Volume 3 – #8 – August 2000

TEXAS VERY HOT! But not compared to Death Valley or the surface of the Sun. How things are is largely based on your perception. Most situations or events in a person’s life require no label of good or bad, or right or wrong, to be rich with significance. And to ultimately develop an attitude of no expectations can make you more aware of the microscopic elements that make up an event. The nuances can be amazingly entertaining. Like feeding the cats. I wonder about the zone they get into while they’re chewing and swallowing. Their eyes sort of half shut. They become symmetrical and mechanical looking. Their little heads have little brains – much smaller than mine. In some ways, I am probably smarter than any cat that ever lived. On the other hand, I had a cat once that could bite and scratch much more effectively than I ever could. His name was Wem. He was a rare black and white domestic shorthair and was the kind of cat that would viscously attack you if you gently petted him or if you accidentally walked across our yard. I guess he was the neighborhood bully cat, constantly fighting and constantly abscessing. I remember clearly that insane animal look: eyes set, nostrils flared, ears back, hair on end and fur ridge down the back. For 16 years I was in danger of a deep scratch or a puncture wound if I did just the wrong thing. I loved that cat. He forced me to notice and appreciate the small things about extreme catness. I’ve said it before. Cats are not the same as dogs. Cats are more like birds. Dogs are more like simple-minded people.

It’s smart to approach aspects of the music business with no, or at least low, expectations. This especially applies to touring. If we think no one will come to a particular performance and two or three hundred show up, that’s very cool. And so many things can figure into the picture: time of the year, day of the week, degree of promotion, degree of competition, availability of gasoline, amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, number of tornadoes the area. All of these factors, and more, play a part. See, if we could get some regular radio airplay and have a hit, we could roll into any town like the big deal we think we are. Beautiful, cherubic children and their happy parents would hover around the Donut (our van/bus thing) as we cross the city line and shower us with rose petals. The big pipe organ in the town square would blare “Do Something Different” or “The Mystery Spot” or “So Rich” and the red carpets would be so plentiful we wouldn’t even know which way to go. But we don’t get much airplay (our music is very difficult to label and stick into a format) so we can sneak into most cities with no fanfare and enjoy the good feelings of anonymity. We toured most of July around the East Coast and are very pleased at the results. Somehow, it’s still working. And, despite the lack of radio support, things are better than ever. We’re so lucky that our fanbase continues to grow. Almost nothing about touring is easy, but if you feel you’re making a difference, you can endure a lot. Our last East Coast performance was in Albany, New York, in Washington Park. We played well, there was a huge crowd (1000-1500 people), the response was great and we sold a bunch of CDs. We were happy, the fans were happy, the promoter was happy, the sound crew was happy and the opening act (The Chandler Travis Philharmonic) was happy. The final show ended on a good note (pun intended). Then it was new reality time. Immediately following the concert, we packed up the instruments, loaded up the Donut and drove straight back to Denton (32 hours). Realizing after 16 hours you’re only halfway home can put you in an interesting mindset. You can learn to laugh at some types of personal agony. You know, like comfort stops. I saw a desperate five-legged cricket crawling behind an over-flowing trash can in a filthy rest room at a funky truckstop in Tennessee. His life didn’t look so great. But, I could relate to his futility and that made me laugh. His life is ridiculous and my life is ridiculous. So, let’s all celebrate the ridiculousness of our lives. I hope that cricket is okay.

Europe. Here we go again. This time it’s Belgium, Holland and a pinch of Germany. Check our itinerary for specific dates. Our promoter, Rudolf, has some master plan for Brave Combo. We’re playing lots of park concerts in smaller cities and two very important festivals on this tour. We will perform at the Lowlands Festival in Holland and will headline an alternative polka festival in Berlin. Polka in Europe is a totally different animal than it is here. So much so, I don’t have the energy to get into it. Most Europeans don’t know anything at all about the progressive polka movement that’s been happening in the USA for the last 30-40 years. There’s a large enough audience for a handful of Tejano/Tex Mex artists to be able to tour, but that’s about it. This is our first time to play in Berlin. I don’t know what to expect. So, as I mentioned earlier, I will go into this with no expectations and we’ll see what happens. At least I know we’ll be ultra hip simply because we’re from Texas.

Our friend and master percussionist, Mike Dillon, has been playing lots of shows with us lately. He and Alan (our drummer) started the punk/funk band, Billygoat, many years ago. They play very well together. Mike also leads a band called The Hairy Apes BMX and plays regularly with the Kansas City avant jazz group, The Malachy Papers as well as the totally mind-blowing Seattle quartet, Critters Buggin’.

It’s confirmed. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Monday, September 4. Around 10 or 11 AM, Los Angeles time. That no expectations thing really applies here. This has been predictably unusual from the beginning. We know we will be seen by millions of people. This is a fact. I don’t know how we’ll look. Probably a little out of place and a little sleepy.

We appreciate all of the emails we receive. If you don’t hear back from us right away, please don’t be offended. We read every one. That’s a promise. The best way to get a quick reply, if you need one, is to call the office. We all live in Technology Land now. That makes living easier and more complicated at the same time. Someday, everything will make sense. Until then, I guess we just keep hacking our way through the old and new jungles we’ve created. And we get to enjoy the exotic new foliage and wildlife in the process. It’s always about the process. Adios, Amigos.