Volume 14 – #11 – November 2011

I try to be nice to people all the time. I think I’m sincerely friendly and have no problem smiling at anyone I pass on the street or in a store. Some of the people I’ve worked with would say I’m difficult at times, for sure. I am stubbornly picky and typically perfectionist about the tightness of the band and, actually, the general image and direction of Brave Combo, but still, most people would probably consider me friendly. However, over the decades I have found that I’m not very sociable. Even if I’ve become adept at carrying on conversations with several people at once I’m probably not particularly comfortable with it. If I drank more I know I would be better at hanging and shooting the breeze, or, rather, more interested in hanging and shooting the breeze. Drunk people are always happy to express themselves to anyone near them. I don’t mind drinking but it has never really agreed with me. If I consume much more than a beer at a gig I’m likely to be rewarded with a headache fairly quickly. On top of that, I don’t eat meat and that knocks me out of a lot of get-togethers, especially in Texas. I’m sure I’m just a downer around most carnivores. Meat eaters tend to exclaim things like, “MmmmMmm, there’s nothing as satisfying as a good ol’ juicy steak.” I know. I used to eat meat and remember exactly how a juicy steak tastes. But now, when I’m around, everyone gets quiet and doesn’t go on and on about how good and juicy the steak is. And, sadly, sports don’t do much for me, either. I’m just not interested and am not particularly comfortable with the vibe around sports. Face it. I’m a wash-up as a man’s man. I do enjoy making stuff, like songs or dog houses. And I like performing songs and playing with dogs. I’ve written and arranged lots of songs and my wife, Jane, and I live with lots of dogs (and cats). We’re not hoarding caliber yet, but are very close to the tipping point and spend a good portion of every day, and an enormous amount of money, dealing with the myriad needs of the cute little critters. And they just eat and poop and eat and poop and eat and poop. Sometimes we think that they are all just independently mobile food processing machines. Recently, four of them (two dogs, two cats) were sick at the same time, two rather seriously. Time-wise and emotionally, I could barely handle anything else, other than playing gigs. You know the show must go on, right? That’s the word; the performer’s motto. No matter what, keep moving forward. And that brings us to the show. I’ve been thinking a lot about what the show is, exactly. The role of the audience has changed over the years, plus the mindset of almost everyone in the world has changed, as well. So, what is Brave Combo supposed to do when we step on the stage? Why are we up there and who or what are we playing for? The concerns of modern humans are so much different from the concerns twenty or thirty years ago. How everyone does things has changed. And we’re all convinced we can cram even more into our super-busy days, which makes everything more complicated. Where does live music fit in? This adds up to mean that my attitude toward “career” has really changed. I feel like the first 20 years of Brave Combo was about growing, building, growing, building. Damn the torpedoes! We worked really hard at becoming better known in as many places as possible and were just successful enough to keep us hopeful that things would only get bigger. Sometimes it seemed like a real-life popularity contest. Then wisdom from observation kicked in and, at some point, the larger picture became much more clear and it wasn’t necessarily pretty, especially if one was trying to make sense of things based on how the world used to be; the old formulas. Whatever, now I’m not as interested in “getting the word out,” if you know what I mean. Zero interest in who’s hot and who’s not, happy to be in our own world. I like to play fun gigs, whether they make sense or not (which is good, because a lot of gigs are real head-scratchers) and fun, for me, means a good vibe, good sound, capybaras in tutus and Spanish moss hanging from chandeliers. Bring it on, but the capybaras have to go home when the music gets loud.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS ……usually makes no sense to me. To a cynical observer the famous strip is the ultimate expression of superficiality. Nothing is too deep. Not unlike Disneyland, with the kitsch factor burning out fast. But maybe our recent appearance at the MGM Grand challenges my old way of thinking. Our new polka buddy, Drew Carey, invited us out to Sin City to do three shows with him and his IMPROV-A-GANZA gang at the Hollywood Theater inside the MGM. So we took him up on it and had a blast performing with him and his amazingly-talented stable of performers. We thrilled the audiences with our clever set list and even wormed our way into some of the improv skits. Well, I guess Drew thought it went well, too, and has invited us back for four more dates in February. Same theater, same casino. This next time I will imagine that all the sad, droopy-faced tourists slouched in chairs staring blankly at slot machines aren’t sad at all, just exhausted from winning so much money. And I’ll see the people on the street dressed up as M & Ms or Gene Simmons as my funny new pals, rather than desperate souls on the brink of suicide. It is what you make it, huh? And, you, my adventurous reader, should make it to Las Vegas for one of our shows. You, too, can have that far-away look in your eyes as you slouch in front of a slot machine. More details to come.

HOLIDAY SHOWS TAKE OVER THE PLAYGROUND! Like it or not, it’s that most-wonderful time of the year again and you are hereby commanded to help us party like it’s Christmas 2011. Shower us with gifts or just dance to yourself and drink your troubles away in the corner. You’ll hear us play many of your seasonal favorites in our own uniquely unique way. “O Holy Night (Cha Cha Cha),” anyone? Or how about “O, Christmas Tree (Samba)?” Not to mention a strip tease-inspired, bump and grind version of “Winter Wonderland” or “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow (Twist).” Perhaps our Bob Dylan-inspiring hyper-polka, “Must Be Santa” trims your tree. I mean, we could easily play all these classic songs in a syrupy sweet, overly-sentimental style if we wanted to or if we were cool Baptist teenage boys entertaining dreamy-eyed girls during fellowship in the youth center at the church, following the evening worship service. So there! Check our itinerary immediately to avoid disappointment! Ohhhhhhhhh, you better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I’m telling you why. Santa Clause is coming to town to raise some hell with Rudolf and pitch a wang-dang-doodle all night long. All night long. All night long. He’s gonna pitch a wang-dang-doodle all night long. Tell automatic Jim, razor-totin’ Slim, butcher knife-totin’ Annie and fast-talking Fannie.

CHEAP THRILLS. Our smashing live Christmas album, CHRISTMAS PRESENT, will be available at all the holiday concerts for only $5. That’s a lot of music for not mucho dinero, if you get my drift. We have plenty, so come out and snag a bag-full for all the deserving friends and family members on your gift-buying list. Till next time, “Ho, ho, ho, y’all”