Brave Combo Interview: SXSW 2010

Brave Combo, who started their march to musical adventurousness more than 30 years ago, appear yet again at SXSW, for what can only be described as the umpteenth year. "The festival's always been good to us," says frontman Carl Finch. "It's amazing how good things always seem to happen for us there." Brave Combo's sound is "eclectic, a mixture of polka, Cajun, roots, folk and life," he says. The North Texas musical troupe has taken that approch to some lofty places, such as appearing on the 200th episode of 'The Simpsons' as well as in David Byrne's film 'True Stories.' Wise, as well as fun to listen to, Finch talks to Spinner about, among other topics, the band's polka versions of classic rock hits, how not being judgmental is the key to happiness, and Brave Combo's influence on none other than Bob Dylan!

How did you start the group?

As an art student, studying drawing and painting at the University of North Texas in the late 1970s, I'd grown up playing rock music. I've always loved music of all kinds, though, and I started thinking about why people prefer what was then mainstream rock. In 1979, I started Brave Combo to explore some genre-bending ideas. I thought, what about polka? I'm not German, Polish, Slovenian; I'm from Texas. Polka is enjoyed all over the world, and I wanted to explore the full range of this music!

We've had other members through the years, because we've been around quite awhile now. I'm on the guitar, keyboards and accordion. Anne Marie Harrop is our bass guitar player. Arjuna Contreras is on drums. Jeffrey Barnes plays horns and Danny O'Brien plays the trumpet. People who know a little about us have heard our version of Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze' and our version of the Stones' 'Satisfaction' to a different beat.

Where do you like to play?

Anywhere that is fun for me is a good place to play. We accept the hassles associated with a touring lifestyle -- we've even done some camping at festivals, although I have never really passionately embraced camping, like some folks. It's the endurance thing. I like to be comfortable, and I want everything to be right when we perform. At this point, I want to play when it's fan-driven, artistically satisfying or financially beneficial. We've played so many wonderful places, including in Japan, all over Europe and at a fantastic festival in Berlin. This was a polka festival with polka groups from all over the world in appearance, and some of the big names of polka, like Polka Service were there. We were touring Holland and Belgium, and suddenly we were at this major festival for the names in polka. At one point I wondered, "How did we get here? This is serious!" But it was also one of the most cool experiences of my life. We were rubbing elbows with groups like the Pogues.

From previous SXSW appearances, we've made friends with groups like Venus Flytrap from the Netherlands, and we've appeared with them. We've also found that at festivals, especially SXSW, it's possible to be approached by someone great from out of the blue to appear at special events. That's one of the reasons SXSW is such a joy for us.

How would you describe your sound?

We are very definitely an eclectic sound. We've performed our own music and we do covers that are fun. We are constantly exploring new sounds.

What are your musical influences?

From the body of our work, you'll see we are influenced by rock, alternative rock, polka, Latin jazz, even Cajun music. And zydeco, roots and folk music. Green beans!

How did you choose your group's name?

We wanted to find a name that was in some ways the least cool name possible. "Combo" is a word used by our parents and grandparents. The whole idea of naming and not judging opens the doors to everything.

Can you tell us more about "not judging"?

This really isn't something I talk a lot about, but I have found that the ultimate secret to success is to stop judging. Everything. Just remove the words good, bad, right and wrong from the vocabulary. There's a way to reflect what is real without labels, and I've found that if I remove judgment of others, I am free to ask for what I want. When I am no longer worried about judging other people and situations, I am removing fear about what I want to realize.

Here's an example: One day, we wondered how people get to play in the Macy's [Thanksgiving] Parade. We didn't know the answer. So I called Macy's and asked, "Who books acts for the parade?" and was referred to so-and-so on the 8th floor, who said "Send us some of your music." Before I knew it, we were scheduled to march in the parade! It's incredible. I don't know how these things happen. "Coincidences" like meeting [legendary '70s rock critic] Lester Bangs during a random New York trip, then finding us featured in Random Notes in Rolling Stone. We just kind of ran into him!

On another note, my wife and I have been vegetarians for many years. We are into our own path and yet we realize it's not for us to judge the way other people live.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Comfortable clothes, good shoes, equipment that works. We don't like those kinds of surprises when we plan to perform! Because we're in Texas, we can drive to and from the festival and our survival kit doesn't need to be as extensive as other performers'.

Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

Some folks tell me we are their musical guilty pleasure! We wrote and performed the theme for ESPN's 'Bowling Night' and the theme for PBS' 'Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns.' I composed, arranged, produced and performed. We have a music video -- 'The Denton Polka' [on the 'Bohemia Rising' DVD compilation, released in 2009] -- this is a documentary of sorts by Christopher Largen about demolition that's occurring in Denton, our hometown. And we're also on the Gumby album. We contributed two songs to that one. Gumby is a great character!

Last year, we were included in Bob Dylan's Christmas album, 'Christmas in the Heart': "Must Be Santa" is a really fun polka-type song. Dylan's arrangement is very similar to our 1991 release It's Christmas, Man! Dylan was interviewed by Street News Service and notes our influence. That's amazing, isn't it, to know Brave Combo has influenced Bob Dylan?

We also have a version of 'Hey Jude' that is so much fun.

What's next?

We're thinking about participating in a documentary someone wants to make about us. I'll let you know!


Donna Rodgers is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.