Volume 16 – #10 – October 2013

After Brave Combo had been together for about a year, we decided we wouldn’t play “The Too Fat Polka,” anymore. You know the song, “I don’t want her, you can have her, she’s too fat for me…” It just didn’t fit our concept (too novelty, too hateful). It sent a terrible message and we couldn’t justify celebrating that point-of-view. The song, obviously makes fun of over-weight people, plus it just perpetuated the whole idea that polka music is what dumb people like. Yuk yuk stuff. It was always good for a quick snicker, although I bet all larger-than-average women hated it even as they pretended to laugh. I’ll admit that the lyrics are clever and the melody is, actually, pretty darn great, but as good as this line is, “Will she fit in my coupe? By herself she’s a group,” the spirit of the song is just narrow-minded and mean. What if you substituted the word “black” for “fat?” Or “gay?” Arthur Godfrey recorded a version of “The Too Fat Polka” and it became a big hit. He goofed his way through it, in his usual laid-back, chuckly style and I often wondered if bad karma from making the record contributed to his humiliating downfall. You never know, do you?

On the other hand, Jimmy Soul’s Caribbean smash recording, “If You Want To Be Happy (For The Rest of Your Life)” didn’t strike me the same way. We used to play this song, as well, until Tim’s wife (founding member, Tim Walsh) got mad about it, but the sentiment never bothered me. I think it was because Jimmy was giving the listener advice about not being swayed by physical beauty and to go more for what’s inside and, as he said, ugly women make better cooks. I can see an argument for not playing either, but, really, the messages of the songs are completely different. Even though they both objectify women, “The Too Fat Polka” glorifies physical appearance, but “If You Want To Be Happy” definitely warns against it. I bought a picture-sleeve 45 single of “If You Want To Be Happy” when I was in grade school. The sound of it mesmerized me. It was played on top 40 AM radio for all to hear, but it didn’t sound like the other stuff. It appeared to be a rather primitive live recording, for one thing, but the groove was sorta foreign, the sound of the vocals and the enunciations and phrasings were odd. But the thing hooked me and reeled me in, like a good pop hit should.

Good friend, loyal supporter and musical collaborator, Roger Gilliam, the conductor of The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra, with whom we recorded our album, SYMPHONIC POLKAS, died suddenly at his home in early October. We were all hit hard by this and wish his family the best through these difficult times.

Well, the 2013 polka season is winding down. It started Labor Day Weekend (Westfest) and will come to a close in mid-November. The time has really been 2/4 and 3/4 packed and our polka chops are razor-sharp right now. Give us a big tent with a stage and a snap-together parquet dance floor and we’ll know exactly what to do. But the holidays are on the horizon, which means we have to douse the beam on the polka scene, for the red and green and what’s in-between and rehearse a completely different repertoire from what we’ve been playing. It’s the Brave Combo way.

Speaking of polka, we just played The Polka Pandemonium in Nashville, which was actually a tribute to two good friends, and giants in music world, who recently passed away, Steve Popovich and Cowboy Jack Clemente. The show was organized by Steve Popovich, Jr., who also produces The Cowboy Jack Show for Sirius/XM radio. It was a big-time fab event. Singing star, Kathy Mattea was the MC and our good buddies, Alex Meixner, Hank Gucevich and Ed Klancik opened the show with some musically acrobatic performing, including polka’s newest anthem, “Polka Never Dies,” originally by the Vancouver, B.C. band, The Dreadnaughts. Notes were flying all over the place, I tell ‘ya. Then we played and our set included two new polkas, both of them Cowboy Jack originals, “Ballad Of A Teenage Queen” and “Just A Girl I Used To Know,” and a new slinky, minor-key rumba version of “Ring Of Fire.” After we finished our show we packed up and drove straight to Denton, stopping at fascinating truck stops along the way. I think I slept from, roughly, 3:30 AM until about 9:00 AM, missing a couple of stops. I’ll get over it.

And, still speaking of polkas, on Friday, November 8, we play a benefit for West at the SPJST Hall in Houston. This fund-raiser is specifically for rebuilding a park which was completely destroyed in the fertilizer plant explosion that occurred earlier this year. And, on Saturday November 16, we are playing a multi-band, all-day polka bash, once again benefiting West, in Ennis, Texas at the KJT Hall.

Okay, get it together and do your best. The world’s moving on no matter what, so you might as well try. We would love to blow your mind at one or several of our shows. The BC itinerary is an organic creature. Dates just might pop up when and where you least expect, so it’s best to check in often. Until we next see you on the dance floor or staring at us from your seat, rock on rocking on. And I mean it!