Zelick on the AFE Tour

September-October 2008

September 28 2008: Greetings from the Front Lines (Part 1)

Hey PBF !

I'll bet you are all just dying to know how it has been going out here. Unfortunately the details of our misson are Delta, Zulu, 347-89X Classified. If I was to divulge any information regarding our whereabouts, or mission parameters, your computers would all implode. However, if you are a part of the 68th Command Battalion headed up by Lt. Commander Stapp (a.k.a. Stealth Bobby) then you have already received your decoder ring and special instructions, in which case you may proceed. For those of you not in the know, the following message will simply look like a recipe for Baklavah:

SO.............ITS EXTREMELY OBVIOUS THAT I HAVE BEEN SPENDING WAY TOO MUCH TIME IN THE DESERT. HAHAHAHAHAHA

On a more serious note, I am sure all of you have been keeping up with the blog on Scott's Myspace page and some of the pics management has been posting, but HERE you get the tour from the band's perspective. As my first update,there is a lot to tell. I haven't spoken with y'all in almost a week and a whole mess of stuff has gone down.

We arrived in the middle east last Sunday eager to get started. With Monday off, we were able to shake off some of the jetlag and the lost day (Sunday never actually happened for any of us, weird huh? Tuesday was our first show on the Navy base in ???????? (we can’t mention any locations we have played until we have left and will not return, the place we played this night has been “home base” for us this week and we don’t leave until tomorrow). Nervous, yet prepared, we took to the stage with fervor and intensity. It was great to be on stage again after a week off, and though it was about 100 degrees at night here (about 120-130 on stage) we pulled through for about 1,000 troops. All technical difficulties aside, we rocked the desert that night and were very happy about how our 1st show went. We spent the next two hours doing a meet & greet and that’s when the big surprise came: Our flight to the USS Ronald Reagan was leaving at 6AM (not 9AM) sharp which meant we had a 4AM lobby call.

We didn’t finish up with the meet & greet until around 12:30AM (we did not want to turn anyone away, after all, their sacrifice outweighs all else). Arriving at the hotel around 1 AM, we all had to organize our luggage and pack an overnight bag since we would be spending the night on the carrier. This took me about an hour and I did not end up passing out until about 2:30. This gave me about 1 hour to sleep. I am pretty sure that the rest of the guys were on pretty much the same schedule as me.

Grumbly & tired (and rightfully so) we boarded the van for the airport to catch our 1st flight. We boarded a C-40 jet (a 737 that carries cargo in one half & passengers in the other) bound for Oman to link up with the 2nd leg of our journey. In Oman we caught the Cod. The Cod is a special Military aircraft that is used to transport troops & supplies on and off aircraft carriers. It is a propeller plane that holds 1 palette worth of cargo and about32 passengers. From the pictures, you can see that we had to don some pretty cool gear (that helmet is called a “cranium”) before we boarded. Now, understand this: On the Cod you sit backwards facing the rear of the plane. This was unnatural in and of itself. Quick sidenote: Alex & I are scared of flying (or WERE anyways), so needless to say this whole plane ride was not thrilling us. They closed us into this little metal hotbox (probably about 140 degrees inside there) and we were underway. The ride was surprisingly smooth, so you can imagine Alex and I were happy about that. Scott slept the entire way and I am still trying to figure out HOW. That plane was extremely loud, but I guess when your body desperately needs sleep, it gets it. I for one can’t sleep on a plane no matter how long the flight. Here is the great part about the Cod: The Landing. Since aircraft carriers are no more than 400 yards long, planes have a special way of landing on them. Without divulging any top secret information, they are basically “hooked” onto the flight deck, going from 140 to 0 MPH in approximately 2 seconds. Alex and I were NOT looking forward to this. The sensation shot us back into our seats at about 4 G’s, I believe and was definitely one of the more interesting feelings I have ever experienced. Alex and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it! I think everyone did. I mean, it’s not everyday you get to land on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the sea!

We deplaned and were greeted by a small, blonde girl named Christie (a.k.a. Fun Boss) who immediately took us to the Officer’s Wardroom (cafeteria/mess hall) for lunch. After that we were escorted to our state rooms for some much needed sleep. The time was about 11AM. I roomed with Alex and figured since I had basically been up for 24 hours, that I would immediately pass out. Not so. That ship was LOUD. I could hear every door and footstep on that vessel and though everyone else in the band was sleeping soundly, I just could not. Oh well, I thought, I’ll just go wander the ship and check stuff out. Trying to describe everything I saw and experienced on this ship would take 500 blog entries, so I won’t even bother, but now that I saw some amazing things! I will take this particular moment to tell everyone this:

I witnessed some of the hardest working people I have ever seen in my life on this vessel. I learned so much about the quality of our men & women in the military that day. For all of us who do not fully understand what out troops’ sacrifice truly means, this was an eye-opener. I have such a newfound respect for our servicemen & women and I am grateful for it.

Anywho, back to the story: SO, I never did get any sleep and about 8PM we hit the stage on the flight deck. We could never have asked for a more beautiful backdrop for our set. I won’t go into detail as you can see pics on Myspace. Since the ship had suspended all flight ops for that day, about 3000 troops were able to attend. I cannot began to describe the energy that was out there that day. It was probably the single most incredible moment I had ever felt on any stage anywhere. The show was incredible and we started strong. After ending our electric set with Higher, Scott let the crowd know that we were going to break it down acoustic. The crowd, who had been standing about 8 feet from the foot of the stage the entire show (military rules, I guess), moved right up to the edge and sat down in front of us. We ended with an extended version of Broken into My Sacrifice, a fitting end to an unbelievable night.

TO BE CONTINUED…………………………………….

October 6 2008: Greetings from the Front Lines (Part 2)

Before I continue our story, I would like to take this time to mention a couple of people and an organization without which none of this would be happening:

Karen Fritz & Captain Eric Ogilvie, thank you so much for being our guides, squad leaders, security detail, travel agents, etc. They are the people making it happen on the ground (and in the air) preparing and organizing every detail of this tour. I guess you could call them our Tour Managers.

Armed Forces Entertainment, Navy Entertainment, & MWA (all under the same umbrella) is the organization responsible for getting us out here and for doing all kinds of wonderful things like this for our men & women in the military. IMPORTANT UPDATE: Delta Force Bravo Zulu Niner has just received vital intel… Lt. Commander 1st Class Scott Stapp shall be heretofore known as Codename: Diamondback.

SO….. After the show on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, we were escorted to our staterooms to change and then taken down to the main Mess Hall for an extremely intense meet & greet/autograph session. When I tell you we must have signed 1,000 autographs, it could not have been much less than that. I don’t know how I pulled the show off with as little sleep as I had had in the past 48 hours, but I was now starting to crash…..BIGTIME. About an hour and a half into the meet & greet, I had to request a break for some food. 10 minutes later we continued until the very last soldier was greeted. It was hard work, but extremely important to us that we sign every last item and say hello to as many troops as we could. Finally, some much needed rest was coming my way…..OR NOT.

Unfortunately, it seems that my body has gone into overdrive and after 40 hours without more than one hour of sleep, I was extremely restless. I finally crashed at about 3AM, after 2 hours of laying in my bunk. That lasted about 3 hours, when I heard the Cat Shot go off launching the Cod with our gear in it at around 6AM. What is a “Cat Shot” you say? I will tell you in just a bit, but first, on with the story.

We had set an 8:30 wake-up call so that we could all tour the hangar bay with the Fighter Squadron that was flying the new F-18 Super Hornets. I can’t say much about this tour, but I can say that those are some mean, mean fighter jets! The tour then brought us up to the bridge for a meeting with the commander of the USS Ronald Reagan. It was an extremely heart-warming experience. I felt a knot in my stomach as the Captain explained how much our being there meant to the ship and all of the soldiers aboard. Scott sat in the Captain’s chair for a photo opportunity (see myspace) and then got to drive the carrier for a spell. Yes, that’s right, Scott got to drive the ship! HAHAHAHAHA. Don’t worry, we didn’t hit anything. After presenting us all with coins and certificates, we were on our way. Now, this is where it gets really interesting.

We boarded our 10:30 Cod in the usual manner. Backwards, in full Cod regalia. Remember how i mentioned that an aircraft carrier is only about 400 yards long? Well, in order for a plane to take off from one without falling into the ocean, it gets catapulted of the deck by a special hydraulic system . This is known as the Cat Shot. Basically it hurtled us forward, sending us from 0-150mph in approximately 2 seconds. What a rush! We were now underway back to Bahrain (which was the location of our 1st show and home-base, which I heretofore could not mention). We arrived in Bahrain in the evening and retired to our rooms for some much needed rest. After all, the next morning, we were off to Djibouti, Africa.

Now, understand this: Djibouti is NOT on the top 10 most desirable vacation spots, contrary to what you might have heard. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be in the top 1,000,000. The sentiment of the troops about the place was enough to get the idea in itself. To all of the mothers out there: One trip to Djibouti and you will never yell at your kids to clean their rooms again.

As we flew over the main city on our way in, it was extremely apparent that we were landing in an extremely poor nation. Crowded, winding streets lined with shacks built of sheet metal plastered the landscape. Very few buildings poked their heads through the sea of shanty town, and those that did looked oddly out of place. As we deplaned on the tarmac the 140 degree heat hit us like a sledgehammer. I instantly began sweating as my body realized “hey! Not only is it really really really hot, its also really really really humid!”. Along the fences bordering the airport were mounds of debris (that’s the NICE word). As we drove to the base, I witnessed what could only be described as a trash dump the size of a country. Trash and debris literally LINED the roadways on either side like a garbage barricade. Oh yeah, and there’s A LOT of dirt there. Pretty much everything is dirt and rocks. We arrived at the base and were greeted by Marines who processed our papers and gave us our badges.

I have to admit, given what we had to work with out there; Camp Lemonier was actually quite nice. We were greeted inside by Karen & Casey, contractors who pretty much handle entertainment for the base. They took us to our 20 man tent (yes, we bunked in a tent) all the way explaining how we must remember to remain hydrated and that water was readily available out of coolers that lined the roads every 5 feet. When Scott asked about the black flag that was flying on one of the flagpoles, we were told that was the Heat Stress Indicator. It basically meant: It is so damn hot that if you overexert yourself outside your body will shut down and you will be in deep doo doo. Luckily for us, the base had built an air-conditioned venue not two months prior and we would be the 2nd band to play inside.

The show began at 22:00 and we were pumped to go out and rock for our troops for the 3rd time. Once again, I will not be using this blog to describe shows, since pictures are readily available. After the show, we did our usual meet & greet at a table we set up in front of the stage. We met many interesting people in that line, indicative of where they were stationed J. A couple of inebriated Marines offered a nude Greco Roman wrestling match, while one extremely “happy” soldier insisted incessantly that Alex should donate one of his guitars to his personal arsenal. We were also invited by a group of soldiers to a Rock Band Challenge back at their barracks. Of course, who were we to say no?

There’s nothing at all in the world like playing Rock Band at 1:30AM in a CONTAINER in the middle of Africa with a group of 15 enlisted men. Yes, that’s right I said “container”. Camp Lemonier was basically consistent of either rows and rows of large tents, or sporadically placed cargo containers that had been converted into living quarters, offices, etc. It almost looked like someone dropped a bomb on the port of Miami and all the containers kind of fell where they lay. There were no winners or losers at the Rock Band Challenge. Although Derek had a very hard time with the drums, he made up for it on the mic. I, of course held down the bass (I have had prior Guitar Hero experience, where Derek had not), and one of managers Mike took over the drums for an impressive run through “Enter Sandman”. It was really a wonderful thing to see the joy a=on these soldiers’ faces as we left for the night. It was nice to be able to give them such a piece of home, if not for just one night. The next morning, however, our first bit of bad news came in (the first of many like it).

We awoke to the news story about a pirate vessel that had attacked and taken hostage of several civilians off the coast of Yemen. What did this mean to us, you say? Well, we were supposed to be flown by helicopter to our next destination: The USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious carrier carrying 2500 Marines. The ship received orders to help intercept these pirates and that meant the show was to be cancelled. We could have gotten out there, but there were no guarantees that they would be able to get us BACK. This would be the 1st of several shows to get cancelled due to unforeseeable events. So, despondent and saddened, we hopped on a C-130 back to Bahrain.

TO BE CONTINUED…………………………..

October 8 2008: Greetings from the Front Lines (Part 3)

We hopped on the C-130 the next day and bid adieu to Djibouti. The people we met were amazing, the landscape, however, we probably won’t miss to much and most of the troops you might ever talk to will attest to that. The flight back to Bahrain was a long one due to the fact that our C-130 lost one of its outboard engines about 15 minutes into the flight. No worries though folks, those planes are built to be able to fly minus an engine or two. Unfortunately it slows the plane and our flight took about 2 hours longer than usual. But, let me tell you, a 6 hour flight goes by quick when you are hanging out in the cockpit with some really cool Navy pilots. Alex drew a picture for the crew that we all signed. We landed in Bahrain at about 20:00 and headed back to our hotel. We were bummed about the Iwo Jima show being cancelled, but hey, tomorrow we were heading to an island in the middle of nowhere…..weren’t we?

Our next show was SUPPOSED to be on Diego Garcia Island, a base in the middle of the Indian Ocean shared by the U.S. with Great Britain. Unfortunately, since the C-130 we flew the night before had broken down, this sent a domino effect through the Navy aviation logistics department and basically what happened was this: The plane that was supposed to take us to Diego had been re-routed to take over the C-130 routes which meant that the only way we were getting to that island was by canoe. Another show cancelled, 2nd in two days. L

You know what they say: You make the best of a bad situation. So we took this extra day off as a recovery day. Since we would have the following day off as well (going on 4 days off in total, ugh), we decided to set the day for rehearsal and writing. So, cramped in Scott’s hotel room, we worked on new material that I had yet to hear and honed some of the stuff we had been working on in Miami. All and all, a productive use of an unfortunate situation. It was all good though, the pinnacle moment of the whole tour was a mere 2 days away, we would be going into Iraq to play for our men & women on the front lines! Right???

We left the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain for yet another 5AM van call. It was time to catch a plane to Kuwait where we would spend the day at Camp Arifjan until 7PM when we would head north to Ali Al Saleem air base to catch our flight to Iraq. Of course, being that we were honorary “military personnel” now, we had no clue as to where exactly we were going in Iraq. All we knew is that it was Western Iraq. Well, that helps because Iraq isn’t a big country or anything. Hell, we were used to all the hush-hush already, so no biggie. Camp Arifjan is a huge complex with different zones that could only be reached by looooong walks or shuttles. We spent the day in zone 1 where the base was kind enough to give us all day rooms so that we could nap before another long night of travel. We all definitely took advantage.

At 6PM I woke up and grabbed the guys to head over to the DFAC (dining facility) for some supper before the trip. Have I mentioned that our men & women out here eat pretty damn good? Well fed and rested, we anxiously hopped on the bus to head up to AAS for our flight not knowing what lay in store…

We arrived at AAS sometime around 10PM (2 hour bus ride). It was dark, but you could sense the desolation in the air. There’s not much to look at AAS, it is basically a waiting room in the middle of the desert. Mostly transient, AAS is one of the largest airstrips in the world right now. Our C-130 was due to arrive at 12AM for pick-up so time was of the essence. We were issued flak jackets and Kevlar helmets as it is mandatory to wear these two items both on the tarmac and upon take off and landing in the aircraft. Needless to say, we all found this pretty damn cool. Again, check myspace and the blogs for some candid pics. We were excited, nervous, and anxious all wrapped up into one ball of energy just waiting to board that plane bound for Iraq. After being checked in, we donned our gear and boarded a bus that took us out to the airfield. This is where the fun began.

We had been hearing rumors throughout the terminal (if you could call it that) about sandstorms in the Western part of Iraq. Apparently, these storms are a pretty common occurrence this time of year. We did not realize the importance of these rumors until we were left on the airfield in that bus for 2 hours. As C-130’s landed all around us, we could not help but sense that something was wrong. It was 2AM and we are all either sleeping on a bus or pacing around it. Finally, the driver gets a call on the radio asking us to return to the terminal.

Apparently, the sandstorms were so severe in Iraq that the pilots did not feel confident coming to pick us up that night, so we were stuck. There could have been better places to be stranded for a night, believe me, but we hunkered down in a 20 man tent that AAS was kind enough to provide for us. We made plans to head back to Arifjan at noon as our flight to Iraq could only be made at night (some security measure). Besides, no one could give us a definitive answer as to when & IF we could get a flight the following day. Despondent and disappointed, we reluctantly boarded the bus the next afternoon and headed back to Camp Arifjan where we would play the waiting game once more.

Bad news hit us again around 5PM. It wasn’t looking good for tonight’s departure either, but we kept our bags packed in case anything came up. Wishful thinking. We had three shows planned in Iraq and we were already missing one this day and wouldn’t be able to do the next day’s show unless we left the night before. Two shows dead and gone, but there was still hope of the one that was left. But, it seemed that Iraq was not in the cards for us, because that evening we received word that our chances of getting into Iraq in the not-too-distant future were bleak, at best. What the heck are we supposed to do now? Stuck in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, we did what any dedicated, hard-working rock band would: WE PLAYED. With the help of Commander Fritz and the co-coordinators on base, we set up a last minute concert for Arifjan. They must have people working around the clock on that base because we made the plans at 9PM that evening and by the next morning at 8AM posters were up everywhere.

By this time, it had been almost 7 days since we had played last and we were itching to play. An air of importance and urgency must have been in the air because the sound company that was to set up our stage both here in Kuwait and in Iraq, brought out the big guns. We had a full light show to compliment the already ample sound system and backline gear. This was to be a BIG SHOW. About 1500 troops showed up to this last-minute, surprise show that evening and the energy in the air was so intense I’m surprised y’all didn’t feel it over in the States. Although we were all sad about not making into Iraq, I was so glad we did this show. Sure, we had some hiccups and snags because we had been off for so many days, and sure the air was so dry that it burned your throat every time you took a breath, but none of that mattered. It was like someone had put supercharged nuclear batteries in us. Scott showed me that night what a truly incredible front man he was. Never at a loss for words, he touched the crowd in a way that I believe even he hadn’t done before. Hell, the man almost brought ME to tears a couple of times. Fighting through the arid air we played for well over 90 minutes, doing extended guitar solos and improvisations throughout the set. It was great to be out there again. After the show we did our usual meet & greet, talking with the troops and signing every last piece of ANYTHING. Elated and amped, we headed back to the DFAC for some much needed food, reliving the night as we did.

The next day we had off and were pretty much spent at the pool relaxing and taking in some vitamin D. Not really much to say about that day. There really isn’t much to do at Camp Arifjan except work out, eat, and just hang out. It was all good though because tomorrow we had another show in Kuwait.

The following day we headed down for a 10AM bus call. We were on our way to Camp Buehring, the northernmost base in Kuwait, about 15 miles from the Iraqi border. It was a 2 hour drive from Arifjan, so we arrived around noon, just in time for lunch at the DFAC. It was a pretty hairy ride over as sandstorms were the order of the day. We were issued facemasks since the sand & dust were being kicked up a good bit. After lunch we were invited to the Central Command Center where we would receive a special briefing about Camp Buehring. We were brought into a conference room and seated at a long table along with most of the commanding officers of the base. The base commander, an Army Major, began a Power Point presentation, explaining what Camp Buehring was there for, and all of the training and preparation that went on there. It is basically THE staging point for troops getting ready to enter Iraq. Following the presentation, the base Commander presented each of us with plaques to thank us for coming out there to play for the troops. Truly humbled, we left the Command Center with a great sense of pride and humility. We were out here for reasons much larger than ourselves and it didn’t matter what those reasons were only that they were right.

We hit the stage at 19:15 hoping that the sandstorms would have settled. Well, the Big Man Upstairs must have heard our pleas because the dust settled just as soon as the first note of Torn was played. There was an incredible turnout (about 3000 troops) that night and, once again, there was energy in the air that could be felt for thousands and thousands of miles. If all of you back home felt a tremble in the earth or some kind of weird shockwave pass over you, it was probably coming from Camp Buehring. Words cannot truly describe the show that night. It was almost as if we were just in a friend’s backyard at a BBQ for 3000 people. The appreciation and love in the air (from both stage and audience), surrounded and enveloped us like a warm blanket. We played with such intensity that I thought we might explode. Song after song, we forged ahead, Scott calling out solos at a moment’s notice and Alex nailing them every time. Extended intros, verses, choruses, endings, you name it, we did it. We free styled new material and it didn’t even matter if the songs were finished or not. It just felt right to keep going. After the first part of our set (about 13 songs), we broke it down acoustic as was becoming the recipe for all of our shows.

We started the acoustic set with Arms Wide Open, extending the outro while Scott improvised melodies. We then decided to play a new song called “Pray for Sunrise”, a song that we hadn’t even rehearsed yet together as a band. Alex had showed me the song a few days earlier, but I learned it on acoustic guitar, not bass. But, something was in the air that night, and I wasn’t nervous, it was just RIGHT to play that song on the fly. Derek joined us up front with a 3rd acoustic and we dove right in. Sure, there were a couple of flubs in the song, but again, it didn’t matter. It was like we weren’t even playing a show. We were just hanging out with 3000 of our closest family, or at least that’s what it felt like to us. We proceeded with “Broken” and “Criminal” and then ended the set electric with an emotionally super-charged “My Sacrifice”. When we finally ended the show and got off stage we realized we had just performed for over 2 hours! It sure didn’t feel like it and each one of us felt as though we could have played for 2 hours more. This was easily one of the most intense and emotionally charged shows any one of us had ever played. The importance of what we were doing and the grandeur of things that were beyond our comprehension really hit home that night. Something indescribable is happening out here, as if we were meant to be in this exact place at this exact time.

We had to speed through this meet & greet because we had a 2 hour ride back to Arifjan after this and we desperately needed sustenance. The midnight chow closed at 1AM, so we had to cut down on our talk time with the troops (which is something that is very hard for us to do). Speeding all the way, our driver got us to the Zone 6 DFAC at 00:55 on the nose! Midnight chow is on of those special times where you can get breakfast goodies like scrambled eggs, bacon, and French Toast! We only had a few hours to sleep as we had an 8AM bus call the following morning.

I have to take a moment to explain my timeline because I am about to move into the present tense here. For those many days off during the time we were waiting for word on whether or not we would be going to Iraq, I really had no inspiration to write. I have pretty much been typing non-stop for the past two hours on an airplane bound for our next destination (which of course I can’t mention yet). With time to reflect and recall all of these wonderful memories, my brain is in overdrive and my hands flying. I really should be catching up on sleep since I only got 3 hours last night, but I feel as though if I don’t release all of this now, I might forget the feelings I have felt. Details always get washed away, but I am not as concerned with those as I am with trying to convey the ENERGY I have felt on this journey. My heart and mind have been touched in ways much more profound than my eyes and ears ever could. Hell, that’s what they make pictures and video for, right? Lord knows we have plenty of that! J So, now I will close out this 1st half our incredible journey. I would like to thank all of you who read my long-winded blogs; it really means a lot to me and the band. I can tell you that the 2nd half of our tour takes us throughout Europe, so I will be updating as I feel inspired to do so. Until then my friends…………………….

October 21, 2008: Act 2, Part 1

Ok, so I have been home now for about 3 days and am finally rested and feeling inspired to write. Forgive me if these next installments seem spotty, but I am trying to recollect two weeks worth of touring and my memory ain’t what it used to be….

I last left you in a plane bound for Europe, where I completed the telling of the first half of our incredible and life-changing journey. Now that it is over, nothing is confidential and I am free to discuss all locations and events without the fear of committing treason (just kidding). Our 1st destination in Europe was Souda Bay, Greece, on the island of Crete.

We arrived to a beautiful and lush landscape, (quite the change from spending the prior two weeks surrounded by nothing but sand & dirt) and a welcoming ocean breeze. The weather was significantly cooler than had been and the air now had moisture in it, which needless to say was a very welcome change. NSA Souda Bay is an extremely small base, no more than ¼ mile long and housing a little over 350 troops and their families at any given time. We were met at the airport by the base commander who welcomed us warmly and escorted us to the bus. I would like to take this moment to express my incredulity as to why exactly we took a bus at that point, seeing as how the barracks were approximately 50 yards from the airport, but, hey, it’s the military After showering and having a hearty lunch, we were at liberty to enjoy the rest of the day & night at our leisure. We were in dire need of some free time and were looking forward to actually SEEING something. Scott was especially excited as his wife, Jaclyn, had arrived that morning and would be spending the rest of the tour with us.

At around 6:30, we met with a few of the base chiefs who would be escorting us into town that evening for dinner. We boarded a van shortly thereafter and headed into town. I was looking very much forward to a good, local meal (I am a big fan of Greek food). The van dropped us off and we began walking through a series of tight, winding streets dotted with shops, (all of which were already closed, unfortunately) until we reached the harbor. Well, I call it a harbor; it was more like a waterfront dining area lined with restaurants and lounges. The lighthouse served as a beacon against the night sky and the lights of the town were shining brightly. This was the first time we actually felt like we were getting some R&R. The meal was extremely satisfying and relaxing, especially in such good company. We sat for about 3 hours, reliving the events of the previous weeks and just reveling in the fact that we were blessed with this opportunity. We returned to base that evening with full stomachs and high spirits, ready for our show the following day.

This next show was to be our only daytime concert. Show time was at 3PM, so we were up and at it quite early. We were set up in the base’s gymnasium which was quite a bit smaller than any gyms we had ever been in. This was to be a very intimate show. You have to remember, that we had been used to playing in front of young, excitable soldiers for the past two weeks, so this show was a big change for us. There were very few military personnel actually dressed in uniform and a large portion of the crowd consisted of the families of those soldiers. About 20 children made up the bulk of our “front row” and I can honestly say it was the first time in my career that this was the case. It was actually very refreshing. Children have such an air of innocence and jubilation about them and for most, if not all of them, this was going to be their very first concert. We played for close to 2 hours and did our usual signing session afterward. It was an extremely wonderful vibe and little did we know that this show was a prelude for the ones to come. We finished all of our duties around 6PM which was nice as we had another 7AM wake up call the following day.

And then we were off to Naples, Italy. We arrived early afternoon and, as was becoming the custom, stopped by the base food court to have an early lunch before we checked into our accommodations. The base in Naples looked more like a college campus than a military installation to be honest, but the presence of armed & uniformed soldiers kept a constant reminder of where we really were. The show that night was to be another intimate setting, although substantially larger than Greece. We played in a hall reminiscent of a Neighborhood Clubhouse. About 600 people showed up that night and, once again, a lot of families and children. This time, though, there were several teenagers and older kids as there was a high school on base. The show was amazing and the crowd had such a powerful energy that night! Hell, I was even compelled to climb the 8 foot stack of P.A. speakers set up in front of the stage. Don’t worry, I didn’t jump, I climbed down After our autograph session, we were taken out to an Italian meal in town, (which was actually about 2 minutes outside of the base). Honestly, I couldn’t tell you how the meal was as I am not a fan of eating a whole lot of food at 11PM at night. Besides, I own an Italian Trattoria back home so it wasn’t the end all be all for me. I just wanted sleep, actually, because we had a pretty grueling schedule ahead of us, going on the third show in a row.

The next day, we arrived at Sigonella Air Force base in Sicily, Italy. This was to be the first of several shows played inside of an airplane hangar. Now, you have to understand that, in the world of sound, airplane hangars are not the friendliest of places. They basically act as huge amplifiers and tend to reflect sound back at the stage (slap back). No matter, we always make the best out of every situation and once the bodies fill the room, sound absorption helps a lot. This base was extremely large, so we postponed show time to 8:30PM to allow more people to arrive. It was another incredibly high energy show. Again, lots of troops with their family members and this time sponsored Italian locals were allowed to attend as well. Our first civilians! Before any of you ask, YES, this is the show where the “accident” happened.

Upon ending the encore set with an electric version of “My Sacrifice”, we had become accustomed to an extended and anthematic “Rock Ending”. This consisted of lots of drum soloing and loud, distorted guitar work. As everything came to a crescendo and we were about to hit the very last note, the lighting guy decided to turn off all the stage lights. At that moment, the stars and planets aligned and with a single swing backwards, the headstock of my bass connected perfectly with the bridge of Scott’s nose, directly between the eyes. I don’t think anyone in the audience saw it, but I certainly did. I immediately dropped my bass; muttering many curse words, and followed Scott off-stage. I don’t know how he didn’t fall down the stairs, but he made it safely to the green room backstage, blood flowing from his forehead. I felt extremely horrible about the whole situation and even more so, when I saw that Scott was quite dazed as he sat down in a chair and nursed the cut with a towel full of ice. I apologized profusely to Scott’s replies of, “It was an accident, don’t worry”. The base medic arrived to assess the injury and suggested that Scott have some X-Rays done the following day as a precautionary measure. I was more worried that the hit would blacken his eyes or leave a nasty scar, but we all agreed to be thankful that the shot didn’t land anywhere closer to left or right. Despondent and depressed, I boarded a van bound for my room and changed for another hosted dinner that I was surely not going to enjoy due to the funk I was in. Tomorrow is another day, right?

I went to see Scott first thing the following morning and was pleased to see that there was no significant swelling or bruising on his face. He had taken good care of the injury, (with Jaclyn’s persistence, I’m sure) and seemed to be in good spirits despite the raging headache, of course. I apologized again and Scott joked that maybe Alex was right in his suggestion to line all of my equipment with soft rubber. The X-rays showed no significant damage and doctors said the cut should heal up quickly provided that it was kept clean and taken care of. There was a slight chance that it still might bruise, but it wasn’t likely. A few hours later we boarded what would be our last flight of the tour until our journey home. After about 40 flight legs in the past 15 days, I can honestly say that I was looking forward to not having to board another aircraft for a while. The tour bus would be a very much welcomed change of pace. Easier days are coming……..aren’t they?

October 29, 2008: Act 2, Part 2

After all of the drama of the accident, I figured that better days, (not that any of them had been BAD, mind you) were coming…

I have to ask all of you readers to please bear with me as I recall the following events in regards to our journey through Germany. My memory is a little spotty as to exactly WHERE we played since information was always given to us at the last minute. I know for sure that we played three shows in Germany and I also know for sure that TWO of them were Ansbach & Baumholder. The third is eluding me right now for some reason; I believe the name of the base starts with a “K”. J The following is the chain of events as I remember them:

We boarded a DC-9 the following morning from Sigonella Air Force Base in Italy bound for Germany. Scott still had a raging headache from the accident the night before, but was in good spirits, considering. It was supposed to be a short flight, but turned out that we were going to be making two stops on the way. We had to make a stop to pick up some troops and a Navy band was hitching a ride with us to Stuttgart before we reached our final destination where we would meet our tour bus. First stop went off without a hitch and we picked up our new passengers. The second stop, however, was not without incident.

We landed in Stuttgart and unloaded the Navy band and their gear. It was a quick 15 minutes and we were closed up and back on our way. As the plane taxied on the runway we all heard and felt a strange grinding sound coming from one of the wheels of the aircraft. Immediately afterwards, the pilot turned the plane around and parked it on a nearby airfield. Something was wrong….Par for the course. The crew began checking the plane and realized that the brake on the rear wheel was malfunctioning. This is a problem because when you are trying to stop a 10 ton aircraft going 250 MPH, you NEED brakes to do it! Needless to say, it didn’t look like we were going anywhere that night. Luckily for us, we were stuck in one of the largest cities in Germany. After a few phone calls, we found ourselves a hotel in town and contacted the tour bus company to inform them of our situation. They would send the driver down to Stuttgart to pick us up the following morning.

Another early wake-up. AT 8AM we met in the lobby of the Millennium Hotel, Stuttgart to meet our tour bus. We weren’t thrilled about missing out on some much needed sleep, but at least we were done flying for the rest of the tour. The bus was very nice, black, and sleek. I won’t go into too much detail; there are plenty of pictures online. Our driver, Brownie was a German native with many years of experience in the business. As we boarded, we immediately made our way to the bunks to try and catch 3 or 4 hours of sleep on the trip to our first venue. The bus was actually quite comfortable and Brownie did an amazing job driving through the mountainside because I slept like a baby and awoke 4 hours later at the base checkpoint.

This base was a quiet, Air Force facility in the middle of the mountains. It was so serene and beautiful, I took a moment upon exiting the bus to breathe in the air and take in the scenery. The stage was set up in the base’s gymnasium and we walked in to find an awesome stage set up and ready to go. We had a new sound company that would be traveling with us for the duration of the tour and, man, were they GOOD! After sound check, we were escorted to our green room where Stars & Stripes were waiting for an interview. The show went off like clockwork. After our usual autograph session, we boarded the bus to make our way to the next venue. We would be traveling overnight to Ansbach.

We checked into our on-base hotel rooms around 4AM and were greeted the following morning by the local MWR representative and taken to an old building where we were presented with an authentic German lunch. THANK THE MAKER!!!! I had been waiting all tour for this! German cuisine is one of my favorites and though I make quite a few German meals at home, I was very excited to have the fare locally. Jaeger schnitzel, Potato Salad, and steamed vegetables were on the menu that day. I only had one question: Where the hell is the Spaetzle?!?! Well, I guess beggars can’t be choosers and the food WAS quite good. After gorging myself to bursting, we all made our way to the venue, another airplane hangar. The MWR rep informed us that not 10 days prior, close to 1000 troops had returned from deployment in Iraq and that the hangar we were playing in was host to the welcome party for those troops. As we entered we saw all of the hand-made “Welcome Home” posters all over the walls. The base had left them up and we felt extremely honored to be playing in the same room where so many of our brave heroes had returned to be reunited with family & friends not 10 days ago. It brought a wonderful vibe to the hangar and we were looking forward to getting started.

Despite the cold, (nothing like playing in a huge metal box when it is in the low 50’s outside) we threw down once more. Yet another amazing show under our belts. Things were becoming so natural for us at this point and our improvisation and flow were beginning to feel seamless. We left the stage elated and began our autograph session about a half-an-hour later. We wouldn’t be spending too much time on this base as we would be traveling that evening to our next stop; Baumholder.

We arrived at our hotel in Baumholder around 3AM and checked in to get some much needed rest. I couldn’t get over how quiet it was and fell asleep almost instantly. The following morning I awoke early to check out the town. Unfortunately for me, nothing is open on Sunday, let alone at 9AM on Sunday. Still, I was eager to explore and so I grabbed a cup of coffee from a nearby coffee shop, (the ONLY thing open in town) and began walking. Baumholder is an extremely small town and it didn’t take me long to take in the sights. Main Street was only about ¼ mile long and I found it more interesting to check out the residential areas. A beautiful, old church rested on the top of the hill behind our hotel and, not far from that, another beautiful church presented itself to me. This one was built in the traditional German style, made of brick & wood and painted red with white trim kind of like a barn. Feeling peaceful and content, I made my way back to the hotel for breakfast. We left around 12PM and headed to the base, well-rested and full.

As usual, another energetic and emotional show went by in the blink of an eye. Another heart-felt autograph session filled with laughter & tears was done and we were again on our way for an overnight drive to our next destination: Brunssum, Netherlands.

We were finally going to have a day off, so the guys and I decided we would getup early and start planning. We haven’t really gotten to SEE anything in Europe yet and we were all quite eager to some “fun-time”. The following morning, at our off-base Air Force Inn, we immediately hit the internet to see what Brunssum had to offer. That was when an amazing opportunity was presented to us. It was only a 2.5 hour train ride to Amsterdam! The decision was an easy one, for sure. We would hop on the 1 o’clock train to the infamous city and spend the night, as we didn’t have to be at the venue until 4PM the next day. A few of the crew stayed behind, (Scott and Jaclyn were looking forward to some quiet-time and opted out of the trip, as well as our troupe leader, Karen & her associate Jarrod). A couple of the guys from the sound company joined us and by 1PM we were on our way! At around 4PM, we arrived in Amsterdam and, like so many little children, giddy and excited, we ventured off into the wilds…

(The following 18 hours are censored.J)

At 10AM the following day, we boarded the train back to Brunssum. We were all feeling surprisingly well-rested and rather elated, joking and laughing the whole way back to Brunssum. We arrived at the hotel at 2PM, just in time for lunch. After refueling and reenergizing, we hopped on the bus and headed to the venue. The base had set up a humungous tent in the middle of a field adjacent to the airstrip for this show. It was definitely an interesting place for a rock show. Although it had the feeling of a wedding reception, once the lights went and we hit the stage, the tent transformed into an arena and a Rock Show ensued. What an awesome vibe that night! Many sponsored locals were invited to that show and brought incredible energy to the tent. Our autograph session was filled with appreciation and gratitude as; once again, we were playing at a site that just doesn’t get many shows or visitors. We were presented with a plaque by the base Commander, which humbled us immensely. After our duties were fulfilled for the night, we were treated to home-cooked Mexican fare courtesy of the base Commander’s wife and children. Well fed and tired, we retired that evening ready for the last two shows of this incredible journey. Onwards to England!!!

STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL INSTALLMENT………

November 7, 2008: The End of the Road

Before I continue, there are many people I feel compelled to thank for this amazing experience:

First and foremost, I have to thank Karen Fritz and Navy Entertainment, Army Entertainment, & Armed Forces Entertainment for doing what they do and making tours like this possible. You are amazing people doing amazing things for our troops!

I would like to thank all of the base commanders who have made us feel at home and, more importantly, made us feel like PART OF THE FIGHT! You are all incredible individuals and role models for future generations.

To all of the men and women serving in our Armed Forces: Thank you for having us and thank you for your incredible energy! Your dedication and sacrifice is a testament to our country and is greatly appreciated. You are all heroes in our eyes and we will dedicate ourselves to making sure that everyone who doesn’t know better understands what it is you all are doing out there. We cannot thank you all enough for the life-changing experience we have been so blessed to have had the past 28 days. To all of the military family members, both at home and abroad, your support and dedication to your loved ones is second-to-none. We were humbled and honored to have met each and every one of you!

To all of the sound companies that have helped us put our shows together, your hard work is also appreciated and commended. BIG PROPS go out to our crews from Germany that followed us through three countries and 6 shows throughout Europe. Also, big thanks to the crew from the Middle East, that traveled with us on many interesting aircraft, to the middle of the sea, and back again!

A big thank you goes out to the gear companies that supplied us with the necessary tools to complete our mission: Ernie Ball, Gibson, Dean Markley, Shure, Audio Technica, Pearl, Paul Reed Smith, and Yamaha. (If I missed anyone, I am truly sorry. After all, I’m just the bass playerJ).

To OUR crew: Jose, Glen, & James. Your contribution to this tour is just as important as ours. Without you guys, we could not have pulled these shows together. Jose & Glen, it was your jobs to make this band sound amazing and you did so night after night, without fail! James, you are the one capturing all of these amazing moments on film to share with the world, and you’re a laugh riot too! Thank you guys so much!

Last, but certainly not least, to my band members: Scott, Alex & Derek. I could not have asked for a more rewarding and amazing experience. I want to thank you all for being such amazing musicians and people. Thank you for getting me back “out there” on stage where I belong. You all inspired me to reach higher and because of that I feel like I have become a better player. The chemistry we have is palpable and rare. I have grown so much as a musician and a person on this tour and for that I thank you again.

……So Where were we? Oh yeah, onwards to England.

Not long after our wonderful dinner, (now remember, this is already about 12:30AM) we packed all of our belongings and boarded the bus for an overnight drive. Extremely tired and in desperate need of sleep, we all crashed…HARD. Not three hours later, around 4AM, we were abruptly awoken. Why, do you ask? Because, in order to get to England, we would have to board a ferry that would take us across the channel and onto the island. Of course we had to exit the bus and go through immigration and customs before we could board the ferry, so in we went. It was at this point that we found out that we could not stay on the bus while the ferry was moving which meant we either had to stay awake for the next two hours or find a place to crash on the boat. The latter was not such an easy thing to find, (Derek & Jose immediately found a long, plush bench to sleep on) and the bulk of us found a lounge area to hang out in. There were many comfy chairs and a few small couches in this area, but nothing really sleep-worthy. After the first half hour of sipping on our $4 sodas and listening to horrible jukebox music, the delirium set in. Scott and I set off on a comedy tirade and basically spent the following hour and a half reliving some of the funnier events of the tour in every different impression/voice we could think of. We probably looked like a couple of lunatics, but hey, we kept everyone in stitches and made the time pass rather quickly. Before we knew it, the ferry had landed and we were allowed to board the bus once again. It was a short drive to Alconbury and seeing as how it was already 6AM, we were glad to be getting back into a bed soon.

We awoke late in the afternoon to a hosted lunch and a rather big surprise for Scott! As we entered the Tudor Pub, (the name of the eating facility on base) we were greeted inside by Scott’s mother-in-law, his son Jagger, and his nephew J.P.! The look on Scott’s face was priceless. It was a mix between shock and that moment right before you might want to start crying. I think sleep depravation played a role in his expression of emotion, but you could definitely see the elation in his eyes. I have to admit, I was kind of excited too. It was great to see some new, familiar faces out here. Plus, the kids are really cool and it was nice to have their energy out there. I had never met Scott’s Mother-in-law before and it was a pleasure to meet such a warm, caring individual. Hell, we all missed our families, (I especially missed my fiancée & doggie) and so I think they filled in a vacant spot that we ALL had in our hearts. Now three more heavy, we made our way to the neighboring base, Molesworth, where our next venue awaited.

Did I mention it was probably about 40 degrees and raining? Yeah, it was. We arrived at the venue shortly thereafter, (another airplane hangar) and came to discover that huge metal buildings become huge refrigerators! It was mighty cold in that hangar and we were in for an interesting night. Showtime was not until 8PM, so we all hung out in the “green rooms” which were a couple of tents the Air Force had set up for us in the back of the hangar. Inside were comfortable, plush chairs and all kinds of goodies to munch on. About 45 minutes before the show, we met with the base commanders and their families. We were presented with coins and words of sincere gratitude. We then sat down with Stars & Stripes for an extended interview. Before we knew it, showtime was upon us.

Feeling something akin to human popsicles we hopped on stage and began our 2nd to last show of this awesome tour. Like the many before it, the show went smooth and with much emotion. It being so cold in that hangar though, we had a new visual effect going on that night. Steam was rising off of us like smoke machines and though still cameras did not catch it, I’m pretty sure it is going to look mighty cool on video. After another extended set and autograph session, we were taken back to the Tudor Pub for a hot meal and proceeded to bed. The next base was less than two hours away, so there was no need for overnight travel, or early wake up. Thank goodness for that!

The following morning we all met for breakfast at the Tudor and enjoyed an unexpectedly quiet meal. I think the realization that this tour was almost over was starting to sink in. Shortly thereafter, we boarded the bus and made our way to RAF Mildenhall, the last stop on the tour. It was sort of a bittersweet moment when we were dropped off at the Inn on base where we would be staying that night, knowing that tomorrow we would be heading home to our family & friends and at the same time, that this was the end of our incredible journey. We had a few hours to kill, so we all kind of went our separate ways and explored the base until 4PM when we would be heading to the venue for sound check. The final venue was, of course, another airplane hangar/icebox. It would be another cold show, but at least we would have our cool, new visual effect again! As I walked into the “room” I looked at the stage and felt a great feeling of pride and the air of closure.

I felt pride in the fact that we had come on this journey and shared in the ups and downs together with our military. Pride in the fact that we were blessed with this opportunity to experience, first hand, what it meant to be a soldier for our wonderful country. Pride in the fact that we could come out here and share our hearts with the people that protect our freedoms and the freedoms of other every day while we sleep peacefully in our beds. The air of closure was extremely comforting, because we had come out here on a mission, with a purpose, and we fulfilled that purpose with all of the vigor we could muster, and with great humility and pride. I had a feeling that this was going to be one hell of a show!

And my feelings were correct…

There something in the air that night; maybe it was the fact that we knew this was our last show, or maybe it was just the grand culmination of all of the experiences of the past 28 days, but either way we left EVERYTHING on that stage that cold, wet night in RAF Mildenhall. I remember our “pre-game” huddle, (something we did before every show) and all of us pretty much had the same thing to say: “This is it. We did it. It’s bigger than us. This is our last show. Leave it all out there on that stage because tomorrow we go home.” And we did…….

After the show was over we took a few moments on stage to introduce the crowd to all of the people who were behind-the-scenes making the shows happen. We brought up Karen & Jarrod from Navy Entertainment, Jose, Glen, and James, our crew. It was a very heartfelt moment as we concluded the tour on that stage in England. When all of the gear was put away and the last autograph signed, we headed back to the Inn to decompress. Scott and the family were leaving earlier than us, so they had to immediately pack their things to catch a 4AM red-eye from London. We said our goodbyes to the Stapp family and headed inside. Luckily for us, our flight didn’t leave until much later that morning, so we could relax. After showering and changing, the rest of us headed to the MP dorms where we had been invited to a “party” by some of the troops. After a couple of hours of unwinding and hanging out, we made our way back to the Inn for a few hours of sleep before our 6AM bus call. It was a three hour ride to Heathrow, so we weren’t too worried about sleep. Besides, in less than 14 hours we would be home and could sleep for days.

And so it was over. The end of this incredible tour had come. I am not one for conclusions, so this will be short. I do not believe there is anything that I haven’t already said about this tour, our military, our troops, or the band. All I can say is this: I am humbled, I am gracious, and my eyes are open. Thank You!

A big thank you goes out to all of you here at PBF. Thanks for your enduring support and thanks for reading! We love you! Oh yeah, and I will keep you all up to date in the "goings-on" of the band as things come to fruition.