The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #10 – October 2021

THE FUTURE. I was just driving home from the Brave Combo World Headquarters in hideous downtown Denton. I say hideous because of the mangled streets, forever construction and the accompanying noise, plus the new breed of muscle cars and “rolling coal” pickup trucks which are naturally drawn to the glitz and glamour of our historical square. Maybe they’re all just protesting the removal of the confederate soldier statue. Whatever, sleepy Denton is a pretty harsh environment these days. Come and see for yourself. Or, actually, please don’t. Not right now. I know you understand. This is probably exactly what you’re experiencing wherever you are. Orange and white cones and barriers. For sure, if you drive, any direction, on your friendly neighborhood interstate highway for an hour you’ll see it and will probably get stuck in it, like molasses. But, as I was saying, I was driving home from downtown and noticed a couple of long lines of cars snaking into the parking lot of a church. People were standing at various points of the line holding signs that read “FREE FOOD / COMIDA GRATIS.” At the front of the line, volunteers were handing out boxes. I saw an old man, alone in a small car, waiting in line, who had oxygen tubes in his nose. And, of course, I felt sorry for everyone who made the decision to leave their house and drive to the church and be a part of this necessary, but sad, parade. But I was mainly struck by how worried and scared many people must be, day-in, day-out. As society appears to be crumbling, on a grand scale, many people feel this de-evolution on a personal level. Denton’s homeless problem appears to be out of control. If you don’t see it, you’re not looking. Some friends of ours are getting very close to making a difference. Check this out. 

THE MOST DENTON THING I’VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME. Denton artist/entrepreneur, Joey Liechty designed a poster promoting a fake event, DENTONPALOOZA, listing a bunch of eccentric characters unique to the Denton area. The poster was beautiful and got a lot of attention. Soon people wanted shirts of the poster AND to attend the event, itself. Here’s the poster.  So, Joey decided to get as many of the local weirdos together as possible, which he’d originally just listed off the top of his head, to perform at a real festival. It’s happening. Brave Combo was one of the lucky weirdos on the original poster, so we will be enthusiastically performing a couple of the songs while a person dressed as an albino squirrel dances with us. And this is just one performance. DENTON PALOOZA will be at Rubber Gloves (outside) on Friday, December the 3rd.

Brave Combo barely played live, in person, for 18 months. Then September and October of this year hit and we are just now wrapping up 25 shows in a little less than two months. On a couple of days we played two gigs. So, before December and the holiday shows arrive, we are taking November off and making time for rehearsing, recording, shooting new video, AND finally releasing a ton of new music! You are so lucky!!! New Brave Combo stuff is headed your way.

Speaking of that, the Atomic Cat T-shirts, in a variety of alluring colors, are returning soon to the Brave Combo store! Keep on the lookout, then buy several for Christmas presents. Perfect!

Brave Combo recorded and released an album with Tiny Tim, called GIRL, 25 years ago. It was on Rounder Records. Well, a double-LP, 25th Anniversary Celebration box set is about to be released. One LP will be the original recording and the second LP will be remixes and cutouts, including some songs and bits of songs not found on the original album. Now that is a memorable chapter in Brave Combo’s bizarre, bizarre history. More info to follow.

Speaking of bizarre history, the Covid shutdown gave me a lot of time to think; more than usual. The same as you. And thinking often leads to reflecting; looking back at one’s life and all the events in which one’s been involved. Brave Combo gives me a lot to remember. I really cannot believe we’re still around. It makes no sense. I had this idea in 1978 and, with the help of three other people who fully believed in the concept, formed a band in 1979. Within a year we were playing some of the trendiest clubs in New York City. How the hell did that happen? And, yet, it all seemed logical to us at the time. We sorta knew we were on to something and were just following every feasible opportunity. And feasible meant we would do it, wherever, whenever. We got a lot of attention immediately, somehow, and it quickly became normal for us to expect it. So when ROLLING STONE wanted to do a little piece on us with a photo, it made sense. And when we went to the East Coast for the first time and they invited us to their offices in New York City, well, that seemed normal. We said hello to Bill Murray in the elevator. When we got up to the ROLLING STONE offices, Kurt Loder showed us around and visited with us a little and we went on our way. We went back down to the street and walked several blocks to whatever club we were playing that night. But, the thing is, we didn’t know anything! We didn’t know how to do anything. We just did it and, consequently, Brave Comb built a career out of an idea. There’s no lesson here. I’ve just been trying to figure out several things and Brave Combo is one of them. Sometimes it’s simply too much to ponder.

Whew! That’s enough for now. I encourage you to check on us regularly. We are about to explode with new content! There is still so much to do. Don’t give up!