Brave Combo

In a 1995 feature in The Santa Fe New Mexican, band cofounder Carl Finch described Brave Combo's influence as a polka band with rock styles as an earnest way to escape an increasingly corporate cultural landscape, lamenting- 'Rock had been removed from the common people' he said 'and musically I wanted what I do to have depth, I started listening to polka and ethnic records I'd find at Target six for $5 — nothing could beat that. At first, I’d just buy whatever covers looked strangest but after a while I’d do research and find out what was good.' Among the best, he soon discovered, were names like Larry Chesky and his big band polka sound, Norwegian accordion virtuoso Andrew Walter (“exciting intense” is Finch’s assessment), and Eddie Blazonczyk, the “Godfather” of Chicago’s Polish community. 'All this came out of a sense of desperation'. Brave Combo had its website at brave.com/bo, a domain hack. The domain name brave.com was purchased in 1995 by a fan of the band, who transferred it to the band in 1997. In mid-2010s, Finch sold the domain to Brave Software, which develops the web browser Brave, in exchange for bravecombo.com, which had been taken by a squatter, and an undisclosed sum of money. ==Awards and honors==

They won a Grammy Award in 1999 in the Best Polka Album category for their album Polkasonic, and again in 2004 for their album ''Let's Kiss''. ==Media appearances==

• The band made a short appearance, as animated figures, on the March 21, 2004, episode of The Simpsons ("Co-Dependents' Day"). • They appear as a wedding band in the 1995 feature film Late Bloomers. • In 1997, the band performed the theme song for the animated Cyboars pilot from Funimation. • In 2000, they appeared on the national telecast of the MDA Labor Day Telethon with Jerry Lewis dancing along to the music. • They wrote and performed the theme song for the 2005 series "ESPN Bowling Night". • The opening theme and other music for the 2008 PBS animated series ''Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns'' were produced by Carl Finch and composed, arranged, and performed by Finch and Brave Combo. • Their live music video, "The Denton Polka", appears on the Bohemia Rising DVD Compilation (released in 2009), a collection of documentary shorts directed by Christopher Largen exploring rebellion and resistance to corporate demolition in their hometown of Denton, Texas. • Included in Bob Dylan's 2009 Christmas release, Christmas In The Heart, the song "Must Be Santa", is performed polka-style. Dylan's arrangement is almost identical to the Brave Combo arrangement from their 1991 CD ''It's Christmas, Man!''. In an interview published by Street News Service, Dylan acknowledged the influence of Brave Combo: "This version comes from a band called Brave Combo. Somebody sent their record to us for our radio show. They’re a regional band out of Texas that takes regular songs and changes the way you think about them. You oughta hear their version of 'Hey Jude'." • They were featured on Bowling for Soup's album ''Sorry for Partyin''', playing a polka version of Bowling For Soup's song "Belgium". • The season seven episode "Fun on a Bun" of the animated science fiction comedy Futurama includes two original songs by the band plus a cover version of "The Chicken Dance". The episode debuted August 1, 2012, on Comedy Central. • The season ten episode "Bar Wars V: The Final Judgment" of the NBC sitcom comedy Cheers features Sam’s rival Gary pranking the bar on Halloween by rigging Cheers’ jukebox, telephone and even the bar’s soda gun to play the Combo song ‘Vampire Twist’ when being used. ==Discography==

US studio and live albums International releases ==Members==

in Carrboro, North Carolina • Carl Finch – guitar, keyboards, accordion (born November 29, 1951, Texarkana, Arkansas) (1979–present) • Lyle Atkinson – bass guitar, tuba (born October 23, 1953, Minneapolis, Minnesota) (1979–1985, 2015–present) • Danny O'Brien – trumpet (born July 12, 1966, Lakenheath, England) (1993–present) • Alan Emert – drums (born May 5, 1965) (1997–2008, 2010–present) • Robert Hokamp – guitar, lap steel, cornet (2015–present) Former members • Jeffrey Barnes – saxophones, clarinet, flute, harmonica, penny whistles (born July 27, 1951, Fremont, Ohio) (1983–2015) • Ginny Mac – accordion (2011–2013) • • Tim Walsh – saxophone, flute, clarinet (born c.1952) (1979–1983) • Dave Cameron – drums (born c.1958) (1979–1983) • Cenobio "Bubba" Hernandez – bass guitar (born November 30, 1958, San Antonio, Texas) (1985–2007) • Phil Hernandez – drums (born February 5, 1971, Buffalo, New York) (1992 – ?) • Mitch Marine – drums (born c.1961) (1983–1992) • Joe Cripps – percussion (born January 5, 1965, Little Rock, Arkansas - missing, last seen October 19, 2016, Little Rock, Arkansas) (1992–1999), some subsequent performances • Greg Beck – drums (1996–1997) • Paul Stivitts – drums (born 1971) NYC • Ann Marie Harrop – bass guitar (2007–2009) • Little Jack Melody – bass guitar (2009–2014) • Arjuna Contreras – drums (born August 11, 1974, Kenosha, Wisconsin) (2008–2010) • Bill Tomlin – drums (born September 28, 1948) ==References==