The Machine’s Pump Volume 27 – #2 – February 2024

Okay, I think I get it! It’s all coming together, after decades of wandering, wondering, and watching. You don’t want to hear every conclusion I’ve come to. You have many better things to do and it’s not my place to help you create your reality, but I can tell you this. It’s time to stop trusting any voice but your own. Stop worrying about what others think and think for yourself. And make lists. And don’t forget to look at your lists periodically. They’re useless, otherwise. My lists are usually way too long. I’m always overly optimistic about what I can accomplish in a day. But I’m also quick to recognize when I’m an idiot and try to laugh at myself rather than deliberately run my car over the next person I see.

Speaking of driving, the traffic lights, around the square, in downtown Denton, are a drag. It takes forever to make one orbit around the courthouse, because there are too many people having fun, enjoying a vibrant, happy environment. You know, I wish everyone the best and hope life showers all human beings in Denton with bountiful rewards and then they move to Dallas. Jane, my wife, and I went shopping at a normally-packed Kroger during the Superbowl. Almost no one else was there. Our shopping experience was rather pleasant, actually. We strolled luxuriously empty aisle, after empty aisle and marveled at our brilliant strategy, high-fiving at every turn, as if we were in a commercial about living the good life in an upscale retirement community. We were sorry we missed the halftime concert, though. We heard that all of the arena’s ushers sang some pretty songs about sex while the main usher roller-skated with a seriously drunk Taylor Swift. But it didn’t matter. We had jaunty grocery store music.

I always wanted to play the shopping music at a grocery store, live, from a stock/storage room in the back, through their sound system, while people perused the shelves, totally unaware that the music they were ignoring was being created on the spot, with their indifference in mind. This is where I’m headed, musically. I used to see Don Henley play pretty regularly at a department store in Texarkana when I was in my early teens. His band, The Four Speeds, would set up their gear in the record section of the store every few weeks, on a Saturday afternoon. They would promote their 45 rpm 7-inch singles, released on Crabbe Records. A friend of the band, named Harold Crabbe owned the little label out of Linden, Texas, which was about 40 miles from Texarkana. My father knew Harold Crabbe’s father somehow. I tried to talk to Don Henley on occasion, but he was probably around 18 or 19 and way too cool for me and I didn’t know what to say to older kids, anyway. But he could sing extremely well while he played drums. That was impressive. I bought their records and still have them. A few years ago, Brave Combo opened a show for Richard Thompson, the legendary British guitarist, and Don Henley was backstage. So, I took the opportunity to say hi and ask him about Harold Crabbe and he got sorta animated and said he had just spoken to Harold. He was a lot nicer that night than when I was 13.

Don’t freak out but it’s still winter and the temperature in Denton, Texas was 94 degrees a couple of days ago. I don’t want to think about this summer. And don’t bring up Christian Nationalism, either. Or Rush Limbaugh’s ghost! I wonder what he’ll come back as, cause I guarantee you he’s coming back. He has to try again.

MUSIC ALERT! Speaking of unseasonably mild weather, my band, Brave Combo, will be playing outside, at the grand opening of a Three Wide Brewing in far north Fort Worth, Texas (near the Texas Motor Speedway), Saturday night, March 2, at 7:30. You should mosey over and twist your mind around the grooviness of life. These are super nice folks. Come out and wish them luck.

Although we’re on a bit of a break right now, not performing live much, things are starting to percolate a little. So much to do and so many new sounds to make. There’s a lot of power in music, as you know, and it’s fun to see what you can get away with. I always try to be responsible.

It’s a short month and a short newsletter and I have to check on several animals before I can call it a night. And each one of God’s little precious gifts will have his/her own agenda. A few will not be reasonable. But that’s part of the fun, right. Maintain your sanity and integrity and sense of humor. You’ll need them all in the coming months.