Volume 11 – #11 – November 2008
All together now! “OOOOOOH, HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN.” You know, I don’t expect miracles from anyone, but I am really digging the feeling that I’m not smarter than our next president. Am I delusional, or is common sense on the horizon? Damn, George W. Bush did a crappy job; almost too crappy to comprehend. But I’m ready to move on and let it go, because our new leader actually looks and sounds like a compassionate, intelligent, rational human being. For what it’s worth, every real American that believes in the principles on which this country was founded (you know, equality, regardless of race, creed or color) should be delighted that the election of Obama proves to the rest of the world that America is what it claims to be. If you love the USA, you have to love what has just happened. Jeez, we should be more concerned about the basic rights of our own citizens than senseless military aggression on the other side of the world. But, as I said, I don’t expect miracles and, in fact, I do predict mistakes. We’ll see what happens and I’ll watch with great interest.
REALLY BIG NEWS! The front door of the Brave Combo office has a new look. If you’re ever driving by us on North Locust in Denton, glance our way and check it out. We’re just off the downtown square. Better yet, park your car and walk right up to it and have someone take your picture standing by it. Local artist, Warren Lunt, painted the visual depiction of our world. We liked his psychedelic work on the windows of a nearby mattress store and asked him to make our door something special, which he did.
Brave Combo’s new album, THE EXOTIC ROCKING LIFE is finished. The jackets are being printed and folded and scented and splattered and smothered like hash browns at Waffle House. And the CDs are being individually hand cut, by scissors, out of big sheets of special alien plastic that’s capable of flying back to Pluto once its purpose on Earth has passed. Beware as new videos from the CD appear (“Patricia Twist” is first and ready to see). They may scare you to life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buLbwUCFsSU
On the heels of our new CD, we are busy wrapping up work on the Brave Combo Symphonic Polka album we recorded with The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra earlier this year and hope to have it ready before 2008 shuts down. This is bound to be a hit on some level. I mean, it’s gonna get a lot of spins at my house and maybe yours, too. More on this as mixes are completed.
POLKA PURISTS TAKE NOTE. It appears Brave Combo is returning to the legendary Sefcik Hall for a special Old-Time Polka Christmas Dance or Old-Time Christmas Polka Dance in early December. And we’ll be joined, once again, by our trombone-honking button box buddy from the north, Danny Jerabek, who actually played the Sefcik Hall once with his father’s polka band when he was about 5 years old. Everyone has been anxiously awaiting his return. If you love polkas do not miss this unique show in this unique location. The hall is about 10-15 miles east of Temple, Texas, just off the road by a cemetery.
Speaking of great musicians, our good friend and master bassist, Ross Schodek, who actually contributed some deep latin grooves to THE EXOTIC ROCKING LIFE, will be providing the low end for Brave Combo’s live shows during the holiday season, while Ann Marie takes a much-needed vacation. Plan on seeing Joe Cripps on stage, too. He, Arjuna and Ross are a mighty force you don’t want to miss. Plan on catching the intensity live and in person. Several shows are scheduled, including our annual Christmas Spectaculars in St. Louis and Chicago. And, this year, we’ve added Tulsa to the mix Thanksgiving night. How perfect is that, Oklahoma fans? You’ve been stuck at home with the family eating all day and the only thing that sounds good is something that sounds good, like Brave Combo kicking off the holidays. Dance away the gravy and dressing.
ON THE SUBJECT OF CHANGE. I’m going to get in a lot of trouble for this and probably shouldn’t be addressing such an issue on the Brave Combo site, because it reflects only my point of view. But most people know that THE MACHINE’S PUMP is just my point of view, so, for now, we’ll do this as usual. Okay, here goes. I’m beginning to believe that one cannot be an environmentalist and eat meat, especially meat that comes from any kind of factory farming. The amount of food and natural resources (water, for instance) it takes to produce just one pound of meat is staggering, not to mention the reality that stockyards are one of the greatest contributors to global warming. It’s truly unbelievable how much methane gas is produced by these places. Science backs this up and the situation will not change as long as people stay the course. I mentioned recently that the meat eaters of today are the smokers of the future in terms of someone being considered a hazard to others because of his or her habits. It could be that baked chicken, fried chicken, hot dogs, steak, ham and hamburgers equal a Hummer, as an example of modern litterbugging. I know there are no easy answers and that life needs to be fun and taste good. And it’s hard to change and turn our backs on our desires and cravings. Unfortunately, it appears that breeding cows, pigs, chickens, etc. in insanely massive numbers, according to some authorities, is causing more damage to the environment than anything else, including vehicle emissions. So, do some research for yourself and think about the immediate global advantages of a plant-based diet over a meat-based one. And, of course, this isn’t even taking into account the unforgivable suffering endured by millions of animals everyday for our fleeting pleasure. Right now, as you’re reading this, cruelty and torture is occurring to helpless frightened animals. As far as I’m concerned this is reason enough. The environment is a secondary concern. It’s way up there, for sure, but not as important to me as limiting my contribution to the misery of defenseless animals. The time has come to wake up and face the facts. Every time you take a bite of meat it just might be the same as saying, “screw the environment and screw the sensations that once ran through this flesh.” But don’t be sad or discouraged. For what it’s worth, there has never been a better time to give vegetarianism a chance. Since so many people are starting to see the truth, competing companies that cater to meat-free taste buds are sprouting up all over. Just try a Morningstar Farms corndog. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to protect the planet and eat cruelty free. Anyway, let me please request that before you get super cranky with me, look up the statistics and just ponder what you find out.
Okay, I want to close on an up note. Did you know that Pat Boone once lived and worked in Denton? Decades later, he released an album of terrible heavy metal covers that grossed-out (not out-grossed) just about everyone. To his credit, he did live next door to Ozzie Osbourne once, but I don’t think that influenced his artistic judgment. It was just a coincidence. Whatever, he returned to Denton a few years ago promoting a new book he’d written and I had a chance to meet him briefly and buy his book for my parents. He’s obviously a very nice person and still wears white shoes. Also, the price of gas is currently falling, but not far enough to make the Republicans look reasonable. And one more thing. It’s acceptable to ride the happy waves and smile for at least a few days. You deserve it. So, come out to a BC show and reward yourself. And, by the way, we’ll benefit, too. Good night.
Hey Carl,
I’ll send you a ditty I wrote about election night on Amtrak….
Love,
Susan
It’s gonna be a tough road ahead for all of us – let’s pitch in and be together.
I enjoy your Machine’s Pump each and every month – Andy
Pat Boone’s Denton roots not lost on this alien. He should be appreciated as much as Eric Clapton if not more. They are totally in the same category. As we remember Denton, so should we remember Peanuts Hucko, who lived there if not died there (not sure about that). Watch some Lawrence Welk reruns if you are in the dark about Peanuts. While we are remembering non-button accordions, let’s give a shout out to Ray Henry who seems to have had a role in my conception back in 1951, albeit a small one as a mere bandleader at a dance. While we are remembering mere bandleaders at a dance, let’s all bow down to Carl Finch, who I am not willing to acknowledge is exceeded in his knowledge and wisdom by a mere Barack Obama….
Carl, I was a vegetarian for years, but not the last 8. If you come play Portland in the great PNW, I vow to stop eating meat the day I hear you’re coming!
Carl — I’ve loved your band for nigh 15 years now. Love your sense of humor, and agree with almost all of what you write in the Pump. But please give the carnivore thing a rest would ya? Yes, corporate livestock operations are environmentally unsound (and thus a logical reason to give up meat as an environmental statement if that’s your thing), and the manner in which livestock is raised and slaughtered can be unnecessarily cruel and abusive (and such practices should be stopped), but I also believe humans are by nature omnivorous and that eating meat — along with the other natural foods we go for — is programmed on our hard drive. It’s nature’s way. The key is to eat sensibly and — if it involves meat — sure, go ahead and consider the animal and, if you can, patronize purveyors that practice their trade as humanely as possible. And just an observation: The moose calf losing a one-hour war of attrition against a pack of wolves ain’t having a picnic either. The wolves aren’t being “cruel” in our terms, of course, because that’s what they do. And it certainly doesn’t justify intentional human cruelty against animals. It’s only to say that violence is part of nature. Herbivores kill and eat plants; carnivores kill and eat herbivores and omnivores; and omnivores kill and eat whatever’s at hand.
I think I will be a vegetarian someday, and that I will be a better person because of it. My main problem is that I am severely allergic to onions, and vegetarians seem to love putting onions in *everything.*
And I also think you should write about whatever you want in “The Machine’s Pump.” I always find it interesting and provocative.
I don’t understand Mr. Finch. He wants to save animals, but what about human life from conception till death. Will Mr. O take care of this issue too? I love Brave Combo.
Look, you did an album with Tiny Tim that was considered to be his best ever. Do you think you could do one with Pat Boone?
If not Pat Boone, how about Alice Cooper? He has a twisted sense of humor and is at a career point where he might do anything.
No joke here. There is an obscure book titled THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS that asserts plants not only have a nervous system, they can sense like species trauma at a considerable distance. Brocolli screams felt around the world. Would make for a bizarre song…..
Carl:
Thanks for your perspective. I like meat but Love Brave Combo. My family does as well! I just ordered the new CD an am stoked you put the Tsamikos in the line up! BC gracioulsly plays it for us when we get down in the DC area and thank heavens Blob’s is coming back! The Polka Mecca off the Parkway is being revived by an Eggerl family member.
Hope all’s fine for all in ’09. See you then, I hope.
Blessings, all!
Carl, I’ve been contemplating giving up meat for several years, but can’t quite make the final leap. One of the things holding me back is the whole circle of life thing: everything kills something in order to live. It’s natural, and humans are a part of nature – no matter how much we try to distance ourselves from it.
But maybe that’s just a rationalization. I totally agree with your stance on factory farming and animal husbandry, and I do have a guilty conscience for indulging in animal flesh! Not because someone tells me I should, but because, like you, I can’t stand the thought of them suffering. So I think your article has just nudged me a little closer to committing to a meat-free life. Wish me luck, and please come back to Omaha soon!
I still like meat, even if it is frowned upon by some. I like to eat plants too. They are also living things but are a lot easier to sneak up on.
I adopted a vegetarian diet for six years, then gave up in frustration after I contracted a difficult bout of veganism (snicker). Now I’m back to vegetarianism, and couldn’t be happier. The reasons are tri-fold: personal health, environmental concerns, and compassionate ethics.
Choices, choices peeps! Sometimes we all need a little encouragement to evolve. Why not *choose* to subvert the dominant meat-eatin’ paradigm? Hell why not subvert the entire failed dominant paradigm (economic, cultural, whatever) and give Obama a hand while we’re at it? We need *more polka* out in public, on more radio stations and more tv shows and streetcorners. I say accordions be made available in public schools for band class, and that those therefore funkified schools start serving locally grown, tasty vegetarian foods in their cafeterias. We need *more ferociously fun original music* from Brave Combo and all their gifted foot-tappin’ brethren, widely distributed and homegrown (or maybe home-mutated in case we’re lovingly re-crafting tunes from Poland or Montenegro… I digress). What phat grooves do I wanna listen to while I’m installing my solar panels up on my roof? It’s not like I can listen to Hubert von Goisern *all* the time, sheesh.
[Carl, please consider what the optimal beats-per-minute would be for a song a soon-to-be-45 year old can swing a 16 oz. Estwing framing hammer to and consider maybe making a song or two for that. And uh it’s gotta be on the loud side…]
I’ve been a vegetarian since 1982, and I gotta say being one is way easier now because so many more food options and info are widely available. I used to take aromatic pressed Chinese tofu to Brave Combo when they’d play my midwestern town back in the ’80s (before we started distrusting the safety of the Chinese food supply). Even if you leave out issues about ethics, environment, yer own dang health and karma and all the other stuff that so often causes instantaneous glaze-over among meat-eaters, there’s still two things going for going vegetarian:
1. You spend less money on food (and thus more on Brave Combo CDs!); and
2. You likely look pretty good, closer to your ideal body weight.
Try skipping meat for a few months and see for yourself. Until you find out for yourself, how can you really know for sure how bad or good *anything* is?
Carl, thanks for all you (and the band) do. Don’t ever stop speaking the truth as you see it. You’ve been doing the same (rather fearlessly as far as I can tell), performing the musical truth as you see it, for a marathon-long time. Keep it real. Thanks for being awake. And for inviting us to be too.