- Album list
- Singer Intro
Brave Combo is a polka/rock/worldbeat band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than thirty-five years. Their music, both originals and covers, incorporates a number of dance styles, mostly polka, but also some Latin American and Caribbean styles like norteño, salsa, rumba, cha-cha-cha, choro, samba, two-step, cumbia, charanga, merengue, ska, etc.
As part of their perceived artistic mission to expand the musical tastes of their listeners, they have often played and recorded covers of well-known songs in a style radically different from the original versions. Examples include polka versions of Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze' and The Doors' 'People are Strange', The Rolling Stones' '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' as a cha-cha, and 'Sixteen Tons' as a cumbia. While their records may have a sense of humor, they are played straight and not usually considered joke or novelty records.
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.
In naming Denton, Texas, the 'Best Music Scene' for 2008, Paste magazine cited Brave Combo as the 'Grand Pooh-Bah of Denton bands' and said that 'Brave Combo, is in many ways the template from which all the rest are cut: eclectic and artistically ambitious, with a high degree of musicianship and a strong DIY ethic.'
Members
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.1956) (1983–1992)
Joe Cripps - percussion (born January 5, 1965, 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)
|
