Deployment Day 62

I forgot to mention that Jon and I had started to move shit from the band tent over to our new band hall. Well we decided to just pound through it and move the rest of the stuff.

Once we get to the band tent we load up the rest of the crap that is laying around and we get rid of the beat-up old desks. This is an ordeal. The wood and metal bin is across the way from the tent maybe 100 feet. So we run a strap through this heavy-ass desk and bobsled it over to the bin. We really had that thing moving. This was the easy part. 

The hard part was lifting this huge desk up to clear the 7 foot side of the bin. Somehow we managed to get this thing over without breaking anything. We had to do this again with a slightly smaller desk but it was equally a bitch.

Finally we move to the storage con-ex behind the tent. We had been told that there were only empty cases in here. Oh no my friends! This was not the case.

Although half were empty the other half were full of heavy power distro gear and feeder cable or as myself and my friend Ralph might call it, "Horse-Cock Cable".

So we finally get all this shit over to the new band building. There were actually three coffin cases that were 4'x2'x2' literally. And if they had been loaded down with what they were intended to carry I dont think 2 people could lift it. The best part was whoever ordered this didn't put wheels on it. Genius!

Jon and I got the work done and we were absolutely filthy but the point was that it was done.

Now we just have to organize it.

LOU

Deployment Day 61

I'm playing at the "Oasis Bar" again. This was one of our first gigs when we arrived here. 

It was an ok time. We had some beers and played the show. I was getting a little frustrated with people worrying about things that really weren't that important. But I made it through the show with out giving in to my urge to murder.

I also found out that I leave with the rest of the band. This is a huge load off my mind. I'm out of here butt early on the 4th but I don't care. As long as I'm leaving I'll take whatever last beating they want to throw at me.

LOU

Deployment Day 60

Yet another gig at the Bra tonight. I imagine if people were paying attention to us they would be bored by the same band. It's also Thanksgiving. I may have to do a shot of wild turkey. It doesn't feel like a holiday but whatever. 

Nate and I both had turkey for lunch and didn't feel like having it again so we did the tour of fat.

Our feast began with Burger King. A big ol' burger, fries, and a coke.

Then Dunkin' Donuts for desert.

Notice both of these pictures feature Nate stuffing his craw.

And finally the aftermath. Oohh so full.

And this last picture I saw at the chow hall. The kung fu pilgrim.

I get my luggage tags that I had made for everyone back today. I'm just waiting for this gig and day to be over.

Almost Home,

LOU

Deployment Day 59

Moving Day!!! 

We are moving gear from the band tent over to the new band office. I had gone over to the band tent the day before to gather up a few things and inventory our stuff that we are sending back home. 

So we move the stuff into the truck and I'm getting irritated by Jim's terrible driving and him telling me basically to shut my mouth and let him handle it. So I shut my mouth and do what I'm told. 

We made about three trips or so with the bread truck full of stuff. We made a dent in the tent but there is still more that needs to be moved. The new office is nice but we have to be a little more efficent with the space. Other wise the rest of the day to wallow in boredom and anxiety.   

LOU

Deployment Day 58

Another day off with stuff we have to do. We got together at our billeting to go over to the hospital. Some of us needed to get more Malaria meds. 

I haven't been taking them. Mostly because I just don't remeber to. 

Anyway we get over to the hospital and wait around for an hour to have our perscriptions filled. Then we turn in our IBA vest and our chemical gear. 

Thank God!!! I was very happy to be rid of this shit. I hope I never have to wear or carry this pointless heavy crap again. We then return to the band office where we are given the rest of the day off but asked to start on our out-processing checklist. 

I really hope I get out of here with everyone else. Mike said he would be interested to read the darkness that I would write during those days but I don't want to find out.  

LOU

Deployment Day 57

Jazz? at Al-Udeid?! 

We had a gig tonight at the D.E.L. and instead of cramming our whole loud show into a tiny room Mike made a great decision to play this gig in a jazz combo type setting. It was very hip. 

I know the guys in the band had a much better time playing the music than the other drek we have been playing. This experience really makes me want to persue a more original sound in the band but I know nobody would be into it. 

The best part about this gig was I could sit this one out. I just got the band setup and running and then they did their thing. 

Here we have Nate being the new-age bass player that he is. He's only missing the bald head with a pony tail.

Here is the Horn section enjoying themselves playing Jazz. Notice Tom's amazing stage presence.

LOU

Deployment Day 56

Finally a day off. I didn't have a lot of plans for this day which is a good thing. The only thing that really happened today was our poker tournament. 

I thought this would be more fun than it was. Major Henry invited the Chief from PA over to play. This guy was way too intense for me. I was looking to have a friendly card game but he was really into it. 

Fortunately we weren't playing for money. So some good times were had. I really was just looking to pass the time. 

One day closer to home.  

LOU

I Knew I Wasn't Crazy

KBR Sucks!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/24/soldiers.electrocuted/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Thanks Leo,

LOU

Deployment Day 55

The Thunderbox gig.

We are playing for the Australians tonight at their "pub" the Thunderbox. We had the whole morning off so I was able to catch up on all the posts from Kenya. I also found out I could be leaving earlier than expected or possibly later than expected. I'm in a 10 day window of when I can leave.

So we arrive at the Thunderbox and I check for juice. The Aussie's have wired all of their stuff for Australian plugs which I don't have an adapter for. As no one was around I decided to steal the plug off of the end of one of the light plugs dangling in the corner. I put this on our transformer and all was well.

We played the gig as usual which was kind of fun because I could drink while we were playing. When Jon, Nate and I were talking during the break. Jon and Nate had an uncanny moment were they said in perfect sync. "It's a bar gig."

So we finish up and head back to our rooms. Oh sweet day off I'm almost there.

LOU

Deployment Day 54

Leaving Africa. 

I'm writing this post while I'm on the 5 hour plane ride from Djbouti to Al-Udeid. It is very uncomfortable. We have a little more room then yesterday but not much. But good things happened before we got on the plane. 

I know I tend to focus on the negative things when I post but most everything has been poorly handled and there haven't been that many positive things. 

A few of us still had shillings from Kenya and needed to change them out so we got up early and went to the finance office. Turns out they can't make the money exchange here on base. The Navy captain told us he does it all the time. There must be a special system in place for people with more rank and importance. I'm stuck with a pocket full of shillings that are basically worthless to me at this point. 

So as I leave the finance window this TSgt calls me out on having my side cargo pocket unbuttoned. I do this to keep my hat in this pocket. I know I may have been in the wrong but the fact that someone would go out of their way to correct me tells me we have too many troops deployed. Obviously they don't have better things to do than check up on things like this. I noticed she didn't correct Preston as he's the same rank. I'm sure that was a huge factor. I hope she gets some kind of award for her work. 

Once we make it to the PAX terminal we check in for our flight and noticed the Reggae band we've seen advertised around the base is traveling with us. I found particularly funny when the guy reading the travel briefing said, "the use of illegal narcotics is prohibited on board. This included marijuana (Pause while giving evil eye to reggae musicians)". 

Oh sweet Deid I'll be home to you soon enough.  

LOU

Deployment Day 53

Good bye Kenya!     Hello Djbouti?!? 

We are leaving Kenya today for Djbouti and what a hassle it is getting out of the hotel. It's completely my own fault though. I forgot my credit card to pay for the room. So I had Major Henry send me a copy of the card to pay for the hotel. I go to check out and it turns out the card I have is expired. I had no idea. After calling the bank and not being able to get a card number to pay for the transaction. Jon had my back and I owe him some money. We get to the airport and I still have a pocket full of Kenyan shillings. Which is fine I wanted to have them to pay for lunch or something. We were told by the guys at the military part of the airport that we could exchange our shillings in Djbouti. I decide to hang on to my Kenyan monopoly money for a while. 

So we get on the flight which is a very uncomfortable c-130 flight. We are packed in like sardines again. It was at this point Nate and I met Rules McGee. He was a TSgt on the plane's crew and he was a stickler asshole. Before take off he was nearly yelling at people to sit down as soon as possible and scoot together. 

When we landed and everyone wanted to stand to stretch their legs he made everyone sit down as we weren't ready to exit the plane yet. A very uptight guy in an environment that really doesn't need it. Upon arriving in Djbouti we are given lodging in the transient tent. Which, of course, is as far away as humanly possible from the terminal. The walk was rather long but we made it. 

The base in Djbouti is a naval base and we ran into quite a few Seabees. I found this sign outside their office. I appreciate the 2 days mishap free and the bee/man with four arms.

I really just can't wait to leave for Al-Udeid. 

LOU

Deployment Day 52

I hit Safari Joe's which is another souvineir shop. Joe hooks you up like you wouldn't believe. I bought so many gifts and trinkets for everyone back home for a very very cheap price. I probably wouldn't have bought as much as I did if it weren't so damn cheap. I really appreciated this as I was worried about finding local things that I could bring home as gifts. 

One thing I should note as well is that all things here are on Kenya time. We were supposed to leave at 8a but we didn't end up leaving until 845a as we were waiting for the driver. I got a little annoyed by this but I'm not as relaxed about this stuff in the morning. Fortunately we don't report until 4:30p. The drive wasn't bad out to this gig but there were plenty of blunders. 

Mike, Rachel and Kathy went out to Kenyatta University early to do a radio spot. This was advertising for the gig and some P.R. for the band. During the radio interview Jim bursts in and asks where we should setup. Ellen our contact at the embassy tells him to take us to eat as we are early. Jim persists. Mind you the whole time they are still on-air with the interview. 

Meanwhile I'm on the bus with everyone else just hanging out and waiting for the next shoe to drop. It did. We went to the place that Jim was told to go by some random dude working in the radio station. We get there and begin setup. While we are setting up Jim learns that our gig is actually somewhere else. Rather than stop us from setting up Jim decides to check out the other gig area and make sure there is power. He has no means of checking if it's good or not and it wouldn't have mattered because we were traveling with a generator. None of this dawns on Jim while he takes a rather long walk over to the other gig site. 

We are just about to call our setup complete when we learn that our gig is actually somewhere else. So we have to pack everything up and load it back onto the bus and drive to the other site. This has us all annoyed. We get to the other site where we also learn that the place we just were was the place they had annouced repeatedly on the radio. So our audience is over at the wrong/right hall we are setting up at 6:20p for a 7p gig in the right/wrong hall and we haven't eaten. Way to go Ops! on this one. The best part was when Jim asked me if we had power when we got to the second gig site. I thought that was your whole reason for going over there!!!  

So we wait until 7:30p to start the show. Tom makes announcement while the audience is waiting. He said something like, I know we are angry about what happened but let's not blame them and he points to the audience and I know the audience heard him. 

Really raising the bar on this one. 

We play the show, nothing noteworthy. We are all really on autopilot at this point. The audience is good and very into it by the end of the show. I'm just waiting to get back to the hotel and eat Indian food and drink some Tusker. We also found out we are leaving tomorrow to get out of Kenya. Huzzah!  

LOU

Deployment Day 51

The day from HELL!! 

We had to leave at 630a and ride on the tiny bus for four hours each way. I was tired by the time we made it to this gig not to mention the literal shithole bathrooms that we made a stop at. The gig was at a university so things were pretty nice. 

Stupid me I sat on my glasses again. Two times proves i'm an idiot. 

Everyone enjoyed themselves but the crowd always asks us after the show about how to get to the united states and if they can have our e-mail address. There was even a very uncomfortable moment when we were being introduced when the guy from the university talked about "their brother Obama". I'm told alot of kenyans believe that he will really aid Kenya simply because of his heritage. It's a nice thought but we'll see what happens. 

So back on the bus for another grueling ride home. We did make a nice stop at this huge overlook. I took a panoramic shot of the valley.

They had souvineir shops here as well. I bought a flounder sculpture that depicts the valley that we overlooked. I just want to get back to the hotel and forget this awful day.  LOU

Deployment Day 50

Our next stop on this non-stop rockfest is the U.S. embassy in Kenya. 

We played outside for a few folks in this open area between two of the buildings. Nothing special about this gig. It really just went on too long without the fun audience we were just getting used to. 

After the gig we needed to take some publicity shots. These photos, which we are using for either the NAMM gig we have in January or the Disney gig we have around the same time, I am holding a set of spoons. 

I hope they get out and are used more frequently than this as the band maybe to lazy to take another publicity shot of this group. I mean the posters we've been seeing advertising us while deployed we reused from a shot we had to take for the Suisun gig we played way back in June.

 Jim got all artist diva during one of the photos. He was complaining that his saxaphone was not in the shot so why should he hold it. I couldn't believe he was serious as if this group was all about him all the sudden when everyone knows it's about me. :) 

Anyway we finish taking pictures so we head back inside to change and Nate and I hit the embassy commissary to check it out. After we all get outside and ready to leave half of the group decides they now want to go to the commissary (which also sells souvineirs) So we have to get a new visitor badge so everyone can go back in. The other half of us who already looked in the commissary or have no interest in it sit around and wait for nearly a half hour while everyone shops at a gift shop sized commissary. Annoying to say the least.  

LOU

Deployment Day 49

I went to a local bazzar this morning before the gig. What an experience this was. When you first arrive you are greeted by some one who explains to you that he will go with you and pick up the items you want and then negotiate the price when you are done. 

This is your pimp. 

After shopping around and very forcefully being given items. To which I had to say no to several time before they understood I didn't want it. At some point I picked up another pimp. One of the sellers began yelling at my second pimp probably because I didn't buy from her instead. I was ready to drop everything and leave but one of the pimps dealt with it while the other discussed price with me. We negotiate the price of the items I had picked up. My pimp explains to me that tomorrow is his birthday. (I'm sure tomorrow is always his birthday). So he's trying to have a party and needs money and he's happy I'm buying from him. He writes down a number for all the items. 28,000 in Kenyan shillings. 

I am shocked by this. He tells me to make an offer. I say that my offer would be insulting. I offer 3500 for everything. They say that is too low, so I push back some things and say 3000 for these. They don't like this either. My pimp continually write down numbers in the double digit thousands. I just say 3000 for all. We finally agree on 3200. But I had pushed some items out. I go to walk away and they offer me the other stuff for another ridiculous price. 3000 shillings for the left over. I said I was going to pay 3000 for all of it. So I offer 600 as I'm nearly out of money. Fortunately I limited myself otherwise I would have probably spent more. So all told I got alot of great gifts for 4000 shillings. 

I talked to Nate and Preston about what they got. Nate's offer was big like mine and he talked them down as well. But Preston was the real kicker. they initially offer 150,000. After haggling he got the deal he wanted. I love going to see the local crafts and things but this was completely different. I was happy to be out of there. But I'm still glad I went.  

The gig was an interesting one. The power around here is very hit or miss. Today was a miss. Fortunately they got us a small generator. Unfortunately this was also a miss. They had wired an outlet that connects to the local type plug. It was improperly wired. Jon found this out when the metal box hanging off of the generator bit him with a few volts. It was wired wrong so he only got about 40 volts or so but still this is endangerment for everyone as the ground was lifted. I opened up the generator and removed the box. The generator began putting out a clean 120 volts. 

Perfect. 

We played for a school so there were alot of younger kids in the audience. They all danced and played our percussion toys. Mike had the genius idea to put me in this pit of kenyan children while I played spoonman. That was a very weird and scary experience. I was playing the spoons with my leg on the cajon and the jingle stick on my boot. The kids began beating on the cajon and the jingle stick on my foot and both of my legs for some reason. They were more interested in playing me than my spoon playing I can assure you. 

But we made it through and headed home. We have also found out that we may be stuck in Kenya for a few more days longer than we expected. We were scheduled to leave the 20th but it's looking more like the 25th. This would be great as we will miss some of the bullshit gigs at Al-Udeid and be able to hang in a comfortable hotel. Only time will tell.  

LOU

Deployment Day 48

We had a long drive out to the gig today. I'm not sure what town we were in but we played at a school. We were originally supposed to have a generator out at the gig. 

So we arrive and there is no generator. Suddenly we are mobbed by people. We all helped move a really large tent for us to play under. Then they were ready to be entertained but we had no power and my battery powered speakers were not holding a charge. So Preston breaks out the Cajon and we hand out percussion instruments and everybody starts jamming. 

This was fun but we were told the generator wouldn't be there for at least another 90 minutes. So I jerry-rigged up a mic to a battery powered amp and we played some acoustic songs. This was great. 

Once the generator arrived we hooked up and played the show. Everybody was dancing and having fun. After we finish the show we had to make an announcement that we needed our percussion toys back. I know we lost quite a few things. We weren't clear that they had to give them back but I didn't think it would have been an issue. 

So we pile back on the bus and drive back on the long bumpy dirt road back to the hotel. It took us over 2 hours to get back. This trip isn't even the long trip from what I'm told. 

LOU

Deployment Day 47

Our first gig in Kenya. We are playing the ambassador's residence. This place was very swanky. It was set up with lots of tents and chairs. Almost like a wedding. They had built a stage on the grass. Fortunately they leveled it out because we were all sloping down from the house. 

This was a really fun gig. Everybody was having a really good time. We had the german ambassador and his wife (I assumed) come up and play on Respect. She owned it. Nice voice with a whole lot of stage presence. We all stood back and let her steal the show. 

We went on a break and the Kenyan army band played. They were ok, their un iforms looked really great right out of the music man. They played mostly marches for about a half hour. Then we played our second set. 

By this time everyone had plenty of booze in them and were ready to dance. So we had a crowded dance floor as well as a crowded stage. The Kenyan army band had many of it's member's on stage with us playing all manner of percussion instruments. This was a fantastic gig everyone had a really good time and there was no lack of energy. Why can't they all be like this.  

LOU

Deployment Day 46.5

On our day off there was much hang time to be had. So we ended up hanging in the hotel bar. One of several bars I might add.

There was a small jazz band playing and there were pretty cool. Nothing out there and amazing but very mellow and groovin'. 

We ended up just hanging around and drinking Tusker (the local brew). Preston told me his story of things lost in translation and 8 crappy tacos.

I'd rather be doing this than gigging anyday.

LOU

Deployment Day 45 + 46

A nice relaxing morning to get our shit together before leaving for Kenya. We have the bra gig tonight. And now plans have changed for our flight. We are leaving at 1am. So rather than cancel the gig at the bra we play for 45 mins.

The crowd was surprisingly responsive considering the last time we played the gig the crowd could care less that we were there. 

Once the gig is over we have to load into the bread truck we've been driving around and palletize our gear. Everything went pretty according to plan. We get on a huge c-17. It was really uncomfortable because they didn't have the pallet seats and we were in the seats on the sides of the plane. It was really hard to sleep but I slept a little.

So we arrive in Kenya and load on a bus with all our gear either in the back of the bus or on top of the huge luggage rack. We are still in uniform and anxious to get out of it. 

We take way to long asking about going on an African safari and what else is around. All I want to do is get to the hotel and relax. So after a tasty Tusker beer, it's sleepy time.

We have at least another day until our first gig here so I'm hoping to hang in this comfy hotel as long as possible.

From Kenya with love, Harambee!

LOU

Hellraiser Jon

So at Jon's request, here is a picture of me telling Jon he had something in his teeth, 

Gone horribly wrong.

Photo Credit: James L. Smith

His flickr page : http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaucho74/

LOU

Deployment Day 44

Ah! My favorite kind of gig day(insert Sarcasm). A nice early 6:45 report. And not one but two gigs. That's right 2, 2, 2-in-1 day. 

The first gig was at a boys prep school. You could tell these kids come from money. But they were very nice.

The best part of the gig came up when we were setting up. The speakers I had been using had the mic inputs built in with knobs on the back of the speaker. And when I went to plug in the first mic I found one of the knobs was bent. I went to see if it would turn and it snapped off. 

GREAT!

So fortunately they had a P.A. setup where we were playing so I patched into their rig. As I'm turning it on to get going their mixer won't turn on. Again GREAT! The "electrician" comes up and tells me these connections are loose. He steps on the power connection between the mixer and a power strip and the mixer begins clicking and I could see the light flickering on and off. I'm nervous to say the least. But was I get it to stay on for more than a second it stays on. So we muddle through this gig. But as I said earlier,

2, 2, 2-in-1

Our second gig was at the U.S. Embassy. We played pretty much the same show but with only one mic. We cut the tunes that required two singers and Paula and Rachel just shared a mic. Which worked out fine. I just hate this less than ideal make-do situation over here but on the flip-side I love the way it makes me think on my feet.

So we get back to Al-Udeid and Jon and I decide to try and fix the speaker with parts from the other broken one at the band tent. What a coincidence that the other one broke in the same spot. 

Weird?! 

So after dismantelling the speaker it looks like it can be done. So I take the input circuit board off of both of the speakers and pull off the one good input from the one at the band tent. And re-solder it onto the speaker we were using in place of the broken knob from earlier today. I also solder both of the broken knobs onto one input board so it can be sent off for repair. Ours is now fully operational and the other one is completely fucked.  

Jon and I also found a better case at the tent to keep these speakers a little better protected. With wheels (always a nice touch).

It was a long day to say the least. Fortunately our gig tomorrow is at the unappreciative bra, later at night. So I can sleep in and try and sleep most of the day as we may be flying out early in the morning for our next trip.

See you in Africa,

LOU

Deployment Day 43

We have a gig today in Doha again. Our report time is 11:45a. 

So a few of us head to the chow hall to get food for lunch before we leave. Our uniform for the day is civies. Preston got stopped by the vice commander on the base in the chow hall. He was asking why we weren't in uniform. Preston explained he was in the band and headed out to Doha. 

Then later the colonel vice commander asked the general he was with a few questions and came back to bother Preston. He asked who was in charge with the band and Preston dropped a dime on Major Henry. I'm sure nothing will come of this but somebody has got to stir up trouble.

Today we have a gig at the American School in Doha. This gig was a little surreal. I had just gotten used to playing absolute shitty conditions. Sand, dust, wind, heat, and any other shit this part of the world can throw at you. Then we play this gig in a really nice theatre. For american children. I thought I was home for a minute.

All went fine as usual. I handed out our CD after the show and the kids absolutely mobbed me. You'd think I was handing out something they'd actually wanted.

Well time for sleep as we report at 6:45 am,

LOU

Lost Days Day 40-42

I came to realize that I've missed a day some where in here. The next two days I have off and am loving it. So we will call this post days 40-42 and attribute them to 

time off/sleep deprivation/general laziness.

I'll pick it up on our next working gig and post any other interesting things that occur.

LOU

The Box

I made a box to express my exact emotions.

Happy

Sad

The Knowledge Hole

LOU

Deployment Day 39

Let the beating continue. We had our gig at the QLA last night and then an hour drive back to base. We got back around 10pm and we have to report back to the band building at 6:30am. But on the plus side they miss marked my beer card and let me drink four beers last night. 

We are playing a blind school in Qatar. This was very cool as alot of families out here ban music from their lives. It was a very human experience however strange it may have felt. These were good people. 

There was also this piano player who had outstanding ears. He played keys during the entire gig. It was great on "play that funky music". Mike played the main riff and the kid picks it up right away and then elbows Mike away from the keyboard. 

I got this one.

LOU

Deployment Day 38

Today we are playing the Qatar Leadership Academy. The "QLA". This is a military academy for young men. A boarding school in a way. Nate speculated that most of the boys there were born of oil money. We are playing in a gym. The kids seem really into it. 

After our show they thought we were rock stars. Their band played a couple of songs for us. It was really cool. 

These local gigs in the community are a little tense but everything worked out great. 

A good time had by all.  

LOU

Deployment Day 37

Back at Deid after a grueling, grueling day. We didn't end up on the plane out of Iraq until 5am. It's freezing cold outside and on the plane. 

The flight is not direct to Al-Udeid either. We end up having about 3 stops before we reach Al-Udeid. We land around 10am then we have to go through customs. And they were ASSHOLES! 

They went through every piece of our gear and check agaisnt a one page list that we had sent before we left for Afghanistan. This list is out-dated. To say the least. So we are battling our way through all this bullshit. And you have to smile and be nice or they would confiscate all the gear. 

What a pain!

 We were finally through customs at 2pm. But the first person I see when I get back to the new band building to unload is LEO! They played the bra that night. Their band sounded great and had some real greasy jamz. I was jealous I wasn't working for this band. So I press and stay up late to hang with Leo. I get my 3 beers and catch up with old friends and get to know other dudes that came from Alaska. I finally get to bed at 2am. 

Good to be back. 

LOU

Deployment Day 36

Stuck! 

Again! 

Our flight doesnt leave out of Iraq until midnight today. We have been stuck in our rooms without much to do. Then the power and the water was shut off. So now I'm stuck in my room. I have no power to enetertain myself. I would take a shower but the water is off. 

I really want out of here. 

LOU

Deployment Day 35

Finally our last gig in Iraq. We are playing at a place called the White Elephant on Al-Asad. 

I went around to some of the shops on base near our billeting. I don't understand how these shops have all the same crap. I guess people buy the bootleg movies and crappy nick nacks but I'd like to see something authentic to the region. I'm holding out for our trip to Kenya. Hopefully I can find some interesting things to buy my lovely and extremely understanding wife. (miss you dearest) 

We are playing at a theatre near the shops I was in earlier. We setup up and managed to trip a breaker during a short rehearsal. I was surprised as we dont draw much at all. But this place was an existing structure and the wiring was pre-installed. So the KBR guys told me "who knows" where everything is wired. The gig was par for the course. 

We did have four marines on stage doing a tamborine chorus. 

I'm happy to get out of Iraq.  LOU

Deployment Day 34

One of our finals stops we are almost out of Iraq! We are on a marine base and some of the things here are nice. The walk ways between billeting and anywhere else is mostly concrete which is alot better than the gravel that is everywhere else. 

I wish I had the bigger rig for this gig as we are outside on a large stage in an open area. It would really be great to crank up some sub action but we were equally well received with our small rig. The crowd was small but definitly more receptive to the music. 

Here is a shot from the stage.

I think everyone had fun. I can't imagine living here for a 15 month deployment. I was done with the place after one day. We head to our last stop tomorrow and then we can get back to Deid and relax for a little while. 

LOU

Deployment Day 33

Happy Halloween! We have a halloween gig tonight at a rec center. Everything was very normal. Good power and a nice stage. So we are about ready to play and I'm told they have costumes in the back room. Lots of wigs and a few masks. Then I found this Spiderman/venom costume. It was a one piece suit with muscles built in and a mask. 

The top half of the suit looked great. I had huge shoulders and 6-pack abs for the first time ever. The bottom half was like a pair of pajamas. Let's just say it was a bit revealing. Especially if I'm "flopping around" on stage. So I put the ABU pants over that to spare the audience any long term emotional problems. 

Preston had a basketball head mask which looked ridiculous. Jon was a beautiful blonde. Mike was pippy long stockings or perhaps the girl in the Wendy's sign. Nate was very rockstar. Everyone else had a wig on or something. Except Paula who abhors fun. We were killing on this show. The band sounded great and played equally well. The audience however may as well been watching a boring movie. Very sedentary. 

Which makes me question the reason I'm even over here entertaining the troops if they could care less that we are here. I think it would be better for all parties involved (and I know my wife would agree) if we didn't even bother doing this crap. 

Of the total number of people that stare blankly at us during the show, the percentage that is outwardly enjoying themselves is 1 or 2 percent. I ran out during this show shoving percussion instruments in peoples hands and they really did not want anything to do with me. I said, "You don't like fun?" to which they all agreed. Fuck these people and their unappreciative attitudes. 

At least the band had fun,

LOU

Trogdor!

I thought I'd share this grafiti of the burninator. I found it outside the BX at Camp Speicher.

Deployment Day 32

I would say at this point we are on our way out of the deployment rather than still going through it. We arrive in Balad and this nice Captain is there to greet us. 

Preston has been training me on the art of operational hints. So I decided to try out my skills. We were all standing around asking questions about the base that we could have been asking while riding over to billeting. So i ask "So? We have a bus taking us to billeting right?" and we were on our way. 

What a useful skill to have. 

The billeting is pretty nice. We are in a room with six beds and a tiny fridge. It's comfortable but after an hour of unpacking the room looks like a bomb went off in it. 

Our gig today is in the food court area of the PX. There is no avaliable power so we have to run the battery powered acoustic show. It was very low key. After a song we would rarely get applause or anything. So we pound through the gig and get out of there. 

Our halloween show is tomorrow. They have a trunk of costumes for us as well. I can't wait to see what we come up with.

LOU

Deployment Day 30 + 31

Stuck! So I thought we would get out of q-west. But plans often change. Our flight just kept on going and didn't land where we were. So we head back to our luxourous rooms and have to get up at 4am to catch the next flight out. 

Eventually we make it out. 

I was in a sleep deprived haze most of the day. We headed on to camp Speicher were we are to again play not one chow hall but two seperate chow halls for lunch and dinner. The lunch time show was good they had a nice stage and it was very long to the back wall. I thought everything sounded great. 

The people that ran the chow hall did not. They said it's too loud. So we all turned down. People in the audience were saying "turn it up". Ugh! I hate these gigs. 

We met some army band guys that are deployed out here as well. Namely Sgt Headley.

(Begin Rant)

He was the bands' first sergeant and a total asshole. My favorite thing that he said was comments about how the band sounded. Not to me but to Mike and Jon. Obviously some airmen need direction. He also said I should be out front instead of "jacking off" on stage. Jon told him that I don't have anyway to control the band we didn't use a mixing console. He said we should have at least a little mixer. Worked fine everywhere else we've gone. Way to be a great leader and criticize others when you know nothing of the situation. Fuck you! 

(Rant Over) 

The evening gig was good as well the stage was much smaller but still sounded pretty good. I was extremely tired. I think a lot of people enjoyed the gig but very few showed that they were enjoying themselves. I love entertaining blank faces. I need sleep. We leave again early for Balad. At least we get two nights there.

Jacking off every night Live! on stage.

LOU

Deployment Day 29

Chow hall gig today. This chow hall is huge. Like plane hangar big. We load in a I do my usual routine of checking for power. I plug in my tranformer and I get 55 volts on the hot and 55 on the nuetral. So they had wired 110 to both posts of the outlet. 

This is very wrong. 

I asked the guy in the chow hall about the power and he said,"That's KBR man" This is pathetic. So rather than risk our gear we used the yamaha block-head PA that was in the chow hall and it sounded pretty good. Improvising at the job. I think that's the only reason for me to be on this deployment is to keep everyone from frying the gear. 

I had been giving Mike shit about bringing this shitty casio keyboard that was battery powered and no I have to eat my words because it came in very handy today. 

I'm sorry I doubted you Mike. It's not my place to question your genius. 

So the gig went on will a little re configuring. I felt bad Nate couldn't hear himself and Dustin had to play through a shitty little amp but it was ok. We will be heading out of here tonight to our next fabulous location. 

Stay tuned,

LOU

Deployment Day 28

Today we were able to get out of Baghdad. After being stuck an extra day it was pretty easy to get out this time. We didn't wait nearly as long as we did at the terminal the day before. 

It was a very short flight. I don't think Iraq is all that big. The flight only took about 40 mins total. 

After we met our sponsor, we checked into our rooms. Which are very nice. Hardwood floors, the cadillac is rather clean, and two people to a room. We missed our gig as we got in a little later than expected but we play the chow hall for lunch tomorrow. 

Speaking of the chow hall the one here is excellent. They have an international bar. One of the dishes there was pork saipoi. I think I spelled that right. It was a bun filled with pork and egg and some other things. I wasn't sure because I devoured it. Soo tasty. 

Here is the one picture I took outside a bunker. 

Jon and Nate are at the top. It reminds me of an Aztec pyramid.  LOU