Bluzapalooza IV

First Show at Kunsan Air Base

The day started off with a short walk to the USO at Yongsan Base which was just a few blocks from our hotel. Mr. Yi, our driver and general guardian recommended it. They serve a great breakfast for a very low price and accept American currency so we could save the Korean Won (that's the name of their currency).

After a fine US- style breakfast we gathered up our stuff and loaded out of the Kaya Hotel. We went back to Yongsan Base to get our base passes so we would be authorized to walk around freely. It felt a lot like going to the Secretary of State office back home. You took numbers, sat in the waiting room and then got your picture taken and filled out more paperwork and then they scan your fingerprints. After an hour or so everyone had new ID cards for getting around on the bases.

Our next stop was at the garrison warehouse where we were met by our truck driver, Mr. Ti.
POC Shirley Commander met us and we started loading all the amps, drums, PA gear, cables, keyboards and support gear for the tour all packed in nice brand new steel flight cases. NICE.
I ran around with a gear manifest checking every case and making sure we had all the stuff I requested on the rider then the crew would roll it out to the trucks and Mr. Yi and Mr. Ti would load them. (We learned from Shirley that everyone in Korea address each other by their surname. You never address anyone by their first name until you've known them for a long time AND they give you their permission)

Once the gear was loaded we said goodbye to Shirley and hit the road for a 4-hour drive to Kunsan Airbase. Everyone is still suffering jet lag but we're coming around and the excitement is building.

Korea is a very beautiful country and the scenery is amazing so the drive really didn't seem that long. We rolled past all the barb wire and blast barricades to the guard house at Kunsan where several heavily armed MPs were waiting. I think that's the moment we realized that we were at a very serious place were people are working and living in a world where their lives are at risk.
North Korea, that place that we all laugh about in the states because of the weird dictator who runs it, is just a short drive from this base. The fighter group stationed here has to be ready at a moment's notice to deal with a government that has all kinds of missiles and artillery trained on them. One of the airmen said that if North Korea attacks the south that the life expectancy of everyone on that base is about 20 minutes.... geeez. If that ain't stress, I can't tell you what is.

We loaded the gear in to the Loring Club and started hooking up all the gear. An unfamiliar rig takes a little longer to set up and of course since it was our first show there were technical glitches. Some of the cabling was shorted out so we had to reconfigure things a bit. Then a crucial piece of hardware for the drum kit was missing, uh oh. There was no way to get a replacement but then lady luck smiled. One of the airmen at the base had a small practice kit he played with the camp band. He made a quick run to another building and brought back the piece Pete needed. Whew!

We got set up and made a run to the Alice Hotel outside the base. This place was AMAZING. Glass and stone bathroom with a huge tub next to a shower with giant sprayers, and even a bidet (you know, one of those toilets that shoots water jets at spots I really can't describe :-)
Led lighting with various colors and slippers and silk robes in the armoire and a 42" plasma screen TV with every kind of electronic entertainment device known to man. After a quick shower and change of clothes we ran back to the base where I met with a reporter from Armed Forces Network. She did a video interview about the band and tour and I talked about the reason we wanted to come play and about the Bluzapalooza tours. After that The base Commander, Colonel Malfer did a welcome and introduction. He presented us with a plaque in the shape of a wolfs head that said "To the Rusty Wright Band, 3 September, 2009. From the Men and Women of the Wolf Pack. Thank you for an outstanding performance. Kunsan Airbase, Republic of Korea." It's the finest award we could receive.

We launched into our show and proceeded to give all we had. The crowd was extremely enthusiastic and greeted the end of each song with a roar of approval. At the end of the 2-hour show we did our instrumental called "Hell On My Heels" which is the song podcasters said US military personnel in the Middle East were requesting.

After the show we greeted as many peopleas possible. We signed pictures and passed out CDs, occasionally posing with folks for a picture. These people were just marvelous to us. I met several people who came from Michigan. Two gentleman who walked up and said "Hey, great show man," in a slow drawl that I knew instantly. I said "Alabama?". A bit surprised, they both smiled and one said "Mobile" and the other said "Muscle Shoals". I grinned and said, "Howdy cousins." I told them about my family in Florence and we ended up doing double shots of Southern Comfort to toast "down home."

It was midnight by the time we packed up and loaded the truck and bus and we hadn't had a chance to eat dinner so we all headed over to the commissary for pizza and burgers. We laughed and talked and Andy & Pete were running around taking video. Over all it was a great first show, even with the glitches. We made it back to the Alice Hotel and before Laurie & I crashed I remember thinking how cool the crowd was. They really enjoyed the music because they don't get a lot of it. As far as we're concerned we'll play for these folks anytime.

Next stop, Chinhae Naval Base
Rusty