The Machine’s Pump Volume 29 – #5 – May 2026

You know, I always wondered how one person could wrangle control of an entire country, as I ponder day-to-day life in a place like Russia or North Korea. Therefore, I am super thankful to be treated to a real-time demonstration, watching our beacon-of-the-world crumble into a sad pile of corruption. Once upon a time, no one could believe so many “upstanding” citizens of a “smart” country like Germany could wind up being so morally empty and shockingly gullible and then manipulated into becoming the worst examples of human beings on the planet; to literally find joy in the suffering of innocent people. The template for the same kind of cruelty exists in the United States right now, with the added support of our own version of oligarchs. So, we have a combination of bad Germany and bad Russia brewing before our eyes. Let’s hear it for that ballroom!!! Or the new improved Kennedy Center or the kidnapping, incarceration, and even murder inflicted by ICE (green shirts, brown shirts?). Unbelievable, yet here we are, witnessing what can happen when you hand power over to a blob of 100% ego. And this new reality is turning everyone into a half-person or someone who is constantly distracted by worry, which results in having trouble fully engaging with anything. That dark cloud is always there, and it’s not only depressing but also fatiguing. How long have we been enduring this gigantic nonsense? Seems like 100 years. I am so tired of having to think about ridiculous, scary stuff. And I am sure you are, as well. Unfortunately, you can’t give in, and you can’t give up. And I know you’re sick of having to add protesting to your daily to-do list, but you must do it. Speak up constantly in small (or big) ways. Make it a fun game. Do clever things. Stay mad and think cunningly. Let anger fuel creativity. Always remember that the folks “in charge” are mainly stupid and inept. For example, ever hear of the Strait of Hormuz? Ever hear a descending slide whistle followed by a comical rim shot?

We are performing this weekend at the always fantastic National Polka Festival, in blue bonnet-beautiful Ennis, Texas, as we have since we were embryos, or so it seems. I actually went to this festival a year before Brave Combo started, just out of curiosity, because my interest in polka music was seriously revving up, but I didn’t know much about all the different styles. I even picked up a poster with all the bands and dance halls listed. Little did I know I would become friends with a lot of the polka lovers attending that day. Freaky stuff. This has been a weird-ass band with which to share my earthly existence. I have tried to figure out the magic and power of polka music, specifically, for a long, long time. But that’s just me, and I can’t explain my obsession with it. I certainly didn’t grow up with it. I was just led to it by a typical mystical force, and it, you know, pointed at some cut-out albums at a Woolworth department store. And my brain commanded me to, you know, buy about 50 of them, because they were so cheap and the album jackets were so obviously not driven by mainstream influences. This was something way more pure than that, and I got hooked immediately. The lack of pretense was especially intriguing. Whatever, I guess it paid off, and I guess I’ve found some answers to my myriad questions. And I’ve learned that good ol’ music is a mysterious force, which can move people to alter their perspectives. Good for me and everyone!

Speaking of good ol’ music being good to good ol’ Brave Combo, it appears our recording of “Who Stole the Kishka” is going to be featured in an exhibit at The Grammy Museum in Nashville for, like, three years. I get the craziest emails sometimes. We’ll post more details about this as it all becomes clear and tangible. But, yeah, it’s quite legit.

I recently found myself in a position where I had to act immediately and almost without thinking too much, to avoid something terrible. My inner voice said “Go” and I could either freeze or move, move, move. So I moved like never before, and the next few minutes were some of the most intense of my whole life, and I have, it seems, been around a while. Whatever, it involved a determined mother duck and about a dozen very little baby ducks and six lanes of packed Friday afternoon traffic. Well, the cosmos and humanity cooperated, and all of the ducks made it to their destination, and I was left drained and in disbelief and ecstatic. It’s a nice feeling knowing you made things better, not worse.

Okay, let’s see what insane stuff happens next and how it impacts art and music and free-thinking and, of course, life, in general. Get the popcorn! And always remember we are just ants!