February, 1999. Grammy fever heats up. Life is just too bizarre these days. You see, I live on this giant ball of dirt and analyze meaning and purpose way too much. But odd and scary and funny things happen so often, it makes me wonder. The world is not just a big shopping mall. Although, the shopping mall is a very effective distraction, as is almost everything else with which we come in contact. This is probably the most zoned out humans have ever been. We know it, but ignore it. That’s the source of the conflict. Our culture is ridiculously comfortable and anxious at the same time. There’s too much to worry about to enjoy our self-indulgent bliss. We live longer, but time moves faster than ever. Eighty years in 1999 feels like forty in 1899. And the search for logic can be pretty darn frustrating. Whatever, I prefer to think that feeling lost in familiar surroundings is just part of playing the game. And I also can’t help but believe that music, polka music specifically, is an antidote to the anxiety. A peaceful place in the storm. Wow, that’s a concept: Peaceful Polkas. The polka movement is quite volatile right now. Change and growth is almost inevitable. The core soul of polka is so amazing and strong, it’s impossible to keep it confined anymore. Perhaps the mainstream is ready to understand it. When I became aware of polka music it was like a door to the fourth dimension flew open. More on this in future news letters.

Like I was saying, the fever heats up. Grammy nominations are good for bands like Brave Combo. Many people have heard of the Grammies. The recognition legitimizes us and ignites new interest in the band. Our shows have been packed and we’re grateful for the support. Thank you all for coming out. We especially want to acknowledge the fans that crammed into Caravan Of Dreams on January 30 and tolerated having no dance floor at all. We will remedy this problem. Thanks too, for all the congratulatory phone calls, letters, e-mails and faxes. The media has been very supportive as well. Even television. Channel 4, the Fox affiliate in Dallas, featured us playing live for the breakfast crowd at Ruby’s Diner in Denton recently. I’m not sure what the angle was supposed to be, but the host mentioned polka and the Grammies and led the audience in a conga line while we played. Well, CNN picked up the story and we were on Headline News every hour Super Bowl Sunday morning. For those of you who saw the piece, we don’t play Ruby’s Diner regularly, as it seemed to imply. However, I do like the idea of dancing at breakfast after very little sleep.

Jeffrey and Bubba are going to the awards ceremonies in Los Angeles. I think they will wear new clothes and look appropriately dapper. As you know, they’re both drawn to the glitzy, glamorous side of showbiz. On the other hand, I have a closet full of black T-shirts. Enough about that Grammy stuff.

Hey, check our itinerary. Cool shows in cool spaces in Oklahoma City, Fayetteville (AR), Ennis (TX) and Temple (TX). All of the venues are spacious and good for dancing or listening.

Brave Combo has wrapped up most of the recording for our new album, which we hope will be released this summer. We consider it especially radio friendly and hope that music programmers will think so, too. Please call your local stations and request Brave Combo as often as you can. Four or five times a day should do it. Actually, it probably won’t do much good to call Country stations or Christian stations or Oldies stations or Top 40 stations or All Talk/Sports/News stations or Classical stations or Jazz stations. Hmmm. Well, use your imagination. That’s been one of our big problems. We don’t fit many standardized radio formats. But, there are some polka shows out there. Also, check out avant-garde programming, community radio, NPR, world music, pirate stations and college stations.

I will close with a few thoughts. Valentine’s Day is this month. Love is about more than romance and sex. So far Winter in North Texas has been frighteningly mild. Something’s up. I wish there were some new Teletubbies episodes. Don’t you? Watch TV the night of February 24 and don’t blink. Polka on.

A note from Danny:

Brave Combo once had a mailing list. But we found that it was more than we bargained for, so we had to shut it down. We had hoped that someone might take it on themselves to start their own list, one that was totally operated by fans and free to run without input by the band. Well, that day has come. If you enjoy interacting with other Brave Combo enthusiasts, I suggest you join Izzie and Sparky at the Friends & Fans of Brave Combo page.