Kabul Korrespondence

You know, if you had asked me a year or two ago if I'd play rock n roll with a bunch of soldiers.... I probably would have told you to for a long walk round the block, come back, ask me again and see if my answer was still no.

Well that day came around last week. Some NATO boys asked me to join there bass needy band. I thought, hey you gotta know both sides of the situation to be able to tell the real story. So with some optimism in mind I headed down to the "jam container" at ISAF HQ.


Can I just say first off that. For a military unit all the way over here in dusty Kabul, these guys were well equiped (Military: no surprise). They had Marshall and Fender amps, a drum kit, keyboards, even a Gibson SG copy guitar (Angus Young / ACDC style)!



So we had a good wack at it, got into some bass grooves and hailed some solos. Cant say we were Van Halen's prodigy band, but we had loads of fun. The most interesting aspect to this new scene Im hooking into, is that I am learning the psychologiacal makeup of the military. I've heard tales of missing your wife, having to wear the same colour clothes for 1 year straight and being confined to you base 24/7. Just try to imagine coming to such an exotic destination like Afghanistan and only seeing it through the window of a Humvee. They never have opportunities to talk to locals or eat the local food. They can't even walk these streets alone........My life is at right angles to theirs and yet we have found a common link.



And they party too. In their own way. It so surreal to see G.I.s courting on the dance floor. But it hightlights the lonliness of their job. They have to get relief in some way.

So with Antonio from Italy on skins, Rafael from Poland on lead guitar and me on bass we make a pretty diverse cocktail. We are currently looking for a singer, keys player and full horn section if you know anyone working here in Kabul......