 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-10-17 03:53
Well, I'm back from a 1-year deployment to Baghdad! And it's GREAT to be back in the states. If you're thinking about military band, I can give you a little info on what it was like to be in baghdad (albeit, our band DID have a much more musical mission than most bands that get deployed . . . we broke 1600 gigs over the year, with me participating in somewhere around 200 of those. I'll get the hard numbers another time).
Just offering up my services to those who might be thinking about joining a military band or those who may be in one and might be getting wondering what it's like to deploy. If interested, email me and give me a little while to respond. I'll try to compile various emails and answer whatever I can with one reply (I'll blind carbon copy it so you all won't see each others emails).
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: clarhorn ★2017
Date: 2007-10-17 04:55
Alexi,
Welcome back and thank you for your service.
I have appreciated all your contributions to the board.
Roger
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-10-17 06:34
I thought military musicians did medical service when deployed.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: hrvanbeek
Date: 2007-10-17 09:30
Alexi - Welcome back and thank you! 
Chris P - In the US Military the bands don't have medical duties when deployed, though I think that the German bands might. Anyone from Germany here know for sure?
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Author: Mary Jo
Date: 2007-10-17 09:35
God bless you for your service. Morale, welfare and recreation of the troops in-country must have been a wonderful mussion.
Great to have you back.
Mary Jo
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2007-10-17 10:06
Good on you - and welcome back to the Bboard!
I'm thinking of joining an Air Force band when the next vacancy comes up, probably a little different, but I'm sure everyone would love you to share whatever you have to offer!
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Author: redwine
Date: 2007-10-17 16:14
Hello,
Welcome back. It would be interesting to hear a synopsis of your day to day experiences over the past year.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2007-10-17 16:40
Wow, sounds like you were busy. Some of the marine band members I've talked to had to chaueffer people around in Hum Vs when they were over there several years ago.
Welcome home!
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-10-17 20:12
"Which band are you in, if you don't mind my asking?"
From an earlier sig line, I think Alexi was in the 1st Cabvalry Division Band. I'm just going on memory, though.
Welcome back home, Alexi. It's great to hear that you made it through your year and are back in the States. Thanks for your service.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-10-17 20:54
Welcome back.
Yes, what was it like on an average (I know, no such thing) day.
What was the most unusual gig?
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-10-18 02:50
Yup. Jeff's memory was correct. I'm part of the 1st Cavalry Division Band. Here's MY 'typical' day over there, when I had a dinner gig.
0700 - Wake up for shower and breakfast
0900 - Formation
0930 - 1115 - Workout/Run
1115 - 1300 - Lunch
1300 - 1400 - Shower/change, relax
1400 - 1530 - Run through some stuff (scales, pieces, solos, whatever I felt like at the moment)
1600 - 1900 - Transportation to a dining facility, setup, play, eat, tear down, transportation back
1900 - bed - hang out in my trailer.
It changed day to day, sometimes I'd have a lunch gig in which case I would would practice in the morning, play the gig, then workout after the gig was done.
If I didn't have ANY gigs, it left me a lot of flexibility as to when workout/practice times were.
But basically, over there, you have a LOT more free time than over here, and so you look for things to fill it. It was VERY easy for me to find time to practice and workout and play video games (wife got me an xbox 360 for christmas) and still be able to accomplish the missions. Over here (back in the USA), with traffic delays, deciding and getting to a place to eat, etc. etc. it leaves a lot less time to accomplish all that.
The majority of my gigs were on-post. Just get in a military 2 1/2 ton, or a pickup truck or bus if we were scheduled to take that, and drive to the place. I ended up going off the FOB (having to go outside the gates of our base) appx 2 - 3 times a month. Most of the times we took flights in blackhawks to get where we needed to go. And whenever we went to the greenzone (where the embassy is and a few other bases) we'd convoy out.
I was certainly nervous at first. It's a BIG change, all right away. One day you're working a normal military life, the next day you are being told how to react when mortars and rockets come in, how to conduct yourself on a convoy, etc. etc. But I got used to it, as did most others.
Hmmm . . . most unusual gig . . . well, right before we left, I was able to play (in the woodwind quintet group) for a meeting of army officers and some iraqi leaders of the villages. It was very interesting and the Iraqi's were very impressed with the music and wanted pictures with us and spoke with us through translators. That was definitely a very interesting and memorable one.
Another interesting time that I remember well was "christmas carolling". We took some christmas songs, shrunk them on the copier to fit into a marching band folio, and would park in an area, and walk from building to building playing about four tunes at each building. I had reactions that varied on both extremes. Most people were happy to have some music and would stop their work and listen for a bit, but one unit heard us playing outside and responded by closing all their doors and windows to block out our sound. On the other hand, one unit all dropped their work, came outside to meet us, and began singing along. They also kept asking us for "one more" every time we tried to leave.
Overall, as far as our band went, it seemed like our goal was to blow away the number of gigs in a year that any band has performed in a deployed environment. And with an average of over four per day we did. However after a few months, a lot of soldiers were a little sick and tired of hearing the same groups, and some of the groups were a bit loud for where we played (try to ask a funk group, bass guitar/guitar/drum set to play a little "quieter" in an enclosed area . . . just doesn't work). Actually, the clarinet quartet (yea!) was one of the more popular groups. We had different songs than the others (there's only so many times the soldiers could hear 'El Capitan' before getting a little tired of it), and one thing they loved about clarinet quartet was that it was a softer playing group. So if really didn't feel like listening, it wasn't going to overpower their conversations, while if the felt like some music, they'd sit near us and listen.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2007-10-18 04:11
I'm so glad to hear that you are back safe. Now you can enjoy just playing music without worrying about your safety. I've enjoyed your posts to the board while you were away.
Leonard
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Author: Kalakos
Date: 2007-10-18 05:20
Welcome back!! I always enjoyed your posts before you entered the military. I hope it has been positive for you! I bet your playing really went up several notches too.
Thanks also for the run down of some of your experiences. If you have time and desire, maybe you can give us all some more insights on playing so often and what it was like, the caliber of the music, etc..
Take care; welcome home.
John
"Kalakos"
Kalakos
Kalakos Music
http://www.TAdelphia.com
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Author: Anon
Date: 2007-10-19 02:23
Glad you're back, safe and sound! Thank you for your service!
Marianne
:-)
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-10-19 02:50
Welcome back! pretty awesome to see what its like on a typical day. was the building you played in always air conditioned? you guys are wearing christmas hats but hawaiian shirts, which is pretty cool
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2007-10-19 02:56
<<you guys are wearing christmas hats but hawaiian shirts, which is pretty cool>>
I saw the Christmas hats, but IMO the "Hawaiian shirts" look a whole heck of a lot like standard-issue fatigues. Or did I miss something?
Susan
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-10-19 12:46
Looked like a regular uniform to me, too. (Except for the Santa hat, of course!)
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-10-19 13:27
Welcome home, Alexi. Thanks for the report on your day to day activities . . . 1,600 gigs! WOW!
By the way, did the quintet bassoonist sneak a tuba in to cover the contra parts?
Eu
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-10-19 20:48
Eu,
no, but when he was gone on leave, they passed a lot of the parts into finale and transposed it for bass clarinet. And sometimes he'd play the tuba part of a piece if we were trying to transcribe a brass quintet or other music that had a tuba part.
The relatively new ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms) is what we're wearing. standard uniform for most every gig. Back here in the states, we can get a little fancier with the army greens (the army 'business suit' IMO), and the even fancier dress blues (the "fancy" army business suit).
Most of the buildings, including ours, had air conditioning and heating. As well as our living quarters. However when the power goes out or when the AC/heat breaks down, it can be a VERY uncomfortable time waiting for it to get fixed . . .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-10-20 16:19
Welcome back, and thanks for your service! (and pics!)
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Sarah Elbaz
Date: 2007-10-20 20:08
Alexi,
Wellcome back, and since I am an Israeli and know very well what is a military service in Iraq , I will add: thank God that you are back.
I am very interested to know if you heard local musicians. I know that the best musicians in the arab world are usually from Iraq.
And another question: have you seen the gate of Babilon?:-)
Sarah
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2007-10-21 01:06
It's great to hear you made it back safe and got a lot of music experience. Thanks for sharing.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: spiderbelle
Date: 2007-11-05 01:20
Glad you're back safe and sound! My hubby won't be home until Dec 2008, so we've got awhile to go. :-) It's nice to hear that being a FOBBIT isn't too terrible -- hubby is JAG, so he doesn't leave the FOB much either. I've always been curious about what a deployment is like for the Army bands -- thanks for enlightening us!
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Author: lj
Date: 2007-11-06 23:52
Not a particularly original post, but a heartfelt welcome back and thank you for your service. I've enjoyed your posts; among other things, you helped me decide to purchase my Lyrique, which I'm very happy with. Again, thanks for your willingness to serve.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-11-07 04:40
so what would you have done differently to keep in better contact with the musical world while you were over there? i mean, i'm sure you were running through ideas that you had in mind of things you should have brought or could have done on your spare time. or maybe i'm just looking too into it?
started a forum?
created a music website?
<--- i think i'm looking too into it. =P
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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