From tonysounds@yahoo.com Fri Dec 17 13:16:37 2004
Subject:Iraq N Roll 7.0

Tone Nay Nay here once again....

So another 2 hour freezing chopper ride later, and we are in Najaf, Iraq. We are apparently very close to Babylon, but will not get to see any of it; we have an afternoon show because there are no indoor facilities equipped to do this and we will be performing outside. It gets cold enough during the day, so to make sure enough people who want to get the chance to see the band, the afternoon show is the solution.

Captain Johnson: a very cute and vivacious former Valley Girl (I am SO sure!) is our POC and she really has her stuff together. She commands respect very easily because she is so on her game, and her staff are right there with her. We arrive at Najaf around 3:30am and we're all punk tired and freezing cold. We have so many layers on to protect us from the cold up there, plus the flak jackets, our helmets, face goggles to keep our faces somewhat warm, that it can reduce your mobility. It makes me a little paranoid as well because these midnight runs are done in total dark to protect all involved, and you can't see where the propellers of the choppers are. Of course you're not in any real danger of getting Vic Morrow'ed, but your instincts kick in just the same. The runways or helipads are kept in total darkness, with only a lone blue flashlight in the dark waving you to move towards a vehicle. You're coming out the back of these helicopters, which are insanely loud (yes, we're
all wearing ear plugs), you can't see anything because the inside of the choppers are kept dark as well, you've been in the dark for a few hours already, you feel like Cartman from South Park (I do anyway) because of all the clothing and kevlar, you're trying to hold the sleeping bag you wrapped around yourself and your carry-on, you're moving down this steel ramp off the chopper, you're freezing, and it's just a bit overwhelming....you are instinctively going to duck because you don't know where that spinning meat slicer is and you do not want to find out.

Anyway, Capt. Johnson is there waiting for us with her warm vehicles and she ushers us in right away. She gives us the quick tour (here's the shower truck, over there's the latrine, and there's a porta john aboug 50 ft over there with a glowstick so you can find it) and we climb into our tent, our sleeping bags, and with teeth chattering, fall asleep. I'm now sleeping with my hat on as well...that's how cold it is.

I wake up around 5am and have to whizzz. Wake up, step outside, shiver, decide the porta-john is closer, and head for the glow stick. Walking back to my tent, I get confused. "Crap, is it this one? It's gotta be" and walk in, muting my flashlight. I stop when I see some blinking lights (probably a computer) and back out of the tent. It's 5am, and I wouldn't know where the "office" would be even if I could see to get there, and I look around, and I'm sure this was our tent. I walk back and now I'm shining my light to be sure. Instead of the 2 rows of beds I expected, I see only 2 beds, and I realize I am totally in the wrong place. I back out quick, and lament how screwed I am. The last thing you want to do is wake up a soldier by wandering in his tent, especially with a loaded M16 by his bed. I finally find the right tent, crawl back into my 2 sleeping bags, zip myself in and get another 4 hours of sleep.

We sleep well into the morning but all wake up for that noon chow line. The food is good, actually really good. This base has the only food service competition to Haliburton we've seen, and they're giving them a good run for the money. After lunch, we mosey over to the site of the show, and they have pulled 3 flatbed trailers side-by-side for a stage. Pretty cool! It usually takes us around 90mins to set everything up and soundcheck. We start our show around 4p and we have an excellent turn out; it's really really cold, but we're all dressing to stay warm.

At this point, I must describe my stagewear ("No Captain, we won't need any special needs for our costumes!"). Keep in mind, it's grey and about 40 degrees or less. Two pairs of socks, fresh pair of shoes (don't want sweaty feet when you're cold), thermal underwear, tee shirt, long tee, sweatshirt, fleece jacket, wool hat, work gloves which I have cut the fingertips off of so I can play and still have some warmth for my hands. I broke my only pair of sunglasses in Baghdad (short bus was our transport, and I accidentally stood up, slammed my head against the overhead bin, and not only brained myself, but broke my sunglasses which were perched at the top of my head), and am wearing the big dust goggles I bought so I can keep my eyes from drying out and getting wind sheared. Captain Johnson just looked at me and laughed and said "hey, nice glasses man!" When I explained what happened and told her that when I could find a PX, I couldn't justify spending $50 or more on a pair of
aviation or field glasses and would just have to weather the unspoken thoughts of "yeah, nice 'wannabe-soldier wear dude" and go with it. She smiled and gave me the old "well it's working for ya!"

Well, even with the cold, we probably had over a hundred people watching. The crowd response was great, the band played well (it's fun playing outside...although generally we prefer it a little warmer) and everyone had a good time. Captain Johnson and her team rounded us up some helmet covers (changing our greens to more appropriate desert khaki) and had put them on the helmets, so while we were signing cds and hats and stuff, we had all the soldiers there signing our hats and helmets. I can't stress enough not only what great audiences these men and women have been to play for, but more importantly, how hard they try (and succeed by the way) making us feel welcome and part of their lives, even if only for a few days. Everyone has been super helpful, always getting our stuff off the plane, out of trucks, over to the staging areas, and then taking it as we pack it up and get it back onto trucks or pallets or planes or choppers. Capt. Johnson's crew is no exception. They showed
us a LOT of love and were very appreciative to have someone come out there and play for them to give them a diversion.

Back to the chow line after we finish (eat, eat, eat, eat and more eating...we're feeling like cattle at this point; we don't eat this much at home and yet, you're standing in line and see "a little of this, little of that") and we get to relax for a while. Captain Johnson got her team to actually do our laundry while we were there and it was ready for us when we got back from chow. Then, she said she felt sorry for me wearing my goggles and presented me and everyone else with a fine pair of WileyX sunglasses with switchable night lenses; they're not bulletproof, but are something-proof that will protect your eyes from flying debris from a shot. These are great glasses and are definitely worth the $50-$80 a pair. We looked like such dorks that night going onto our chopper again, all wearing our matching sunglasses! But they are so COOL!!!!! Another 1am ride and at 3am we arrive at Camp TQ (Tunnaqu heck if I know). Another hair raising disembarkment from the chopper in the dark
and a warm bus is wating to take us to our tent. Our tent is freezing cold, even colder than the night before, and the heaters don't work. I fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow, but it's so cold I keep waking up when my hat falls off or one of my gloves falls off. (Yes, I'm even wearing gloves to bed at this point.)

Another 6am need to pee, and I wander out of the tent and realize I have no friggin clue where I am at, and have no discernable point of refrence, but decide to make the trek anyway. This latrine is really far away, and by the time I make the trip back I'm pretty awake, but it only takes about 10 minutes to fall back asleep. We get picked up at 11:30 for chow, hit the Px and buy whatever we've run out of, take a look at the outdoor stage we'll be performing on, and hit the camp Dr. to get some drugs for our various illnesses. We have an hour or so to kill, so everyone grabs or a book or a nap, then we ge picked up for a short tour around the base.

We get to see some old Iraqi fighter jets, an enormous lake, an Iraqi sunset (good actually) and a whole lot of sand. On to soundcheck, then its show time. The Marines here are busting their hump but have built us a huge stage. We're performing outside after dark, so they have already gathered enough wood to build a house and have 6 or 7 flaming garbage cans to keep people warm. My stage costume has one new item not on yesterday's show: a headband with LED flashlight, sort of like a pith helmet, or a dentist's. Oh yeah, it's quite a look! I have no choice though since we're playing in the dark; the light cans on the stage are great, but they make everything in the background black. They pack in for the show, even though it's like 35degrees (the coldest one yet), and they rock hard. After taking some pics, we pack up the gear and go have dinner (they made us some plates after closing time.

Now I'm sitting in the internet cafe, and have literally fallen asleep 3x while writing this. But since this was our last show of the tour, I feel like I can share a few tips with fellow musicians (and anyone else for that matter) to help them get through something like this.

First, it's very hard on the equipment. It's bitter cold here, but in the summer, temps are in excess of 135 degrees. That said, equipment casualties include a snare head, a power strip, 2 keyboard amps and we haven't made it home yet. Always bring spares of things you can't be without. Snare heads, bass strings (I forgot to mssention that Big Al broke a string back in Bahrain, and only t. hrough the grace of a new fan there was he able to get a set of strings) power strips...When my blew, I went looking for a new one, but everything out here is 220volt. I did find this crazy power strip with a strange oulet design that accomodates every form of power cord imaginable110, 220, and some strange type I still can't recognize. It's cheezy and certain outlets died in the next 3 days. The extreme cold and dryness have caused severe cracking of my callouses starting under the nail. Picture a torture that involves giving massive paper cuts under the fingnerail around and you have a
glimpse of what's its like. So bring hand moisturizer with you, or even Vaseline if you can. Hats, gloves, vitamins, a small pillow, and layers of clothing are a must during the winter.

Please excuse any grammar or punctation issues....I have fallen asleep again at this computer and I am too tired to proofread.

One more post to go.....Kuwait to London to Chicago. I am so ready to be home.....
T


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