Brave Combo

Grammy Award-Winning Band from Denton, Texas

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You are here: Archives for The Machine's Pump

The Machine’s Pump Volume 26 – #5 – May 2023

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Jeez, May is almost over, and I am, once again, woefully behind on everything, especially getting the newsletter written and posted for your eager eyes.  It’s not that I don’t have plenty to say, because I almost always have plenty to say, if it’s a topic which interests me.  But, like you, I simply don’t have time to do everything.  Needy animals easily take up 50% of it.  And now, in Texas, there are only 20 hours in a day, instead of 24!  Another one of Ken Paxton’s nitwit moves.  FYI, I usually don’t wake up until almost noon because morning sucks and is only for wimps.  Who needs a fresh new day, every day?  How conventional and utterly predictable can you get?  In some parts of the world, morning is for drinking alcohol.  Once upon a time, we were in Graz, Austria for several days, performing at a festival and hanging out with unusual people, experiencing cool stuff.  Right across the street from our hotel was a fru bar, which is what they called a morning bar.  I don’t drink much, so this only sounds like a guaranteed headache for lunch.  None-the-less, the morning bars exist, to dull the excitement over the brand new day!

Speaking of culture wars, which I wasn’t, why are the folks with most of the guns so freaked out and angry?  What is upsetting them so much?  I mean, I’m not happy that the political party, of which I am generally at odds, doesn’t know how to stand up to the NRA or tax the wealthy or care about the poor, but I can honestly say I don’t want to kill anyone just because they are selfish and unfair.  That’s their problem.  They can live with whatever hell they’re creating for themselves, in their me-me-me misery.  I’m just glad I’m not inclined to want something destroyed because I can’t relate to it or understand it.  Anyway, I’ve been thinking, if Republicans can justify their attachments to assault rifles, like AR-15s (which they claim is just a gun, nothing special), surely, I can own a couple of nicely decorated boxes of cute little attractively packed hand grenades, in child-enticing fentanyl candy colors.  You know, maybe a dozen or two in each box.  That would be so sweet!  Hand grenades are just like firecrackers.  Besides my grandmother used to paint hand grenades when she worked at a weapons arsenal/army depot, right outside Texarkana. So it’s part of my family tradition and nothing is more important than family and tradition and hand grenades, right?  FUN FACT.  Around 50% of Republicans own a gun and 65% live in a household with guns.  20% of Democrats own a gun, with 30% living in household with guns.  One can only surmise that Republicans are way more afraid of the world than Democrats.  I would think that the “religious flock,” who ascribe to the power of their lord and savior, The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, wouldn’t feel the need for any guns at all.  I guess I got that all wrong, somehow.  But, hey, I’m a lover, not a fighter.  Besides, as you must know, my life involves a lot of cat herding.  Guns make that activity much worse.  You’ll never socialize feral cats by shooting guns in the air or at people.  One of my cats at home runs away if I just carry a box into the room!  That’s Spot.  He and his sister, Dot, often seem to be waiting for something unpleasant to happen.

Speaking of cats, I was closing up the house around 3:30 am one morning, after coming home from a gig, checking on all our pets, and opened the door to my office.  Right in the middle of the floor was a little possum.  Not a baby, but it was pretty young.  Of course, it immediately ran behind a shelf full of all kinds of things, which meant we had to move and dismantle quite a bit to pull the shelf away from the wall.  That took a while.  Finally, we cleared everything out of the way, to reveal the frightened possum.  Jane, my wife, put on some spiffy Kevlar gloves and picked it right up, and carried it outside.  I was impressed.  She kept her cool.  The little possum kept its cool.  I sorta kept my cool.  And before we knew it, it was 5:00 am and we headed to bed, both very happy our cats didn’t catch the little guy and torture it and tear off its legs and then eat part of it.

BC News Tidbits:

The band is rehearsing pretty regularly now, creating aural excitement in the process.  It’s a fun scene and right across the street from our parking lot in the back is a recently opened Middle-Eastern Disco Bar

I’ve been writing lots of new songs and some are almost decent.  I like to give myself a block of time, with an instrument and a groove/beat and a vague feeling, either musically (melody and chords) or lyrically.  Sometimes a song starts with a concept, or an idea and the challenge is to make the music or lyrics support the idea without sounding forced, awkward or overly preachy.  Sorta preachy is acceptable.  One person telling another person what to do is classic stuff.  It’s often expected posturing and the singer, in lots of songs, must be assertive to properly express his/her point-of-view, but every aspect of this sits on a razor’s edge, down to which word you choose to rhyme with another word.  Some composers feel trapped by the process of writing.  It’s where you face your own ego and try to maintain objective distance and not ignore the obvious signs that you’ve actually come up with something quite awful.  Have a drink.

Dave Monsch is still playing woodwinds with us, brilliantly, in Jeffrey’s absence. In the meantime, Jeffrey is still recovering, a tiny amount every day and getting pretty good at one-hand harmonica.  Everyone continues to be pleased with his progress.  In fact, he graced the stage with the rest of us recently at the National Polka Festival in Ennis, Texas.  And then, accordion monster, Alex Meixner showed up and we all played the Kenny Bass and The Polka Poppers classic, “The Westview Polka,” which Alex also recorded when he was around 13 or 14 years old and that’s the version Brave Combo eventually heard and also decided to record.  Anyway, this was a big ol’ kick-ass sound at the polkafest.  Eight-Headed Combo:  Danny, Robert, Bubba, Jeffrey. Alan, Dave, Alex and me!  You shoulda been there!

Bubba will be heading up to Eureka Springs and Kansas City with us in June.  He can play bass, dance and sing, all at the same time!  Check our itinerary for performance details.

We have a new BC-Generic T-shirt.  Basic for the basics.  No surprises.  Perfect for mindless summer.  Expresses the minimum.  Beautifully unpretentious and won’t clog your brain, yet you can let everyone know, in a wonderfully subtle way, you get it.

The Machine’s Pump Volume 26 – #4 – April 2023

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Yesteryear – 25 Years ago – Denton Record Chronicle

Hello, again. It is my intention to have this newsletter written by the 15th of each month. By the 15th. Not later than the 15th. And it doesn’t really matter to anyone, but me. And it barely matters to me, other than it’s a discipline I want to honor; to capture the essence of the month, as we are solidly in it. But, as with you, in this era of endless distractions and emergencies, days tend to fly by, and before you can even make it to the grocery store, a week has disappeared. You know exactly what I mean. I don’t need to elaborate on the struggles of 2023. You got yours. I got mine. But, I do try to establish some structure to my life and getting this thing written, for whatever reason, by a certain date gives me a sense of accomplishment and allows me to scratch something off my list. And we all know how good that feels. Right? The list is my substitute brain. If it’s on the list, I don’t have to think about it. But I do need to remember to look at my list. Okay, I’m glad that paragraph’s out of the way. I have confessed my disappointment with being tardy! Good for me! I’m gonna reward myself with a cookie! In my defense, Easter happened earlier in the month, and I wrote a long piece which accompanied the release of my 16-minute protestant hymn medley. Here’s a link to that. Click on the title to read the text, which is sort of important if you are curious about why I would go to the trouble to record a very long medley of hymns, considering I’m not very religious. There is a reason, and it involves an experiment. Specifically, if one detests what many Evangelical Christians stand for, can one hear the beautiful musical elements in hymns anyway? Check it out and see what you think. If you’re like me and don’t jive with most of poor Jesus’ modern army, is that a wall between you and some basic sonic elements. Can you say, “Screw the message, but I LOVE how the melody and chords work.” By the way, musically, hymns = polkas.

Gracing the Walls of the Local Applebees

In Brave Combo World it sometimes feels like our history is too dense to see a way forward. We’ve been a “thing” for so long, it’s hard to separate our past accomplishments from our future aspirations. I often think about the first time we had a significant mention in ROLLING STONE. The feeling was beyond amazing. It felt like we’d either made it or were well on our way. And then, immediately, it seemed, a brand new ROLLING STONE was on the convenience store racks. Our issue was old news almost as soon as it was new news! We realized we had to keep the pedal to the metal and constantly seize the moment. And, apparently, we did, often more than we were aware. Our local paper, The Denton Record Chronicle just ran a 25-year-old story about our relationship with Matt Groening and THE SIMPSONS TV show. It appeared in the paper’s “Yesteryears” column.  That certainly feels like a long time ago and, yet, it feels like a month ago. Denton’s Applebee’s restaurant has a photo mural of our music scene with an image of Brave Combo playing at the Arts and Jazz Festival one year. Joe Cripps is even in the photo. And, right now, in the middle of our town

Making A Scene at the Courthouse on the Square in Denton

square, the Denton County Courthouse Museum has an exhibit about Denton music, full of cool local nostalgia, including a Brave Combo section. These are all surprising and humbling things. Most of my creative efforts have been pretty selfishly motivated, but that’s the way it has to be; to make the purest expression of what Brave Combo is or represents. To me, the band’s 44 years of existence is all stacked like pancakes and then squashed! It’s not a bad feeling because I know all the stuff that’s happened, actually happened. It’s just weird and too much, but, thankfully, in an entertaining way, sort of. My priorities are different, for sure. Brave Combo is no longer career-building, so to speak. Plenty of people know what we do and we’re easy to find. We are still playing shows, when they suit us, and things are starting to feel a little more normal, from a post-pandemic live music perspective. And we’re working on a bunch of new songs. But, sometimes, getting from here to there doesn’t sound as much fun as live-streaming something bizarre or hosting groovy little wigged-out dance parties at our studio. As you should know, I love spending time with all my animals, and they love spending time with me. I’m with a few right now. BoBo, the cat, is asleep on the printer. I can just reach out and grab his foot. Can’t do that in a van or a plane. Whatever, I’ve never been busier, but also never pickier. And I know everyone in the band feels the same way, so if we find ourselves somewhere, it’s because we want to be there!

Making a Scene at the Denton Court House Museum

Speaking of how band members feel, our woodwind shaman, Jeffrey Barnes, recently had major surgery on the vertebrae in his neck to correct some long-term issues and he’s doing very well, but the recovery/physical therapy will be long and intense, so that’s why you won’t be seeing him with the band for a few months. However, he’s upbeat and thanks everyone for the well-wishes. In the meantime, our good friend and master saxophonist from the fabulous Little Jack Melody Orchestra, Dave Monsch, has stepped in and is rocking it. Seriously. So, I’m now wondering about how to mess with that old Billy Vaughn double tenor sax harmony sound and entice Dave to stick around some once Jeff’s back in the saddle. Now THAT possibility opens up a million avenues of aural excitement and adventure. In my mind, at least.

The late famous Texas artist and my painting professor in college, Robert Wade, said to our class, on the first day we met, “Do you make art or do you make what looks like art?” That’s still one of the best questions I’ve ever heard. I remember where I was sitting in the studio, with a dumb easel in front of me, feeling pretty lost, then suddenly, I didn’t. It’s funny how those cloud-clearing moments really do happen.

NUTS AND BOLTS! As I mentioned gigs are being added to our itinerary, although we are pulling back on live shows a bit until Jeff recovers and can dance upside down, while playing two penny whistles, again. You know, normal Jeffrey. So, get up and get down. It’s a brand new bag, because it’s supposed to be and Brave Combo can’t be afraid. It’s not allowed!

 

The Machine’s Pump Volume 26 – #3 – March 2023

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Brave Combo opened for The Red Hot Chili Peppers once, in Kansas City, at a club called Parody Hall. It was Jeffrey, Bubba, Mitch and myself. We drove all the way to Kansas City to play this one gig for $500 (plus the club promised us our own headlining date in the near future). The club was packed (around 500-600 people) and the vibe was great. We played one of the weirdest shows we’ve ever played and it worked. The audience loved us. Insanely fast polkas go over really well in that kind of situation. And the Chili Peppers were, indeed, amazing. It was a rocking night and then we probably drove the eight hours home to Denton, clearing about $115 each, after paying for gas. And the club gave us our own headlining gig the next time we made it to Kansas City. I think that show was good, too, but I barely remember anything about it. The management was very nice to us. I do remember that. It’s helpful to have a good relationship with club owners, booking agents, and promoters. The manager of a club in Springfield, Missouri, I think, pulled a gun on a blues band Jeff was in, once, when they tried to get paid. A super hipster promoter/local celebrity took me into a stairwell after we played our set at the legendary Peppermint Lounge in New York City and tried to pay me less than we’d agreed on. He started acting sorta tough, but, somehow, I stood firm and got all of our money. I felt like I’d truly arrived!

Speaking of playing far away from home, we often hear from fans around the country, asking when/if we ever plan to come back to where they are. It might be New York City, Los Angeles, or Davenport, Iowa. It’s enormously gratifying to know we still have fans all over the place, eager for our return, but it’s also enormously frustrating because getting to them has become more hassle than fun, no matter how one travels. On top of that, live music, in general, has been struggling for over a decade and, of course, there’s Covid 19, which has literally, gobbled up more than three years of normal performing/touring activities. It’s been very hard to predict which shows may or may not happen and, frankly, when it would be safe for us to venture out and encourage others to come out and look at us. Bands want and need the venues to be full, so touring will be profitable, but if they’re too full, which used to be a desirable thing, someone could get sick. That’s a sucky situation. Plus traveling comfortably, with several adults who are not particularly interested in too many negative surprises, is more expensive than ever. No surprise there. So, myriad things have affected our ability to feel good about “hitting the road” again. Jeez, we even have to brace ourselves for a routine trip to Austin or Houston. There are lots of reasons the traffic might just stop, over and over, sometimes almost doubling the driving time it should take. If I could snap my fingers and be backstage at First Avenue, in Minneapolis or the Tractor Tavern, in Seattle or Fitzgerald’s, in Chicago or The Beachland Ballroom, in Cleveland, or anywhere, really, I would be there yesterday, as would everyone else in the band. We still seriously dig playing the music we play and we continue to add more groovy tunes to the repertoire. Friday’s gig at the National Accordion convention was, in my opinion, a spectacular musical happening. Unique, in many ways, just as it should have been. I wish every Brave Combo fan in the world could have been there. We were joined by two ridiculously gifted accordionists, Alex Meixner, and Cory Pesaturo and I had the pleasure of just picking out the songs, counting them off, and expressing glee as I played. Total fun. Anyway, I know we’re probably not just next door to where you live, but you really can plan a vacation around one or two of our shows. While we’re all waiting for the touring-band landscape to become more user-friendly, why not check our itinerary and make us a destination? More dates to be added soon!

Speaking of reaching the masses, WORLD CAFÉ, a long-running NPR program out of WXPN, in Philadelphia, recently showed up in Denton to interview Jeffrey and me for an upcoming feature on our musical hometown. We all hung out at the BC World Headquarters and I showed them a bunch of mannequins I bought when the local Macy’s closed down. The host, Raina, and producer, Miguel, were quite decent human beings and seemed impressed with the deal I got on the mannequins. The show will air in the middle of April. Set your watch!

I better stop writing. It’s 4:30 in the morning. Bedtime. There are some cool things coming up, live, live-streaming, and recording. By the way, don’t worry about how unsettled and bizarre the world appears to be right now. As well, try to ignore how flimsy and vulnerable everything feels and how everyone’s sorta losing it. Some night, stay up until well after midnight and drive around wherever you live. The streets will be much, much less crowded, if not empty. I often run to our office in downtown Denton after 2:00 am. I may see only four or five cars the whole time I’m out. Things are quiet. Most people have decided to become unconscious for several hours by then, always missing the best time of the day; when you can think. But what do I know. I’m just me. Goodnight. Or good morning.

 

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Westfest Grounds1110 S Main St, West, TX 76691

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Historic Downtown McKinney111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069

fri22sepAll DayMcKinney OktoberfestHistoric Downtown SquareHistoric Downtown McKinney, 111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069(All Day: friday)

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Dust off your lederhosen and tune up your yodel for this year’s Oktoberfest. McKinney Oktoberfest is a family favorite, offering authentic German music, food and drink, traditional costumes,

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Dust off your lederhosen and tune up your yodel for this year’s Oktoberfest. McKinney Oktoberfest is a family favorite, offering authentic German music, food and drink, traditional costumes, dancing, children’s activities and much more

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Historic Downtown McKinney111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069

sat23sepAll DayMcKinney OktoberfestHistoric Downtown SquareHistoric Downtown McKinney, 111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069(All Day: saturday)

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Dust off your lederhosen and tune up your yodel for this year’s Oktoberfest. McKinney Oktoberfest is a family favorite, offering authentic German music, food and drink, traditional costumes,

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Dust off your lederhosen and tune up your yodel for this year’s Oktoberfest. McKinney Oktoberfest is a family favorite, offering authentic German music, food and drink, traditional costumes, dancing, children’s activities and much more

The “beer garden” covers a total of 14 blocks throughout McKinney’s Historic Downtown square so you can enjoy all downtown McKinney has to offer with a German beer in one hand and a bratwurst in the other. McKinney Main Street, supporting sponsors and the shops in Historic Downtown McKinney host non-stop activities in the heart of our great city.
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111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069

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Frisco Square8843 Coleman Blvd., Frisco, TX 75034

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Denton's Quakertown Park and Facilities321 East McKinney (Corner of McKinney and Bell) Denton, Texas 76201

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Machine’s Pump – Latest Issue

The Machine’s Pump Volume 26 – #5 – May 2023

Jeez, May is almost over, and I am, once again, woefully behind on everything, especially getting the newsletter written and posted for your eager … [Read More...]

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