Posts
Saturday, September 5 2009
Show #3 BBQ & Blues, Osan Air Force Base
Osan is an extremely nice base, with the officer’s club resembling some of the nicer country clubs Rusty and I have performed at. The BBQ & Blues Festival was just getting into full swing outside the officer’s club when we arrive. As our bus pulled up we were geeked to see our faces plastered on a huge banner strung across the intersection. Too cool. We unloaded our borrowed amps and keyboard and do a quick sound check. Lee went to work with audio crew from the Korean sound company to get our instruments and vocals dialed in and everything seemed fine at that point. Since we still had several hours before our performance we were directed to a private room in the O club that has been set aside for our use. Some of us set up our laptops and go to work on video clips, posting to our tour blogs and sorting the photos we’ve taken so far. The rest of the group heads back outside to hear the first act, a local band.
The first half of our set sent off without a hitch. Great crowd, great response. Then right at the end of the set sparks began spitting outward from the outlet box Dave’s keyboard was plugged into. We quickly yank the keyboard’s transformer cable but the damage was already done. We took a break so the MC could take care of some announcements and we could confer with the sound company folks to try to come up with a solution. Before Dave and I could leave the stage smoke began pouring up out of the Line 6 guitar amp. Another piece of gear fried. The only solution was to change up the set and finish the performance as a four-piece, with Dave watching glumly from side stage. We all felt bad that some equipment got wrecked, even though it wasn’t our fault and there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Show #4 Labor Day festivities, Hanson Field House, Camp Casey
No luck in finding a transformer or getting the fried one repaired for Dave’s keyboard. We were disappointed at the possibility that Davey might have to sit out a show or two until we could resolve the equipment issue. Fortunately, Frank --- Our main AFE contact in Hawaii contacted the owner of the equipment rental company and made arrangements for us to borrow a keyboard for the show from a band called USA Express who was scheduled to play earlier before us at the festival.
Lots of families in attendance for the Labor Day activities, which included entertainment, demonstrations, vender booths, and games and contests for both kids and adults, inflatable castles for bouncing – all the normal stuff you see at a community festival.
Dave usually plays a Hammond B3 at our shows but AFE was unable to provide a B3 for the tour so Dave has been hooking a laptop to the keyboard and is using a B3 simulator program to get his B3 sound. It’s not an ideal arrangement for him but sounds pretty darn good, all the same.
It was great being able to perform outdoors. There has been little variation in day/night temperatures since we’ve been here, with only one humid day. We were the final act of the evening and by the time we took the stage it was dark. The only drawback to the outdoor shows here have been the big ass bugs. At Osan, we had to contend with spiders spinning webs in the equipment on stage while we played. At Camp Casey bugs that looked like mayflies started landing on us as soon as we started playing. At one point I looked over at Rusty and saw a half dozen of the mayflies clinging to his shirt and a huge praying mantis making its way up his back at an alarming rate of speed, heading straight for his ear. I got the feisty little interloper off of him but he/it remained up on stage with us through the rest of the show. At the end of our set the camp’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) director presented the band with a gorgeous engraved plaque. Then we were able to spend some time signing autographs and chatting with some enlisted folks who’d hung around to say hi. Everyone has been very friendly and appreciative – we all look forward to the time we spend after our shows talking with the military folks and finding out where they’re from originally, how long they’ve been away from the states, etc.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tommy D’s, Camp Humphreys
Each venue/event has been quite different. Our last Korean show at Tommy D’s was more like a regular club gig than a concert. When we arrived we learned there had been a bit of a snafu with communication. A local band, New Sensations, was also scheduled to perform the same night. Their show was cancelled so we could go ahead with ours. Instead of being irked, the band was very friendly and came out en force to the club in support of our show, which we thought was really, really nice. At Kunsan, JBL Simple Tunes (from the Philippines) had their show pushed back until after we’d done our 2-hour show, They came out early to hang out and talk, and then asked for autographs and chatted for a bit before setting up their gear and performing. We were able to stick around and hear them too, which was nice.
At 9 a.m. we checked out of the Kaya Hotel and boarded the bus to head back to Incheon International Airport. Today we fly to Narita Japan and we’ll be met by Spike, our new AFE contact person. We stop at the warehouse to drop off the equipment we have used for our Korean shows and then our last trip with Mr. Yi.
We were very sad at the prospect of saying goodbye. Mr. Yi has been very gracious and patient with us this past week. Our trip would have been much more stressful and much less successful had he not been so willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. After Pete discovered his borrowed drum kit was lacking parts Mr. Yi located a music store en route to our second show and even helped negotiate the best price for the parts since none of us could speak the language. When the keyboard transformer and a guitar amp fried during our performance at Osan, Mr. Yi found a huge music mall and volunteered to come in to work SIX HOURS EARLY to drop some of us off on base to do laundry while he chauffeured the rest of the group to the mall to get the transformer repaired and find the other gear we needed, and on our last full day in Korea he picked us up several hours early and drove us back to the shopping district just outside Osan Air Force base so we could shop for souvenirs. Bluzapalooza IV stayed on track thanks to Mr. Yi so it felt right to gift him with one of the Bluzapalooza tour jackets he had admired earlier in the week.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Destination: Tokyo, Japan
I am enthralled with Tokyo – at least from the window of the bus. We have been in Japan for just a couple of hours and already have been seduced by the sophisticated beauty of this megalopolis . According to Wikipedia the greater Tokyo area is home to some 35 million people, making it the most densely populated metropolitan area on Earth. Tokyo and Seoul are the largest cities I have visited to date. Years ago I had the opportunity to perform in European cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne – cities more known for their history and old architecture, but Seoul and Tokyo are a huge contrast - very vibrant and contemporary, while maintaining an exotic air. I don’t know that I would enjoy living in such a huge city, but visiting is certainly exciting.
Saturday, September 10-11, 2009
Yokota AB
Before we can check into the hotel we have to stop at the guard station to get signed in and get our temporary base passes. This takes about an hour. We’re all exhausted and the photos on our temporary passes look fairly demonic. For this leg of the trip we’re being housed on base at the Kantos Lodge where we each have our own suite at the Kantos. We have good coffee, Wi-Fi and the mattress is soft – a huge improvement over the concrete hard beds in Korea. I definitely could linger here a while but we have two short nights here. In the morning we pick up our PA rig from storage and head back over to the guard house for yet another round of paperwork and photographs. It takes well over an hour to process our temporary passes. My second photo isn’t any more flattering than the first.
We walk over to the Officer’s Club to set up. It’s a nice size room with a formal atmosphere and a decent size stage. We go back to the hotel for about 90 minutes then walk back over to the restaurant for an excellent dinner. We eat an embarrassing amount of the wonderful warm, dark bread and honey butter. As we leave the restaurant a lady named Tara Werner walked over to introduce herself to us, saying she’d been to our website and was looking forward to the show. By the end of the evening I felt like I’ve made some new friends and that we definitely will stay in touch.
Sep 12, 2009
Sep 9, 2009
Farewell Korea, Hello Japan
We finished our last show at Camp Humphrey and we're packing to leave for the airport at 9am. We fly to Tokyo Japan and do a show at Yokuska. From there it's on to Yakoto and then the Fujifest at Camp Fuji.
Korea has been a great experience. The Country, the people and their culture are truly beautiful. I think we Americans could learn a lot about patience and civility from them.
The many fine US Servicemen and women have also been a real pleasure to meet and play for. We had a fine time at Camp Suwon. The crowd there really made us feel good and want to play even more for them. Kunsan, Chinhae, Camp Casey, Camp Humphrey. We were honored to perform for you. Our deepest respect and appreciation go out to you all.
Well the clock is ticking so time to hit the shower and pack for the next trip.
Talk to you all from Japan!
Rusty
Korea has been a great experience. The Country, the people and their culture are truly beautiful. I think we Americans could learn a lot about patience and civility from them.
The many fine US Servicemen and women have also been a real pleasure to meet and play for. We had a fine time at Camp Suwon. The crowd there really made us feel good and want to play even more for them. Kunsan, Chinhae, Camp Casey, Camp Humphrey. We were honored to perform for you. Our deepest respect and appreciation go out to you all.
Well the clock is ticking so time to hit the shower and pack for the next trip.
Talk to you all from Japan!
Rusty
Sep 6, 2009
Start of week #2: Today we head for Camp Casey
Now we're back at the Kaya Hotel in Seoul. This will be our base of operations for the next several days. It will be nice not having to lug all the luggage with us every day, and the rest of the shows here in Korea are within 2 hours of Seoul. Today we head for Camp Casey, and we'll be performing inside Hanson Field House. We've seen photos of the field house, which is pretty impressive, sizewise so we should have a fun time there.
Thanks for following along. We'll be posting a lot more shortly.
Chinhae Naval Base and BBQ & Blues at Osan Air Force Base
Show #2 Chinhae Naval Base
Traveling from Kunsan Air Force Base to Chinhae Naval Base took us through some breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery. This is a lovely country. No space is wasted. It appears that most people live in the cities - there doesn’t seem to be a lot of urban (and suburban) sprawl like there is in the US. There is a lot of open land and crops are laid out in neat patches where ever there is a flat space. Greenhouses abound. We’ve seen ginseng, rice, grapes, blueberries, fruit trees, even the sloping ditches are planted with crops like hot red peppers.
The show at Chinhae was fun. Most of the bugs have been worked out of the sound system and everyone is settling in with their gear. We had a really good time performing - having Craig Smith sit in on bass was a lot of fun and we had a great time chatting with the navy personnel who came out to see us. We even met several people who hail from Michigan originally. Since this base is small and rarely has access to AFE entertainment, we passed out quite a few of the cds that we brought with us to give away.
Our off base lodgings for the night will become one of the more colorful tales we tell from this trip. The Hole in One Hotel where we stayed after the show has nothing to do with golf, believe me. When we pulled up, our driver Mr Yi told us he refuses to stay at the hotel, which appears to be the kind of place that rents rooms by the hour rather than the night. Our first clue was the bondage rack attached to the wall in our room. Then there was the machine at end of hall which dispensed sex toys rather than sodas. Hot water did not seem to be a necessary amenity. When we arrived back at the hotel after the show there were “business cards” carefully displayed on the entrance steps. Mr. Yi waved and drove off to his alternate lodgings and we reluctantly trudged up the steps to our funky rooms. Fortunately, the rest of the night was blessedly quiet and uneventful.
Osan Air Force Base is a very nice base, with the officer’s club resembling some of the nicer country clubs Rusty and I have performed at. Rusty has already detailed the equipment meltdown so I won’t go into that again. The weather has been sublime since we've been here and it was a beautiful evening to be outside playing music for folks. We talked with a concert/festival promoter there who is interested in bringing us back to Korea for a regular show tour. We'll see what happens with that.
Sep 5, 2009
Chinhae Naval Base Day 2
Show 2 on our itinerary
We had managed to find a fairly well stocked music store on the way to the base and bought all the necessary parts we needed to fix our technical problems. I was amazed at the way the Koreans conduct business. The ladies who were running the store were dressed in formal attire and looked as though they were ready to go out on the town to a fine restaurant for an evening of dining and dancing. Mr. Yi explained that Koreans take business at all levels very serious and have a strong sense of professionalism even down to their dress. But they still have a market mentality. Haggling over price is considered normal and is expected, so with a little help from Mr. Yi I managed to get the equipment at a very fair price and we were on our way to the show.
Chinhae Naval Base is based on the southern coast of Korea. They are a major support hub for ships and subs in this part of the world but since it's a very rural setting they don't have much for a liberty port.
After a 5 hour bus ride we arrived and set up at Duffy's which is the base club. It's connected to a snack bar and might hold 200 people if you pack them in. The club manager was very kind and did everything in his power to make our show as comfortable as possible.
We met the vice commander who greeted us and gave each member a commemorative coin from Chinhae NB. He apologized in advance about a low turn out. Due to some unscheduled military exercises, most of the base had shipped out a few days earlier. I told him there was no need for apologies, we were there to play blues and spread some smiles and whether there were 2 people or 2000 they all get the same show - our best.
We started around 7pm and there were about 30 people, mostly medical staff and some off-duty security people in attendance at that point. The show went very smooth and Lee (our audio engineer) had a very nice mix going. The intimate setting allowed us all to relax and just enjoy playing. The band was smokin' by the end of the first set, and although the crowd was a bit small, they were VERY enthusiastic! We had a blast and they did too.
At one point I brought up HM1 Craig Smith. He's a Navy EMT who contacted us in advance and asked if we would let him sit in on a song. Our shows are usually mostly original material and are pretty orchestrated so sit ins aren't very practical, but in this circumstance I felt we had to make an exception. I brought him up about mid-show and introduced him. His buddies all stood up and cheered and clapped for him and we kicked into the B.B. King classic "Thrill is Gone."
He was a great player! He settled right in and at one point I threw him a ride with the drummer which got him another big ovation. At the end of the song I gave him a Bluzapalooza cap and CD to remember the night.
After the show I met the base doctor and talked with everyone there. We handied out photos and CDs, and signed autographs. Everyone was extremely nice to us and told us how much they appreciated our coming out. The base is small and is in such a rural area that they don't get a lot of stateside entertainment. Hell, I'd play for these folks any time. Their enthusiasm made us feel good and caused us to push ourselves musically just because we wanted to return the love they were showing us.
After the trucks were packed we stuck around to talk to folks and unwind over Burgers and drinks. The house band came on after us to finish out the night with 3 girls doing vocals out front. They really had great harmonies and Laurie, who loves harmony vocals, enjoyed their show most of all.
We finally called it a night and went back to the hotel around midnight. Feeling good and very glad to be here.
On to Osan Airbase tomorrow,
Rusty
www.rustywrightband.com
We had managed to find a fairly well stocked music store on the way to the base and bought all the necessary parts we needed to fix our technical problems. I was amazed at the way the Koreans conduct business. The ladies who were running the store were dressed in formal attire and looked as though they were ready to go out on the town to a fine restaurant for an evening of dining and dancing. Mr. Yi explained that Koreans take business at all levels very serious and have a strong sense of professionalism even down to their dress. But they still have a market mentality. Haggling over price is considered normal and is expected, so with a little help from Mr. Yi I managed to get the equipment at a very fair price and we were on our way to the show.
Chinhae Naval Base is based on the southern coast of Korea. They are a major support hub for ships and subs in this part of the world but since it's a very rural setting they don't have much for a liberty port.
After a 5 hour bus ride we arrived and set up at Duffy's which is the base club. It's connected to a snack bar and might hold 200 people if you pack them in. The club manager was very kind and did everything in his power to make our show as comfortable as possible.
We met the vice commander who greeted us and gave each member a commemorative coin from Chinhae NB. He apologized in advance about a low turn out. Due to some unscheduled military exercises, most of the base had shipped out a few days earlier. I told him there was no need for apologies, we were there to play blues and spread some smiles and whether there were 2 people or 2000 they all get the same show - our best.
We started around 7pm and there were about 30 people, mostly medical staff and some off-duty security people in attendance at that point. The show went very smooth and Lee (our audio engineer) had a very nice mix going. The intimate setting allowed us all to relax and just enjoy playing. The band was smokin' by the end of the first set, and although the crowd was a bit small, they were VERY enthusiastic! We had a blast and they did too.
At one point I brought up HM1 Craig Smith. He's a Navy EMT who contacted us in advance and asked if we would let him sit in on a song. Our shows are usually mostly original material and are pretty orchestrated so sit ins aren't very practical, but in this circumstance I felt we had to make an exception. I brought him up about mid-show and introduced him. His buddies all stood up and cheered and clapped for him and we kicked into the B.B. King classic "Thrill is Gone."
He was a great player! He settled right in and at one point I threw him a ride with the drummer which got him another big ovation. At the end of the song I gave him a Bluzapalooza cap and CD to remember the night.
After the show I met the base doctor and talked with everyone there. We handied out photos and CDs, and signed autographs. Everyone was extremely nice to us and told us how much they appreciated our coming out. The base is small and is in such a rural area that they don't get a lot of stateside entertainment. Hell, I'd play for these folks any time. Their enthusiasm made us feel good and caused us to push ourselves musically just because we wanted to return the love they were showing us.
After the trucks were packed we stuck around to talk to folks and unwind over Burgers and drinks. The house band came on after us to finish out the night with 3 girls doing vocals out front. They really had great harmonies and Laurie, who loves harmony vocals, enjoyed their show most of all.
We finally called it a night and went back to the hotel around midnight. Feeling good and very glad to be here.
On to Osan Airbase tomorrow,
Rusty
www.rustywrightband.com
Sep 4, 2009
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
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
Sep 3, 2009
Our arrival and first days in Korea
When we arrived in Seoul I’d been awake for more than 40 hours. All of us were beyond exhausted but amazingly, everyone is still smiling. I can’t count the number of times I’ve given silent thanks to Angie Sweers from Ataj Salon for giving me a hairstyle that travels so easily. Before I got off the plane I ran my hands through my hair to rumple the spiky top, and away I went.
The sight of all customs workers wearing protective masks across their faces was a bit disconcerting when we went through customs. We were given a form to fill out asking if we’d had any flu symptoms and what countries we had visited in the past 7 days. We couldn’t help but wonder if we had missed breaking news stories about widespread flu outbreaks.
We were met at the airport by Shirley Commander, entertainment director for Morale, Welfare and Recreation Installation Management Command, Korea region. She hails from S. Carolina originally and has been stationed here in Korea for six years. With her was Mr. Yi, a very nice man who has been assigned to be our driver for the Korean leg of the tour. Mr. Yi has been chauffeuring AFE touring bands around for quite a while. He has been a huge help and is very pleasant company to travel with. We piled our luggage into the (short) bus and headed for Kaya Hotel in Seoul – about an hour away.
Seoul is utterly immense. There are thousands upon thousands of high rise apartment buildings for miles in every direction. Approximately 10 million people (almost half of the country’s residents) live in Seoul The Kaya Hotel, where we’ll be staying for a good portion of our trip, is located on a busy street. We were exhausted after the flight but wanted to eat some dinner before going to sleep so Rusty and I walked down to an Outback restaurant down the street. I ordered salmon with mushroom and vegetable sauce and a sweet potato. I learned that a sweet potato is not necessarily a yam, but may be a sweetened potato. Hmmm. The sauce was very good but was very spicy hot.
In the morning, Rusty and Lee walked down the street to the USO for breakfast. I stayed in the room to pack since I’m allergic to eggs and potatoes, which rules out most breakfast foods for me. I brought plenty of protein bars for the trip because I anticipated that it might be difficult finding foods I can eat. I didn’t have allergy problems years ago when I was on the road full time, but a whole slew of them have cropped up in recent years. Common foods like eggs, potatoes and soy cause crippling fibromyalgia pain now, so it’s been a relief to learn I can survive quite well on the road.
Show #1 Kunsan Air Force Base: Home of the 8th Fighter Wing "Wolf Pack"
The first show of the tour was bound to be a bit stressful since it was our first time setting up and using an unfamiliar sound system, keyboard, guitar amps and drum kit. There were some small parts missing from Pete’s drum kit but fortunately someone kindly loaned him a high hat cymbal and stand to use for the night. And instead of his Hammond B3 organ and full scale Yamaha keyboard, Davey is using a single small keyboard and is running a B3 simulation program through his laptop to give him the B3 sound.
At the start of the show, Colonel Dennis Malfer gave us a very gracious welcome and presented the band with a VERY cool wolf head plaque in appreciation for our performance at the base. Colonel Malfer, whose family resides in Hawaii, told us personnel at Kunsan are usually stationed at the base for a year. Work is underway to “normalize” the base so service men and women can bring their families with them, but it will be a while yet before this is becomes a reality. According to Colonel Malfer's bio , he has served as an instructor pilot, weapons officer, flight commander, operations officer, squadron commander and deputy operations group commander. The colonel also flew as opposing and lead solo for the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds. His staff assignments include Chief of the Standardization and Evaluation Branch and Division Chief, Operational Support at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces.
Prior to his current position, he was the Operational Support Division Chief at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces. He is a command pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours, including more than 100 combat sorties in the F-4, F-15E and F-16.
We really enjoyed talking with the air force personnel who came out for the show and we hope some of them keep in touch with us. It seems we've met a lot of folks who lived near Ann Arbor Michigan at one time or another. It is a very small world, really.
Sep 2, 2009
A beautiful morning in Seoul!
Its a beautiful morning in Seoul! Got a pretty good night's rest. Rusty said I kept chuckling in my sleep throughout the night. Wonder what I was dreaming about?
This morning we pick up our PA gear for our shows in Korea, then head for Kunsan Air Force Base, which is about a 4 hr. drive. After tonight's show we'll pack up, get a few hours' sleep at Kunsan Lodge and in the morning head for Chinhae Air Force Base, which is a 4.5 hour drive. Shirley, our liaison said that of all of the Pacific AFE tours, the Korea tour is the most physically demanding. Ah well, that figures, eh? We're up for it. Time to sign off for now. Looking forward to the day ahead of us.
Thanks for following along!
This morning we pick up our PA gear for our shows in Korea, then head for Kunsan Air Force Base, which is about a 4 hr. drive. After tonight's show we'll pack up, get a few hours' sleep at Kunsan Lodge and in the morning head for Chinhae Air Force Base, which is a 4.5 hour drive. Shirley, our liaison said that of all of the Pacific AFE tours, the Korea tour is the most physically demanding. Ah well, that figures, eh? We're up for it. Time to sign off for now. Looking forward to the day ahead of us.
Thanks for following along!
Safe and Sound in Seoul
We all arrived in Korea and I'm writing from my hotel room at the Kaya Hotel in Seoul. In Michigan it's 12:25 p.m.on Sept 2nd but it's 1:25 a.m. Sept 3rd here here in Korea.
Here's how things are so far.
We all piled into our touring van at about 6:30a.m. on Tuesday Sept 1st. We were all too geeked to sleep and I'm sure no one got more than a couple of hours the night before but we were all in very high spirits and didn't mind the crush of 7 people and their luggage and musical instruments all crammed into a custom van.
We arrived at Detroit Metro about 7:45a.m. and made our way to the counter to get boarding passes and check our extra baggage. The ladies at the Northwest booth were very helpful, especially when we told them it was our first tour for Armed Forces Entertainment. They got us checked in in record time. When I tried to use our baggage voucher to cover the checked bags the lady in charge said, "Oh, no you don't need that. We're owned by Delta so they are allowing 2 checked bags with no fee per person, plus two carry on bags." COOL! That shaved an hour off. With that all taken care of we had time to grab breakfast before the 10:25 flight to Chicago O'Hare. On the road "FOOD IS SLEEP." If you can't get sleep, make sure you can get a good meal to keep your energy up.
We left for O'Hare on time and made Chicago in 44 minutes. Once there we had a 2-hour layover before leaving on a 747 direct to Incheon, South Korea. Our Korean Air flight left O'Hare at 12:35 p.m. We had a 13-hour non stop flight and I've gotta say the Korean Air folks really did a good job of taking care of us. The courtesy and level of attention to our needs was excellent.
We landed in Incheon at 3:35pm on Sept 2nd. We had to pass through a health department inspection and fill out paperwork. They're very uptight about the swine flu thing that's developing in America so we all had to get a cursory look over before we could move on to customs. After more lines and more paperwork we were all finally in the country and made our way to baggage. My first (and hopefully only) major bummer on the tour awaited me there.
I'm always leery of checking my guitars but most airlines have changed their rules regarding carrying them on board with you. All our instruments arrived and as we looked over them everything seemed fine until I got to the case holding my American Standard Fender Stratocaster. The handle was ripped off on one side - I mean the metal hinge was ripped in two, not the plastic handle. The entire front quarter by the head stock was cracked and broken. This is a hard shell case and the outer shell has been compressed so hard that it popped out of the metal molding that runs all the way around the case. Something extremely heavy was dropped on my guitar!
I threw the case open and expected to find a broken neck but the molded interior held! Thank God.
I don't know if the Detroit guys did this or if the Korean Air guys did but after weighing the time and hassle of trying to file a claim and NOBODY speaking english and me not knowing Korean I sealed it up and stacked it on the dolly cart. *Sigh* I will be buying steel flight cases before we go to Europe next year.
We met our POC (Point of Contact) she was a very friendly lady named Shirley and she motioned for us with a sign saying Armed Forces Entertainment welcomes the Rusty Wright Band. We all made our way outside and began loading our gear and luggage into the back of a small travel bus. It's a 10-seater with a large bay in the back for gear. After a few "short bus" jokes we all settled into the plush seats. The air conditioning was a relief since it was 81 degrees when we arrived and they expect sun and high temps for the whole week. Shirley introduced us to Mr. Yi who will be our bus driver for our tour in Korea. We also have another driver who we meet tomorrow when we pick up the equipment truck and head to Kunsan airbase.
By the time we reached the hotel we were ALL pretty crispy. We had plans of going out to get dinner but once everyone got into their rooms they all just posted a few things on Facebook and fell down and have been sleeping since. Laurie & I managed to get cleaned up and headed out to see what was available for dinner.
Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world so it reminds me of New York City - except the streets are lined with small shops and restaurants with their wares all on display right on the sidewalk. The smells of all these places was incredible. We settled on the Korean version of a steak house and had a Singapore sling and a screwdriver with our dinner to unwind, and then headed back to get some sleep.
Tomorrow or today rather, will be our first show day so we are doing our best to revamp the body clock to be on Korean time.
Time to catch a few more Zzzz's.
Next stop: Kunsan Air Force base.
Rusty
Here's how things are so far.
We all piled into our touring van at about 6:30a.m. on Tuesday Sept 1st. We were all too geeked to sleep and I'm sure no one got more than a couple of hours the night before but we were all in very high spirits and didn't mind the crush of 7 people and their luggage and musical instruments all crammed into a custom van.
We arrived at Detroit Metro about 7:45a.m. and made our way to the counter to get boarding passes and check our extra baggage. The ladies at the Northwest booth were very helpful, especially when we told them it was our first tour for Armed Forces Entertainment. They got us checked in in record time. When I tried to use our baggage voucher to cover the checked bags the lady in charge said, "Oh, no you don't need that. We're owned by Delta so they are allowing 2 checked bags with no fee per person, plus two carry on bags." COOL! That shaved an hour off. With that all taken care of we had time to grab breakfast before the 10:25 flight to Chicago O'Hare. On the road "FOOD IS SLEEP." If you can't get sleep, make sure you can get a good meal to keep your energy up.
We left for O'Hare on time and made Chicago in 44 minutes. Once there we had a 2-hour layover before leaving on a 747 direct to Incheon, South Korea. Our Korean Air flight left O'Hare at 12:35 p.m. We had a 13-hour non stop flight and I've gotta say the Korean Air folks really did a good job of taking care of us. The courtesy and level of attention to our needs was excellent.
We landed in Incheon at 3:35pm on Sept 2nd. We had to pass through a health department inspection and fill out paperwork. They're very uptight about the swine flu thing that's developing in America so we all had to get a cursory look over before we could move on to customs. After more lines and more paperwork we were all finally in the country and made our way to baggage. My first (and hopefully only) major bummer on the tour awaited me there.
I'm always leery of checking my guitars but most airlines have changed their rules regarding carrying them on board with you. All our instruments arrived and as we looked over them everything seemed fine until I got to the case holding my American Standard Fender Stratocaster. The handle was ripped off on one side - I mean the metal hinge was ripped in two, not the plastic handle. The entire front quarter by the head stock was cracked and broken. This is a hard shell case and the outer shell has been compressed so hard that it popped out of the metal molding that runs all the way around the case. Something extremely heavy was dropped on my guitar!
I threw the case open and expected to find a broken neck but the molded interior held! Thank God.
I don't know if the Detroit guys did this or if the Korean Air guys did but after weighing the time and hassle of trying to file a claim and NOBODY speaking english and me not knowing Korean I sealed it up and stacked it on the dolly cart. *Sigh* I will be buying steel flight cases before we go to Europe next year.
We met our POC (Point of Contact) she was a very friendly lady named Shirley and she motioned for us with a sign saying Armed Forces Entertainment welcomes the Rusty Wright Band. We all made our way outside and began loading our gear and luggage into the back of a small travel bus. It's a 10-seater with a large bay in the back for gear. After a few "short bus" jokes we all settled into the plush seats. The air conditioning was a relief since it was 81 degrees when we arrived and they expect sun and high temps for the whole week. Shirley introduced us to Mr. Yi who will be our bus driver for our tour in Korea. We also have another driver who we meet tomorrow when we pick up the equipment truck and head to Kunsan airbase.
By the time we reached the hotel we were ALL pretty crispy. We had plans of going out to get dinner but once everyone got into their rooms they all just posted a few things on Facebook and fell down and have been sleeping since. Laurie & I managed to get cleaned up and headed out to see what was available for dinner.
Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world so it reminds me of New York City - except the streets are lined with small shops and restaurants with their wares all on display right on the sidewalk. The smells of all these places was incredible. We settled on the Korean version of a steak house and had a Singapore sling and a screwdriver with our dinner to unwind, and then headed back to get some sleep.
Tomorrow or today rather, will be our first show day so we are doing our best to revamp the body clock to be on Korean time.
Time to catch a few more Zzzz's.
Next stop: Kunsan Air Force base.
Rusty
Sep 1, 2009
THIS IS IT!!!
It's 5:30am and I'm waiting on Dave and Justin to head to the airport so I thought I'd drop a quick note on the blog.
Our sunday send off party was a big success. We saw a lot of folks who came out to support us and had a great time playing for them. Mike Jablonski, owner of the Brick Street Bar & Grill MC'd the event and provided a great atmosphere for a fine evening of food & music.
Dave & Justin arrived and BOY are we gonna be stuffed. 7 people in a conversion van and luggage for all. LOL! we are gonna make a sardine can look spacious!
Ah well, "Hi-diddle-dee-dee, A Road Dawgs life for me".
Gotta run, next stop, Incheon South Korea!
Rusty
Our sunday send off party was a big success. We saw a lot of folks who came out to support us and had a great time playing for them. Mike Jablonski, owner of the Brick Street Bar & Grill MC'd the event and provided a great atmosphere for a fine evening of food & music.
Dave & Justin arrived and BOY are we gonna be stuffed. 7 people in a conversion van and luggage for all. LOL! we are gonna make a sardine can look spacious!
Ah well, "Hi-diddle-dee-dee, A Road Dawgs life for me".
Gotta run, next stop, Incheon South Korea!
Rusty
Aug 30, 2009
Sunday Send Off
It's Sunday the 30th. Just 2 days from our departure to Korea.
Laurie & I had a duo gig at Beale St. Saturday night so we're a little tired buta quick shower and we will be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the send off party at Brick Street in Grand Blanc.
Mike Jablonski, owner of the place was kind enough to offer to do this as a Bon Voyage and fund raiser for our families.
Armed Forces Entertainment is a volunteer organization and although they cover all travel expenses and accomodations they don't pay a lot. ($75 a day)
All of us are self employed so basically 2 weeks on tour means two weeks without income at home to help pay the bills and feed the family.
Brick Street is a marvelous Club/Restaurant and with good weather we will be playing outside on the patio in the rock garden.
I'll put up some pics and video tomorrow.
Not much else to say at the moment. I must admit the excitement and the "nerves" are building up. 2 days till lift off.
I better hit the showers.
Talk to ya'll soon,
Rusty
Laurie & I had a duo gig at Beale St. Saturday night so we're a little tired buta quick shower and we will be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the send off party at Brick Street in Grand Blanc.
Mike Jablonski, owner of the place was kind enough to offer to do this as a Bon Voyage and fund raiser for our families.
Armed Forces Entertainment is a volunteer organization and although they cover all travel expenses and accomodations they don't pay a lot. ($75 a day)
All of us are self employed so basically 2 weeks on tour means two weeks without income at home to help pay the bills and feed the family.
Brick Street is a marvelous Club/Restaurant and with good weather we will be playing outside on the patio in the rock garden.
I'll put up some pics and video tomorrow.
Not much else to say at the moment. I must admit the excitement and the "nerves" are building up. 2 days till lift off.
I better hit the showers.
Talk to ya'll soon,
Rusty
Aug 27, 2009
The Europeans get it!!!
Just got this review yesterday from BLUES MATTERS. They are the biggest Blues style music magazine in Western Europe. Here's what they had to say...
YEA BUDDY! That really put a smile on my face. I've always thought the Europeans were far more open minded about music. In the late 70s and early 80s they were the first to go nuts for Metal and have been strong lovers of American style music since the early Jazz days.
I guess the old saying "You're never a hero in your home town" is true for the whole country at least in the eyes of the press. We've gotten little love from the American Magazines and been downright snubbed by a lot of the "Blues Snob" crowd. But that's their loss. The people who come to see us and hear the music have become fans and they're the only folks that matter. I and the rest of the band make no apologies for our talent and our desire to fuse blues based music with other genres or to experiment. That's just our way of adding our own soul into the mix. I think it was Muddy Waters who said. Take the blues where you find it and then take it a little farther. I think he was trying to say don't let this music, this expression of the soul stagnate and die.
To be honest I fear that many folks in an effort to "preserve the past" have unknowingly stifled the musical future of the music. They get so intent on the authenticity of the sound that they lose sight of the emotion it should carry. But of course that's not everybody. There are still folks who can see the broad musical spectrum and are cool with it.
I guess we need to go play for the Europeans next. It looks like they and our fan base here really get it.
6 Days till Korea!
Rusty
RUSTY WRIGHT BAND
Playin’ With Fire
Sadson Music
Rarely does one give an unequivocal recommendation on first listening, but I have no hesitation in giving this the “just buy it” seal of approval.
From the start, this brilliant album exhibits all that is great about US blues/rock. From the wonderful guitar solos and smooth vocals of Michigan-based band leader Rusty Wright, through the harmonies and vocals of his wife Laurie LaCross Wright, classic keyboard accompaniment to rock solid rhythms and occasional horns parts, this is simply marvellous. In all styles, whether it is southern rock (‘World Upside Down’), Blues ballads (‘Messin’ Round’ and ‘Make A Liar Out Of Me’), blistering Aerosmith-type rock (‘Last Days Of Whitey Malone’), done-me-wrong Blues (‘You Ain’t Thinkin’ ‘Bout Me’) or the sensational energy of ‘What A Ride’, this band has all the chops.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s influence is plain to see in a ‘A Change In The Weather’, so much so, I half expected to hear Van Zant’s vocals! The blistering rave-up conclusion is the title track of the album. This truly is powerful stuff!
BLUES MATTERSYEA BUDDY! That really put a smile on my face. I've always thought the Europeans were far more open minded about music. In the late 70s and early 80s they were the first to go nuts for Metal and have been strong lovers of American style music since the early Jazz days.
I guess the old saying "You're never a hero in your home town" is true for the whole country at least in the eyes of the press. We've gotten little love from the American Magazines and been downright snubbed by a lot of the "Blues Snob" crowd. But that's their loss. The people who come to see us and hear the music have become fans and they're the only folks that matter. I and the rest of the band make no apologies for our talent and our desire to fuse blues based music with other genres or to experiment. That's just our way of adding our own soul into the mix. I think it was Muddy Waters who said. Take the blues where you find it and then take it a little farther. I think he was trying to say don't let this music, this expression of the soul stagnate and die.
To be honest I fear that many folks in an effort to "preserve the past" have unknowingly stifled the musical future of the music. They get so intent on the authenticity of the sound that they lose sight of the emotion it should carry. But of course that's not everybody. There are still folks who can see the broad musical spectrum and are cool with it.
I guess we need to go play for the Europeans next. It looks like they and our fan base here really get it.
6 Days till Korea!
Rusty
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