The Machine’s Pump Volume 19 – #7 – July 2016

One thing this election is teaching me is just how gullible a whole lot of “Christians” are. Man, if someone just uses a few buzz words, even incorrectly, a big ol’ flock of sheep will follow like rats and the pied piper. How else can one explain Trump’s appeal to the supposed Jesus followers? He’s, obviously, never read or attempted to understand The Bible. And it’s interesting that he baits his masses with fear, which I thought had no place in religion. I was taught, in a Southern Baptist environment that Jesus and his Dad are, indeed, your escape from fear. All a believer needs, I thought, was faith in the two of them. In fact, despite all of the bad stuff going on, professed Christians should be the happiest folks around. Jeez, their religion practically demands it, so that all non-believers will want the bliss they have. Shouldn’t the true worshipers of the Messiah be the most open-minded and least judgmental of us all? And shouldn’t those people also be the most-filled with, and expressive of, the whole peace and love thing? It’s weird that the two recent political conventions came off so differently. One appeared to be the party of despair and the other, the party of hope. It breaks down like this. A majority of right-leaning Christians in the USA are only into doom and gloom, no matter what their savior said. And the “atheists,” on the left, preach togetherness, forgiveness, equality and JOY! I wonder which group Jesus would want to hang with.

As I said, I spent a large percentage of my formative years in and around the First Baptist Church, in East Texas. You really can’t get much more conservative and bible-thumping than that, so I know what I’m talking about, and I don’t remember everyone feeling so threatened by the unknown in those days (except for the Communists who wanted to burn us alive). Of course, we were all lily white and pretty unaware of what was happening, literally, on the other side of the tracks, but I know I was encouraged, by my parents and Sunday School teachers, to be accepting and tolerant of unfamiliar lifestyles and beliefs, except for the ones driven by hate. In those days, the KKK was already bad news. There was no place, in the 1950s and 1960s, for half of what Donald Trump has spouted in his scary climb to the top. Racist White Supremacists were being ostracized from society, not welcomed into it. Many of the Don’s current supporters would have been shocked and repulsed by his rhetoric in “the good ol’ days.” I guess, if one is vulnerable, insecure or impressionable, he or she can easily be duped by a con man, and not a particularly good one, at that, apparently. I will say, it is somewhat pathetically funny to watch how often stumbling, babbling Republicans have to nervously answer for Trump’s idiotic statements. More and more, they’re all looking like deer in the headlights. At least it appears the smart ones are finally bailing before their credibility is totally destroyed. Boy, oh boy. To sum it up. All a modern Christian needs, to feel at peace, is the belief in God, faith in Jesus and good sidearm. I can’t take credit for that last statement, by the way.

GOP JOKE
Ted Cruz: Vote your conscience.
Convention attendees: Boo! Boo! Go to hell! Fuck you! Boo!

Well, to be honest, I don’t know that much about politics, but I do know a lot about life, common sense and…..polka! What about polka confuses you? Curious about anything? Are you one of those music fans who would like to understand the difference between honky-style polkas and push-style polkas? I can help you with that. Have you heard of Chicken Scratch-style polka? Do you wonder where and when the first polka was danced? When you do something for 37 years you just learn things; a little bit every day. Anyway, I guess the people at the magazine, TEXAS POLKA NEWS, felt I deserved the front page of the current issue and several pages inside, including a bunch of photos. I’m humbled and a little embarrassed by the abundance of attention, but I’m also grateful that Theresa and Gary, at the paper, dig my music and my efforts to bring polka to the masses. Find a copy and learn more about me than you ever wanted to know. POLKA ON!

Speaking of polka, one of Brave Combo’s biggest influences, Dave “Scrubby” Sewerniak, died recently. From Buffalo, New York, Scrubby and his band, the Dynatones, propelled Polish-American music to new heights, by incorporating a slower-than usual, grinding groove and explosive bass and drum punctuations, with aggressive bellow shaking. The band was funkier and more rocking than their peers, injecting moments of emotional intensity throughout every song. And Scrubby orchestrated it all. At a Dynatone’s show, all eyes were on the master showman and concertina player who also had a distinctively beautiful voice and could wrap any audience around his pinky at will. Perhaps the most unique aspect about Scrubby, though, was that he was openly gay within a world one wouldn’t imagine being exactly accepting of such a thing. Here’s a joke, based on a story I’ve heard from many friends in the polka world. Rest in peace, Scrubby.

SCRUBBY JOKE
Scrubby, with a heavy heart and near-crippling trepidation, feels like he can no longer go on, living a lie among his Catholic polka friends, fans and family. So, in the middle of a Dynatones dance concert, Scrubby makes a serious announcement.
Scrubby: I have something I need to get off my chest and share with all of you here today. This may come as a shock for some of you, but I am a gay man!
Audience member (after a brief, but awkward silence): What are you going to play now, Scrubby?

And here’s the song that turned Brave Combo’s world upside down about 30 years ago. It’s called, “Zosia,” by the Dynatone’s, from Buffalo, New York.
Okay, folks. Let’s stop fretting so much and return to the power of polka. Let the tension and release work for you. You won’t regret it. We, Brave Combo, are taking a vacation for about a month (Robert and his wife just had their first baby, so he’s on paternity leave, Danny is taking his family to South Texas to swim in contaminated water, as I understand it, Lyle is heading to Kansas City to meet with family and spread his mom’s ashes, Alan is inventing new things to do with drums and I will be home improving, I hope, and making life as easy as possible for my dogs and cats). We return to the magnetic stage of mystery, at Dan’s (Denton) on August 27, actually, for an animal shelter benefit. Then things rev up again with a bunch of groovy shows scheduled for the fall. So, rest up and then get ready to explode, baby!