The Machine’s Pump Volume 18 – #1 – January 2015

So, it’s really 2015, huh?  Hard to believe.  In fact, we’re even well beyond the broken resolution zone, by now.  Most likely, no one is impressed with the year’s newness anymore.  However, you have to admit that “2015” does have a “science fiction” ring to it.  Imagine FRANKENSTEIN 2015 or SPACE PATROL 2015 or 2015: AFTER THE FALLOUT.  Those are all believable movie titles.  Hey, is anyone tired of zombies, yet?  Just wondering.  I might be, and will let you know when I decide if I am or not.  I loved monster and horror movies when I was a kid and probably bought more magazines of that sort than anyone else in Texarkana.  Most people my age had parents that wouldn’t have allowed them in the house.  My parents didn’t give a flip.  In fact, they must have given me the money to buy them.  I knew all about werewolves, vampires and mummies.  Godzilla, Mothra, Gorgo and Reptillicus were close acquaintances of mine.  As were the Triffids and The Thing.  ENEMIES FROM SPACE and IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE were favorites.  Nothing beat staying up late on Saturday night to watch the horror double feature on Channel 12 out of Shreveport.  I dug the foggy gypsy camps in the Wolfman movies and the creepy castles Dracula lived in. This was just before I fell in love with Hayley Mills, the cute Disney star from England.  Just so you know, she conquered the States before The Beatles did and got me thinking more about girls than radioactive aliens.  I wrote letters to Hayley Mills and had posters of her in my room.  I saw all of her movies, of course.  Everyone thought she had the most exotic accent.  Some people kidded me about my infatuation, but it didn’t bother me.  I knew my love was real and had good reason to hope we would be married one day.  I don’t know what that reason was, but I knew there had to be one.  I was 11 or 12 and she was almost 20.  During this period I also started listening to the radio all day; even late, in the dark, after going to bed.  I had been buying 45 rpm records since the third or fourth grade and that obsession was well-entrenched by the time Hayley and I were thinking about marriage, a couple of years later.  Well, once I hit junior high school, Ms. Mills gave way to, you guessed it, rock and roll.  I put together my first band in the 7^th grade (The Creatures).  Fast forward to 2015.  I’m not very interested in monster movies or Hayley Mills anymore, but I still play in a band.  The 1960s were a completely different world and I’m still in a band.  Most of the 1970s I was not in a band, though.  I was in college, working on art degrees.  Once I was wrapping up my MFA, I started a new band and called it Brave Combo.  This was in 1979, which would have seemed like a long way from 2015, at the time, if I’d thought about it.  But, here we are and now it’s only 85 years until the year 2100.  I may be through with bands by then, ready to start my solo career.  I could probably draw a lot of people if I were 150 years old, at least until they got tired of my shtick (being 150 years old).  Whatever, don’t avoid the present or fear the future and don’t worry about the past.  Just be in 2015.

If you check our itinerary, you’ll see that Brave Combo is not playing much for a couple of months.  We’re sort of on vacation, sort of restructuring some things, sort of catching up on a lot of neglected stuff, sort of exploring new avenues for performing, sort of rehearsing and sort of cleaning the office.  The shows kick back in, full force, by the time April and May are here.  So stop fretting!

In the meantime, three major musical events are happening.  Stop the presses!  Call the Pope!  Share the news!  Feed the pets!

On February 21^st, my friend Mike Dillon and I will be debuting our long-time-a-coming duo project (Carl & Mike) at The Kessler Theater, in Dallas and on March 15th we’ll be performing at the 35 Denton Festival.  Details are forthcoming.

And in early March, we officially wrap up Brave Combo’s 35^th Anniversary, with “original line-up” shows at The Live Oak, in Ft. Worth, on the 5th and at Dan’s, in Denton, on the 6^th.  Tim Walsh, Lyle Atkinson, Lisa (formerly Dave) Cameron and I will be playing the songs that got this whole mess going.  Our show last August in Dallas was so well-received we figured this would be the best way to close out the festivities.  More on this to follow, as well.

Lastly, our new album, THE LIMINAL ZONE, will be officially released on February 15^th.  We are working on videos, planning some oddball promotional events and might even try to get some radio airplay.  And, of course, much more news on this as the date gets closer.

Okay, go about your business in this not-so-new year.  Turn those ambitious dreams into realistic goals and hop, hop, hop to it.