Volume 7 – #12 – December 2004

As it was for almost everyone else on the planet, 2004 was a busy, stressful year for Brave Combo. All of us humans discovered, again, that people are still capable of shocking other people. We discovered, again, that no material things, including ourselves, are permanent. Change is guaranteed. To quote a cliché, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” Forces of nature that can’t be predicted, and certainly not controlled, humble us to our core in a matter of seconds. We discovered, again, that one person’s logic equals insanity to another. It appears that lots of people have very, very, very strong opinions. Almost everyone seems to feel that his way is right. I guess this is okay. It’s not my place to say it isn’t, but I wonder how things would be if people could limit their intolerance to the important battles. You know, all colors are the same. There is no good or bad color. Maybe there should be a worldwide mandatory role-reversal day for everyone. And I’m not proposing some cheesy reality TV show, so banish that thought. Besides, reality TV is so last year. Speaking of reality TV, I have no problem with it. It just proves that a solid 90% of mainstream entertainment is predictable and boring. Pardon my opinion, actually it’s more an observation, but I really believe that the powers that control mainstream tastes feel that predictability and, to some degree, shooting for the lowest-common-denominator is essential to wide spread success, or perhaps LCDness just automatically follows wide spread success. Maybe the powers are correct in following the bland path. It’s nothing new. I remember almost always loving the first album or two by some band or performer and feeling let down by albums 3,4 and 5. I felt this way about The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd (oh my God, who doesn’t feel this way about Pink Floyd), The Village People, Cream, or anything that involved Eric Clapton beyond Cream’s DISRAELI GEARS, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Britney and so on. Of course, all things pop culture must dissolve away to make room for the newest, latest, coolest, whatever. Hooray for the way it is! I accept the unknown and the inevitable with open arms. This Earthly dimension is a flimsy, yet surprisingly sturdy place. I will continue, in 2005, to have low, or at least below reasonable, expectations for myself, Brave Combo, my little town, my bigger country and all of humanity, actually. Yet, I’ll also be driven to achieve something grand. This works for me. Although my band mates would probably disagree, I know that perfection is not possible. But, for me, it’s a fun goal. It seems if you shoot for perfection as hard as you can, oftentimes the results don’t fall too short, and definitely within the acceptable range. I used to rate gigs in the beginning of Brave Combo; how well we played, how well the audience responded, how big or small the audience was, how nice the management was, how professional and capable the sound man was, how good the PA was, how much publicity we generated, how nice the dressing room was, if there even was one. It helped me see where Brave Combo’s world needed improvement. I thought that if we covered all of our angles thoroughly and passionately we could just watch the pieces fall and work with that. To be honest, I really don’t know if the first 25 years were the best they could have been, but some cool things have happened and several occurred in 2004. Here’s a quick recap of the year from the Brave Combo/Carl Finch perspective.

We made a lot of noise about Brave Combo’s 25th year. We played lots of cool festivals around the USA (and one in Canada), including the Springfield Oktoberfest on THE SIMPSONS. We composed and recorded many songs about holidays for a future release. My father died, Bubba’s father died and some beloved fans died. We recorded, and released on our own label, LET’S KISS, just in time for polka season. Our version of “The Happy Wanderer” was used in its entirety (and inexplicably) right in the middle of the movie, ENVY, starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Christopher Walken. The Donut, our old van/bus thing was sold to our mechanic for practically nothing. The original Brave Combo (Tim, Lyle, Dave and myself) reunited for an anniversary show in Dallas. LET’S KISS received a Grammy nomination. Robert Plant told Terry Gross, on her radio show, FRESH AIR, that he considered our cover of “Stairway To Heaven,” with Tiny Tim, one of the best he’d heard. I was interviewed for a documentary about Bigfoot sightings in the South. My dog, Dolly, died. We played to great crowds (big and small) everywhere and touched base with lots of friends.

Here’s to a brand new year; twelve glowing fresh months, each one brimming with potential, but precarious as hell. Do we accept adventure as a fact of life or settle into a realm ruled by convenience? Do we butt heads until we’re all decapitated? Whatever, I wish a peaceful, secure and happy environment for everyone who reads these words. Beyond that, extend yourself, make your plans and be prepared for nothing to quite work out as expected. Okay? Go.