rhetoric matters, I guess you can just come to Denton. This last weekend, at two different local live music clubs, there were disruptions caused by swastika-brandishing neo-Nazis and torch-bearing white supremacists chanting something about reclaiming the USA. This is shocking, for sure, but I have to admit, I’ve been looking over my shoulder at gigs and am more vigilant from the stage because a lot of our repertoire celebrates music by people from other countries and we proudly let it be known. Our strong pro-immigration position has caused many long-time Brave Combo “fans’ to bail on us, and not without letting us know why. But, honestly, how could they possibly be fans and not know where our music comes from. I mean, I appreciate the compliment, if they think we wrote all of the stuff we play. This is all so stupid, but stupid can also be dangerous, especially if the main reason a person is dangerous is because he or she is stupid. Whatever, I haven’t seen Nazis, pro-KKK, and white power folks in town in decades.

When I was growing up in Texarkana, there were still some black and white drinking fountains and separate entrances to some businesses, but I was taught that this was wrong, and that things were quickly changing for the better; that life would someday be more fair for everyone. My parents definitely believed that everyone must, somehow, contribute and carry his or her own weight, BUT they believed, even more strongly, that people deserve a break and a chance to get it together. They backed-up this belief by allowing ex-convicts to live in their home, right after being released from prison. This was a huge part of their world for many years and they made a difference. It was walking the walk, beyond what most people are willing to do. And their lives were enriched immeasurably, as well, although, it was tricky and sometimes pretty scary. I saw examples of humans actually caring about and for other people and I was told that we’re all equal and I better not forget it. I think this attitude of live and let live helped me imagine things that maybe no one else had imagined, like putting together a rock band to play music generally rejected by rock bands and the rest of mainstream society. And most of what we played was music either by immigrants or influenced by immigrants. And we were 100% innocent in our mission. We simply all really liked a lot of different kinds of music and didn’t understand why some of it was labeled as stupid or only good for a joke. Of course, we all know now that the basis for dissing polka and making fun of it came from the same place as Polish jokes. The people who lived in the USA already didn’t want those Polish people, in particular, moving across the ocean. They were the Latinos of the day. I salute the proud descendants of people who have endured hardships just because they were different. We play Polish-American festivals, Czech-American festivals, German-American festivals, Slovenian-American festivals and, as well, Mexican-American festivals, of course. Jeez, where would we be if we had never rocked the cumbia, or polka or salsa or huapango or schottische or oberek or waltz!!! And where would we all be if our choices were limited to only the cool stuff white people conjured up on their own. And, although we white Americans have come up with some worth-while music, we can’t claim rock, soul, jazz, Cajun, zydeco, klezmer blues, cha cha, tango, salsa or even Gospel, in addition to the above-mentioned styles. That would leave, pretty much native-American and some ultra-pure form of country music, which had never been exposed to rock or blues or jazz. Hmm, I don’t know, maybe something like Western camp-fire songs; sing-a-longs.
“Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam
Where the deer, and the antelope play.
Too bad this is the, on-ly style of song
Made from scratch, in the whole USA”

On to a lighter topic, I listen to right-wing radio somewhat regularly, to keep up with their latest ways of demonizing the left and, I gotta say, I am really tired of being portrayed as a baby killer just because my politics lean way-left. In reality, I am not pro-abortion, unless it’s medically necessary, and am in favor of people (both parties) being responsible enough to not get pregnant, accidentally, in the first place. No one should be cavalier with life and death matters. Inconvenience is absolutely not a reason for having an abortion. However, more than that, I am in favor of each person making his or her own decisions. Period. That’s the way everyone wants it, especially in the USA. Nobody wants an outsider telling him or her how to live. So, I guess I can see both points-of-view and must leave the hard decision to the person who is actually facing it. Am I a freak of nature? Hell no! I dare say this is how almost everyone on the left feels. The far right says that an abortion is no big deal to those on the left. That’s just not true. No one is happy about it. It’s always a very difficult decision, even for Democrats. No surprise, but I am pro-animal rights as passionately as some anti-abortion people are “pro-life.” In fact, there are similarities in how the two groups (animal rights and pro-life) operate. My most radical side believes that killing and eating animals is just straight-up wrong, mainly because it involves so much cruelty and suffering all day long, every day. I just had to extricate myself from being involved. So about 35 years ago I ate my last fried fish sandwich from McDonald’s. I had long-before stopped putting hunks of cows, pigs and chickens into my mouth and swallowing them. And then I realized fish had faces and brains and felt pain, as well. To me, eating animals is backward and barbaric and reflects human weakness and supports our darkest selves. But I also believe that it is each person’s right to make that sort of heavy decision. It sucks that right now so much animal torture is happening, and on such a horrifically huge scale. It breaks my heart if I dwell on it. In fact, one of the down sides of touring is having to see all of the cows and chickens crammed into big trucks. It makes me ashamed of all humanity. But I do have to live and work and be social with others. Not everyone agrees with me. I have to put the rights of the individual ahead of my desires. Since everyone knows I’m always right, anyway, it’s okay if I don’t get my way every now and then. So, let me sum this up. I am not a baby killer and I don’t know any baby killers among my army of left-wing friends. Those radio guys need to chill out, but, really, I’ve not known many chilled-out radio talk show hosts. Wonder why they’re almost always revved-up. What’s that supposed to mean?

My long-time good buddy, Sara Hickman, has just released a coloring book, AN ECLECTIC ARRAY OF TEXAS MUSICIANS, and Brave Combo is delighted to be featured so prominently. You need to get one of these things. It’s super-duper cool and totally Sara and it has a practical application (made for coloring). And, as with everything she does, proceeds will probably be going to some charities. It’s in her blood, being all up and supportive and loving. She is just, apparently, obnoxiously determined to help people. Did you know that’s Sara in the Energizer bunny costume, in all of those commercials?

Another long-time buddy, magician/entertainer-extraordinaire, Bo Gerard, has featured me in his current blog. He got nosey and asked me some personal questions and I gladly provided him with answers. Please check it out AND check out Bo, when you can!

Stop the presses! Wait, no, keep the presses running. Yours truly is on the cover of the July issue of the TEXAS POLKA NEWS. Inside, a lot of space is devoted to Brave Combo and our 40th birthday (this year). Subscribe online or pick one up the next time you’re perusing the new publications at your neighborhood newsstand or magazine store. I loved hanging out in the monster magazine section of Hale’s Newsstand in deep downtown Texarkana. The monster magazines were right by the girlie magazines. I looked at both, but mainly the monster magazines. I could actually buy those and take them home. I have two friends, Radio DJ, Larry King (not the suspender-wearing old guy) and St.

Louis pop culture icon, Beatle Bob, who know more about Forest J. Ackerman and his fanzine, FAMOUS MONSTERS of FILMLAND, than I do. That’s all. Just two. Google him (Forest J. Ackerman), if you’re interested.

Local Denton club, LSA (Lone Star Attitude) is hosting a Brave Combo 40th Anniversary event on the downtown square Saturday, August 10. 7-10 PM. Come one and all. Rumor has it, BC alumnus, Robert Hokamp, will be joining us for part of the night. He’s bringing his guitar.

Speaking of bad-asses jamming with us bad-asses, percussionist and all-around cosmic dude, Mike Dillon, will be doing just that at our annual Levitt Pavilion show, in downtown Arlington, on Friday, August 30. This is one of our favorite shows every year. Show up and make some noise! It’s time to get down, baby! You got soul and you’re super bad! That’s a compliment, by the way.

And Lookout! Westfest is almost upon us! Labor Day weekend. Our musical comrades, The Bolzen Beer Band, from Lincoln, NE, are making their first appearance this year. Come out and yell and scream with/at them!

Cleveland International Records (out of Nashville) will soon be re-releasing our Grammy Award-winning album POLKASONIC. And, to commemorate, we have new POLKASONIC T-shirts ready to mail your way. Our store T-shirt motto is, “It will look good on you AND you will look good wearing it!”

I’m done. That’s enough for this month. My wife and I rescued yet another cat. This one was an 8-week-old kitten, living under a concrete slab, behind a restaurant. We just happened to see her. She was sick, scared and starving. Now she’s extremely happy, feels safe, purrs constantly, eats a lot and has many toys. I think she likes this better than the concrete slab. She is our 9th successful rescue in about a year. Okay, stay cool and keep your eyes open for dogs and cats who may be in distress. If you see something funky, check it out and help ‘em out. If I had a boat and a trailer and some skis and all the necessary gear, I’d go water skiing!

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