Volume 8 – #10 – October 2005
The 2005 Holiday Season is fully upon us. Just try to avoid it. Only major catastrophes can derail the jolly media onslaught we’ll enjoy next couple of months; a necessary evil, so to speak, as opposed to, say, terrorism. With this in mind, I guess it’s time for this band to jump on the bandwagon and finally release HOLIDAYS! We’ve dangled this luscious, candy-coated carrot in front of you for way too long. It’s finished, it’s assembled, it’s shrink-wrapped and ready to unwrap and disassemble. And, it’s a very interesting little package, unique to BC in some ways. There are extensive, rather candid liner notes about the making of the CD by the co-producer, Larry W. King. It’s the result of a specific project, with specific guidelines and 17 of the 19 tracks are original. The cover art, a painting by Faye Passow, is a lot of fun to examine. Plus, the CD includes the last “posed” photos of Bubba with Brave Combo. It’s cool, though. He looks happy. We all do. There will be two versions available. The Dentone HOLIDAYS! will be sold only at our shows or by mail directly from us. The Rounder HOLIDAYS! will be sold everywhere else. This is exciting, huh? It sounds like we have some well thoughtout plan of attack. And, just maybe we do. Only time will tell. Check the history books in 100 years and see how successful we were.
Did I mention to anyone that I’m thinking about starting a church? It will be based on just a handful of things Jesus and some other people said. For instance, we may not do anything at church except try to figure out how to BE TRULY NON-JUDGMENTAL, not “pretend” non-judgmental. We’ll meet for an hour a week until we feel like everybody gets it, then we’ll move on to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF. That may take a while, but we won’t tackle how to SELFLESSLY HELP TO EASE SUFFERING until it’s obvious that people are actually listening to each other. We’ll hold services in abandoned churches. I already have a 17-minute hymn medley ready to play as we gather. By the way, what’s the best way to organize society? Is it okay to encourage the concept of human interdependence in a capitalistic environment? Isn’t the USA ultimately supposed to be, by design, a land of “every man for himself” or even, “it’s me against you.” It seems then, in a place that holds greed and the acquisition of wealth higher than anything else, you have no choice but to depend on strict laws for your order. You know, it might be refreshing to see ads on TV that say, “HEY, DON’T EXPECT SO MUCH FROM LIFE!” rather than “YOU DESERVE EVERY POSSIBLE LUXURY – GO FOR IT!”
Brave Combo says, “If it isn’t abnormal, then it’s not normal.”
If you’re going to be in New York City November 14-16 (M-W), come to our show at Satalla, where we’ll perform at 7:30 each night. We’ve invited some special guests to join us (different ones each night) and we’ll play song after song while you listen and dance. Speaking of dancing, although Halloween will have come and gone by then, we plan to continue playing “The Vampire Twist” (from HOLIDAYS) throughout the year. So, you can expect to hear it every night in NYC. Other planned highlights include Lauren Agnelli singing, “J’ai Faim, Toujours” with Brave Combo and several accordionists from the NYC-based group The Main Squeeze; Kevin Solecki, from The Polka Family; Qbadisc’s mighty Ned Sublette; the mesmerizing Corn Mo; anime voice actor, Daphne Gere, performing “A Night On Earth;” Steve “Sumio” Calhoon from Pretendo and Earl Norman, from Three Mile Island enhancing the psychedelic jam, Celeste Macbeth Dubois, singing the haunting, “Banana Girl” from the Four Dots compilation, LIFE OUT THERE and more, more, more. This will be a nerve-racking train wreck for me, but a show and a half for the audience. Make this scene if you can. The catch phrase is “Every Night, Sheer Delight!”
Okay, it’s practical riddle time.
Q. Why did the alligator man jump into the swamp?
A. To save a drowning woman and her baby.
Q. How many kittens can an unspayed feral cat produce in her lifetime?
A. Five million.
Q. What tastes better? Dirty carpet or oven cleaner?
A. Probably dirty carpet.
Q. If you have three playing cards, a gum wrapper, five pennies, your lucky tooth, a green peanut M&M, a $100 bill and a piece of paper with a phone number on it, how much money do you have?
A. $100.05.
Equal time for jokes.
A little boy walked into a convenience store and went straight to the counter. The friendly clerk smiled at the boy and asked cheerfully, “How can I help you?” The little boy looked at the floor, shrugged his shoulders and ran out of the store.
Two guys were driving a jeep through a small town. A kid on a bike gave them thumbs-up as they zoomed by. He tried to follow but one of his tires was flat. Ten years later the kid with the flat tire became a successful local florist and one of the guys in the jeep delivered his flowers. The other guy in the jeep got a girl pregnant and moved to Utah.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Tom. Tom who?
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
So, on that totally comforting and absolutely predictable thought, I bid you a fond farewell. Turn off the lights and close your eyes.