Volume 9 – #4 – April 2006
It’s raining in Denton today; slow and steady, with an occasional rolling rumble. It’s a perfect afternoon. The sky is dreary gray and the grass all over town is a happy deep green. I love the rain. Always did. When I was in grade school, rainy days were my favorite. It was cozy, you know, sitting in warm classroom, looking through the window at the dark, wet outdoors. An occasional flash of lightning made it even better. If I had an umbrella, I didn’t even mind the walk to my grandmother’s house after school. I was good at dodging puddles. My grandmother, Lila Bales, lived only a few blocks from both my grade school and my junior high school, so almost every school day meant a visit with her, which was fine. She let me do anything I wanted, including playing all over the neighborhood, hanging out at the local grocery store, reading comics, eating snacks and watching Captain Talltower on Channel 6, Texarkana’s local television station. I remember Captain Talltower (named after the Channel 6 transmitting tower, which was the tallest in the area) looking a little bit like Buddy Ebsen of the BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. He showed cartoons and monster movies. Sometimes I would ask my grandmother to watch with me. She usually would. I would also see monster movies on a campy late Saturday night TV show, hosted by a Shreveport area personality called Evilen (pronounced EVIL-un). It was a double feature with little skits before and after commercials. The skits would usually have Evilen say something stupid to a zombie or a wolfman and then the camera would pan to a jar of eyeballs or something and you would hear creepy laughter and probably some laboratory gurgling and bubbling sounds. This may be what turned me into such a late night person. I much prefer night to day. Bright lights have always bugged my eyes. I really dig stopping at funky little convenience store in the middle of nowhere at 2 AM. When will I ever get too much of this? Apparently, never. Brave Combo turns 27 this year and I’m still fascinated by the most seemingly insignificant stuff. I wonder about the clerk that works the graveyard shift at a poorly lit Allsup’s store outside of Muskogee, Oklahoma. This is more interesting than sleep. Maybe I don’t need much sleep, which will be a good thing this summer. Have you checked our itinerary recently? At this point, it appears we’ll be playing for the fine folks in Albuquerque, Sante Fe, Durango (CO), Norman (OK), Lawton (OK), Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Akron, Columbus, Ft.Wayne (IN), Indianapolis, Springfield (IL), St. Louis, Little Rock, Binghamton (NY), Cheektowaga (NY), Rochester (NY), Pittsburgh, Ridgefield (CT), New York City, Boston, Carlsbad (CA), Los Angeles, San Jose, Davis (CA), Santa Cruz (CA), San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis and all over Texas. Plus we’re working on adding Fayetteville (AR), Oklahoma City, Lincoln (NE), Denver, Boulder (CO), Cheyenne (WY), Bozeman (MT), Memphis, Nashville, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Seattle, Portland (OR), Portland (ME) and Providence (RI). Before too long we hope to hit the Southeast again with dates in Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. This would be a good year to throw in Alaska and Hawaii, too. Okay, now I’m in the typical “overly ambitious Carl” mode. I know I drive everyone around me crazy. Did I mention that I don’t sleep much? I think I’m a type “double A” personality. And polka is the soundtrack to my life. We should never underestimate the power of this music. It can kick you in the butt when you don’t want to be kicked in the butt.
A funny quote:
I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
Speaking of insanity, have I mentioned that my percussion buddy, Mike Dillon, and I are still just about to wrap up an album project? We have 12 songs near the mixing stage. Maybe I can squeeze in some overdub sessions between Minneapolis and Columbus. Also, in that same vein, Sara Hickman and I have been working some together and will continue to try to get on the same page, despite our ridiculous schedules. She and I almost have a four-song demo ready to do that doesn’t sound like either Sara or Carl. Spooky, huh?
Another funny quote:
He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.
Well, I’m inclined to comment on the current state of world events and United Sates political affairs in particular, but what’s the point. Somehow, Bush and his unlikable comrades have made themselves such easy targets, it seems that just about everyone is waiting to take a shot. He is now being openly referred to as, perhaps, the worst President ever and he’s just about to absolutely alienate everyone. At least the country’s eyes are starting to open. You know, when I start feeling bad for someone who, if he were just smarter, could actually qualify to be the anti-Christ, that’s bad. I can’t believe his approval rating, even at 33%, is still so high. Who could possibly still support this guy? Okay, that’s enough. If the Democrats can’t turn this around, I give up. I’m just going to start digging a deep, deep hole; way deeper than Saddam’s spider hole or the hole that Baby Jessica fell into about twenty years ago.
Speaking of Bush, here’s a gasoline joke.
Average Citizen #1 – Hey, how are you doing?
Average Citizen #2 – Okay I guess, but I had to quit my job.
Average Citizen #1 – How come?
Average Citizen #2 – I had a 100-mile commute everyday and gas was just too expensive
Average Citizen #1 – What are you going to do now?
Average Citizen #2 – I was thinking about killing myself.
Average Citizen #1 – Good idea. Mind if I join you?
And another funny quote:
I’m out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
Come to New York City this summer. Lincoln Center has invited us to perform for their Midsummer Night’s Swing series again this year and the night will be a Brave Combo request night. They will be posting a list of about 100 of our songs that dancers can request before the show and then we’ll play them. This is a great event with a spectacular outdoor stage and dance floor and, I believe, there will even be dance lessons before the show. The night is Wednesday, July 19. Definitely worth taking off from work buying a plane ticket, taking some cabs and getting a really expensive hotel room right across the street. If you decide to do this, I hope it doesn’t rain. Even though I do love the rain (See paragraph one), it’s not much fun at outdoor concerts and festivals. It makes everyone sad and then they try not to show it. So, you see, in one small newsletter I’ve expressed the joy of rain and the downside of it, too. Everything is like that. Even dogs are like that. They’re devoted and selfish both. But dogs are better than most people. At least they’re devoted.
One more funny quote:
You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
Hey, we have more symphony shows in the works. Another couple in the Dallas area look inevitable and we hope, hope, hope to do the show around the country. Our experimental run with the Garland, Las Colinas and Arlington symphonies exceeded our expectations and some interesting inquiries are coming our way. Go buy a tux. But before you do that, look around and notice your world. Touch the ground. Listen to nothing and check out what you hear. Perhaps, there’s more good stuff going on right in front of us everyday than we realize. Have fun.