Volume 14 – #3 – March 2011

One time Brave Combo played a festival in Little Rock, Arkansas. I believe it was called AUGUST IN ARKANSAS. It was downtown by the river. I don’t remember our set at all. Most of our past shows are just a blur now. Only specific things are easy to recall, like isolated bizarre moments, which do happen all the time, but they’re not necessarily attached to a place or event. Generally, I just see lots and lots of stages, inside and outside, large and small, and people and sound systems and deli trays in dressing rooms. Anyway, after our apparently unforgettable performance in Little Rock, we hung around to check out some other music. Before long a musician from Zimbabwe named Thomas Mapfumo was in the spotlight with his band, Blacks Unlimited. The sound and the groove touched something deep inside me. It made such perfect sense in every way. Since then, I’ve been a follower of his sound. I won’t try to describe it. Just go to Youtube and type in his name. There’s plenty there to see and hear. A traditional instrument from that region of Africa is the mbira, also known as a thumb piano. Much of Thomas Mapfumo’s musical essence is based on the mbira and one of the traditional songs he performs is considered by many to be the most beautiful of all mbira standards. The song is “Dangurangu.” Since discovering the specialness of this music I’ve wanted to perform it and decided that the album Danny Jerabek are working on would be the right vehicle. I can’t know what it’s like to have grown up in Zimbabwe, because I grew up in Texarkana, Texas. I can’t know what the mbira really means to the history of the music other than facts I read. I can’t understand the language or appreciate the struggles of a musician such as Thomas Mapfumo, a public voice of revolution in a repressive political environment. But I can hear what I hear and let it wash over me however it might. That’s how I try to approach everything, especially music. Consequently, our version of “Dangurangu” will be what the song would sound like if it was interpreted and recorded by Carl and Danny. And at this point I’m really digging it quite a bit. It’s almost finished, so I have a pretty good idea how it will end up.

Speaking of recording, the studio has been a second home since January. The TV pilot is all wrapped up. The crazy classical collection is all wrapped up. The Guy Klucevsek/Brave Combo collaboration is all wrapped up, the Danny J/Carl F album is very close to the point we call all wrapped up and the long awaited, almost forgotten album I’ve been crafting with my buddy Mike Dillon is this close to being in your hands or on your computer instead of just mine and Mike’s. How much music can one person take? Or make?

Yeah, how much music should one make? Now that there is band on every block, literally (my block has at least three bands not counting me), I do wonder where this is leading. The idea of going out into the world doing your thing for excited and curious fans isn’t exactly a cutting edge profession or even pastime anymore. I realize that Denton might not be typical, since it’s a destination for young musicians and artists, but I have a feeling band glut is everywhere in 2011. Kids used to play cowboys or astronauts or insurance salesmen, now most kids play in bands. And, really, once there’s a Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, the romantic notion of stardom is long gone. I’ve spent my career avoiding the mainstream, now I’m a living cliché. This requires some thinking and self-searching on occasion. But, ultimately, I know I love putting notes and chords together in ways that move me and possibly those around me. It’s not just about ego, either. It’s my relationship with what’s being created at the moment that I find the most thrilling. Knowing that I can impact the whole at any moment with my particular whim is a big rush, for sure. But the music is mightier than what I feel or desire by being in that position. I know this because I listen to it so much; at home, in the car, blaring from other people’s cars, in my head when I’m trying desperately to sleep. I hate music when I can’t go to sleep and one phrase is repeating over and over in my head. Whatever, music has always been in my head; more than anything, for good or bad. I can’t get rid of it. Band members have asked me to stop whistling before. It’s not just nervous energy, the stuff is really flying around up there and it spills out. My wish list of songs for Brave Combo to learn and play is ridiculous, constantly growing, and probably not humanly possible. I don’t know. There are so many great songs out there and it’s fun to play them. More than all the positive strokes musicians regularly receive, the making of organized sound is the real reason to do this forever. We’ll talk about this again some day.

Well, the slow time of the year is winding down and gigs are about to pop up like beautiful spring flowers. Check our itinerary and tour dates often. Shows are added every week. And, concerning the above mentioned Danny Jerabek, he is returning to Texas in mid-April to record and perform with the band. I believe this will be his first time to play at the Ft. Worth Main Street Festival, so come out and throw roses at his feet. That would make him happy and he’ll dance more.

As I close this MACHINE’S PUMP my thoughts drift to Japan, a country that has given more to Brave Combo we could ever have imagined. Our time in that amazing country was some of the best in BC history, because of the generosity and respect we received while touring there. From my experience working with our Japanese friends over the years, it doesn’t surprise me how well the citizens are handling the crisis, but the stress must be unbearable. And I’m sure everyone on the planet is a little closer to realizing how fragile and temporary all things are, except for nuclear radiation, apparently. We recorded a Japanese song once, called “Aoi Sanmyaku,” which was about picking up the pieces lifting your head and moving forward, no matter what. It was a big hit after World War II. It probably strikes a chord now, as well. Here’s to learning and understanding.