O, Happy Days Are (almost) Here Again! Finally, some good news! Wanna hear?

1. The Blue Wave actually happened! Big time! The day of reckoning is just around the corner. A lot of very angry folks are about to take power.
2. Gun sales are way down. The NRA is losing members. Sporting goods stores are reporting declining sales of weaponry.
3. As well, Christian evangelical churches are losing their congregations. The “faithful” are bailing. Gee, I wonder why.
4. Also, as well, the Republican Party is dwindling daily. The Grand Old Party of Old Grandpas appears to be fracturing and in danger of going away, taking the Tea Partiers with it.
5. Right-wing talk show agitators and hate spewers, Michael Savage (not his real name) and Laura Ingraham are leaving the radio airwaves, moving to podcasts. WTF? This is seriously significant. Their listeners must not be listening anymore.
6. The chances of building “The Wall” are looking slimmer and slimmer.

We just might be seeing a return to sanity, decency, and civility. Jeez, I’ll take two outta three and feel tired of winning! I’m calling this Spunky’s Revenge. Only a handful of people will know what this means. It’s a big deal to me and that’s all that matters. If things go as I hope and anticipate they will, grab the popcorn, sit back and enjoy. There’s a chance we’re all about to witness an amazing, cathartic event, a lot of it in real time. I know, I know. I could also be disappointed and not quite as entertained by the unfolding of stuff as I’d hoped, but it looks like the Democrats in the House are smelling blood AND a lot of fear. Confident, laser-focused and ready to rumble.  Yep, suddenly it feels like a good time to be alive.

A Favorite Memory: As a grade-schooler, sitting in the back seat of the family car, riding home from church on a Sunday night, looking into the darkness, hearing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” on the radio for the first time. That iconic guitar against the perfect bass line. Brand new sound. Brand new dark sound. Scary, actually, like a cool horror movie, which, for me, would have been the pinnacle of cool, at that time. The Rolling Stones were the monster movie of rock. That song opened up the world just a little more. It was so different, almost difficult to decipher but intoxicating, as well. As a performer, I’ve never imagined myself a Mick Jagger or Keith Richards type. That wouldn’t have been authentic for me, but I admire someone’s ability to capture a moment and enhance the specialness of that moment by creating something unique which gives it significance. I wonder what I did when we got home from church. I’m pretty sure, at 9:30, we watched WHAT’S MY LINE? on TV.

A long-time good friend of Brave Combo from Oklahoma City, Tom Lampe, passed away recently. He totally got us and never hesitated to show his enthusiasm for our twisted view of reality. He would often show up at gigs with boxes of homemade cookies and would always be the first person on the dance floor, especially if we were playing a polka or cumbia. Anyway, I talked to him just a few weeks ago and he was in pretty good spirits, fully accepting of his imminent end. We always laughed a lot and this call was no exception. He would hate knowing I wrote this for the newsletter. It would embarrass him. But he would love it, as well. So, here you go, Tom. Sorry if this makes you cringe. It was a pleasure knowing you.

Another long-time friend of Brave Combo, Beatle Bob, from St. Louis, recently attended his 8000th live music show, without taking a single day off. Are you catching this? Beatle Bob has gone out to hear 8000 performers, without taking a break. I know many of the events were festivals, where one would hear several bands in one sitting, but even figuring that in he has kept this up for about 20 years. On top of this, he’s a prolific pop culture writer and, I think, has a regular job, too. Beatle Bob (and my brother, Jimmy, and about 20 other people) was at Brave Combo’s first show in St. Louis, over 30 years ago. Congratulations, Bob! So sorry you have to keep this up indefinitely.

Yep, its that “most wonderful time” of the year again. We have been rehearsing all of the holiday favorites and by the end of December, we will feel like we never want to hear these songs again. You really do need an eleven-month break from this stuff. It’s all so concept-specific. One summer night we were performing at a club in a small town in The Netherlands and the audience was particularly young and snotty and drunk (sixteen is legal). So, of course, in our attempt to connect with them, musically, we played all Christmas music, which went over very well for about 10 minutes. Then they got upset and belligerent, which made us feel even more in the holiday spirit. We had volume on our side. They would have hated anything, so we figured they might as well hate something they sorta knew. Merry Christmas!

Speaking of all things seasonal, we are re-releasing our classic album, IT’S CHRISTMAS, MAN, in its original form, just in time for you to fill those empty stockings. Please visit our merchandise store and stock up. But do it quickly. This is a limited-time offer, as they say on those pesky commercials, which are exactly like what I’m doing right now. Whatever, don’t blow this, cause when they’re gone, they’re gone. That’s another popular phrase from those TV ads. I am quite a salesman. How many cats do you need?

Okay, if you are in the North Texas area (Andy’s, Poor David’s. Dan’s), the St. Louis area (Kirkwood Station), the Chicago area (Fitzgerald’s), please come out and party with us and bring us Christmas presents! Check our itinerary now and often. In the meantime, be a good neighbor, a thoughtful driver and a friend to the animals. If you see a dog or a cat in need, don’t turn your back and assume someone else will help it. Do something. You’ll be glad you did.

I am so tired of thinking too much. I’m so tired of checking the news to see what new depressing thing has happened. I’m so tired of trying to wrap my head around the thought processes of evangelical Christians. I’m so tired of disliking others because they’re idiots. It feels like, in 2016, we all moved to a weird, distorted version of where we had been living. Indeed, something has allowed, even encouraged, the worst side of humanity to rise to the surface and feel just fine about it. October has been a horrific month in the USA. I guess the killing of eleven people in a synagogue is part of making America great again. I feel like we are witnessing the dissolving of American society and the de-evolving of humanity. The explosion of social media, a platform designed to “unite” us, has mainly been about the explosion of ego. Me against you. Now that Pandora’s Box is wide open, a dangerous, fear-spewing monster has been put in charge of the country. I just need to figure out a way to embrace all the crazy stuff going on and be thankful and honored to be living in such a bizarre, volatile, out-of-control era; to be alive at the actual tipping point of climate change. And to actually see the USA flirt with becoming controlled by right-wing nationalism. How special is that? No matter what, I have to stay a little attached to this ridiculous realm. I still have to write up contracts and make business phone calls. I have to set up gear and plug in cables. I have to pay bills and drive within the lanes. Friends and family, including lots of animals, depend on me every day. So, there are many reasons I must keep it together. But it’s become harder to find anchors; reliable stuff. And we’re all learning too much about how to con people and how to live comfortably with lies. Okay, now I am tired of this paragraph. Jeez, go vote!

Check out this song, “Shprayz Ikh Mir,” by the Klezmatics. Viva music of immigrants!

Hmmm, David Byrne is about to release the entire TRUE STORIES movie soundtrack, including the stuff I wrote and recorded. That explains why Warner Music has been calling and sending me forms to fill out. Okay, that’s very good news.

LET’S not POLKA! The 2018 polka-blitz season has officially come to a close. This was one intense bunch of gigs! So many notes! Thank you to all who came out to our shows and dances and got down with us.

Did you know that a classic line-up of Brave Combo has been performing together most of this year and will continue to do so in November and December? I’m talking about Jeffrey, Bubba, Danny, Alan and myself. The five of us recorded two Grammy-winning albums not too long ago. Don’t know what 2019 will bring, so you should scramble to check us out before the year (or time) comes to an end. Hear songs you haven’t heard in a long-ass time or maybe ever.

Speaking of classic Brave Combo, our beloved musical brother and long-time BC member, Joe Cripps, has been missing for two years. It’s just as hard to believe now as it was in October of 2016. I can’t believe Joe hasn’t been around since the presidential election. Man, oh man, he would have had some choice words for certain people in high places. We all miss him and hope we can, someday, know exactly what happened.

Speaking of the past, above is a gig photo we unearthed from the 1990s. Over the decades Brave Combo has performed at, perhaps, hundreds of wedding parties. One time we were playing such an event in Dallas and the groom asked if his dad could sit in on a few songs. Of course, we said yes. It’s his wedding. The father turned out to be Roger McGuinn of The Byrds. So, indeed, we played a mini-set of his hits. From left-to-right, it’s Jeffrey, Bubba, Roger, Mitch (on drums in the back) and me on piano. We were so cool at that moment. All five of us!

Please check our itinerary often. Dates pop in when you least expect it. Of course, holiday shows are around the corner. Make your plans now!

Also, my new side project, The Carl Finch Sound, will be performing one more fabulous show this year, in Denton, at LSA (south side of the downtown square), on Thursday, November 8. I have been in the studio recording new material from this endeavor and hope to release it, with videos, early 2019. As well, good ol’ Brave Combo has recorded several new tracks, including our latest version of “The Clarinet Polka,” featuring Robert Hokamp flying though the melody on guitar. I gotta get busy and pull this stuff together.

And speaking of good ol’ Brave Combo, next year, 2019, will mark 40 years of nuclear polka. I may not ever mention that again or we could wind up throwing a bunch of celebratory bashes. I can’t really dwell on this too much, though. Not yet. But I’ll probably get myself psyched up for it. It’s no big deal, really. I mean, it’s not like it will be our 43rd year or anything like that. Everybody calm down.

For now, let’s focus on the present and what’s right in front of us. If you have not voted, do it now! Then go have a nice dinner.