The Machine’s Pump Volume 27 – #8 – August 2024

POLKAMANIA. It was recently brought to my attention that Brave Combo recorded its first record, a double 7-inch vinyl EP, called POLKAMANIA, 45 years ago this month (August 1979). We had a bunch pressed and then printed and assembled the black and white jackets ourselves. And we made little displays, which held about 20 copies each, of the release, and placed them around Denton, beside as many cash registers as possible. And to our surprise, they sold like crazy. Not only were we pleased that folks liked our music, but our goofy idea seemed to be working, as well. It was exciting. I remember recording the tracks at Bruce Ballentine’s house on West Hickory. We set up in his living room. It was a blast, and the sound was pretty decent. It was the first incarnation of Brave Combo, a band which, honestly, has lasted about 40 years longer than I thought would be possible, especially since we had no idea what we were doing, other than we wanted to play polkas and other non-mainstream music, in a rocking, but non-mainstream way.

There were four of us, Tim Walsh, Lyle Atkinson, Dave “Tito” Cameron (now Lisa Cameron), and me. We called our bold sound, nuclear polka, and, on occasion, new clear polka. Brave Combo gave us a chance to be stupidly clever and cleverly stupid and we quickly realized we were actually making fans and money. And getting a lot of media attention. It was ridiculous. Quite suddenly we were on our way to New York City, to open a show for fellow Texans, Joe “King” Carrasco and The Crowns and, unbelievably, ROLLING STONE printed a blurb, in Kurt Loder’s column, about us turning “Purple Haze” and “People Are Strange” into polkas, just as we were hitting the road. WTF? That certainly didn’t hurt our cause. Man, oh man, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And what made it all even more inexplicable, is that the four of us were really dorky and dangerously innocent. Oddly enough, though, we soon discovered most of the musicians we encountered and shared the stage with, everywhere we went, including the punk bands, were dorks, too. And the agents and managers were dorks. And the club owners were dorks. And the rock writers/critics were also dorks. So, that was nice to discover. And all of us fake hipsters around the country, even in our haze of self-consciousness and insecurity, were just trying to create something new AND different.

A whole bunch of stuff has happened since 1979, that’s for sure. And almost everything has changed, including my priorities. I was once seriously devoted to career building. Not anymore, Baby. I rarely think about it now, unless an especially interesting project floats my way and I’m not too busy keeping too many animals alive at the time. I’m not worried about having to prove anything to anyone, anymore, which is great, since I’m not likely to get better looking. I’m just me and the world can take me or leave me. I’m totally cool either way. And, although it’s fun and funny to look back on occasion, I’m not much driven by nostalgia. I’m delighted that Brave Combo has provided me with zillions of fantastic moments, over the eons, but I don’t want to repeat any of them, not even the best ones, including making this snazzy video for our Japanese record company, NEC Records, around 1989. The song is “Money Can’t Buy Everything,” originally by Lenny Gomulka and The Chicago Push. This is Bubba, Mitch, Jeffrey and me, Brave Combo’s second wave.

And another musical walk down memory lane.

Speaking of the past and the present, Lisa Cameron (our first drummer), Jad Fair (look him up), and I, are wrapping up a new album. Basic tracks are finished on about 25 brand-new songs. Please reserve a place in your brain for this. More news as it develops.

THE BEAT GOES ON! Guess what? It’s festival season and polka season. Oktoberfests, which are the ultimate pop-ups, are, literally, popping up everywhere now. I don’t know how much you think about polka music, but it’s on my mind often. Has been for over 45 years, apparently; a constant in my life, like dogs and cats. So, you should check our itinerary today and every day. Myriad opportunities to bask in the glow of our stunning beauty and to hear our glorious sound await you.

Okay, that’s enough, for now. Thank you for reading to the end and have a perfect day!