After a pitstop in Osaka, we were met at the airport in Seoul by Mr. Hwang, Mr. Tae and Mr. Yi	Our hotel in Seoul...finally, OFF BASE!
A view down the street from our hotel in Yongsan, Seoul	using the crosswalks iusing crosswalks was recommended advised in Korea
Seoul is the 3rd largest city in the world...	...endless highrises.
On the way to our 1st show at Camp Garry Owen. South Korea is in the foreground, the DMZ and N. Korea are beyond the fence. There is no existing peace treat between the North and South.	The border town where Camp Garry Owen is.
promotions for our 1st two shows...7 shows in 7 days.	Garry Owen's "Saber Club"
We met these soldiers outside the club. The one on the right, recently back from Iraq, shared with us his experiences there.	Soundcheck at G.O. (Garry Owen) or, as they like to call it, "guys only"
Scott and Mr. Raspberry	Mr. Raspberry, a Saber Club regular, normally puts cigerette butts in his ears when bands come to play...but not tonight
Processing at the entrance to Camp Stanley, show #2..."SECOND TO NONE!!!"	The small crowd at Camp Stanley was really into it.
	Flying thru Seoul with Mr. Tae (one of our drivers) on the way back to our hotel.
At Stanley, we met the local reggae ambassador, Rob (orange shirt), a DC native who's good friends with Soldiers of Jah Army. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw an ad for tonight's show...
On the road again...the next 5 shows were at various bases throughout the Korean peninsula...a different town every night.	Mr. Yi
A really nice rest stop somewhere in Korea	view from the rest stop
foreshadowing for show #3 at the Loring Club, Kunsan AB	Roc, rocks "sausage night"
Photo and autograph session after the performance	Back to our phat hotel where we pregamed with SOJU and rice wine before going out on the town
"How long did it take you to figure out this is how you turn the power on in your room?"	view outside my hotel room
	"Arabian Nights", the club we went to in Kunsan...
Kunsan at night
inside the club...	partying in Kunsan
Kunsan	Mr. Yi at work
coastal town, home of Chinhae NB, show #4	view from Chinhae Naval base
While there's no steel drums in reggae, they did get the colors right	Duffy's had a nice sounding room
Vending machine in "Hole in One" hotel sells sex toys	bidet instructions on the bathroom wall
Show #5 at Camp Henry	Show #6 at Gwangju AB
Skool and Shocka	always with that thing attached to his face
classic Yi and Tae	Scott and Yi
Mr. Yi, the gal dem sugah	Pang at Gwangju
the crew at Gwangju	Yi and his ladies
Bass	Tae and his new sweatshirt
Yi and Red	thunderclap crew
Derrick gets strangers to do this wherever he goes	see what I mean
Brian and hung yim (older brother)	Finally, shopping in Osan before show #7
so many good deals	haven't got enough gifts yet...
Red and Bass in Osan, between downpours	side streets with even more shops
	Storytelling with Yi
Celebrating before our last show and a great week in Korea
Finally, 1 full day off in Seoul...everybody went their own way	Seoul
Brian went to Gyeongbokgung Palace	...originally built in 1395 during Joseon dynasty
Geunjeongjeon	palace interior
palace interior	ceremonial room
Derrick and Red went to Itaewon, great shopping district	Itaewon
There, Derrick picked up some new garments Ms Kim tailored for him	Downtown Seoul
D @ Reggae Pub, Itaewon	Red @ Reggae Pub, Itaewon
playing pool at Reggae Pub	Shocka and Scott visited the Korean War Memorial and Museum
War Memorial	Korean Police everywhere, especially around the base in Yongsan
the group, Mr. Tae, Mr. Yi and Mr. Hwang the morning of our departure	Tae, Red and Skool
Leaving Korea for Japan

Korea |September 5th | Shocka

The departure for Korea began chaotically with our Guam liaison, Tina, picking us up late from the hotel. We had a 6am flight and were originally scheduled to depart from the hotel at 3am. Tina didn’t pick us up until 4am which didn’t leave us much time to check the 40 odd pieces under the plane. Luckily there was no line at Japan Airlines and with the help of three very accommodating ticket agents we were able to make it to the gate with ten minutes to spare—a little more hurried than any of us would’ve cared for, but we did make the flight which is all that matters in the end.

Both flights on Japan Airlines were wonderful and would be only a hint of the treatment Jah Works would receive during the first true leg on the Asian Continent. The layover in Osaka was brief but fascinating with such a noticeable change in culture and language. With only a brief layover, I was happy to see that one of the cultural differences in Asia is the wide acceptance of smokers. They don’t make you feel like such a pariah and the airport is equipped with plenty of lounges and areas where you’re free to get that last shot of nicotine before departure.

Upon arrival in Korea we were very pleased to be waved right through customs without even a question. My guess is that after seeing ten or so carts filled with equipment and luggage, no agent wanted to deal with that mess and figured, “get it out of the airport and be gone.” We were immediately greeted by our Korean liaison, Mr. Hwang, and the two drivers assigned to cart us around all week, Mr. Yi and Mr. Tae. They were all very friendly and got a big kick out of the size and amount of luggage we carried. There would be a short drive to our lodging, The Kaya Hotel in Seoul, and we would have the rest of the night off.

Everything from the drive, to the vehicle space, to the accommodations was flawlessly organized. Mr. Hwang also gave us a very detailed itinerary for the week in Seoul making it obvious that we were in for a busy week. The days would be long and the travel extensive, but we came to play music and that’s what we’d be doing for the next seven nights in seven different cities.

The Kaya Hotel was absolutely beautiful—right in the heart of the 4th largest city in the world, Seoul, South Korea. We’d be there for the first three nights in Korea then would move around for five days before returning back to The Kaya for our last two nights. Unfortunately for me, I caught some kind of nasty virus and would spend my first two nights in Seoul in a chilled sweat praying for someone to put me out to pasture.

Since we played so many shows in Korea, I won’t bore you with an extensive recap but will just try and touch on the highlights of the trip. The first show was at a small base north of Seoul called Camp Gary Owen. Our drivers, henceforth referred to as Yi and Tae, warned us that it would probably be a pretty light crowd and the security detail at the gate affirmed this by sayin that “G O,” (Gary Owens) stood for “guys only.” He wasn’t lying either. There were only a few live bodies in the place but what they lacked in numbers was more than made up for in spirit. In talking to some of the soldiers, many of who had served in Iraq, I learned that the base was only 2 miles away from the palpable threat of North Korea and that their life expectancy should North Korea decide to invade is only ten minutes. Talk about some perspective—we can all talk politics and criticize this and that, but these guys don’t really have that luxury. They are the institution of politics and policies decided thousands of miles away. They are doing a job that can put them in harm’s way at any given time. To drive the point home one soldier actually explained that as we spoke, North Korean mortars were pointed directly where we stood. I was only there for a night, but these guys lived with that threat 24/7. So hate the policy all you want, but never hate the soldier. That’s what I took away from Camp Gary Owens.

The next show was at Camp Stanley where we actually ran into someone who’d seen us back in the States. As we pulled up to the club, we saw a guy wearing a Selassie t-shirt, an Ethiopian cross, and red, gold, and green wristbands making Scotty pose the question, “You think he’s coming to the show?” The guy in question was named Rob and actually was good friends of the NOVA/DC band, Soldiers of Jah Army. Vibes at the show were strong with Rob and all the people in attendance. Lot’s of dancing and everyone was very appreciative of us being there and although their numbers might have been less than that we’re accustomed to back on the East Coast, the band learned its lesson in Guam—play for the people who are there whether it be 2 or 2000.

Wednesday would have us checking out of The Kaya and heading out on the road with Mr. Ti and Mr. Yae. And if we thought the last two days were long, they wouldn’t hold a candle to what was in store. There would be drives averaging 3-4 hours per day, set up of full PA and band equipment, followed by a show and then breakdown. At home we are all what some might call creatures of the night. Everyone is used to playing until 2am and being up until 4. The shows in Korea were to start between 7 and 8 (that’s 1900 or 2000 for those of you on military time) and the average departure from the hotels would be somewhere between 8 and 9am. Luckily our sense of time was lost weeks ago somewhere between Seattle, Kwajalein, and Guam leaving us all with very little perspective of what life was like back in B’More.

The show Wednesday was at Kunsan Air Base in the Southern part of Korea. Again we all met wonderful people including some airwomen from Baltimore. But what made the trip to Kunsan even better was the accommodations at a place called The Piano Hotel. I’ve stayed some nice places, but this was luxury at its highest height. Each room came fully stocked with a whirlpool bath, a huge shower, personal saunas, 52” televisions, queen size beds with high count sheets, sofa, and a toilet with a warming seat, bidet, and other buttons that should be very prepared before pushing. Ask me later and I’ll be happy to explain. We only had fifteen minutes there before the show and for those of you who’ve seen Lost In Translation, those high tech rooms of the future do exist. It took me about 10 of my first 15 minutes there to figure out that one must place their keychain in a slot by the door to turn the room power on. I hit every button on the remote, every light switch, anything that could be pushed or pulled.

Seoul, Korea | September 5th | Brian

We traveled all day long and settled into our rooms at Hotel Kaya, Seoul early evening. It felt great to be housed off base for once and feeling like we were really in foreign territory. Knowing we were going to be working our asses off for the next week, me and Red took off to get dinner/drinks. We grabbed the nearest taxi and told him what we were looking for. I can’t remember the name of the area he took us, but they guy definitely didn’t steer us wrong. We walked around for a while trying to find a place to eat, we settled on a spot that was well crowded with Koreans (thinking that'd be a sure bet). We got our menu’s but couldn’t read them. No pictures and certainly no English. I've been to Europe a bunch of times and even when you can't "read" the menu, you can at least use the context clues...not here. Nobody seemed to speak any English and after waiting 10 minutes for a waiter, we left. I don't think it was personal, I just think they knew we couldn't speak Korean so we were being collectively avoided. We ended up at a rib spot and had a good meal and a few beers. We ran into the rest of the crew (not too hard to miss, even on a crowded street) and went to a hip-hop club called NB. We had to explain that we weren’t GI’s to get in (a few bad incidents involving US military in South Korea over the last few years has led to a backlash, GIs aren’t allowed into the clubs in the neighborhood). 10,000 Won/person to get in but the music was good. It was a cool little set up, small with a few levels, dark and smokey, incessant strobe lights...all these Korean kids decked out in the latest hip-hop gear. As the night wore on it got more and more crowded. We ended up staying there all night, some longer than others. After a few hours of getting bumped into by the locals (cultural thing) I ducked out at 2am, the rest of them stayed til the bitter end. Scott and Roc got on the mic with the DJ’s and did some toasting over the music. It was a fun night out.

Camp Garry Owen, S. Korea | September 6th | Brian

After soundcheck and dinner, we met a couple of soldiers outside The Saber Club, one which recently got back from a seven month stint in Baghdad. I think for any globally conscious individual, trying to decipher what’s really going on in Iraq these days is extremely difficult. Sometimes it seems that the more information you seek out, the less you can be sure about the accuracy of any of it. At home we’re constantly bombarded by conflicting accounts of the war’s progress, mostly from people who aren’t there. It was interesting to hear one soldier’s perspectives and his stories. Whether or not I would agree with them is beside the point, he was there, and that’s valid in my book. What’s not debatable about Iraq is the incomprehensible human suffering. One of his stories involved being assigned the detail of photographing the aftermath of a suicide bombing in which several dozen were killed. The gore that he spoke of isn’t repeatable, suffice it to say that the images are forever burned in his memory. He did have a lot of stories about the good works that were being done over there and his anger at the lack of press it gets. One of his stories involved getting aid to an injured child in an orphanage who was being refused care. After taking the young girl to 3 different hospitals where she was denied, threats were made to the hospital staff and care was given. Within a week the child was healthy once again.

At Garry Owen, the soldiers got it rough…tight living quarters and little in the way of personal freedoms. The soldiers we talked to work 14 hrs a day, six days a week, for scraps. The mission of the camp isn’t exactly exciting either. They’re basically there as a presence to protect the South from the North. Of course, if anything were to pop off, 98% of the soldiers at Garry Owen will be dead within minutes. Though we only played for 20 or so people tonight, the vibe was great. The soldiers were very appreciative of the music and weren’t afraid to let us know. We even played for 2 yardies (Jamaicans) tonight. They were flipping out, couldn’t believe what they were hearing…

Camp Stanley, Korea | September 7th, 2004 | Brian

Tonight was a show that should’ve sucked but didn’t. It was rescued by the energy and quality of soldiers who attended. The largely African American crowd tonight had no problem getting up and dancing when they felt the music. It's like..."Hey, we travelled thousands of miles to be here, and before you know it, we're gone". So, it's nice to see people allowing themselves be entertained. There were times tonight when we had all 30 people up on the dancefloor. We gladly gave away a CD to everyone at the end of the show.

Kunsan AB, Korea | September 9th, 2004 | Brian

They got this drink in Korea called SOJU. It’s this tasteless alcohol apparently made from sweet potatoes, I like to think of it as vodka-light. You can mix it with any type of mixer or you can drink it as the Koreans do, straight up, shot format. Me and Pang had our SOJU experience last night partying after playing Kunsan AB. The show went well, even if it was “sausage night” (ironically, there wasn’t any pun intended, just all you can eat sausage). From there we went back to our 5 star hotel which was located in a lively part of town. At night, the towns/cities in Korea look incredible. They use a lot of colored neon lights and of course with all the signs being in Korean, it all looks like art to me (it's a little hint of Vegas everywhere). It definitely makes you want to party…so we did. We went to this one incredible club called Arabian Nights. They seat you at a table (there’s no bar) and you buy a round of drinks which comes with a fruit plate, mixed nuts and dried calamari. The DJ came down from the ceiling of the stage and there were choreographed performances/dancers. None of us was really digging on the music but it was a cool scene…nice lightshow. Between a couple drinks I had at our show, a bottle of SOJU back at the hotel and going out, I’m feeling rough today. I got no one to blame, dammit, I made my own bed. The guys have given me a new nickname…Soju-B, and they won’t stop calling me it. It’s great. Everybody’s already had a few rough mornings (some more than others), and today was mine.

Osan AB, Korea | September 12th, 2004 | Brian

It’s been a long week. Moving around with so many people and so much stuff. There’s days that go by where you don’t have a moment to relax, constantly on the move, in transit, playing, setting up, packing, breaking down, checking in, checking out, etc. It’s a little bitter sweet too to be in all these exotic countries and spending the majority of your time on military bases or in transit. One of the good things though has been getting to know our drivers Mr. Yi and Mr. Tae. It’s safe to say we’ve won them over. Tae drives like a maniac (they curse at drivers in English…”asshole!”, “george w. bullshit!”) and Yi tells great stories. Both of them have great personalities and we’ve had some good laughs and good conversations. Today we finally had a few hours off to go shopping in Osan. It’s been raining for 7 days straight now, but, when you only have a few hrs off, you just get wet and deal with it. The shopping was great, we all felt like we had more money than we really do. After soundcheck, we had a great meal on base with Yi and Tae and toasted to a great week in South Korea.

Yongsan, Seoul, S. Korea | September 13th, 2004 | Brian

After 7 shows in a row, we finally have a day off, well deserved after a long, long week. Five of the seven shows required traveling and staying at different hotels. We were all over the Korean peninsula (about the size/shape of Indiana). Today was my “lonestar” day. Whenever we ask each other where one of us is and he’s off on his own, he’s doing his “lonestar” thing. It takes a lot of patience and understanding to move, work, party etc as a group week-in and week-out. Sometimes you just need to go off and explore on your own and have an experience of your own, which is what I did today.

I ran a bunch off errands in the morning and then I was off. First, I took a cab to Itaewon which is an area of Seoul famous for shopping and eating. The prices are notoriously cheap but I had done a lot of shopping already the day before in Osan (south of Seoul). It’s too bad I’m not into all that hip-hop gear, jerseys, throwbacks etc., because it’s so cheap here. After walking around Itaewon, hitting an outdoor coffeeshop and people watching, I got on the subway headed for Geyongbokgung palace. I love taking the subway when I’m in a strange city, I got a lot of experience doing it in European cities when I lived in Belgium. It’s a fairly easy and extremely efficient mode of transportation. It was a little more difficult in Korea because the names of the stops are so difficult to pronounce, but it’s the same idea. It’s a wild experience to be in the subway or walking down the street and be the only white guy for miles. Everywhere you look are Asian faces. At times I couldn’t help but feel like so many of faces looked the same (I'm not trying to be a knucklehead). After a while though, you start to notice the subtleties of them. Strangely enough, nobody was really giving me any weird looks (it’s a cultural thing though, no staring).

Geyongbokgung palace was beautiful. It’s basically the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, built in 1395, burned down a few times during Japanese Invasions and built up again. It’s a major historical site for Koreans and an example of their art and architecture. Beautiful. It was definitely one of those “I can’t believe I’m really here” moments. Sidenote, I signed some autographs for some Korean kids who must’ve thought I was someone special (which I am of course).

After a long day, I hit a local eatery for some local cuisine. I had the bulgogi and rice and mostly enjoyed my meal. From there I headed back to the Kaya Hotel to pack for our journey to Japan tomorrow...

Incheon International Airport, Seoul, S. Korea | September 14th, 2004 | Brian

Sad to leave Korea, had such a great time and it went so quick. Mr. Hwang, Tae and Yi saw us through check in. We said our good-byes and they kept turning around to wave as they walked away.

Mid tour summary | September 14th, 2004 | Roc

this is natty roc checking in...we're about half way through our tour and all is going well...our first stop was hawaii...and all i can say about it was that
it was too short...we were there less than 2 days and it's such a beautiful place that i wish we had more time to check it out. the next stop was a little island in the marshall islands called kwajalein...this was my favorite stop so far...the place was absolutely wonderful...most of the people were contract workers for the US government and marshallese people from the neighboring island called ebeye...the shows on kwaj went very well and the folks were very gracious...they threw a big barbeque for us on our last day and we could tell that we had really made an impact on the people there...john and i also met the prince, king, and queen of the marshall islands...we actually attended a function only attended by the native people and a couple journalists from pbs...there we learned alot about their culture and the history of the people...this was probably the single most memorable experience of my entire tour so far...the queen also had some people make these traditional decorations for us called 'obongs'...they're absolutely beautiful, and made from coconut and breadfruit leaves and shells from the sea.

from kwaj we were off to guam...the most memorable things from our time on guam were this mongolian barbeque we attended and the new friends we met in the local reggae community...i really liked the local food as well...the reggae is very strong in guam...we actually were able to find time to attend shows from 3 of the local reggae bands (all of whom were quite good) as well as meet with the reggae dj with the top reggae show on guam...all of this was made possible because we met a guy selling cd's who had a john brown's body cd on his table...once we started chatting with him we made the link with all the local reggae...incidentally, this was the first time i'd ever seen a ukelele used in reggae. from guam it was on to korea...which is where i'm currently writing from...here we had seven shows...so we logged alot of time on the road...the countryside is absolutely beautiful (i've never seen so much rice in my life)...and our drivers mr. yi and mr. tae are some of the coolest people you could ever meet...they've showed us alot and taught us alot about the korean culture...things are very different here from back home...i think mainly because the languages as well as the alphabet are so different...if you're not on a US military base you can't read a thing and a lot of people don't speak or understand english at all... the funniest thing is that i don't think anyone in this country has ever seen dreadlocks in person...it took a while to get use to it, but daily i have people coming up to me and touching my hair without asking...young and old, men and women...they all want to know if it is my real hair...i've even had people stop thier car in the middle of a busy street and roll down the window and ask "dat yo weel hair". all in all the trip has been great so far...tomorrow we're off to japan!...i'm really looking forward to that because i know reggae is big there...1luv

Korea | September 14th, 2004 | Scott

Man, this was a lot of fun. We worked our asses off, but lemme tell you, Korea was awesome. We were met at the airport in Seoul by Mr. Hwang, the main man in Seoul. He and his two drivers, Mr. Yi and Mr. Tae were there, ready and waiting for us as we walked out of the customs area with exactly forty-one pieces of luggage and musical equipment. They were so much fun, man, cracking with us the whole time, cause that's how we do it in the Jah Works camp. We had two vehicles designated just for us, to carry all of our gear, luggage and persons to and from wherever it was we needed to go, and let me tell you, we went ALL OVER that peninsula. We were in Korea for seven days, and we played a different base every night of the week. The first night was at Camp Gary Owens, or as the soldiers up there called it, Camp "Guys Only". They weren't kidding, man. The only women I saw up there were the Korean bartender, the Korean waitress, and a few wives of the smarter Army guys who knew better than to go solo on that lonely mission. Gary Owens was a few miles from the border with North Korea, and I don't know how many of you are up on the political situation over there, but there STILL isn't a peace treaty between North and South, so tensions remain high on that border to this day, fifty odd years after the end of hostilities. My Uncle Ray was in Korea during that "Police Action" as they called it at the time, and the United States government only recently erected a monument in D.C. to honor the veterans of the Korean War. It's about time, man.

While staying at the Kaya Hotel in Seoul, (what a great name for a hotel, huh?) I took a walk over to the Korean War Memorial down the block. There were long, marble corridors outside that were lined with the tens of thousands of names, Korean, American, British, Canadian, etc, etc, etc...who gave their lives for the cause of South Korean freedom. It was overwhelming to me to see how many souls lost their lives in that conflict. Just humbling, to be walking through there with my digital camera, the American musician, surrounded by the spirits of so many selfless individuals. Good Lord, we take so much for granted living in the USA. Freedom ain't free, is it? There were some intense statues there, too, one side was the South Korean forces, and they were represented in bronze, bigger than life figures, trodding on towards the battle. On the other side, there was the North Korean forces, and they had the communist caps on, the Russian and Chinese built rifles and machine guns. I mean, these statues were twenty or thirty feet tall, and they were imposing, to say the least. Very intense. There was another massive statue, of a South Korean soldier, holding up a North Korean soldier after he was mortally wounded. The statue represented the brothers, literally, just like our OWN "civil" war produced, who were torn apart, family by family, by the war. Whew, very intense for my spoiled, freedom-loving ass to witness.

Our two drivers, Mr. Yi and Mr. Tae, deserve, and so hereby will receive their very own paragraph in my dispatch. These guys, man, they were the funniest part of our entire week in Korea. At every turn, they were there to help us carry stuff, break down equipment at the end of a long day, not to mention just drive us from point A to point B, which in and of itself would have been a hell of a lot of work. But always, whether at seven in the morning or three at night, they were there with a smile, a joke and a whole lot of cracking. They turned us on to the Korean booze, soju, and we enjoyed putting a few drinks back with them. I had gone to Korea with a few phrases I learned from my barber back home, Mr. Park, so with Mr.'s Yi and Tae, I broadened my Korean vocabulary a bit, and I am excited to get back to Baltimore and greet my barber with a "Aaanaahsayyoh, hunnnyim!" That means, "Hello, older brother." The whole Korean vibe was great. They took us to rest stops that were unreal, with about two hundred urinals, cleaner than your own dining room table. We would pull into one of these rest areas on the highway and just trip out over the scene. There would be guys with vans blaring their latest Korean mixtapes for sale, uniformed coffee girls brewing up the Nescafe for the tired Korean masses, and lots of people who just HAD to touch Roc's dreadlocks, regardless of whether it was rude or whatever. Roc was a good sport, knowing that his locks were like some kind of Martian phenomenon to these unsuspecting Koreans. What a trip!!!

The other highlight for me had to be shopping in Osan. When we played our last show on Sunday at Osan Air Base, we had the afternoon free to hit the markets and shops right outside the gate of the base. Right outside, there were endless alleyways and sidestreets, clogged with shop after shop of clothing, china, chopsticks, etc. etc. I was able to score two Philadelphia Eagles throwback jerseys, a Harold Carmichael in green, and a Randall Cunningham in white, for $20.00 a piece. Whoa!!! Now I will have the right gear to wear on Eagles Sundays from now on! Yeah Baby, BIRDS all the WAY! I also found a wicked sweatsuit, with the label KINGSTON 12, which is a neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica. Roc ended up getting the same suit, so look for us to coordinate some night on stage once we get back to Baltimore and the weather cools off a bit. These suits cost all of $45.00 U.S. What a steal!!! If I hadn't lost my ATM card in Guam, I probably woulda broke the bank shopping here, so I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Hehehe.

All in all, Korea was an amazing chapter on our trip through the Pacific. I won't soon forget the many great people we met at the bases, the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines we met and put back beers with. The guys up at Gary Owen we rapped with, who had just rotated out of Iraq, telling us their stories. Nuff Respect to the common men. I may not always agree with the policies of our government, etc. but I will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, support the men and women who put their lives on the line, IMPLEMENTING that policy. I can't tell you people how much these military people are sacrificing day in and day out just by being so far from home, family and friends. The appreciation we received as musicians really humbled me as a person, and made me realize just how fortunate we all are as Americans, that we have a volunteer military force who WILLINGLY go into harm's way to protect our way of life. I send maximum respect and thanks to everyone I met along the way, and to all the thousands of people I DIDN'T meet, for what they do, day in and day out. God Bless and Keep all of you and yours. We'll meet again.

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