Lasers & Polka? - My Prescription for a Lifetime of Fun
It all started when Carl Finch and I started jamming at the University of North Texas dance studios where we worked playing music for the dance classes; I would bring my clarinet, and Carl played piano. I had honed my chops on Irish music, and it was time to step up to polkas. We got together and made a tape of about 15 songs from Carl's polka collection. The dancers loved it!
But I had already been doing laser shows for a company in Denton, Laser Creations, since 1976! It was part of my blood, I guess.
Well, Brave Combo took off quickly. When the band was getting $150 for a wedding, I think that was the point where we all quit our day jobs and relied upon the band full time for our income.
After a few years of riding the Brave Combo freight train (believe me, that is what it is like!), I was missing my laser involvement and feeling frustrated in the band. When George Rickrich at Laser Creations offered me the job of "laserist" at the Burke Baker Planetarium in Houston, I decided to take it, and left the band.
Naturally, this was a total freakout for me and the band, but the upshot of it was - Lyle found Jeff Barnes in Austin to play horns for Brave Combo. I had heard Jeff play before, and I realized that he was the right guy for the band. I did take the opportunity to tour with the band for about 6 months while Jeff and I played side by side. It was a great experience.
While I was in Houston, I was talked into playing woodwinds by accordionist Greg Harbar with his band, The Gypsies . We dressed up in folk outfits and played at Oktoberfests and private parties. I got to use a C Melody sax so I could read from his huge master songbook without transposing.
I started Laser Spectacles, Inc. with my wife, Helen, in 1985 and it has been my "job" ever since. We do shows all over Texas, the USA, and the world. In 1986 I helped found the International Laser Display Association (ILDA).
During this time I mainly played the Uilleann Pipes, clarinet, and accordion off and on, with my friend, Ralph White (fiddle, accordion, banjo), in Austin. With our friend, Terry Wooten, on guitar, we have a trio - "Wobblin' O'Toole".
Now - 2005 - I have the desire to play music more often, so I am working with Brave Combo again, jamming on polkas and cajun music with Bradley Williams, and looking to perform my laser music compositions whenever it is appropriate. Nuclear polka is alive, and the 21st century is ripe for lasers and polka!