Last November, when local reggae band Natty Nation toured army bases in the Middle East, they traveled on a military C-17 transport plane that came under fire. They performed for tired troops on their third, fourth and fifth round of active duty. This fall, during a tour in the Pacific, one of Natty’s performances competed with an on-base high school football game. “They’re like two absolutely disconnected experiences,” said keyboardist Aaron Konkol of the band’s first and second tours entertaining troops abroad. They ranged from the war zone tension in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Djibouti, to the isolated but cushier subculture of the established mini-Americas in Japan, the Marshall Islands and Guam. The band returned from the Pacific Nov. 2 and is celebrating with a homecoming show Friday at the High Noon Saloon. Konkol’s father and the band manager, Ron Konkol, calls the Pacific bases “1950s American culture locked in time,” where soldiers brag about having a Burger King, a Taco Bell and a McDonald’s. “This was America on foreign soil. We thought we were going to Japan to experience Japanese culture. All we experienced was small-town America,” he said. What didn’t change from last year to this year is the gratitude the troops showed Natty Nation. “We’re not big autograph-givers. But they were treating us like rock stars. Everything they do is exactly the same every single day, so when we showed up, it was a huge breath of fresh air. They really, truly appreciated it,” Aaron Konkol said. Read more: host.madison/entertainment/music/nation-building-natty-nation-brings-message-of-love-and-peace/article_2d496b6b-62d7-5a4c-89b2-b623f36d4c32.html#ixzz2etrKJ1uC
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 21:13:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015