 |
| News > Touch 'n Go makes impression on Terceira |
|
|
| |
| Photos | |
 |
Staff Sgt. Craig Bowman, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band, Touch 'n Go lead vocalist, interacts with a crowd at Lajes Field during a concert at the community activity center July 15.
|
Download HiRes
|
|
|
|
Touch 'n Go makes impression on Terceira
Posted 7/25/2011 Updated 7/25/2011
Email story
Print story
by 1st Lt. Mara Title
65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
7/25/2011 - LAJES FIELD, Azores -- During the week of July 10-16, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band, Touch 'n Go, took the island of Terceira by storm with five crowd-pleasing, fun-filled rock concerts.
The ensemble performed at Lajes Field during the base open house, in the town of Praia da Vitoria, twice in the city of Angra, and a final base concert at the community activity center.
"It's a great place to be," said Tech. Sgt. Mark Frandsen, acoustic and electric bass player and ensemble NCO in charge. "The people are friendly and we've had great responses from the audiences we've played for. We've felt very welcome here."
The Touch 'n Go band is one of nine of the USAFE Band ensembles now stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Performing off base is typical for band members, and they look forward to it.
"There's kind of an extra special feeling when you get to do a gig off base in the local community, because none of them know about the Air Force Band," said Staff Sgt. Craig Bowman, USAFE Band vocalist. "A lot of them don't even know about the Air Force, so we are kind of the poster child for the Air Force presence here, and it's fun."
As people shouted, "Encore, encore!" they seemed a little surprised at the level of musicianship in the show, but if they understood the amount of training each USAFE Band member has, they wouldn't give it a second thought.
Frandsen, referred to as "the doctor" on stage, does indeed have his doctorate in music theory. Between temporary duty assignments and rehearsals, he also acts as the USAFE Band's assistant director of operations, administratively making the decisions of who goes where. The other band members help take care of transportation, finance, computer operations, orders, etc., to support the 45-person USAFE Band.
"A lot of people in the military don't even know about military bands, so raising awareness is always something that we love to do," Bowman said. "We want people to know that this is what we're best at doing, and so we want to give the gift of music. It's a real honor and a treat to be able to serve in that way."
According to Bowman, the Air Force is different because bandsmen have an Air Force Specialty Code of Professional Musician, whereas in other branches, playing music is not within a specific career field, but a secondary duty.
"We want people to know that if you're going to choose to spend your time to come and see an Air Force band performance, it's going to be really great," Bowman said.
With the overwhelming majority of bandsmen having their bachelor's degrees, and many with a master's degree in music-related fields, it's no wonder it's their primary AFSC. Even the "sound guy" is professionally trained. With an associate's degree in audio-recording technology, and experience working at a professional sound company, Staff Sgt. Nick Wellman serves as the audio engineer for Touch 'n Go.
"My overall role is to make sure that what the band is performing up on stage sounds the best that it possibly can for the audience," said Wellman. "A positive thing is that I can influence the sound, and that I actually do have the control to influence the emotions of the audience almost as much as the musicians on stage."
This can readily be seen by the opened jaws of crowd members as they listen to unique renditions of popular music.
During one composition, each band member ends up singing a different Michael Jackson song at the same time, as the melodies harmoniously blend together. They've also blended Lady Gaga favorites into one arrangement, bringing something unexpected to the audience.
But the audio engineer can only technically master the effects of these songs once he's been given the vision from the music director, Staff Sgt. Matthew Peacock, who is also the pianist and keyboard player for Touch 'n Go.
"We want to perform music that the audience will appreciate and can relate to," Peacock said. "A lot of that is taking popular music and adapting it to our group, which is challenging at times, because we are a small group. When everything is very technical and so produced, it can be difficult adapting that for a live performance," he said.
Judging by the positive reactions of the people they performed for on Terceira, they manage to adapt very technical popular songs to their smaller band extremely well.
"I think it's apparent we spend a lot of time running this show, and perfecting this show," said Peacock. "We videotape ourselves in rehearsals, we watch it back, and have constructive criticism, so that it is a polished show."
Aside from wowing people internationally with their musical and technical abilities, the real strategic importance of having trained musicians representing the Air Force is the partnership initiatives they help build.
"Our job allows us to go out in communities and put a face on the Air Force, and the way we do that is to be the absolute best musicians we can be," said Wellman. "I can honestly say that the musicians I work with on a daily basis are some of the finest musicians in the world."
Most Air Force members don't realize the bands are part of the Public Affairs career field, as they help foster community relations.
"The band is one of the most important tools that Public Affairs has," said Peacock. "I've worked in many different embassies and state departments -- Indonesia, Malaysia, everywhere -- the outreach stuff that we can do ... it's a great mission."
Other Touch 'n Go band members include Staff Sgt. Dustin Trimble, guitarist, and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Friedman, drummer. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
