The Machine’s Pump Volume 29 – #9 – September 2026

POLKA SEASON
Of course, anytime is a good time for a polka, but the months of September and October are prime time! And not just for the myriad Oktoberfests, which do pop up, literally, everywhere. Czech Fests, Slovenian Fests, Polish Fests, Slavic Fests, and others generally happen with more frequency once the brutal temperatures of summer start to settle down. The polka is lively. Even a medium tempo waltz can be quite lively. Don’t confuse a waltz with a slow dance. I know a lot about polkas. Most polka musicians who play regularly know a lot about the genre. Many know much more than I do. It’s an interesting, insulated world with its own ecosystem, so to speak. My relationship to the broad musical genre, known as “polka,” is very personal and sorta hard to explain and even harder to understand, I’m sure. It mainly has to do with just the music. I dig the form, in every style. There are great polka compositions and performances in all shapes and sizes. And there are lots of mediocre and terrible ones, too, as with any form of music. And, as I’ve mentioned many times, I’m certainly respectful and extremely curious about where unique, innovative music might come from, but I’m not a heritage freak, so all the traditions and clothes and food and beer and various “attachments” to a specific genre of music don’t get my attention much. And, since I also don’t eat meat and drink very little alcohol (two beers is flirting with a headache) and don’t pay much attention to what costumes people are wearing, the music is about all that’s left. And I am over-the-top, unshakably focused on that. Definitely obsessed, but in a good way, I hope. And I’m okay with the community aspect of polka events, as long as it doesn’t turn tribal. But mainly I just believe there is magic and power in the construction of the basic elements of music. And there are many ways to present those elements. And I am always trying to maximize the communication of that mysterious power. But, really, all I know is that music turns me on and it appears to do the same to vast numbers of people.

As far as I can tell there are three primary places/ways to experience live polka, if you exclude fringe stuff like a Catholic polka mass. 1. Traditional dance/concert at a club or festival, where dancing is the most important thing. 2. Polka punk events, at clubs, concerts and festivals, where there is plenty of dancing but it’s a more disorganized/mosh pit thing and as much rock as polka (but the two scenes blend beautifully, musically and conceptually). 3. Oktoberfests (German/Austrian-based), which are not much focused on the dancing, but more like high-energy carnivals with lots of colorful distractions like alpen horn demonstrations, dachshund races and drinking games. Brave Combo is lucky. Party!! We can feel pretty comfortable in most polka settings. We tend to shy away from any predictably overt novelty stuff and we don’t ever dress the part. Sorry. We just look like Brave Combo. For me, as you know, black shirt, black jeans and probably a hat. And this is part of our commitment to keeping the eye on the music, but we don’t want our actions to be interpreted as judging others for what they do. To each his own. We don’t care and there’s no time for any nonsense like that. We’re just doing our thing because it’s what we are and it seems to be working well enough. However, I know Brave Combo has rubbed many “purists” the wrong way over the decades. To many, we’ve been a very hard pill to swallow for lots of reasons, one of the main being that bands like Brave Combo always run the risk of being viewed as pirates and exposing secrets to the masses. But that is way too much to worry about and I have too many cats to tend to, anyway. I dare you to ask me about that side of my life. You’ll get more info than you bargained for. I have lots to say about how humans treat animals, but this is a family show, right? I’ll keep it light. Maybe throw in a little more novelty than usual.

First Publicity Photo

Here is Brave Combo’s first publicity photo. Lyle, Tim, Dave (now Lisa), and me. Still in regular contact with all three of these guys. Just recorded an album with Lisa. Party!

One more thing. I know our sad ol’ country is all screwed up right now, and it’s hard to believe the forces of evil can be so grotesquely obvious, yet still be allowed to continue. But this is where we are and what we have so deftly created, as proud, exceptional Americans. Whatever, when the dust settles, and the darkness has successfully eaten itself, we’ll need to adjust several things and then see if anyone else in the world still wants to play with us.

Okay, check our itinerary and come out and experience the magic and mystery of Brave Combo. It would be pretty cool if we were all magicians and not musicians and were constantly performing five different tricks at once, to a soundtrack of polka music, of course. Ever heard of Vick Lawston?  Don’t be scared!