Okay, I haven’t posted in a very very long time. (My English teacher said never to use “very very”, choose extremely or some other word). Not that I haven’t wanted to, but I don’t always have the time and I am easily distracted. I get a topic in my head and decide that’s what I’m going to post, but I forget about it when I get home or whatever, it just never gets done. So! Here are the current events and hopefully I don’t forget anything.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GTMO): I went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to do a New Year’s Eve show with Fosterchild. This was to perform for the troops at GTMO, the world’s oldest Naval base … It’s beautiful down there. It was more like a vacation than a job. What I bring back the most was snorkeling … I enjoyed that very much as I’d never done it before. The water was so salty that it was effortless to float, but nearly impossible to dive. Coral was very sharp, but I saw fishies! We played two shows, one New Year’s Eve and another two days later … We toured the entire facility – yes, the entire facility and they were clear that they wanted the things we saw be shared with everyone when we came back. They showed us “Camp X-ray” (which was only open for 70-90 days) where the detainees were held in 2003 and all the media photographs depict when referring to GTMO. This camp is grown over with grass and weeds and hasn’t been used since. They showed us Camps 4, 5, and 6 which become more restrictive as you go. We saw what the detainees were provided in the way of clothing and things to pass their time. How theirs customs are respected and attended to. It was certainly an experience all in itself.
Bo Bice: On a lighter note (whew!) … American Idol’s fourth season runner up to Carrie Underwood was also performing at Guantanamo Bay as well. We even shared the 30 seat plane ride with him to the island. There was a problem with his sound guy’s passport, so he was left at the airport in Florida. Because of this fact, I performed double duty on New Year’s Eve day by sound checking Bo Bice at their venue and then going to the venue where Fosterchild was playing and complete that sound check. Bo Bice played that night with Tony, the electrician who is assigned to setup and break down PA systems at GTMO and his crew. I also had a monitor guy who worked with Tony’s department. It was a Venue system, and the next day, New Year’s Day they moved that entire show to another part of the base that is their outdoor movie theater and I was able to sound check and come back and mix that show. So, on New Year’s Day 2011 (1/1/11), I mixed Bo Bice in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – and I got his autograph.
I better get this posted now, more later …