Volume 8 – #5 – May 2005
THE LIGHT-HEARTED ISSUE. POSITIVE VIBES AHEAD.
Brave Combo gives me the opportunity to travel, travel, and travel. It amazes me how many cities we maneuver through quite easily and how many airports we know well enough to dread. It’s all about the things that you confront regularly and how to make them interesting. Aspects of being in a touring band spell entertainment with no effort, at least for me. Playing music continues to be pretty thrilling most of the time. And nice people, saying nice things to you, is a definite plus, if you can handle feeling embarrassed a lot. Sometimes situations can be very awkward, but I try not to show it. Everyone is better at that than they think they are. 21st Century folks are damn good at falling apart on the inside, but maintaining composure on the surface. That’s probably a symptom of an image-geared materialistic society. Whatever, nobody wants to look clueless and bumbling. I think we’re all becoming good little actors. Wait a minute! I’m heading down the wrong path. I’m teetering on the edge of darkness and I want this MACHINE’S PUMP to be upbeat and optimistic for everyone. So, back to the joys and mysteries of travel. For some inexplicable reason, I have never lost my exuberance for hotels, and especially, motels; good, clean, unique, family-owned motels near non-chain restaurants and diners. I check out the artwork above the bed, the water pressure in the shower, my room’s proximity to the ice machine and all the other important details. I like little courtyards with benches and imagine that some guests actually used that stuff before the world got so busy. I try to let the feeling of that innocence and wonder wash over me. I love to stroll into the lobby. If it’s really late, the clerk may act a little nervous if he/she isn’t behind thick Plexiglas. But, usually everything is laid-back cheery and it’s time to peruse the brochures for local attractions. This is the pinnacle of fun on the road; alone in your motel room, thumbing through colorful pamphlet after colorful pamphlet literally gushing the promise of a great time. You don’t have to actually do or see any of these things. The brochures give you the endorphin boost you want. What matters is that you’re in this special place, somewhat away from the day-to-day grind. When times were simpler, I used to book the motel rooms through AAA Auto Club and I would look for two diamonds, one-story, attractively decorated rooms, immaculate yard, parking at your door. Small places with 20-30 rooms, nestled in some trees were the best. Twenty-five years ago, these places were everywhere. In 2005, I don’t have time for this anymore and they’re hard to find anyway. What a bummer. Wait a minute. No bummers allowed. Get back on track, Carl. Actually, I love hotels, too. We get to stay in lots of fancy ones. And, almost always, somewhere in the lobby of even the swankiest joints, you’ll find a rack of brochures. I like them to have one or two folds; not a single card and not the novels that a place like Disneyworld puts out. Of course, it’s easy to see the lure of the world’s tallest concrete prairie dog in Colby, Kansas but the subtler, less flashy attractions can be the most intriguing, like a brochure of a city park that shows pictures of the snack bar and the pool and a field. Cave and cavern brochures are especially good as are local hillbilly show brochures. You don’t pick up many of those in New England or around New York City. Wouldn’t it be great to see an Ozark Mountain Hillbilly Review in France or North Korea? Lots of the Branson, Missouri theatre ads show people missing teeth. These days it’s fake. Didn’t use to be. However, there are still worth-while points of interest all over the map, including waterfalls, seals on rocks, big trees, bigger trees, historical reenactments, observatories, little bitty museums, mountains, giant holes in the ground, statues of Paul Bunyan and Sam Houston and sculptures of pecans. And they all have brochures.
I made up a joke once and you can use it if you pay me. Here it goes, and it’s sort of true. “I have some friends that are so slow, I have to take Valium just to keep up.”
God Almighty in Heaven, and beyond even what the Hubble Telescope can see when it’s working properly, Brave Combo is so busy, we’re almost zombies floating in the stratosphere. We’re preparing Bubba subs (Hmm, what exactly would be on a Bubba Sub? I guess I should know by now.), learning brand new songs with our brand new returning original member, Tim (Mr. Upbeat) Walsh, non-stop touring and trying to get HOLIDAYS out of the office. The plan for now is to release it regionally, on DenTone, in August and, nationally on Rounder, in October. But there are so many sticky little items to cover, like jacket design and contracts. The photos are finished at least, and we look simply mah-velous.
Our friend, esteemed busy associate, BC cheerleader and owner of Cleveland International Records (POLKASONIC, KICK-ASS POLKAS), Steve Popovich, just won a big ol’ lawsuit against Sony Music. Many years ago Steve discovered a young singer named Meatloaf and released his first album, BAT OUT OF HELL on Cleveland International. Through a partnership with Epic Records, and ultimately Sony Music, BAT OUT OF HELL went on to sell 30 million copies making Steve something of a legendary talent scout/A&R man. Part of his agreement with Epic/Sony included having the Cleveland International Records’ logo on all copies of BAT OUT OF HELL, which they did for a while. But for some reason, his logo eventually disappeared and they refused to bring it back. Steve took them to court and won. Shazam!
More positive news. Brave Combo is fired up and ready to come to your town for a groovy old-fashioned latin/polka hoedown revival in a ravine during a raging thunderstorm, with lightening flashing and wolves a-wailing. Wear your waterproof clothes and bring along a good attitude. Remember, perspective is everything, even in your dreams.