Polka Is Now. Polka season is here. Man, oh man, oh man. Polka fests. Polka dances. Germanfests. Oktoberfests. Beerfests. Polka rehearsals. Polka mail. Polka recordings (Polka Grammy?). All of this, for Brave Combo, is business as usual (except for maybe the Grammy, but you never know). However, it’s also a hint at the future. Polka 2000. The flood gates open. Music is instrumental in balancing life again. And, ultimately, there is free polka expression without specific cultural attachments. I don’t give a hoot if you’re German or Czech or Mexican or Serbian or Polish or whatever. Some people are nice and some people are jerks. I look forward to the day when we come to music first and we don’t need food or beer or ethnic pride to decorate our polkas. But the world isn’t there yet. And for now, that’s okay. The embracing and reclaiming of polka by so many different groups is extremely cool. Brave Combo is thrilled to have myriad opportunities to do our thing. Viva, tension and release. Get down, people. Grab your partners and express your passion. Dig deep and then dig deeper. Polka is the soundtrack of the shifting earth. As the jet stream lowers, the polkas get faster and bigger. Enough of that for now. I’ll update you when I really start to lose it. Hey, one thing to keep in mind is that Brave Combo always plays a variety of styles, even at hardcore polka shows.

We’re rehearsing a lot these days in our new office/studio. The air conditioning works well and that’s good. Texas is still kinda warm. Anyway, we just might have a new CD (EP length) by the holiday season. It will primarily include brand new songs we’ve never performed live. Also, we’re about to begin work on a new album, which we hope to release in the Spring of 1999. It will be a package of hits like you’ve never imagined, including, “Human,” “Zombiefied” and “Baby, Baby, Baby Don’t.”

Speaking of recordings, Brave Combo songs will be heard in three new motion pictures: “Buscando Tu Corazon” in Meeting Daddy (starring Lloyd Bridges and son, Beau), “Corrido Navideno” in How To Make The Cruelest Month (starring Clea Duval) and three seconds of “Two Mary’s” in Top Of The Food Chain (starring Campbell Scott). It could still be months before these movies are released, so make a long term mental note about them.

I went to the opthamologist recently and while I was sitting in the waiting room I heard “The Theme From Midnight Cowboy,” “Theme From A Summer Place” and “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing” all in a row. It was very quiet except for this music. I looked across the room at a picture of my doctor surrounded by his staff. They were dressed nicely and conservatively. Sitting near me were two elderly women. I stood up and walked toward the picture to get a closer look. I like to look at how people pose and the facial expressions they make when they know their picture is being taken. After a few seconds I was called into the examination room.

I have an obsession with “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing.” When I hear it, I drift away. I can’t help it. Sometimes when we perform it I get very caught up in it’s simple message and intricate harmonic structure. I have a tape of several versions that I never tire of. I think of the promise of romantic love and how people want to feel something. All love is good, I guess, but this song is about that unique, special love between two people that Andy was telling Opie about when he thought Aunt Bea might be marrying the boring man that ran the dry cleaning business.

In October, we’ll be making rare appearances in Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville. Check our itinerary for details on these and lots of other shows and festivals.

Okay, that’s all for now. Enjoy the beginning of Autumn. Listen to music.