The Machine’s Pump Volume 20 – #10 – October 2017
On our country’s political front, so much stupid stuff is happening, with such frequency, it’s almost not worth commenting anymore. You know the score by now anyway. Nothing should surprise any of us. We are, indeed, living in Bizarro World. And I’m talking specifically about that alternative/opposite reality in the old Superman comics, right about the time the magazine was, for sure, jumping the shark. My brother bought DC (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, etc.) and I, being four years younger, bought Marvel (Spiderman, Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Daredevil, etc.). I can remember reading those ridiculous Bizarro stories (the characters looked like chiseled stone versions of all the main folks, including Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen) and realizing, as just a wee lad, how horrible they were, wondering how anyone could take them seriously. Clark Kent’s world wasn’t totally realistic like Peter Parker’s was. Spiderman was simple and intelligently geared to teenage boys who still had hope. Superman was written for older kids who were getting bored with all of that superhero crap and were starting to see how much life actually sucks. None-the-less, as I was saying, we are living in Bizarro World. Good ideas have been replaced by bad ones. Intelligence is being challenged by ignorance. Hate is itching to replace love. Love is for sissies. Real men and their bawdy wenches know how to hate. Is anyone out there studying hate addiction? Is there hate management, like anger management? Sometimes I think there’s a connection between hate and laziness. It’s easier to complain and find fault than it is to work at making something better, right? It seems the “smart” people are always better at pointing out problems than offering solutions.
Polka season is wrapping up and winding down and I gotta say we have certainly played a lot of polkas the last couple of months. I’d say about 3 million. Or is that how many people showed up? Whatever, it’s been a blast, but now it’s time to take a little break and get ready for the December holiday shows, all of which will include Jeffrey Barnes. I’ve noticed one month always leads to the next month and before long it’s time for “Must Be Santa” again. Time is kinda creepy and unsettling. What else is new.
Speaking of passing time, our beloved friend and former bandmate, Joe Cripps, has been missing for a year now. This is an eternal dark cloud hanging over lots of folks around here. He was last seen at a club in Little Rock. That’s all anyone knows, except for someone who knows more. A concert in his honor is happening on his birthday, January 5, 2018, at Dan’s Silverleaf, in Denton. It will feature myriad musical figures from Joe’s life, including Brave Combo. More details to come, as they develop.
We are definitely going into the studio very soon to record some of our current fave songs because the youngster in our band, Robert, is moving to Los Angeles in a few days and we want to get these groovy tunes well-documented before he splits. Alyse, Robert’s wife, already has a job waiting, so this is happening fast. We’re gonna miss him tremendously, of course. He’s an amazing musician and his head is in exactly the right place for Brave Combo. He achieved the impossible, in my opinion, while he was in the band and we all wish him and his family the best, as they start a brand new adventure. This means, once again, Brave Combo faces the process of reinventing itself, which is both hard to fathom and exciting. Everything in the music world is in serious flux anyway and it’s always a challenge to stay relevant, even in what we once called normal times. For Brave Combo, though, perhaps it’s a little easier than most since we have never been relevant. That’s not a put-down, by the way.
One more thing. We are doing two big nights at Fitzgerald’s in Chicago this year (holiday shows on December 15 and 16) and since Bill Fitzgerald is retiring and the future of the club is in question, this could be your last chance to catch the best Christmas dance party on the planet. Frosty’s last ride? A word to the wise.
That’s enough for now. Please check our itinerary often and don’t forget to order your new Brave Combo Stress Ball, available soon from the BC store. We have them at the live shows already. So come out and relax!