Sonic Polka.

It’s a fascinating term isn’t it? The name doesn’t sound quite so crazy as Death Polka, the term used to describe the music of Ando Ehlers (which he calls “the demented offspring that formed from the sacred union of punk, folk, metal, sacred harp singing and bluegrass.” There’s a lot to unpack there. If you’re struggling to process all that, don’t worry. Ehlers will get his own blog post in the future). Still, sonic polka an intriguing and evocative phrase. It gives the sense of something vibrant and alive, exploding with energy.

I first heard the phrase sonic polka used in relation to the band Brave Combo, a polka band from Denton, Texas. Of course, describing them as a “polka band” doesn’t give you the full sense of who they are or what they do. Brave Combo is a musical experience. Their albums hop playfully between traditional polka, rock and roll, meringue, zydeco, conjunto and a host of other musical styles. Listening to Brave Combo, you might hear their take on the classic Hendrix tune “Purple Haze,” followed by the slow, haunting Israeli dance song “Ma Navu.” You’ll get polka standards like “In Heaven There Is No Beer” but you’ll also get their take on classical melodies like Mozart’s “Rondo a la Turca” or Brahms’s “Hungarianella.”

A Brave Combo concert is a participatory experience. Sure, you could just sit and listen to the music, politely clapping at the end of each song, but it would be a little bit like going to a movie and closing your eyes throughout the entire film. To truly get the full soul cleansing, life affirming musical baptism, you have to get up and dance.

I first encountered Brave Combo at one of their live shows. They were performing at the annual Arts & Jazz Festival in Denton, Texas. The city has a long history with music, producing such musical luminaries as Roy Orbison, Don Henley, and Norah Jones, but for a Dentonite, Brave Combo transcends them all. They are the musical embodiment of the town’s spirit: free wheeling and eclectic, constantly celebrating diversity and striving to expand horizons.

Their show was like nothing I had ever seen before. People of all ages packed the concert. Young and old danced to songs like the Chicken Dance without a trace of irony or self-consciousness. That’s another thing about the band: their music isn’t shtick. It would be easy to embrace polka as a satire, as a postmodern joke. Brave Combo doesn’t do that. They genuinely love the music,and their passion is infectious. Lead singer Carl Finch belted out the vocals while donning an Egyptian Pharaoh’s headdress. When he wasn’t blowing the saxophone, Jeffrey Barnes led the crowd in a bit of transcendental meditation by way of the Hokey Pokey (though I don’t recall the exact wording, it was something to the effect of, “Now breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, expanding universal consciousness…that’s what it’s all about.) When the band broke into their signature tune “Do Something Different” the crowd went full tilt. College students were jumping up and down and crowd surfing, singing along at the top of their lungs. It was the sort of energy you’d expect at an underground punk rock show, not at all what you’d associate with a musical form championed by musicians like Frankie Yankovic and Lawrence Welk. From the first note of the show to the last, their music pulsed with life and a spirit of community, the idea that, “Hey, life is a crazy, difficult thing, but we’re all in it together. Let’s have some fun on the way.”

I’ve seen the band numerous times since that first show. I’ve built up a library of their music, which also turned me on to a host of other brilliant musicians like Bubba Hernandez, former bassist for the group, and Alex Meixner. It also encouraged me to delve into the history of polka music, exploring its roots and delving into the true craftsman practicing this much maligned musical form.

I’d be hard pressed to name my favorite Brave Combo album. There’s no way to go wrong. Both Polkasonic and Let’s Kiss won Grammy Awards (back when the Grammy’s still had a “Best Polka Album” category). The album Polkas For a Gloomy World was one of the first I ever acquired, and it has helped me through many a grey, world weary day. The album A Night on Earth contains their signature song “Do Something Different,” as well as the title track, whose simple, tender melody may be my favorite Brave Combo song. The Live At Blob’s Park album perfectly captures the band’s live energy and has a whole slew of classic Brave Combo tunes, including “In Heaven There I No Beer,” “Ice Machine in the Desert” (a song inspired by the surreal art piece “Object” by Meret Oppenheim), and brilliant takes on songs like “Brazil” and Ernest Tubb’s western swing classic “Waltz Across Texas.”

Start anywhere and dive in. You won’t regret it. Now, let’s polka:

(note: the picture at the start of the article is Carl Finch, Brave Combo front man, with me, my wife, kids and Mom at a Brave Combo show in Denton, Texas