Iraq 'n' roll

Orange County Register ^ | Monday, February 21, 2005 | TOM BERG

[t_skoz]

At first it was just another job. Now Jon Bullock can't get enough Iraq.

Bullock, 38, of Fullerton, has been nearly blown up by mortars. He's been knocked on his butt by helicopter backwash. He's commuted to work in Fallujah sitting beside men pointing .50-caliber machine guns out open doors.

And he's just a rock 'n' roll drummer.

Bullock is one of dozens of Orange County musicians who have become nearly obsessed about playing for U.S. troops in Iraq. It's the camaraderie, they say. The opportunity to witness history. The feeling they get when a service member thanks them for risking their lives to come play music.

"I don't know anybody who comes back with the same outlook on life," says Bullock, preparing for his third trip to Iraq in a year with his band, Off The Wall. "It's not about war, really, so much. It's about each man and woman over there. It's just something I feel I was meant to do."

"I've played for 8,000 people before, and it was nothingcompared to some of these shows we did," he says. "It was just that you could tell these people really, really appreciated you, you know?"

Members of Orange County bands Tread the Cobra and Bill Davis and Endless Highway say the same thing. Like Bullock, they've crisscrossed Iraq by Black Hawk helicopter at 150 mph, skimming 100 feet off the ground with machine- gun fire below. Like Bullock, they've withstood mud, sleepless nights and sitting in portable toilets in 120-degree temperatures. Like Bullock, they've been rocked by mortar fire and run for shelter.

And like Bullock, they're hooked. Eager to return.

[t_skoz]

Well I don't know what to say. You have to give the guys who do this credit. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could. But it seems silly for the OC Register to make these guys out as heros for playing rock & roll... when in fact it's the soldiers who are facing down the business end of RPG's AK's, and IED's every day. That's hero stuff, not strapping on a guitar or getting behind the drums.

I'm just glad they can do it and the troops can appreciate it.

This is an excerpt of a good article. Worth going to http://www.bugmenot.com and logging in to read. Alternatively, you can go to http://estripes.osd.mil/bin/download.php?filename=MID20225&edition=mideast and read it from Stars & Stripes. However it loads a PDF file, which can be large if you're on dial-up.

Keep rockin' and everybody have a good weekend!

[t_skoz]

Rock and Roll PING! email Weegee to get on/off this list (or grab it yourself to PING the rest)

[UCANSEE2]

Iraq n Roll as requested.

http://www.itsvideos.com/view.php?ItemID=323

[chudogg]

No. The Soldiers are victims of the BFEE. The Musicians are heroes for seeing that and going over there and help them out.

/DU response

[t_skoz]

http://grouchymedia.com/

[UCANSEE2]

For Texas and Iraq.

http://www.itsvideos.com/view.php?ItemID=884

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

You have to give the guys who do this credit. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could. But it seems silly for the OC Register to make these guys out as heros for playing rock & roll... when in fact it's the soldiers who are facing down the business end of RPG's AK's, and IED's every day. That's hero stuff, not strapping on a guitar or getting behind the drums.

“One day, I looked out the window [of a bus in Kosovo], and there was this guy sitting on a Humvee with a 50-caliber machine gun, riding in 10-degree weather, just protecting us. It was snowing and the wind was blowing his parka. I almost started crying, you know —this guy is protecting my life just because I’m a freaking musician.” It changed him.

Seems like at least one head that's screwed on right . . .

[FierceDraka]

The article brought this image to mind:

[FierceDraka]

I always loved that album cover.