Volume 3 – #10 – October 2000

Oh, it’s Autumn in Texas. The intense heat has finally given way to wind and cold and our weak little minds turn to thoughts of yet another holiday season on the horizon. How can this be? A year is nothing. I mean, Christmas before last seems like yesterday. And the worst part about this time passing thing is that it’s so cliché. No one over the age of twenty five digs it. I am so bored with myself and my unoriginal problems. So, let’s talk about something not predictable. Like how many soft tofu cakes you can stack. They can be pretty slippery, hence unpredictable. But, still boring, I guess. Hey, I went to a movie recently. It had people in it acting like they were other people. It’s called ALMOST FAMOUS and it’s about a young fellow who gets to write for ROLLING STONE when he’s a teenager. His name is Cameron Crowe and his mentor/guru was a man named Lester Bangs, considered by many rock critics to be God. He had a reputation of cutting through the crap and “telling it like it was.” I wanted to see how he was portrayed, because I had the pleasure of hanging out with him on occasion in the early 80’s, in New York City and Austin. We (Brave Combo) were young upstarts, playing this wild, new style of polka, and he liked it, I guess. He edited a critics poll (Pazz and Jop Poll) for THE VILLAGE VOICE and consistently listed our releases and always gave us a high score. That also seemed to encourage other writers to check us out. He originally saw us at our very first show in New York City. We had been invited to open for Joe King Carrasco at a club called The Eighties and were offered $200. I think this was in 1980. So, we bought a van, scrounged up a handful of crummy gigs between here and there and drove to New York. Lester met us briefly at that show and he was very pleasant and supportive. I didn’t really know who he was at the time, but I certainly appreciated his interest. We returned to New York the next year and an interesting thing happened. We booked rooms at a really nasty place, The Hotel Bryant, right off Broadway, near Times Square. We asked a friend to check it out ahead of time and he said it was fine, but it wasn’t and we were stuck there because we paid in advance. I remember taking the elevator up to the seventh floor and noticing that the fourth floor was completely burned out. My room was overrun with cockroaches, there was standing water in the bathroom and at night I could hear the couple next door fighting. I mean, literally exchanging blows. Anyway, there was no phone in the room. There was a phone on each floor that you could use to call out, but it was practically impossible to receive calls. One day I was walking to the elevator and as I passed the hall phone, it rang. I picked it up and said “hello.” It was Lester Bangs, trying to track me down. I don’t know how he found me and I’ve always put great significance on this unlikely encounter. He wanted to know if we could get together and talk about polka music and Brave Combo music and invited me over to his apartment. Tito (our first drummer, Dave Cameron) went with me. He knew a lot about Lester’s writing and was very excited about this. So, Tito, Lester and I sat around and talked about music. It was invigorating. Our paths crossed a few more times before his untimely death a couple of years later. The last time we talked he said he wasn’t listening to much rock and roll anymore, preferring conjunto music and Mozart. I could dig that. Look up his name at the library or on your computer and read what he had to say and how he said it. Or buy his book, PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS AND CARBURETOR DUNG. You’ll be glad you did.

True passion. Real passion. All-consuming, totally mesmerizing, obsessive passion. Get into it. Rock your own world. Be your own worst enemy and forgive yourself. Listen for the hum and follow it into the darkened room. Swing wildly and confidently. Don’t hold back. Fix your gaze. Focus and let it rip. Get on the runaway train and let it take you wherever, even crashing into the creepy swamp of despair. Look in the mirror. Embrace the chill of hopelessness. Go to the center of your house and scream as loudly as you can. Enjoy the liberation of that moment. Stop judging yourself and others. I know this is a recurring theme in my writing. So what. Turn the damn amplifier up. Infiltrate your prison and spread the joy so thick that no one can stand up.

Too revved up and cocky department: We are sorry to report that we will not be returning to Wurstfest, in New Braunfels, Texas, this November. The reason is simple and it’s all about respect and fair treatment. Basically, The Jimmy Sturr Orchestra can sell their own merchandise from the edge of the stage and no other band or entertainer is allowed to do this. The festival is unbending and so are we. Jimmy has nothing to do with this. He probably doesn’t even know about his special privilege. It’s too bad, but not the end of the world. Frankly, I’ve had a difficult time with the emphasis on sausage at this event (wurst is a type of sausage). But, I can’t limit my professional and social world to vegetarians. I know this and I’m willing to compromise, at least for now, and perform at the “Ten Day Salute To Sausage.” But, only if Brave Combo is treated fairly.

And, as long as we’re on the subject, I can see more clearly than ever that one of my primary goals in playing this music is to release it from the shackles of extraneous stuff that shouldn’t have so much power over its existence. I’m not just talking about wieners on sticks and unfortunate turkey legs, either. I’m talking about beer and national/ethnic pride as well. These things imprison polka music and help keep the novelty tag attached to it. Why can’t we associate polka music with driving cars or having sex or saving money or becoming enlightened? I also know that I’m probably almost alone in this corner of the crusade. You know, I’m just going to be a rabid skunk when it comes to this precious subject. And if I can be a cross between a rabid skunk and a giant, fast-moving porcupine with some coral snake thrown in, so be it. I may not be reasonable at times. If I have to define that outer edge of polka love, it’s okay with me. The reputation of the music needs a lot of help right now. It’s been so severely encumbered for so long, that I feel obligated to help clear the trail any way I can (legally, of course). That’s why I’m always ready to call for action when a large company or corporation sets out to perpetuate negative stereotypes in their advertising. And I don’t even think they intend to offend necessarily. Usually, they’re just stupid and out of touch. I guess Beck’s Beer is the latest stupid company. Didn’t they read the first part of this paragraph? Most polka events sell a lot of beer. Do they want to run the risk of alienating a bunch of potential beer drinkers? Didn’t they see that movie that hasn’t been made yet, where the polka fanatics in the town throw all of the Beck’s Beer into Boston Harbor and push over some radio towers? Scrubby came out of retirement to record the soundtrack for this movie, incidentally. For those who don’t know, Scrubby is one of the leaders of the progressive polka revolution of the last twenty five years. He’s from Buffalo, New York and was the focal point of his band, The Dynatones, not to be confused with the R&B band of the same name. My advice is to do what you want. I don’t have a choice. I have to be that rabid skunk/fast-moving giant porcupine/coral snake thing. Can someone draw me a picture of what that looks like?

We’re doing six must-see shows on the East Coast this month. Thursday, October 26, we’ll be at The Mercury Lounge in Manhattan. This is part of Rounder Record’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and our performance will be filmed for a music video. Friday, October 27, we’ll be in Queens at Gottscheer Hall with the amazing German-style polka rock band, Die Schlauberger. This show will also be filmed. Saturday, October 28, we’ll be in Somerville, Massachusetts at Johnny D’s. This is also part of the Rounder Anniversary Celebration. Sunday, October 29, we’ll be performing at a big ol’ shindig for Boston radio station, WBUR, with our buddies, Click and Clack (Car Talk Guys). Monday, October 30, we’ll be in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (one of our favorite towns) at The Chameleon (one of the best clubs on the planet). We recorded the live version of “Purple Haze,” from POLKASONIC, at this club. And, on Tuesday, October 31, we’ll be doing our Halloween Polka Bash in Cleveland, Ohio, at The Beachland Ballroom. This is the hometown of Cleveland International Records (POLKASONIC) and a polka nerve center. Come out dressed like bowl of pudding or a horse or a light bulb and meet Steve Popovich (record company prez) and tell him how much you love Brave Combo. He loves us, too. Check our itinerary for details on these and other Brave Combo dates.

Some really exciting things are happening with Brave Combo right now. Positive changes. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so feisty. Big news, but too early to report. Reread paragraph two. Polka equals self love. I still can’t believe I have a Grammy sitting on my television. Peace, or whatever.