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.
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately 180 miles (290 km) from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census.
The Grammy Award for Best Polka Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality polka albums. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
"Beer Barrel Polka", originally in Czech "Škoda lásky", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity during World War II as a drinking song.
"Co-Dependents' Day" is the fifteenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 21, 2004.
Joseph Nicholas Spampinato is a multi-instrumentalist and was a founding member and bass player of NRBQ. He was also one of the band's lead singers and chief songwriters. Before NRBQ he played in several bands, including The Seven of Us, which in 1967 while in Miami, Florida, met another band, The Mersey-Beats USA. The bands merged to form NRBQ. On the group's first two albums, NRBQ and Boppin' the Blues Spampinato is credited as "Jody St. Nicholas".
Esteban "Steve" Jordan was a jazz, rock, blues, conjunto and Tejano musician from the United States. He was also known as "El Parche", "The Jimi Hendrix of the accordion", and "the accordion wizard". An accomplished musician, he played 35 different instruments.
Texas High School (THS) is a public high school in Texarkana, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana Independent School District and is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League. In 2015, it was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Bonnie Hayes is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, born in San Francisco, California, United States, and currently lives between Los Angeles and New York City. Her songs have been recorded by Cher, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, Robert Cray, David Crosby, Adam Ant and Booker T and the MGs.
"The Simpsons Theme", also referred to as "The Simpsons Main Title Theme" in album releases, is the theme music of the animated television series The Simpsons. It plays during the opening sequence and was composed by Danny Elfman in 1989, after series creator Matt Groening approached him requesting a theme. The piece has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.
Steve Popovich was an American record company executive. As the founder of Cleveland International Records, he launched and guided the careers of many famous artists through his work with the CBS label family, including The Jacksons, Michael Stanley, Cheap Trick, Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Bob Dylan, and Meat Loaf. Popovich was involved as co-producer and/or label in six Grammy nominations and winner of two.
Polka is a music and dance style that originated in Europe in the 1830s and came to American society when people immigrated from Eastern Europe. A fast style in 2/4 time, and often associated with the pre–World War II era, polka remains a dynamic "niche" music in America.
Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns is an adult animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons and airs on PBS. The series follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop, Car Talk Plaza. It stars Tom (Click) and Ray Magliozzi (Clack), also known as the Tappet Brothers, from National Public Radio's Car Talk. The show was the first primetime animated series for a general audience to be produced and aired by PBS.
Polkasonic is an album by the American polka band Brave Combo. It was released through Cleveland International Records in 1999. In 2000, the album won Brave Combo the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album. It was the third Grammy nomination and first win for the band.
Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album is an album by the American polka band Brave Combo, released through Dentone Records on October 28, 2004. In 2005, the album won Brave Combo the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album.
Polka Party with Brave Combo: Live and Wild! is an album by the American polka band Brave Combo, released through Easydisc on April 7, 1998. In 1999, the album was Brave Combo's first nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album. The album was recorded live at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, Texas, on September 26, 1997, and at Rick's Place in Denton, Texas, on September 27, 1997. This was the second Grammy-nominated album by the Denton, Texas, based band.
Anthony Preston is an American, Grammy-nominated record producer, songwriter and music executive. He frequently works with will.i.am.
Larry Chesky, born Lawrence J. Ciszewski, was an American accordion player, Polka band leader, inductee in the International Polka Hall of Fame, and manager of the Rex Records label.
Bryan Simpson is an American singer-songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas, who is based out of Nashville, Tennessee. Simpson is best known for his solo output as The Whistles & The Bells, his work as a founding member of Cadillac Sky, and the songs he has written for artists including Tim McGraw and Joe Nichols.
Polkas for a Gloomy World is an album by the American polka band Brave Combo, released in 1995. The band intended for it to be a return to their traditional polka fusion roots.
