Escapism, Escapist! In the midst of your diligence, you should also find ways to disappear. I know we’re all stuck on this roller coaster with no assurance that things will end well and we’re tired of the disorienting nightmare from which we can’t awaken. But life didn’t come with a guarantee of anything. Granted, no one could have predicted the totally upside-down position we currently find ourselves in, but we also didn’t know, just a few short years ago, what an uncontrollable controlling monster social media would become. Things are definitely in a weird-ass mess right now. Stress levels are super high. That’s why you gotta find ways to turn off; to disconnect and remove yourself from reality. Turn on, tune in and drop out, Baby! Dig? Are you feeling my vibrations?

There’s one thing I’ve been wondering recently. Why do we so love to hate? What has been revealed, as our civilization willingly jumps into the avalanche tumbling into the ocean of fire, is that we just love to hate. Our lives suck and it’s gotta be someone else’s fault. It makes us feel better to bitch, moan and blame; to look for a target and find it! And I guess a side-effect is that this mindset gives us a temporary sense of superiority. And, sadly, that must be comforting.

Speaking of escaping, when I was a kid I loved science fiction and horror movies a lot. Seriously. Probably more than you did. I cut out every monster movie ad in the TEXARKANA GAZETTE and bought every issue of the fanzines, FAMOUS MONSTER OF FILMLAND, MONSTER WORLD, HORROR MONSTERS, CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SPACEMAN and more. Every Saturday night, for years, on Channel 12, out of Shreveport, they showed a double-feature of thrillers. Always black and white, of course. The host was named Evilyn or Evilin. You know, Evelyn, but starting with “Evil.” Well, it just didn’t get better than that. Two movies. Funny, but stupid, skits with fog and spider webs, during the commercial breaks. Snacks. Staying up late. Yay!! One of the standout movies from this experience was THE MANSTER. Although it’s not well-known, there is a famous scene where the star of the movie notices an eyeball growing out of his shoulder, which becomes a second head and then, eventually, an entire other being. Ever see NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST? I liked going to the theater, as well, to see movies like GORGO, THE ANGRY RED PLANET and THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. You know, the classics. I was pretty obsessed. I knew all about the mainstream stars, like Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Creature From The Black Lagoon, but those guys were just scratching the surface. Get down, Man! Do it all the way or not at all, right?

If you will be in or near New York City, Lancaster (PA), Pittsburgh or St. Louis in the middle of July, pay heed. Check our itinerary right now. Did I mention that BC alums, Bubba Hernandez and Jeffrey Barnes will be doing this group of dates with us? Let’s stumble down memory lane a while.

Our show in New York City (Wednesday, July 18 at 5:30 pm) is being produced by Carnegie Hall. It’s in Bryant Park and promises to be a groovy event. The Carnegie Foundation is presenting five “City-Wide Park Concerts” this summer and had the good wisdom to invite us to headline one. I like smart people who think like we do.

Relevant Joke
Man 1: We played a gig the other night at Slimey Pete’s and the manager said it was the biggest crowd they ever had and all the people who came out said we were also the best band that ever played there. People were freaking out about how great our version of “Smoke On The Water” was. I was particularly fantastic. Some people are saying I was better than Mozart and Prince, combined. And I only play with the best musicians, of course.
Man 2: Wow, really? That’s great.
Man 1: Nah. All lies. But it’s no big deal. I have billions of dollars, anyway. I am pretty damn cool, huh?
Man 2: Yeah, whatever. Can you run me up to Walmart?

Similar Joke
Man 1: I just drove straight home, all the way from Seattle to Denton in just 24 hours. People were cheering me on, all along the way. Cops escorted me hundreds of miles, giving me thumbs-up. Some people were saying I was doing the best job of driving ever and driving the best car ever made. It was solid gold, you know?
Man 2: Damn, really?
Man 1: Nope.

Okay, let’s say adios again and wish each other the best and concentrate on the things we enjoy before we get back into the fray. But you do have to, eventually, get back into the fray. You know that, right? Each of us has to do more than we think we should. You know what I mean. So, relax and then “Hop To It!”

So, here we are! 2018 is almost to its halfway mark and things are even funkier than they were before the year began. Apparently, I can’t help feeling the way I do about the way things are, but I must start to take more of a “casual observer” attitude about certain things of which I have very little or no control. I need to be humored more by the follies of inept or evil (or both) leaders and the blind faith of their sheep. You know, I need to float above it all and look at the big picture as much as possible. Just because I am a human being doesn’t mean I have to wallow miserably in the muck created by other human beings. If everything has to go insane, I get to choose my own version of it. Generally, I have found my imagination to be fairly unrestrained. It’s not all good, though. About five years I ago envisioned a path our country could take which could most definitely lead to, indeed, where we are now; a divided nation, manipulated by the ego and greed of a few. Maybe this is the only place we could end up, especially following eight years of a black president. That entire eight years must have really eaten away at a lot of folks, making ‘em ripe for the pickin’ in 2017. More than I realized. So, when you combine a lack of compassion and empathy with the power of celebrity and fuel the fears of those losing majority status, you might just blow the lid off Pandora’s Box and get much more than you bargained for. And, now I can’t tell if we’re witnessing just how weak and frail our form of government is or how strong and resilient it is. Either way, I think we’d all agree life in the good ol’ USA is pretty stressful right now. But, believe it or not, you and I don’t have to totally succumb to the darkness. Spend a little time figuring out where your personal “safe space” is and hang out there as much as possible. I have several. One of them is in the hall, dragging a string into the bedroom with a cat on the other end. Another is the stage, wherever. Another is sitting behind a bunch of keyboards and synthesizers at the BC rehearsal studio with no plan at all. Another is the van, in the middle of the night, heading to our motel 100 miles away; long enough drive to take a deep breath, put on the headphones and space-out to some weird trance music or show tunes played to a bossa nova beat or something like The Music Machine, one of my favorite bands from my rocking high school days. Someone once told me The Music Machine played a place in Shreveport called The Progressive Men’s Club. I don’t know if I believe that but I did always think it was bizarre name for a club which featured rock and roll bands.

Speaking of bizarre, a beloved classic line-up of Brave Combo has been popping up here and there and it looks like more popping up is to be expected. I’m talking about Danny O’Brien, Alan Emert Mansfield and myself, joined by our former bassist, Bubba Hernandez and former woodwind twirler, Jeffrey Barnes. This is the version of the band which recorded both Grammy Award-winning albums and appeared on The Simpsons. No one seems to know exactly how our reunion occurred, but everyone seems to be having a good time and we’re playing some songs we haven’t played in over a decade. The five of us will be performing, in June, at the San Marcos Summer in the Park series and at the Kerrville Folk Festival. And, you can find us in July, in St. Louis, MO, Pittsburgh, PA, Lancaster, PA and New York City.

Speaking of New York City, well, it’s one darn busy, lively place. Always lots of stuff going on. As it turns out, Carnegie Hall presents and promotes park concerts around the city and the wise folks there have invited us to headline their July 18th concert in Bryant Park, in Manhattan. This will be a super blow-out! What a great time to visit the most exciting city in the world. Make your plans now!

I continue to work on lots of new music for both Brave Combo and my new side project, The Carl Finch Sound (is that too flashy?). I have no guiding light; just whatever happens, happens. I’ve always liked the idea of setting up an environment and then allowing chance to take over. I feel that way many times when I’m on stage. It’s like a playpen or a blank piece of paper. One of my most recent special moments was arranging, for performance, the song, “They Should Have Given You the Oscar,” a minor hit for 60s teen idol, James Darren, who was probably best-known as an actor, playing Gidget’s boyfriend. Check out my inspiration.

That’s it, fellow travelers. You know what the signpost up ahead welcomes you to, right? Well, enjoy the trip. And along the way, come out when you can. I guarantee you we will play music you would have a hard time finding anywhere else. It’s a curse and blessing for us, but, hey, it’s what we do! Check our itinerary now! Happy hot weather!