Big news flash!!! Our most recent album, Polka Party with Brave Combo: Live and Wild has been nominated for a Grammy (polka category, of course). This is our second nomination and we’re very excited. Tell your friends.

Okay, the holiday orgy of 1998 is behind us. Now, that’s something to celebrate. Maybe there should be a national holiday to recognize the end of the holidays. Yay! Everyone go back to work now. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about. Specifically, 1999. This is the last year (for a while, anyway) with the number 1 at the beginning. This Y2K thing has everyone thinking that we must do some serious house cleaning before next year. There’s a general vibe that we have to get our computers, bodies, psyches, souls, etc. prepared for the unknown of 2000. And no one knows anything for sure. That’s part of the excitement of it all. Lately, I’ve felt that my approach to being prepared is to throw myself into such day-to-day chaos, that by the time the computers are freaking out, I’ll be far ahead of them. In a way, massive reevaluation on the public’s part could be a good thing for a band like Brave Combo. The headlines will read, “All Systems Fail, Except Polka.” Many years ago, my eyes were opened to a whole new method of perceiving reality. And polka was at the core of that revelation. Breaking down the invisible walls of judgementalness and prejudice became a personal goal and polka was my guidepost and, eventually, my rocket ship. I’m still strapped into that ship and it feels better than ever.

One thing we do know about 1999 is that Brave Combo will turn 20 this year. Our first performance was in May of 1979. We played the opening of a dance studio in Denton and people were doing the polka, sort of, in the parking lot. We were truly surprised at the response. Shortly after that we released our first record. It was a double 7-inch 45 entitled Polkamania. We recorded it at Bruce Balentine’s home studio in Denton and Jane, my wife, paid for it with her early retirement money from teaching public school. Shortly after the release, it was reviewed in a local music paper. The critic said it sounded like another spacey Denton band that would be together one semester at NTSU and then break up. I guess he was wrong. Anyway, as I mentioned in an earlier issue, Brave Combo plans to do some shows this year with as many former members as possible. We should probably call those former members and ask them if they’re interested.

I’ll mention some big shows this month that you do not want to miss. On Friday, January 8, we will host Brave Combo’s Cavalcade of Talented Friends at good ol’ Rick’s Place in Denton. Other performers will include Little Jack Melody, Brian Houser, Karen Foster, Wanz Dover, Pops Carter and local high school rockers, Mudrunner. This will be spectacular at the very least. Older Denton fans should not be afraid to come to Rick’s Place. On Saturday, January 16, we will be at the fabulous Czech Club on Military Parkway in Dallas. This place has an enormous dance floor, but you probably know that already. On Saturday, January 30, we will be at another favorite venue, Caravan Of Dreams, in downtown Fort Worth. This place is beautiful, the sound is superb and the show is early. Please check our itinerary for details on these and other appearances.

More news: We are in the studio much of this month wrapping up the first stages of our new album. You can expect an early Summer release. Pop music is the concept. We recently composed and recorded music for a National Geographic television spot. It’s airing now. Also, we did some studio collaborating with friends from Ohio that have a polka band called The Beat. I guess it’s safe to say that they’re a superstar outfit and it was a real honor to be invited to participate on their new album. We expect them to return the favor some day. Speaking of polka, I’m still working, though very slowly, on the big polka compilation for Time/Life Music. My life keeps getting in the way of important stuff. You know how that is.

Okay, that’s enough for now. I wish all of you faithful supporters a healthy, exciting, challenging and confusing new year. And remember, Polka 2000 creeps closer and closer and closer and closer………

So, there we were, at a truckstop plaza about ten miles east of Little Rock. It was 3:00 AM and the Donut (our bus/van thing) wouldn’t start. We were an hour from our motel rooms in Wheatley, Arkansas and were pretty tired. Sleeping in a warm bed sounded better than standing around a cold truckstop. Don’t get me wrong. I really like hanging around truckstops in the middle of the night if I can leave when I want. We tried to get a jump from a couple of people but the problem was more complicated than a weak battery. One guy was a particularly enthusiastic jump starter. After his attempt to help failed, he and his traveling companion parked their car and went inside the truckstop. I decided to walk around and discover some significance to this mess. I’m often accused of over analyzing things. I looked at truckers playing video games. I looked at truckers drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. I looked at some crystal figurines and colorful snack packages. I stood alone in a trucker’s lounge and called Jane, my wife. She was delighted to hear that we were stranded. As I was walking back to the Donut, I came across our friendly, enthusiastic jump starter and he was freaking out. He was exclaiming that his traveling companion had abandoned him and was frantically looking in all directions at once. He didn’t have his money or his coat or his backpack. He was quite convincing and sort of bald, so I offered him my hat, which he quickly took without thanking me. I have to admit, he did look warmer when he put it on. I told him we would be happy to give him a ride if he was going our direction, but, as he knew, the Donut wouldn’t start. So he just continued to wander around the truckstop, trying to find someone to help. After observing him a little longer, I think now maybe he was never really with the other guy. Perhaps he was a hitchhiker and was simply dropped off at the truckstop. Or maybe he was in cahoots with the other guy and was trying to scam people to get money or something. He got my hat.
By 3:45 or so, things were really looking bleak for Brave Combo. We were waiting for a tow truck from AAA. It was even colder than it had been and there were a couple of old, backwoodsie men at the pump next to us trying to fill plastic jugs with gasoline. They were yelling and cursing at the cashier in the building. At one point the most agitated and verbal of the two stormed inside and came out almost immediately. For some reason, he walked up to the Donut and asked us what the problem was. Joe or Danny described the symptoms and the man dropped to the ground and crawled under the engine. He found a broken cable and called to Danny to turn the key. Some sparks flew out and, sure enough, the Donut started. Suddenly, everything changed. We were so happy. We could leave and sleep at least a few hours in our motel after all. The old backwoodsie gentleman explained to us that when he went into the store to have words with the cashier, he apologized instead, for losing his temper. As he left the building, God directed him to us. I’ll buy that. We thanked him about a million times and he loaded up his plastic jugs of gasoline and drove away. We drove away, too. I was in bed by 5:30. Perfect.

Well, December is falling away and the new year creeps closer. We continue to play a lot of Christmas parties this month. Speaking of Christmas, I understand it will be celebrated on December 25 this year. You might want to make a note of this on your calendar. It’s ironic that Brave Combo has become so associated with the holiday season because I’m not particularly fond it. Mostly, it gets in the way of doing business as usual. But it also concerns me how many new disposable things humans can make out of plastic and sell to other humans in need of a shopping fix. But nothing’s going to change, so Merry Christmas to you all. Anyways, I like to look at dogs dressed up in Santa suits.

Two public shows this month I would like to mention are our annual Dallas post Christmas show at the Gypsy Tea Room and, of course, New Year’s Eve at Liberty Lunch, in Austin.