The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #10 – October 2021

THE FUTURE. I was just driving home from the Brave Combo World Headquarters in hideous downtown Denton. I say hideous because of the mangled streets, forever construction and the accompanying noise, plus the new breed of muscle cars and “rolling coal” pickup trucks which are naturally drawn to the glitz and glamour of our historical square. Maybe they’re all just protesting the removal of the confederate soldier statue. Whatever, sleepy Denton is a pretty harsh environment these days. Come and see for yourself. Or, actually, please don’t. Not right now. I know you understand. This is probably exactly what you’re experiencing wherever you are. Orange and white cones and barriers. For sure, if you drive, any direction, on your friendly neighborhood interstate highway for an hour you’ll see it and will probably get stuck in it, like molasses. But, as I was saying, I was driving home from downtown and noticed a couple of long lines of cars snaking into the parking lot of a church. People were standing at various points of the line holding signs that read “FREE FOOD / COMIDA GRATIS.” At the front of the line, volunteers were handing out boxes. I saw an old man, alone in a small car, waiting in line, who had oxygen tubes in his nose. And, of course, I felt sorry for everyone who made the decision to leave their house and drive to the church and be a part of this necessary, but sad, parade. But I was mainly struck by how worried and scared many people must be, day-in, day-out. As society appears to be crumbling, on a grand scale, many people feel this de-evolution on a personal level. Denton’s homeless problem appears to be out of control. If you don’t see it, you’re not looking. Some friends of ours are getting very close to making a difference. Check this out.

THE MOST DENTON THING I’VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME. Denton artist/entrepreneur, Joey Liechty designed a poster promoting a fake event, DENTONPALOOZA, listing a bunch of eccentric characters unique to the Denton area. The poster was beautiful and got a lot of attention. Soon people wanted shirts of the poster AND to attend the event, itself. Here’s the poster. So, Joey decided to get as many of the local weirdos together as possible, which he’d originally just listed off the top of his head, to perform at a real festival. It’s happening. Brave Combo was one of the lucky weirdos on the original poster, so we will be enthusiastically performing a couple of the songs while a person dressed as an albino squirrel dances with us. And this is just one performance. DENTON PALOOZA will be at Rubber Gloves (outside) on Friday, December the 3rd.

Brave Combo barely played live, in person, for 18 months. Then September and October of this year hit and we are just now wrapping up 25 shows in a little less than two months. On a couple of days we played two gigs. So, before December and the holiday shows arrive, we are taking November off and making time for rehearsing, recording, shooting new video, AND finally releasing a ton of new music! You are so lucky!!! New Brave Combo stuff is headed your way.

Speaking of that, the Atomic Cat T-shirts, in a variety of alluring colors, are returning soon to the Brave Combo store! Keep on the lookout, then buy several for Christmas presents. Perfect!

Brave Combo recorded and released an album with Tiny Tim, called GIRL, 25 years ago. It was on Rounder Records. Well, a double-LP, 25th Anniversary Celebration box set is about to be released. One LP will be the original recording and the second LP will be remixes and cutouts, including some songs and bits of songs not found on the original album. Now that is a memorable chapter in Brave Combo’s bizarre, bizarre history. More info to follow.

Speaking of bizarre history, the Covid shutdown gave me a lot of time to think; more than usual. The same as you. And thinking often leads to reflecting; looking back at one’s life and all the events in which one’s been involved. Brave Combo gives me a lot to remember. I really cannot believe we’re still around. It makes no sense. I had this idea in 1978 and, with the help of three other people who fully believed in the concept, formed a band in 1979. Within a year we were playing some of the trendiest clubs in New York City. How the hell did that happen? And, yet, it all seemed logical to us at the time. We sorta knew we were on to something and were just following every feasible opportunity. And feasible meant we would do it, wherever, whenever. We got a lot of attention immediately, somehow, and it quickly became normal for us to expect it. So when ROLLING STONE wanted to do a little piece on us with a photo, it made sense. And when we went to the East Coast for the first time and they invited us to their offices in New York City, well, that seemed normal. We said hello to Bill Murray in the elevator. When we got up to the ROLLING STONE offices, Kurt Loder showed us around and visited with us a little and we went on our way. We went back down to the street and walked several blocks to whatever club we were playing that night. But, the thing is, we didn’t know anything! We didn’t know how to do anything. We just did it and, consequently, Brave Comb built a career out of an idea. There’s no lesson here. I’ve just been trying to figure out several things and Brave Combo is one of them. Sometimes it’s simply too much to ponder.

Whew! That’s enough for now. I encourage you to check on us regularly. We are about to explode with new content! There is still so much to do. Don’t give up!

The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #9 – September 2021

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Okay, apparently, there really is a Brave Combo, with real human beings, who can play live music for people, who are right there, in the flesh, listening and looking and often dancing, at the very same moment, in real time and in a real space. This is mind-blowing. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, it’s a fact! Since mid-August Brave Combo has returned to the stage. Outside only, but that seems to be cool with everyone. The crowds have been fantastic. Lots of folks appear to be getting out and whooping it up. We’re feeling the love, for sure. But an intense feeling of conflict is also there. It’s been my job, for over 40 years to encourage the audience to throw caution to the wind and pack the dance floor. Now it seems like yelling at everyone, through a big PA, to become sardines, is not exactly the responsible thing to do, even if that’s what I’ve been hired to do. I know the members of Brave Combo have all been vaccinated for a while and we’re usually a good distance from the fans and party-goers, but, damn, that “Hokey Pokey” thing’s got some power. It’s a communal experience! And, jeez, polkas and waltzes require dancers to cling to each other and exhale heavily. EVERYONE wants to get back to normal. Live music has been and, I guess, will continue to be a way for a lot of people to blow off some steam; to let go and submit one’s will, without hesitation or fear. The tension and release built into some music can, indeed, be a tonic for weary souls. Live music provides immediate entertainment, a distraction from everything that sucks and, oddly enough, HOPE! Whatever, there’s my dilemma. Maybe we could start playing everything really, really slow and as softly as possible, while the whole band is sitting down with our backs to the audience. And just ditch the PAs, so no one can hear me. Hmmm, that sounds kinda fun, actually, especially the parts about playing slowly with our backs turned. We could craft that into some bold statement about something not even related to Covid-19. There are plenty of worthwhile causes which have nothing to do with a virus.

Speaking of the virus, though, if you have not yet been injected with the engineered DNA altering fun juice, please do it ASAP, so you can stop thinking about it. You must be losing a bunch of sleep over this. It’s gotta be driving you crazy. So just do it! Get the shots. They are delicious!!! And, as well, if you are already vaccinated, get the booster shot. Brave Combo wants to go back inside, but only if the venue is limiting the fun to vaccinated fans and patrons. Some clubs/performance spaces have made this bold move. I salute them all! Others are still reluctant. I don’t get it, but I can only think like me and I am quite used to being perplexed about many things. For those no-vax-required shows, I do wish everyone would, at least, wear astronaut helmets like mine. I would LOVE to see that and I think everyone would dig it….for about 5 minutes. But that’s something, right? Have you seen me dancing around, wearing my astronaut helmet? It’s a good look! In fact, it looks good on anyone. I’ve noticed, also, that I’m way more brainy when I’m wearing it AND I’m executing incredible dance moves wearing the helmet, which I could never have done before, without it. Also, I like spinach!

So, here we are! One foot in and one foot out. Do the “Hokey Pokey” and turn yourself around. You have myriad opportunities coming up to see Brave Combo, in person. Put on your thinking cap and/or astronaut helmet and come on out. We are having a blast playing and we’ll do our best to pull you in….but not TOO close. Check our itinerary now and make your plans! We can all still feel the rock and roll, even around other rock and rollers, if we all do our best to be smart and responsible, until we start drinking!!! Hey, Baby, lots of super cool stuff lies ahead! LET’S POLKA (responsibly)!!!!

So, keep an eye on our shenanigans! The big polka machine continues to move forward. Earth is still intact, for now. The night sky is always magnificent. Cats and dogs are a lot of trouble, but also a lot of fun. I loved monster/horror movies when I was a kid. Did you see DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS? I went to see it with a friend at a theater in downtown Texarkana and we were given triffid seeds to plant in our yard, which I did. And they grew like hell. Freaked me out! Out of fear, I tore them down. They were just sunflower seeds. Since then I almost always think of triffids when I see super tall sunflowers. Sleep well, little ones.