The Machine’s Pump Volume 18 – #10 – October 2015

When Brave Combo formed in 1979, I don’t believe I even had a telephone answering machine. Tim (Walsh), fellow founding member, had one, which was good, since he did most of the booking at the time. The band’s first computer was still, at least, a decade and a half away and cell phones, years after that even, although one of the promoters who brought us to Japan in the early 90s, did present us with a state-of-the-art NEC (tour sponsor) fax machine, which seemed Jetsonian at the time. In the middle of the night we would hear the machine make noise and, magically, a piece of paper would roll out with info or questions from someone on the other side of the world. But on the road, we had to do business from pay phones, usually at truck stops; quick calls to confirm dates, inquire about dates or let a club know when we would be arriving that night. And, of course, for most of Brave Combo’s life there’s been no GPS. We used to look at a map, see how far it was from, say, Iowa City to Salt Lake City and plan accordingly. We had nothing special to help us get from here to there. And, yet, we were almost never late; usually right on time, if not early. Trips were easy to predict because we rarely experienced traffic jams anywhere. They were the exception, not the norm. The highways were so uncluttered for the most part, we regularly made time to check out roadside attractions, like THE THING? in Arizona, ROADSIDE AMERICA, in Pennyslvania and ROCK CITY, just outside Minneapolis, Kansas. It was a time to feel groovy! Somewhere between the black and white Rat Pack days of Las Vegas and the current Disneyland-overkill creature it has become, one could take a leisurely stroll down the strip and zip into cool little lounges and casinos without having to claw through endless throngs of tourists or worry about getting run over. I remember playing at the original Lone Star Cafe in New York City and finding a parking spot right in front of the club, as we arrived for sound check. It was no big deal. Almost nothing was a big deal, actually. Now, in 2015, going from Denton to just about anywhere can be a stupidly big deal, especially Dallas or Ft. Worth or any location on the other side of either, like Austin or Houston. I know Texas is not unique in this respect, although an over abundance of giant pickups does enhance the misery. Debilitating road construction and an absurdly high number of cars and trucks, of which we are certainly one, are just about everywhere and make the process of travel tricky at best. On top of that, “airplane” is the definition of “big ass drag” for a band like us. It’s never worry-free when flying with guitars, horns and accordions. Plus, once we reach our destination we often have to rent vehicles and stage gear, like amps and drums. This can get prohibitively expensive, unless the client is covering some basics, so driving almost always makes the most sense, financially and logistically. The transformation from then to now mainly sucks because the open road was such a cool thing, with weird adventures and corny opportunities popping up on a regular basis. Getting somewhere really was half the fun. The deterioration of our special secret world was gradual. Like everything age-related, one doesn’t notice something changing until it’s too late. Then it’s shocking (Where did all of the mom-and-pop motels go?). Jeez, just a round trip to our local vet, which happens embarrassingly often, takes about 45 minutes. This is just for driving and doesn’t include sitting in the waiting room, the examination, or me showing the vet all of our fantastic new cat and dog photos. I have an amazing video of Spunky (cat) drinking water off the bathroom cabinet top. And one of Eddy (cat) demanding to be fed. And one of Stacie (cat) demanding to be fed. And a few hundred more almost as good as those.

Speaking of obsessive collecting, my stash of vinyl (12 inch and 7 inch) is sort of impressive, volume-wise. I have a fair number of collectible recordings, but mostly I buy things that look like they’re not trying to compete with the mainstream. This is what led me to the very first polka albums I bought; a curiosity about the unknown. But, of course, I was also drawn to the music because it appeared to exist without sarcasm or irony or too much self-awareness. It simply was what it was. So I purchased a ton of albums and wasted no time trying to corrupt polka via the very things it was missing in the first place. It’s sad, but true. The earliest Brave Combo music was a combination of innocently square and wisely clever. Anyway, I still can’t control my vinyl addiction. Just the other day I picked up the following albums at the local Goodwill store for $1.59 each.
THE BRILLIANT SOUNDS OF PIANO AND PERCUSSION by Caesar Giovannini
SAIL ALONG SILV’RY MOON by Billy Vaughn
DAS EDELWEISS-LIED by Das Schonste Blumerl auf der Welt
ARTHUR MURRAY FAVORITE FOX TROTS by Ray Anthony
ALL TIME GYPSY FAVORITES by The Riviera Orchestra
THE STRIPPER by Si Zentner
BOLERO EN SAX by Quinteto de Bob Fleming
INFINITY IN SOUND by Esquivel
RAGTIME PIANO GAL by Jo Ann Castle
So, I have my listening cut out for me. Below is a YouTube video of an Arthur Murray classic to give you an idea what lies ahead for me. Party time!

The long-awaited video of the Brave Combo song, “The Everything,” from THE LIMINAL ZONE, is finished! We are releasing it in a matter of days, if not hours. You are about to see it! The moment is very close! Prepare yourself!

Okay, Oktoberfest 2015 is now a thing of the past. Next stop, holiday music! We’ll be taking a break from performing most of November and then it’s time to think red and green for a month. Take a deep breath and get ready. The future is just around the corner and it’s likely to be an exaggerated version of the present, which might sound pretty bleak, but we still have polka. And, like with all music, one might have to listen to a few tracks before a song speaks to you. But if you submit and allow it to do its thing, you won’t be sorry.