Filling the press seat for the Bluzapalooza tour was Blues Revue/Blueswax publisher Chip Eagle. Check out his coverage of the tour here and on BluesWax.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Bluzapalooza is underway. Sort of…
The first Blues tour ever in a war zone officially began yesterday with the troupe gathering at Dulles Airport outside of Washington, D.C. Tour producers Steve Simon and John Hahn were there to greet me and we gathered in the USO club in the airport to gradually await our comrades as they arrived from various parts of the country. As with everything that Steve and John do, this was a well organized and classy welcome with everyone receiving "Blues Bags" full of t-shirts, travel info, some cool dog tags, and our coins (more about that in a later blog).
You could tell everyone was excited, as none of us have ever done this before. We sat around in the USO club talking with military personnel who answered our many questions of what to expect in Kuwait City and Iraq. In the early evening we all piled through security and took our seats on the United 777 that would be our home for a dozen or so hours. Or so we thought.
Just as the door was preparing to close the pilot announced that there would be a delay as the FAA was deciding whether to ground all 777s for a maintenance issue, something about a flame suppression system in the hold. Seems like a good thing, but the delay continued as we began to gather in the back of the plane to plot our contingency plan in case we weren't going to fly. It was a good thing, too, because after sitting on the plane for three hours or so the pilot announced that the flight was cancelled.
Luckily Janiva Magness had the foresight to call a couple of local hotels and book us the last of the rooms. The airline advised us that there was little hope of getting our checked bags so we wearily trudged out to the cabstand and rode to our hotels. Some of us had some overnight stuff, but most of us had little of anything and it was well after 2 a.m. by the time we got to our rooms and crashed hard. I had been up for 24 hours at that point.
So it's Wednesday morning and we are slowly gathering in the breakfast room/lobby of the hotel and wondering what the day will bring. Tentatively we are to leave at 5 p.m., if the FAA allows the 777s to fly. If not…well, who knows?
But we have had a great morning sitting around drinking coffee with Bobby Rush leading an informal discussion of the Blues business. We are all here except our musical director Tony Braunagel who is already waiting in Kuwait City for us. If we have any further delays it looks like all that the troops will be hearing is one long Braunagel drum solo!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Bluzapalooza made it to Kuwait!
The Bluzapalooza crew has made it to Kuwait! We landed around noon and after hanging in the airport for a while we headed to our hotel. We had a couple of hours of down time and are getting ready to take a bus ride to the base for our first show. The military folks were skeptical about a performance so soon after such a tough trip, but these are Blues people we're talking about and they were ready, willing, and able to serve. There will be a 7 p.m. performance and we are all excited. Well, time to saddle up. More later from Kuwait and Bluzapalooza!
Bluzapalooza heads to Bagdhad
After last night's incredible show in Kuwait, the Bluzapalooza troupe made it back to our hotel in Kuwait City around midnight facing a 1:30 a.m. lobby call to catch our transport plane to Iraq. We were all quite crispy after a couple of days of hard travelling.
The bus took us from the hotel to the U.S. airbase by Kuwait International Airport and we sat there until our C130 transport plane arrived at 5:30 a.m. At that time we were all provided with combat helmets and heavy body armor to wear. It is hard to describe what we must have looked like to the troops all outfitted like this. I will post photos as soon as possible. Since we were headed into the war zone we now live with our helmets and armor and will until we return them to Kuwait next week. Wearing all that equipment suddenly made the whole experience seem real, even though some of us had been up more that 24 hours at that point.
Our equipment and luggage was strapped onto pallets and entered up the loading ramp at the back of the plane. We took our places in the nylon web seats inside the C130 transport plane, lined up against the wall among armored troops who were all well armed. Our three pallets of gear slide up the ramp behind us and was strapped down.
The flight into Bagdhad is infamous as they really drop right down in order to minimize exposure to small arms fire. We plopped right down and taxied for what seemed like an hour. After we got our stuff we got on a bus ride to Camp Stryker. By this time we were all pretty beat up and tired but were all quickly alert when our escort pointed out buildings that could possible have snipers on them and we rode by burned out tanks and other vehicles. Suddenly the tone of everyone around us was quite different from Kuwait. We were in the war.
The bus took us through the buildings and palaces of the Iraqi dictator and the Bath Party headquarters. As there are not really facilities for such guests as ourselves available, four guys were billeted in a one room on a three story walkup that was Sadaam's Palace of Victory Over America. Obviously that one was never quite finished and the facilities were kind of rough. Eleven guys are billeted in one room in a boathouse on the giant manmade lake that is the heart of the palace area. The ladies are billeted separately in what was Sadaam's mother-in-law's home, which is conveniently next to the much nicer Perfume Palace that he built for his girlfriend.
Security is strict and we are checked everywhere for IDs and orders. After dumping our stuff in our rooms we headed to the our orientation and the chow hall. After that everyone went back to our beds to catch some much-deserved rest.
I crashed for an hour and headed for coffee and this Internet cafe provided to the troops, and us. Our next show will be at a nearby camp tomorrow night.
The people here are treating us great within the difficult limits they work within. They seeem to be sincerely excited to have us here and look forward to our performances. I know that performers do too. Living with them and traveling so hard, even for them, only inspires me as to true drive that makes each of them so great at what they do. Bobby Rush was telling me about the time he did 81 nights straight. Janiva is everybody's mom and we all love her for it. Billy Gibson is simply positive about everything, even when there is little to be positive about. And all the sidemen are real troopers who are going through all of this so that they can simply do what they do so well.
More soon. Bluzapalooza out.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Bluzapalooza Weekend
We are now past the halfway point of the Bluzapalooza tour of Kuwait and Iraq. We are staked out in Camp Slayer, which also contains the Bath Party House (not to be confused with either a bathhouse or a party house) and some of the palaces, a huge manmade lake, numerous boat/party houses, the personal brothals of the Dictator for Life, the brothel buildings of the Republican Guard, as well as many small buildings of various sorts that are now either facilities for the military or were destroyed in the fighting.
But don't get me wrong, these are not glamorous or even really comfortable arrangements. We are in a war zone and many of these buildings are worn-down wrecks that were looted and are now used as primitive living and work spaces for various personnel. Even though these accommodations are pretty rugged to even the road warrior musicians of Bluzapalooza, they are far better than those of most of the troops whom we are here to entertain. Most of them live in tents and makeshift trailers surrounded by dust with countless inconveniences that we can't even think of in our circumstances here, much less at home.
Yesterday, Saturday (I think!) we were taken on a tour of some of the facilities, particularly the headquarters of the Third Infantry Division, the Rock of the Marne. As we walked through the command centers and logistical offices we were constantly meeting soldiers who wanted to tell us about what they were doing, what they felt is "really going on," and, most of all, how appreciative they were that we were there.
People from all over the building came to see Bobby Rush and at times it was like a hometown gathering when fans from various areas of the South, especially Mississippi, gathered around him. Bobby, always the consummate entertainer, gave them hugs and pats on the back, smiled for endless pictures, and really offered genuine warmth to folks far from home. The others in our troupe shook hands and talked with soldiers about their work, sports, and home. We heard them proudly tell of the history of their storied division, which has more Medal of Honor awardees than any other Army division. One of these awardees earned our nation's highest award only 100 yards from where we were standing in the initial fighting of the war. He earned it with his life.
We were humbled and moved when we were shown the Division's memorial to their fallen comrades, a pair of boots with a rifle standing between them and a helmet hanging atop and two video monitors that reminded us of those honored by the memorial. In a place where we were surrounded by those brave soldiers' comrades and so close to where so many are standing in their places, it was truly difficult not to be moved in a way that this writer simply cannot describe.
On the political side, one topic that was brought up to us throughout our trip was that our troops were constantly facing Iranian weapons and explosives, most of which could be traced back to specific and recent manufacture. Such words from the people who actually confront such danger were great food for thought for all of us, especially when there was a possibility that some of the troops we were meeting and entertaining might be facing such weapons in the next few hours.
After a stop for chow at one of the DFACs (dining facilities; nothing seems to be called by its actual name and we are all quickly learning the lingo of the service), we went back to the AO (Area of Operation) for a couple of hours of downtime. Then it was into a bus for our trip to one of the forward camps. There we were given a complete tour of the flight line where the helicopters are based. We met the crew of a Blackhawk helicopter as they were saddling up for a mission. They told us about their machine and showed us around it. They politely posed with us for photos and then we stepped away so they could load up and fly out. It really made us all think as we waved goodbye that we had just shaken hands with and befriended men who were literally going into harm's way before our eyes.
Then we headed to the other side of the airbase to where we would be performing that night. Camp Slayer is the last line of camps for the forward outposts and these troops were combat troops and we could immediately see that they were stiffer and more serious than those in Kuwait. We set up on a medium sized stage with chairs set up and bleachers all around. Tony Braunagel worked his magic with the mix and sound check and the sound was keyed in spot-on.
The house band opened up with a fast tempo number and the energy level immediately went up in the house. When Billy Gibson came up he went straight into "Messin' with The Kid" and the Iraqi juke joint was jumpin'! Billy proceeded to walk through the crowd and lit into a harp solo on his knees in the middle of the crowd that brought them to their feet. It is hard to say enough about how key Billy is to opening up these shows on the right note. He closed with "Johhny B. Goode" and had the troops singing along on the choruses.
Moments later Janiva Magness came out to hoots and howls. No wonder, this beautiful siren in a small, glittering dress had to be an eyeful to the soldiers on the front line. When she finally said that she could be some their mothers, the boys in the crowd made it clear that that was all right with them! When she did the slow, beautiful ballad "I Never Had You" you could see tears in the eyes of some very tough soldiers. But she came back with "Mojo Boogie" and her Madonna-like rubboard and they were once again laughing and back in the beat.
After some introductions by Steve Simon, Bobby Rush came out. If you haven't seen a Bobby Rush show, it is impossible for me to tell you what happened. If you have seen one, then you can trust that Bobby gave them the whole show, complete with girls, the bloomers, the laughs, and the soul that are a Bobby Rush show. The troops simply loved it and the commanding colonel told me that it was the best time she had seen them have. Mission Accomplished, Bluzapalooza!
Off to Camp Liberty tomorrow for a Sunday night show. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Bluzapalooza in the war zone in Iraq
A Direct Exclusive From Bluzapalooza in the war zone in Iraq:
After our show last night at Camp Stryker the crowd was so excited that many of them stood in a long line to get an autograph from and speak with the stars of the show. Virtually every one of them wanted a photo with at least one of the Blues stars and we all had a great time talking with the troops.
It was late when we finally signed the last photo and dragged our tired butts to the little bus that has seemed more like our home this week than our beds. We had long ago missed chow, but the energy and spirit of the show was in the bus and our troupe rollicked and joked through the checkpoints back to our own camp. The energy carried on and many of us sat outside of Saddam Hussein's boathouse, which roomed most of our males, since females and males are separated. The talk ranged from the music business to the gigs to politics, but eventually always came back to how good a cold beer or cocktail would taste. But Iraq is a dry country and there isn't a beer within hundreds of miles other than in our jokes and comments.
On Sunday morning, the bus to chow came at 6 a.m. and a few brave souls made it. Most of us slept in until 8 a.m. when our bus came to take us on a tour of Saddam Hussein's facilities. We started off with an exclusive tour of the Palace of Victory Over America. This facility was not finished at the time of the war. And it was bombed as a reply to Saddam's name for the building. As we carefully stepped through the rubble of what might once have been a magnificent palace we were awed by the gall of this man to create such opulence when only a short distance away his people toiled with so little. We climbed a ragged rubble of a staircase to the roof for a view of the entire complex around us.
The complex is a mass of huge palaces, living quarters, boathouse, and other buildings surrounded by a manmade lake. The dirt from the lake was pile to form two large hills, the highest points on the horizon and which are now platforms for Coalition strategic communications. The lake was filled from the canals from the Tigris River that would have been used to water the tiny farms in the area. In fact, this was done during a drought and the filling of the ponds was at the great expense of the farmers. Our soldier guide told of us about one of the small farmers who lived on the other side of the massive wall that surrounded Saddam's complex. When the farmer was brought on the other side of the wall and saw the massive lakes that had been filled as his family starved, he cried.
In a further example of the decadence of the Dictator for Life we could see right across the lake from the palace a mass of manmade hills and caves dubbed "Flintstone Village," which was built as a playground for the dictator's grandchildren. It had been filled with playrooms and video games, but now stood dilapidated and covered with graffiti from the troops.
We then went to ground zero for the war against Hussein, the Bath Party House. This is where the 200-plus representatives of the party met to discuss the Coalition's demand for surrender. Upon intel that Saddam himself was there, the magnificent building was bombed as the first strike of the war. We walked through the rubble of the room where they had been meeting when the bomb hit. Only fifty bodies were found so it is now a tomb for those who remain. When we saw the massive destruction that the bomb caused, destroying a corner of the massive building, it was easy to see that it will remain a tomb. In that building we also saw the swimming pool that was never filled with water, but was used for executions.
Awed by such destruction and brutality, we headed for lunch and back to our rooms for a little down time before heading to Camp Liberty. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Bluzapalooza Sunday...
In the late afternoon we headed to Camp Liberty for our Sunday night show. This was to be our biggest show and a large stage was erected. As we wandered around during sound check Bobby Rush ran into some friends from home, which was becoming commonplace wherever we went. This time it was a bunch of hometown kids who went to school with Bobby's children and the son of a schoolmate of Bobby's. There were many laughs and stories and photos and it was fun to share in such a reunion.
It was amazing that where there had not been a stage now stood a large stage and a large two-room, air-conditioned tent for our dressing room. And now the crowd was beginning to gather. Like any Blues festival anywhere the early comers staked our front spots with folding chairs on the gravel. Tony Braunagel and James of Coaxial Sound out of Kuwait City dialed in the sound once again and it was getting to be time. But this being Iraq, first we had a little excitement. In a pre-announced test, the perimeter protection system was tested. I am not allowed to say much about this other than that there is some of the highest technology in the world protecting our troops and when rockets or mortars come in a system detects them coming and other systems shoot them down. I was told that they are around 90% effective. It is the other 10% that kills people. As we stood around getting ready for the show the attack warning system went off and we could see some coming across the sky and suddenly a line of bright red dots flew from the ground and hit it. It loud and scary, but it made us feel better knowing that our protection was in place. The system was tested four times and we all stood outside in awe watching the fireworks.
This was indeed our biggest show with a few hundred soldiers there. The house band kicked it off and never let down through their sets. Backed by musical director Tony Braunagel on drums, the house band consisted of Zack "Who Knew!" Zunis from New York City on some killer, rockin' guitar, Gary Davenport from Los Angeles via Memphis on steady and funky bass patrol, and David Torkannowsky from New Orleans ..boards. Every night these guys got tighter.
After the house band got the crowd going, Billy Gibson came out with "Messin' With The Kid" and got things really going. Billy works every inch of the stage and you could tell that he was ready to make the five-foot jump into the crowd, but it was probably best that he didn't. A highlight of Billy's performance was when he brought up our escort, Sergeant Major Moore up to duet on the harmonica. The Sergeant Major had already become part of our family and once we found out that he was a percussionist who was learning harp and even carried one around in his pocket, he had no choice but to join the fun. In his fatigues and boots and standing at well over six feet tall, the imposing soldier showed his stuff in a duet with Billy on a Jimmy Rogers song. The troops urged their comrade on and it was a big hit with everyone. Billy then closed with a singalong version of "Johnny B. Goode" that once again got the crowd to their feet and joining in on the choruses augmented by Zack Zunis ripping off some killer rock 'n' roll licks and David Torkanowsky's piano. Once again Billy Gibson proved himself to be a personable and exciting opener for Bluzapalooza.
But no matter how high Billy set the bar for the night he simply couldn't bring to the stage what Janiva Magness did. Magness' set up started out upbeat and you could see the troops move forward to get a better look at the eyeful in front of them. Once again, the ballad "You Were Never Mine" was a huge highlight and the crowd quieted down to share the emotion that permeates this great song. After that song several people came up to me in the crowd and said, "Who is that! That was beautiful!"
As Magness rolled into some boogying numbers I was standing in the back when I saw the crowd next to me part for five soldiers in full combat gear with cameras on their helmets weapons all over them and covered with dust. These intimidating warriors walked through the crowd to about center and dropped their gear and pulled out tiny cameras to take pictures of Janiva's performance. When I asked them, they said that they had just come in from a mission and didn't want to miss any more of the show.
As Bobby Rush came on the stage a large group of friends and fans moved in front of the stage. Like Bob Hope with soul, Bobby Rush entertained the troops like no one else could. Mr. Entertainment is always on, but tonight he was particularly exciting. Whether is was soul, funk, comedy, or just straight-ahead Blues, Bobby Rush was…well…Bobby Rush! And that might just be the highest compliment there is. He is not the best at what he does, he is the only one who does what he does. Working through highlights of his vast repertoire, Bobby Rush absolutely knocked the audience out. By the end of his set the troops were crowded at the front of the stage with their hands in the air and their eyes on Bobby Rush and his dancers.
At the end of his set Bobby brought up Janiva Magness and Billy Gibson for a "Kansas City'/"Sweet Home Chicago"/"The Blues Is Alright" medley. Towards the end of the song producers Steve Simon and John Hahn, as well as myself, came to the front of the stage and began throwing out t-shirts, hats, and CDs. The MPs wisely stood vigilant rather than stop the frenzy that erupted as the crowd moved to the front hoping to get a souvenir.
As the bows were over and the music stopped, the soldiers stood smiling and poking each other and laughing, just like they would anywhere. At the same time a huge amount of energy hung in the air like an incoming dust storm, but it wasn't the ever-present tension that had hangs surrounds everybody in the combat zone. No, it was the same climactic, positive energy that fills the air after any Blues show at any great Blues club as the lights come on, the bar closes, and the crowd slowly shuffles to their cars and bikes. Bluzapalooza had actually broken the tension and replaced it with the Blues. It was one of the most powerful feelings this writer has ever see come from the music and it was awesome to watch the troops and know that we had actually made them forget where they were for awhile.
As I walked backstage as the troops lined up to meet the stars, I spoke with the colonel in charge of the program. He was not only enthusiastic, he was obviously moved by what he had seen be given to his troops. While he hadn't been a Blues fan before he was now and he said that he was amazed at how it had affected his troops.
After all of our travels without sleep I was beat and I hadn't just performed. I know that our four stars had to be exhausted and hungry, but they weren't going to budge until every soldier had their chance to say a few words, shake a hand, and get an autograph and a photograph. One thing that all of us had realized by this time is that these dedicated people far from home often only wanted to talk with us, that we were a contact with home that didn't wear a uniform. Even the non-performers, like myself, spent countless hours just talking, really listening, to soldiers. While we were all looking to give more, sometimes the best we could give was to talk about music, sports, and, yes, even politics. If that's what they wanted, they were going to get it.
After the last story was told and the last goodbye said, we loaded into our bus once again for a dusty ride "home." But this one was more than the usual dust which permeates life, clothing and body here, it was a dust storm slowly filling the air making it thick to breathe. Since we were all hungry, the Sergeant Major had arranged for a commissary to leave out some sandwich stuff for us. We stopped and in zombie-like fashion stumbled around putting together plates and eating. The food brought our spirits back and when we loaded back into the bus it wasn't long for the good-natured banter that had become our common nature to arise and we were all tiredly laughing and dreading our morning call in just a few hours.
As usual a few of us gathered in the thick, dust-filled air around the strange, pink couch that sat in front of the boathouse home of the most of the males of our troupe. Being very punchy we laughed at bad jokes, talked about the music business, and slowly one-by-one made our way to our cots.
Tomorrow we would visit the headquarters of the whole operation and have the last performance of the trip, and all much to soon for our tired souls. Stay tuned!
Bluzapalooza Monday
After Sunday's show the usual suspects gathered around Sadaam's pink couch in front of the Boathouse where most of the boys are billeted. The odd pink couch has become our gathering point as we sit and walk around it as it sits in front of the boathouse surrounded by the ecoli-filled waters of Sadaam's manmade lake. There we smoke cigars, talk about the first drink when we get on the plane home, joke, talk music, and general commune in a very cool way. On Sunday night it was obvious that we were all pretty beat up and we had to get up early once again.
Monday morning came too early and we all kind of stumbled to our bus. After a mercy stop at the coffee shop we headed to the center of the war, Al Fawr palace where the headquarters of the war are based. After going through some pretty major security we walked into the magnificent round atrium in which hung a massive chandelier. It was then up a huge marble staircase to office of General Allyn, the Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq. The General's office was impressive with a conference table and huge maps of the war zone. There we lined up and he stood before us and thanked us for being there. While he had not been able to catch the shows, he had clearly heard good things. He then personally thanked each of us and gave us his coins.
I haven't yet told you about the coins. Officers have coins that represent their office or command. When thanking someone these are given within a handshake. They are a sign of respect and thanks and it is an honor to receive them. They are coveted and collected. Of course Bluzapalooza's founder, Steve Simon, had the foresight to create coins for the tour and we handed them out to soldiers throughout our tour. These were very popular and it was always fun to see the look in a soldier's eyes when we shook their hand and said thank you for what they were doing and they realized that we had just "coined" them. In fact it was really cool.
So the General coined us with beautiful, large coins that honored us "For Entertainment Excellence." It was a really moving moment and it was really great for the General to take his very valuable time and use it on us. After many thanks and photographs, we bid the General farewell and left his office to take a tour of the rest of the palace.
We walked around the hallway that circled the huge atrium and we took photos of the gigantic chandelier from different angles. At the corners corridors led us to various offices. As we headed out onto a large balcony that overlooked the other buildings and the giant manmade lake that surrounded the palace, I found a box of golf clubs and boxes of balls. There was a artificial grass mat placed atop a stack of pallets and it was obvious that someone had the brilliant idea of setting up a miniature driving range on the palace's balcony. The golfers in the group took turns spanking Mr. Whitey into the lake. The longest drive award went to Tony Braunagel who laid a nice ball far out in the lake. The shortest drive had to be John Hahn's who topped the ball and it dribbled forward and rolled off the balcony to the sound of hoots and laughter. After taking a photos of us holding golf poses, we headed around to the other side's balcony where Sergeant Major Moore told us some of his endless war stories as we overlooked the security of the number one target for insurgent attacks.
Then we went into the MWR office, the group in charge of the entertainment for the troops and saw some of our friends and escorts hard at work. We spent some time with them talking about our experience and hearing about the logistics of providing entertainment to the troops.
As we headed back downstairs to the bottom of the atrium we were presented with Sadaam Hussein's throne chair. We took turns posing and taking pictures of each other in the chair. After that we went out through security and back onto the bus to head to the chow hall on Slayer and some downtime before our last show in Iraq which was to feature some real excitement.
Stay tuned!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Mission Accomplished, Bluzapalooza!
While some of us went back to our camp after lunch on Monday, Tony Braunagel and a few others went to the Fieldhouse to set up the equipment and tune in the sound. They got Sergeant Major Moore behind the drum kit and he worked the percussion and put a harmonica in his mouth at the same time. That's one talented soldier!
The Fieldhouse was nothing more than a large metal barn with a wooden basketball floor. There were two small dressing rooms and chairs set up facing the stage, which was set up at the side mid-court. Seeing a sign for a driving range and having an hour before the show began, I checked out a seven iron and three iron (they didn't have much choice for lefties!) and headed out the back door with John Hahn. At first I was lost and couldn't see any driving range and I went back in to find out where I should go. I was again told to go out the back door and look for the soccer field. All I saw was a large flat expanse of brown dirt. Then it caught my eye, a tiny white dot about fifty yards away. And then another and another. There were golf balls all around me. It wasn't your typical get-a-bucket-of-balls-and-hit-them driving range, it was a graze and hit deal. So John and I went for a walk, stopping occasionally to whack a ball into the distance. It was a pleasant little walk and we laughed about playing golf in Iraq.
When we got back in we were met with a handful of soldiers sitting around, many with instruments. The night before at Camp Liberty I had met a soldier standing in the audience. As I usually did I asked where he was from and then what he did. He said that he played guitar. I said, "No, what do you do here?"
He responded that his job there was to play guitar, that he was in the division band. He went on to tell me that he played almost everyday in some kind of band, in fact the division blues band was playing a chow hall for lunch the next day. He then brought over his boss, Chief Warrant Officer Bob Nixon, the commander of the Fourth Infantry Division Band. And he was a guitar player also! Before the show on Sunday night I had invited Nixon and his 42 band members to come to Monday night's gig. Here we were now with a handful of musicians ready to have a go with the Bluzapalooza band. What fun!
Since the vast majority of the chairs were still empty we kind of dragged our feet getting started and were all treated to Bobby Rush sitting on an amp by himself playing around on his electric guitar. Once again Bobby proved to all of his that he is a direct line to the origins of the blues and that he is a truly talented and versatile artist.
Finally the house band kicked it up and the big, metal building was shaking.
There really wasn't a stage, just the equipment set up next to the basketball court where the chairs were set up. Billy Gibson came to the front of the band and immediately raised the energy level in the room. After a couple of tunes he began inviting soldiers up to the stage to sit in, starting off with Sergeant Major Moore for a harmonica duet. After a few songs there were a guitar player, a bass player, a drummer, and a trumpet player on the stage in uniform. We were all pleasantly surprised that they were so competent and finally their boss, Bob Nixon, strapped on a guitar and sang a blues song. There were smiles all around and we were all having a great time. Bluzapalooza founder Steve Simon came up with his clarinet and instruments were passed around and we had a really good jam session. One of the bass players was a canine handler and his dog was a famous cadaver dog that was know by everyone there. Tess was known for finding remains of soldiers and was clearly treated like a hero by the troops, but tonight it was her master's time to shine and she quietly sat on the stage next to him as the band played on. You don't see that every day!
Then something else happened that you don't see everyday. As we were all standing around talking with the soldiers and our musicians were talking with the military musicians there was a loud sound. I thought that someone had dropped the bass amp or something, but within seconds soldiers were grabbing us and literally dragging us out the door and into the bunkers that were right outside the door. We were packed into the concrete tube and the soldiers took their places at the ends. I cannot give you details but it was a rocket attack and it was very close. Very close! Suddenly the war was real and in our face. One minute we had all forgotten where we were and were having a good ol' time and the next minute we were back in the war zone being protected by the troops. It was a moment that will be eternally etched in the soul of each of the members of Bluzapalooza.
After about twenty minutes the "All Clear" was called and we were allowed out of the bunker and we made our way back into the building. We were all a little stressed out and chattering about what we had just experienced. But what was a unique and scary experience to us is a regular day for the troops in Iraq. They never know when it might happen. This creates an endless tension that underlies everything that happens here. No one was hurt this time, but the next time will happen and the consequences might be very different.
Like the trooper that she is, Janiva Magness had no question in her mind about performing. That's why she was there, but this time she started things off differently. Instead roaring off she came to the microphone, said a few words of thanks and began a slow ballad from her upcoming album. None of us had heard the song before, written by her husband Jeff Turmes. It was a beautiful ballad with lone accompaniment of Gary Davenport's bass lines. After the previous excitement Magness had picked the perfect song and we were all moved by her performance. It was just what we needed. But Janiva isn't one to stay mellow for long and she was right back to her boisterous, exciting self and troops showed their appreciation.
After the rocket attack we had lost much of our audience and the room was a very intimate setting in the cavernous gymnasium. There was a little concern that Bobby Rush might be performing to an empty room and some of us went into the dressing room to see how he felt about performing. When told that he didn't have to go on he replied with, "Whether it's one or a thousand, it's important." That's why he is Bobby Rush. Once again, as throughout our tour, Bobby Rush put everything into perspective for us. As I have said before, Bobby Rush isn't the best at what he does; he's the only one that does what he does. When he came out into the blazingly bright lights of the Fieldhouse it was as if he was playing a coliseum of thousands instead of a handful of brave soldiers who had just put themselves between us and the enemy. And like the truly great performer that he is, Bobby Rush gave them a show. What a treat to see such a great performer giving himself to others. And give he did in what might just have been his best performance of the tour. He was talking to all the troops and joking with them and making everyone laugh and feel good. At the end of his set he told the troops how appreciative he was and put tears in our eyes with his sincere and beautiful words. Then he invited Sergeant Major Moore up for a dance with the girls. Then he invited Billy Gibson and Janiva Magness up to close the set with a hot medley of blues classics.
It was a great performance and we all knew that this was that last performance of the tour. The soldiers all lined up to get some t-shirts and CDs and to talk with the performers. The rest of us stood around talking with the troops. One pretty, young female soldier who plays trumpet in the band repeated the highest compliment which we had heard so much, "You made me forget where I was." She then added that we had reminded her that that is her job to do for the troops when she performs. Her comments really moved all of us.
Billy Gibson had been giving out harmonicas to the troops all night and had been giving informal harmonica lessons to those who were interested. It was really cool to watch Billy patiently work the soldiers through their first notes.
That last show of the Bluzapalooza tour was really special to all of us. It is a night that none of us will ever forget. It is a tour that none of us will ever forget; a truly life-changing experience for each of us. I am so proud to be associated with such truly great and gifted performers. Everyone involved represented our blues community and never failed to give everything to the troops, even when the conditions were difficult, even dangerous, and even when we were each so exhausted that we dreaded the next step. What had only a few days before been a conglomeration of different egos brought together for a common, important mission had indeed become a band of brothers and sisters who had together experienced something that none of us will ever really be able to really describe to anyone else.
Now all that was left was for us make the difficult journey home, each of us with a true sense of accomplishment and knowing that we had indeed actually touched peoples' lives in a positive way. The response we universally received from the troops was truly overwhelming. We were given love and respect and were so appreciated that we were constantly moved by the words of thanks we received. As I have said before, we went around the world in a small attempt to thank the troops with the only thing we really had to give, the music we love, but what happened is that we all ended up taking home more that we gave. Much more.
When you see that soldier in the airport or anywhere else, make sure you say thanks for what he or she does. Whether he is on the wall or in an office, every one of them is a hero. Regardless of politics or presidents, these brave people leave their homes and families to be in a place where rockets can land only meters from the gig, where there are other people trying to kill them, where they or their friends' ride home might just be in box. As we found out, they live in Iraq in the worse circumstances of dirt and danger. But as Bluzapalooza founder Steve Simon committed to the troops each night that as long as they are there we will give them the blues. While we all hope that we never have to do another tour because all the troops have come home, we are already planning the next Bluzapalooza tour in October. But for now we can all proudly say, "Mission Accomplished, Bluzapalooza!"
