Blue Island Tribe

2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 6: Travel to Djibouti

2009-12-22T05:23:00.000-08:00

Some of us went to bed at 3pm, others at 6pm, and some of us didn’t sleep at all last night. Hussain picked us up at the hotel at 1am in order to catch our 4am flight. We got to the airport got all of our equipment through security and then proceeded to the ticket counter.

We think the airlines are reading the blog too because the guy at this ticket counter could smell fresh blood coming. He had a blast telling us all the wrong things and messing with us any way he could. He told us they only took cash…. he told us to go here, here, and here, and then started laughing really hard before he said he was just joking. We have often talked about how easy it would be for someone to just screw with us because we have no idea what we are doing and this guy got us good.

After we got all the bags checked and got our boarding passes we said good-bye to Hussain. We are going to miss him; he really helped us out a lot, and basically became part of the band for a few days. We’ve run into a bunch of good people that take care of us on these trips but he is definitely at the top of the list.

From there we got through security, grabbed some food, and went to our gate. The flight was fine and we got to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) around 8am. We had a few hours to kill so we found our gate and then wandered around for a bit. About 10:45 we decided to head back to our gate for our 11:30 flight. When we got there, the gate was empty and everyone was wondering where we had been. Apparently in Ethiopia when a flight says it leaves at 11:30, they mean it leaves the ground at 11:30, not the gate. We were definitely the last people on that plane but we made it.

After a quick 45-minute flight we landed in Djibouti. We got off the plane to sunshine and 90 degree weather. (We are not missing the terrible weather in Iowa if you were wondering.) We proceeded to customs where we encountered our first “problem” of the trip.

There was only one guy issuing visas to get into Djibouti and once again he was screwing with us only not in such a playful way. On our other stops our paperwork usually tells us what the fees and visas will be. Usually they aren’t very much and it’s not a problem but here our paperwork said nothing about the cost and when we arrived we found out the visa cost everybody $60 each. This was a problem because a lot of our money was still in Dinar and they wouldn’t take it. Collectively we had $435 US on us that in theory would cover the $420 visa cost for 7 people. However, he refused to take our $100 bills because they were not “new enough”. This really is a third world country so they didn’t have an ATM or credit card machine and we thought we were just screwed. After about an hour of going back and forth with this guy, while he laughed at us, he reluctantly took the $100 bills and we got out of there as fast as we could.

We were met by James and Tammy, grabbed our equipment, and took off for the base. We arrived at the base and this base is definitely another one of those “real” bases. It’s a little bit more developed than Sheik Isa but it’s along the same lines. We were issued security badges, grabbed some lunch at the “Bob Hope Galley”, dropped our equipment off at the venue, and then headed to our “rooms” to get situated. We are staying in CLU-ville (Container Living Units). They are old shipping containers that have been converted into living quarters. They are air-conditioned and fairly comfortable.

After unloading our bags we went on a quick tour of the base before heading back to get some rest. Some of us crashed at 5pm for the whole night while others met back up with James and headed to 11 Degrees North (The Venue - The base is located 11 degrees north of the equator, thus the name of the bar). They met some troops, had a few beers (3 drink max here), and then called it a night.

Another trip to the airport......

This is the guy that had some fun at our expense.... at 2am.

One last picture with Hussain.

Killing time in the airport.

The sunrise over Saudi Arabia. It was amazing!!!

This was our "living quarters" in Bahrain.

This is our "living quarters" in Djibouti.

Getting a tour of the base

2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 5: Day off in Bahrain

2009-12-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Today was a day off so this morning Hussain picked us up from the hotel and took us all over Bahrain. We visited a Mosque. Unfortunately, it was closed due to a holiday but we still had a chance to walk around and get some pictures.

After that we went to a market where we were hounded to buy anything and everything. Fun Fact: There are more watches per capita in Bahrain than anywhere else in the world…… we made that up but every store in Bahrain is a watch store and everyone wants you to buy one. None of us bought a watch but we did buy lots of other things including t-shirts, rugs, jewelry, spices, etc…. and we only got screwed once. Chris spent about 5 minutes negotiating with a shopkeeper and eventually got the shopkeeper to come down from 4 dinar to 2.5. (actually Chris decided he was going to look around a bit but they refused…. They are very aggressive) The shopkeeper really wanted 3 dinar, he hesitantly came down to 2.8 and then finally very reluctantly came down to 2.5. Here is how the transaction went:

Chris handed the shopkeeper 10 dinar.
The shopkeeper handed Chris 7 dinar back.
Chris: “We agreed on 2.5 dinar.”
Shopkeeper: “We agreed on 3”.
Chris: “no, 2.5”
The shopkeeper then gave Chris .2 more dinar and said “we agreed on 2.8 dinar”.
Chris: “no, 2.5”
Shopkeeper: “no, 2.8”
Chris: “Well, that’s just mean.”

We continued to walk through the market, tried some very delicious deserts, and ended up at the Golden Souq. (Souq means “market”.) We spent an hour or so there before heading back to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we got some food, did some last minute “shopping”, and then most of us went to bed around 5 or 6 pm. We have a 4am flight and Hussain is coming to pick us up at 1am. It is sure to be another interesting day navigating airports as we head to Djibouti, Africa.

More Fun Facts: The stop lights have a yellow light before both the red and green lights.

The Mosque.

Other downtown buildings

World Trade Center

The market

A delicious dessert.... its a sweet warm jelly with nuts.

Kelly experimenting with new food..... this is rare!

nuts

spices

The Gold Souq

In 1923 dollar bills were made much larger.

This is the back of a 1914 $10 dollar bill. Andrew Jackson is on the front.

Front

2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 4: Sheik Isa Airbase, Bahrain

2009-12-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and then walked over to the base. We loaded into two vans and a truck and drove about 45 minutes to Sheik Isa Airbase. This base was an Air Force Base that was opened in 1991 during the initial Gulf War. It had been deserted for some time before the Army started to rebuild it recently.

When we arrived it immediately felt like a “real” military base, not that the other bases we have visited aren’t, but this one is what we all pictured in our heads before heading to the Middle East. At the gate, there was a huge Hummer with a “manned” machine gun on the roof. The whole base was very primitive and did not have any of the luxuries of most of the bases we have been on have had. Most of the original buildings are completely destroyed from the sun and sandstorms. We were met by SSG James Dooty who took care of us all day and escorted us around the base.

We unloaded all of the gear into what was basically an airplane hangar and then we took off for a tour of the base. We were initially supposed to play outside but the show was moved inside because it looked like rain was coming. We got to see their living quarters, a bunker, and then ended up in the Dining Facility. We had a quick lunch and then went back to the hangar to sound-check. After a pretty lengthy sound-check (trying to make a band sound good in an airplane hanger is not easy…. everything just sounds HUGE) we met lots of troops, played ping-pong, video games, and hung out most of the afternoon.

This whole base was cool. We met lots of great people from all different backgrounds. They are kind of out there in the middle of nowhere so we could really feel how much they appreciated us coming out there and we had a blast all day.

After the show we got to hang out for a while with the Troops before hopping in the vans and heading back to the hotel. Overall, today was an extremely fun and interesting day for us and we hope it was for everyone at Sheik Isa as well.

General Fun Facts about Bahrain:
Speed Limit on the freeway is 100 km/h
Gas costs around $0.65 per gallon
Bahrain is one of the most liberal Arabic Kingdoms.
Alcohol is only sold in bars connected to Hotels.
A beer costs around $9 U.S.
A pack of cigarettes costs $2 U.S.
Most bars serve Sheesha with molasses tobacco.
The have every American restaurant ever imagined.
KFC is WAY better here than in the U.S.
The first oil well in the Persian Gulf is located here.
People park wherever they want to.
Driving on the roads is merely a suggestion.

Checking the interwebs in the hotel lobby.

John is not a morning person.

Outside NSA Bahrain with the MWR Staff.

Heading to Sheik Isa

With SSG James Dooty at Sheik Isa.

Walking through a bunker

This is the stage we were supposed to play.

This is a bath house located next to the stage. Most of the original buildings on the base look similar to these.

These are the living quarters.

Inside

They still celebrate Christmas in the middle of the desert.

The show

after the show

The late night ride home.

Blog Comments

2009-12-19T11:59:00.001-08:00

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2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 3: Day Off in Bahrain

2009-12-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

Friday in Bahrain is like Sunday in America. Everything is closed and it is their day of "rest".

So... we rested.

2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 2: NSA Bahrain

2009-12-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday we woke up, ate some breakfast and then headed over to the base. We were met by Hussain who showed us around a little bit, took us to the MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) office where we met Mr. Joe Hernandez, the “head honcho”, and then grabbed a bite to eat for lunch. Mr. Hernandez presented us each with some very cool “medallions” for coming and performing at the base. The setup at this base was great. They have a huge courtyard with very large stage in one corner.

When we arrived to the stage, they had pretty much everything set up for us so we just had to plug in and tweak everything a little bit. We sound-checked and then walked around and handed out free CDs to as many people as we could. Some of us headed back to the hotel before the show to put on a long sleeve shirt. The weather is beautiful here. It’s probably around 70-75 degrees during the day and 65 or so at night.

The show started at 7pm and went great! It was incredibly windy out but other than that there were no real obstacles. After the show we signed some autographs, talked with lots of great people and then ended up hanging out on the base with a group of Marines for a few hours. These guys were great and we had a blast hanging out with them. We learned a lot and saw our first ever Marine “slap fight”.

We left the base around 11pm and went back to the hotel. We then decided to walk around “American Alley” which is a street full of restaurants and coffee shops right by the hotel. While walking around we ran into a few members of the Navy, They invited us over to their house where we tried on some armor and had a great time in general just hanging out.

Meeting and talking to all these guys is one of the most rewarding parts of the trip. It really is a different world that they live in and it is very interesting for us to be able to ask questions and learn about it.

A pan photo of the stage and courtyard.

Sound Check

The Show

The front of the Medallions.

Back

Relaxing after the first show.

Marines

Maybe the greatest picture of all time.

Kevlar vests in Bahrain!

2009 AFE Tour Blog Day 1: Travel Day

2009-12-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

Today has been a full 36-hour day consisting of airport security, overpriced airport food, trying to figure out exchange rates, airplane rides, layovers and sleep deprivation. The trip actually started Monday afternoon when we met up for sushi followed by a quick rehearsal, organized all of our equipment, and around midnight cleared all of our gear out of the warehouse.

We’ve had plenty of experience/practice loading in and out of venues and practice spaces in cold weather but last night’s load out was definitely in the top three coldest ever. The actual temperature was somewhere around “bitterly cold”; add a “blistering wind” and a sidewalk covered with ice to that and you’ve got a band that can’t wait to get out of Iowa (luckily for us we are heading to the desert). All in all, we were pretty happy to get everything loaded into the trailer with minimal frostbite and minor bumps and bruises from falling on the ice.

After a few hours of sleep we got to the Des Moines International Airport early Tuesday morning. It is always funny to see the people at the ticket counters freak out as they see seven of us all carrying our bags, guitars, drums, etc… You can actually see them think, “I hope they aren’t flying United”. Initially, most of them seem completely overwhelmed by the ensuing chaos but, as they did in Des Moines, they generally handle it very well.

If you are new to “The Blog”, on our last overseas tour we were bumped up from our normal seats to seats in Business Class for a fourteen-hour flight to Tokyo due to the airline screwing up our tickets. At the time this was probably the greatest thing that had ever happened to us. We were given all the free gourmet food and drinks we could ever consume. We could lay pretty much completely flat while we were wearing our “swanky” free slippers, cleansing our faces with hot towels, stretching out our un-cramped legs, or doing just about anything else we could have dreamed of. In retrospect, this was just an extremely mean practical joke; being spoiled like that for a fourteen-hour plane ride has left us extremely jealous and miserable for all of our other flights. We’ve got a total of fourteen flights this tour so I’m sure we’ll get used to sitting with “the commoners” again but it won’t be easy.

We arrived to Frankfurt, Germany around 5 a.m. and wandered around a completely empty airport before setting up camp where we tried to get a little sleep, played some poker, and waited for our 11 a.m. flight. We found our gate, noticed another “reggae looking” band and started talking to them. Turns out, The “Easy Star All Stars” were on our plane to Bahrain. They are a great reggae band and some very nice guys that we saw play this past March in Austin at SXSW. They are playing a private party in Bahrain so we got to hang out, chat, and eventually share a van to the hotel with these guys. (Check them out when you get a chance)

We were met at the airport by Hussein (our Bahrain guide), cleared customs, and then loaded up the vans for a very “exciting” trip to the hotel. BAHRAIN IS CRAZY!!! Today is their “National Day” which is the equivalent to 4^th of July so the entire place is one big party. Just imagine a giant tailgate party; subtract the booze, add more flags, more car horns, more people driving while hanging out of their cars and basically you’ve got what we’ve encountered so far in Bahrain (Check out the videos below to get a very small taste). We got to the hotel, checked in, got cleaned up and then walked over to the base to check things out. Our first impression was great. The base is beautiful, the weather is amazing, and everyone was extremely nice. We walked around on base for a while before heading off base to grab some food, relax, and get thoroughly confused with the currency exchange rate (we think we have it figured out now… maybe?).

So all in all, our first travel day has gone fairly smooth. After one misplaced boarding pass, a few “freak out” moments of “Did we remember to pack _________________ (insert just about anything here)”, some leg cramps/sore backs from sitting in a cramped plane for hours and hours at a time, a little “off-roading” in Bahrain, and we have finally made it back to the hotel where we are going to crash HARD. Our first show is tomorrow night and we’ve got another full day of excitement ahead.

In the warehouse putting stickers on the promotional cds for the troops and rehearsal. (and yes we have a salad bar in the warehouse)

One of the worst load-outs ever.

Getting the equipment tagged and ready in Des Moines.

Mike "acting" like a reader.

In-between flights we were on lots of shuttles and buses to get to different terminals.

Trying to sleep.

We are real mature.

aww.... perfect little angels.

Finally, in Bahrain eating pizza and relaxing.

VIDEOS:

Frey laying out the itinerary in Des Moines.

We wish you could all experience this first hand but here is a small clip of the drive from the airport to the hotel. This doesn't even reflect the magnitude of the insane driving in Bahrain. As crazy as the ride was we never felt scared..... this was just how they do it here.

Side note: this video was taken after BIT and The Easy Star All Stars helped get this van "un-stuck". Seriously, there is no way to explain the drive, sorry.

Here is a small taste of the "National Day" celebrations... again this does not accurately portray the magnitude of their celebrations but hopefully it gives you a good taste. Multiply the video times about 30 and you'll be closer to the real thing. None of us have ever seen anything like it so we apologize for being unable to describe it.

AFE TOUR #2: MIDDLE EAST 2009

2009-12-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

Ok. Where to begin? First, it has been too long since we updated the blog. We are sorry. (all of us sincerely apologize.) We still have blogs and pictures to post from the end of our summer tour but we are going to skip ahead and try to catch back up with those at a later date. So for now lets fast forward to "present" day.

It is Sat. Dec. 12th.

We are preparing for our second AFE (Armed Forces Entertainment) tour and we depart Tuesday, Dec. 15th around 11am. (holy sh*t, thats like 3 days away!) We are trading in the foot of snow currently on the ground in Iowa for three weeks in the Middle Eastern desert. We will be entertaining US Troops stationed in Bahrain, Djibouti, Qatar, and Kuwait.

We toured all summer and were incredibly busy so we decided to take some time off this fall to re-group and get organized. Last week we moved into a new practice space (warehouse #2) in Des Moines' East Village. We started rehearsing and getting back in the swing of things. We have decided to learn a few new songs and are in the midst of perfecting every Christmas Carol ever written (not true). But we are getting everything ready to go before we ship out Tuesday morning around 1100 hours. (I think? It's time to get a refresher on military time)

Anyways, we will be taking pictures, writing down stories, and posting as often as we can. We are also going to try to update our other accounts as often as possible. If you aren't our "friend" on Facebook or a "follower" on Twitter the links to those sites are below.

Hopefully this blog will allow you to come along on the trip of a lifetime for us and experience it as we do. We will of course edit out all the boring/un-interesting parts like the 14 hour flights, 7 hour layovers, etc... We are honored, excited, and just a little bit nervous for the tour to begin but are very much looking forward to spending the Holiday Season with the Troops defending our Country.

We've got about three days to get everything organized, packed, and ready to go so its time to get off the computer and start getting ready. We'll try to update at least one more time before we head out.

see ya out there.

BIT

www.blueislandtribe.com

www.twitter.com/blueislandtribe

www.myspace.com/blueislandtribe

www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Island-Tribe/7941169122

BIT 2009 Summer Tour Blog #3

2009-07-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

After having a blast in Boulder we headed to Denver. Kate scored us a bunch of free tickets to a Colorado Rockies game so we spent a beautiful summer day at the ballpark enjoying $8 hot dogs, and $9 beers....

After the game we gave hugs and said goodbye to Kate. She took great care of us and we all had a blast. We can't thank you enough......We then met up with another old UNI friend, Heather Peterson. Heather showed us around downtown Denver, and let us crash at her apartment for the night.

We spent the next day in Denver hanging out and getting band stuff done. Then we played at a very cool old venue called Quixote's. If you ever go there make sure you check out the live music archive in the basement. Its epic. Most of the band left the venue broke after spending all the nights money on live cds.

We were pretty excited to get to Arizona so we left immediately after the show in Denver and drove through the night. We went to sleep in the mountains and woke up in the desert. After around 17-18 hours in the RV we made it to Phoenix late Saturday night. We met up with Miss Jenna who had prepared a huge poolside bbq for us. We spent the night hanging out and having a blast with old friends and new ones.

Sunday we loaded into Crush Studios in Scottsdale and started working on all the new material. We need to thank Steve, Alex, and Kevin for putting us up and putting up with us for 10 days. We had a blast and can't wait to do it all again.

Trying to finish up some parts to the new songs.

listening to the finished product....

We recorded three songs; "Take It Easy", "Amazing", and "Take Me"..... we are extremely happy with them, can't wait for everyone to hear them, and will let everyone know when you can hear them. We have begun playing them live so the one way to hear them for sure is coming out and seeing us in person.

While we were in the studio we also took a little time off to play a show and have fun with all the AZ fans.

Garrett busted out a new look for Freebird!

After 10 days of recording, 3 kick ass new songs, a great show, and lots of good times with old friends we left Arizona for the long drive back to Iowa.

on the long road home.......

and we finally made it back to Iowa after 36 hours in the RV.

BIT 2009 Summer Tour Blog #2

2009-07-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

We spent about a week at home before the road came calling. We packed up, got everything organized and prepared to be out on the road for almost a month. Luckily, for us, the first night was in Des Moines and so we piled in the RV for approximately 6 minutes before we arrived at the show. If only all road trips were this long.

Mike clearly won the cool photo contest for the night. From Des Moines we headed west to Lincoln Nebraska. As we approached the border of Iowa and Nebraska we were flagged down by a trucker. Immediately we thought we left the trailer door open or had a flat tire. Luckily it was just an open compartment door with nothing in it. We got to talking with the good samaritan and got a picture with him and his dog "Buddy"

After that little adventure we finished up the rest of the drive to Lincoln. We loaded into Knickerbockers, ate lots of $0.25 tacos, killed some time, and played a show. A very good band Conerstone Dub opened the night and Tim their trombonist joined us on stage for a good ole' fashioned jam. Overall a great first time in Lincoln!

Immediately after the show in Lincoln we loaded up and headed to Kearney, Nebraska. We didn't really know what to think of spending two nights in Kearney but they turned out to be two amazing nights. Apparently there isn't a whole lot to do in Kearney so everyone goes to the bar at night and parties. We were glad they did because we had a blast.

After our three days of fun in Nebraska we headed on to Colorado. Because we had 3 days off we headed to our friend Kate Veeder's farm in Longmont. We spent Sunday through Wednesday with Kate as our tour guide sight seeing, hiking, and of course we had to check out a few of the breweries in the area.

This is Kate..... She's awesome.

This is Toni Frey with two of Kate's goats.

This is Toni and some ambitious BIT members trying to milk goats. Definitely a first for any member of this band.

This is John being a mountain man.

This is Mike when the Paparazzi showed up.

Brandon thought it would be a good idea to grow a mustache.

The breweries included New Belgium, Fort Collins, and Odell.

This is John dreaming about hops and ......... things.

This is the whole group at Odell.

Mike thought he got so drunk he couldn't see. We told him he wasn't that drunk, he just had poker chips in front of his eyes. He laughed and finally stopped groping people.

This shot looks familiar????

Keep looking Mikey.... there has to be some in there somewhere.

And then we went to one of the coolest outdoor venues we've ever seen. We spent an afternoon at Mishawaka and had an impromptu photo session. You'll be seeing more of these pics in the future.

This is Chris.

Oh yea.... we also played a kick ass show in Boulder for a couple hundred crazy kids too! More to follow!

BIT 2009 Summer Tour Blog #1

2009-06-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here we go again..... we've neglected our blogging obligations and so we are going to try and catch you up on all BIT happenings.

First, we took a trip down to Lawrence and Kansas City in May. The first night we played at The Bottleneck in Lawrence Kansas home of The Kansas Jayhawks. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!! We played with The Supervillians a great band from Florida that we hope to cross paths with again. We woke up hit up some continental breakfast and headed to Kansas City. We spent the day in Kansas City enjoying the new downtown area and checking out some of the city's fine entertainment options.

While in Kansas City we had the opportunity to meet filmmaker Eric Saperston. He gave us a copy of his documentary "The Journey" and we all loved it. We highly recommend the film to anyone out there chasing their dreams as we are. After Kansas City we had a few days off before heading to Iowa City.

Iowa City is always a fun town for us and this time did not disappoint. We played a very fun show before heading to Des Moines to meet up with Ballyhoo and B-Foundation for a few dates. Since we have all recently relocated to Des Moines it is quickly turning into our favorite place to play. We grilled out, played some disc golf, and did the usual Friday afternoon stuff before heading to The House of Bricks. Both Ballyhoo and B-Foundation killed it before we got up and played.

From Des Moines we headed up north to Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls has always been one of our favorite places to play and this night was no different. All 3 bands were on the bill again and again we were honored to close down the night. After Cedar Falls we were all worn out and welcomed 10 days off.

The next weekend was one of the few weekends we had off this summer so we decided to hit up the sprint car races in Knoxville, Iowa. For most of the band it was the first time at the race track but everyone had a blast. If you have never been to sprint car races..... you should.

SXSW, 311, New House, New Logo, and Much More

2009-05-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ok. Its been way to long since we last blogged so we are going to try and catch everybody up in one shot. Imagine this being last season's recap at the beginning of this season's premier.
Here we go:

1) In January our pictures were featured in Billboard, Pollstar, and Radio and Records Magazines. Very cool. (even one full pager)

2) In March we traveled down to Austin, Texas for SXSW and played 3 shows in about 42 hours. This was our first trip to SXSW and we already have it scheduled in for next year. Austin is amazing and if you haven't ever been we highly suggest you attend. Lots of fun, little sleep, great music, and lots of new friends.

3) Also this spring, BIT has officially relocated to Des Moines. Mike and Chris (our utility player) moved back from LA, John moved back from Arizona, Garrett moved back from Cedar Falls, and the rest will soon be following. Everybody moved into a Victorian Mansion built in the 1800's. Although it took a while to get it all cleaned up and liveable its an amazing old house that so far has been great for creativity and production (Yes we know its haunted but so far all the ghosts/spirits seem to like our music.)

4) In April we had the honor of supporting 311. 311 has been one of our favorite bands for a very long time so when the opportunity to open for them was presented we jumped on it. We'd like to welcome all the new fans and say thank you to all the old fans that attended.

5) We have a new logo. You'll be seeing a lot of it.

6) We have some new merchandise. Our online merch store will be updated soon.

7) The summer is approaching quickly and we will be heading out in late May for a full summer of shows. We will be adding more dates soon so continue to check back for updates.

Hope to see you all at a show this summer.
BIT
James "jelly bean" Frey
John "jalapeno" Schminke
Brandon "bearclaw" Clark
Mike "meat pie" Schminke
Kelly "krispy kreme" Powers
Garrett "grapefruit" Theilking

winter happenings

2008-12-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Just to keep everyone updated here are some recent happenings in the world of BIT:

1: KCCI.com the Des Moines CBS station has posted our video from Okinawa, check it out here: http://www.kcci.com/localmusicvideo/17981198/index.html

2. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier just did a very nice story, check it out here: http://www.waterloocourier.com/articles/2008/11/25/features/lifestyles/10776435.txt

3. We received a great review from Boston Based Neufutur Magazine, check it out here:
http://neufutur.com/?p=5737

4. Mike was seen in an episode of ABC's "Samantha Who", check it out here:
www.abc.com

5. Mike was also quoted in an article by The Pier, a leading reggae website/news service, check it out here:
http://www.thepier.org/Bestof2008-01.html

6. Our Myspace page was listed as one of the "50 Majestic Myspace Layouts", check the article out here:
http://mashable.com/2008/12/01/myspace-layouts/ and check our myspace out here:
www.myspace.com/blueislandtribe

7. There is still time to sign up for your chance to win one of five BIT Holiday Packages... All you have to do is sign up on our email list.

March On - A Tribute to our Troops

2008-10-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

"March On"
A tribute to our troops

As many of you know, Blue Island Tribe had the opportunity to go overseas and entertain the troops in the summer of 2008. At first it was seen by the band as a great way to see the world but as the tour continued, the trip became much, much more. When we started the tour I had no idea how the troops would react to our particular blend of music. Please excuse my ignorance but I really thought they wouldn't respond well to a bunch of peace loving liberals like we are. Much to my surprise, we were greeted with open arms and instant acceptance. It really touched me deeply that we were given accolades and even awards from the people we were entertaining. Speaking of the people, we met so many awesome people and heard so many stories about life in the military that it affected each one us in many ways.

So as the tour continued in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa we began to realize that this wasn't just an opportunity to take a really cool trip but it meant a lot to the troops. You see, some of the troops had not had any kind of entertainment for months, some of the troops would be shipped off to war torn areas in a few days, and others had been away from their families for months and even years. The troops we met were just hard working folks like you and me just trying to make a living and support families. Our show was just a chance for them to feel like they were back at home for at least a couple of hours.

Before I go on I would like to explain to you that "March On" is not advocating war by any means. This song was written as homage to all the excellent people we met and their will to simply "march on". I can see with new eyes that our military is an absolute necessity, not as a warring campaign but as a peace-keeping entity. With that in mind, we wanted to create a song that would reflect the inspiration of what the tour and the people we met meant to us. So, to all the troops past and present that put their life on the line to protect our freedoms, this one is for you. Thank you.
Frey

"MARCH ON"
AS WE MARCH ON DOWN THE ROAD
YOU CAN FEEL IT IN OUR SOULS
AS WE FORGE ON ALL THE WAY
THIS IS THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY

MARCH ON MARCH ON - THIS IS OUR MOVEMENT
MARCH ON MARCH ON - ITS TIME TO REPRESENT
MARCH ON MARCH ON - CAN YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR SOUL
MARCH ON MARCH ON - AS THE MUSIC TAKES CONTROL

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY
BUT TO MARCH ON THROUGH THE DAY
TRIBAL WARRIORS ALL THROUGHOUT THE LAND
WE MUST TAKE OUR STAND

MARCH ON MARCH ON - THIS IS OUR MOVEMENT
MARCH ON MARCH ON - ITS TIME TO REPRESENT
MARCH ON MARCH ON - CAN YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR SOUL
MARCH ON MARCH ON - AS THE MUSIC TAKES CONTROL

EVERYBODY IN THE STREETS NOW
AS WE HEAR THE CALL
FEEL THE RYTHMN OF THE DRUMS NOW
AS IT TAKES CONTROL

Weekend Shows!!

2008-10-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

After picking "the brothers" up at the DM airport we headed up north to Cedar Falls for the night. We arrived around 5 p.m., loaded in, got the kinks out (practiced), and sound-checked around 8. We checked into the hotel and grabbed some dinner at the Pump Haus. Cedar Falls is always a fun town for us and with this being Homecoming weekend, it did not disappoint.

After a great night, we somehow managed to squeeze 8 people into one of the hotel rooms where no one got much sleep. We were up and back at The Hub around 11 to load out all of our gear, (the HuB is the only place that lets us do that thankfully), and we were on our way to Des Moines at Noon.

After a quick drive we arrived in time to catch a nap before we headed down for load in at 4. We couldn't have asked for better weather and a better night for an outdoor show. Upon arrival at the World Food Festival we were greeted with many friendly people all carrying walkie-talkies and looking important. We loaded in, did a quick mic check, said hello to lots of friends and family, and then kicked off the show. Festivals are fun but they always seem to breed chaos. During our set we, broke strings, broke a guitar pedal, lost a microphone, knocked over lights, and had to move the drums twice to prevent them from falling off the drum riser. All in all, it was an awesome show. We had a ton of fun, saw lots of old and new faces, and afterwards ate lots of really good "world" food.

NEW ALBUM INFO

2008-10-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

10/1/08
NEW ALBUM/NEW MYSPACE!!!

We are very proud to announce that our new album, "The 5 Hits of Ecstasy" will be released 10/14/08 exclusively on Itunes. It will be released everywhere else 11/25/08.

Here is the track listing:
"The 5 Hits of Ecstasy"
1. Down
2. Drop Out
3. Jump and Shout
4. March On
5. Ecstasy

The Ep was recorded this past summer immediately after the band returned from Japan and Korea. It was recorded in Des Moines, IA at Sonic Factory Studios with Nadas' members Jon Locker, Tony Bohnenkamp, Ross VanderWerf, and Sklyer VanWalbeek all helping out. The Ep was mastered by John Mailoux (Sugar Ray, Dispatch, State Radio) of Bongo Beach Productions. We would like to thank Crystal Ryan for the front cover artwork, Nick Nemmers for the back cover artwork, and Chris "Gnar" Holz for the cd label artwork.

We will be "leaking" a few songs on Myspace before the 14th.... www.myspace.com/blueislandtribe .....Down is currently up and remember to check back often as we will be putting up new songs every couple of days leading up to the 14th. While you are there please sign up for the mailing list and check out the new video for "Endless Summer" shot this past summer in Okinawa, Japan and we hope to see you all at a show soon!!!

BIT

Gnar - New Video

2008-09-16T12:19:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, we'd like you to meet Chris Holz. Everyone, Chris...... Chris, Everyone.

Now that no one feels awkward, lets move on. Chris, or Gnar (pronounced nar) as we call him, has been a friend of the band's for a long time and before he moved to LA he could be seen at the band house or with a member of the band much of the time. We were fortunate enough to have him on tour all summer making sure everything went according to plan. He filled the role of sound man, lighting guy, photographer, videographer, babysitter, prankster, question asker, chef, badass, and many, many, more. He definitely worked harder than anyone this summer, so for that, we say THANK YOU!!!

He has also been hard at work since we returned home putting together the following video. Enjoy!

Click "Here" to watch the video. (make sure to watch it in High Quality)

New Album

2008-09-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ok.

First, sorry for the lack of updates. We have been busy working on the record and getting everything in order to release it. Not the glamourous side of being in a band, but possibly the most important. I guess you could call this the calm before the storm. In the coming weeks and months you will be hearing much more from us for sure!

Second, We have the Master to the new album in our hands!!!! The cd has been recorded, mixed, mastered and will be released this fall. We've got to keep it all under wraps for now but keep checking back for a big announcement soon.

Sign up for our new mailing list on the side of our myspace page for the latest details. (if you were already on our list, please sign up again) We have completely revamped the list and lost some names/addresses in the process.

Until then.....

BIT
"Too rad to b-randon" Clark
Mike "i'll lead the way" Schminke
"Jameson Frizzlesticks" Frey
Kelly "The Haunch" Powers
"Johnny Python" Schminke
Garrett "Theilkepidia" Thielking

Lake Life

2008-07-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, for the lack of updates....we have been super busy.

Lets go back a few weeks now....

We spent all week in the Warehouse practicing before loading up the bus, driving 3 hours in the hardest rain most of us have ever seen, and finally arriving at the Thielking's house at Blackhawk Lake on Thursday night. We ate tons of food, had beverages, and sat on the porch enjoying the view while being stuck on land due to the rain. Friday morning we woke up, ate one of the most delicious break"feasts" we have ever had before heading out on the jet-ski and boat. We spent most of the day on the lake before hopping in the bus and heading to Lake Okoboji.

We arrived at Okoboji around 5pm, loaded in, grabbed some food, said hellos to old and new friends and started the show around 7. This was one of the funnest shows we have played in years. 1600 crazy lake people having the time of their life. We did as well. We ended up playing until 11 and we didn't want to stop. We loaded up and headed "downtown" where we wandered around and checked out what Okoboji had to offer.

Saturday morning we all woke up in a shady hotel, loaded into the bus, and started out on one of the longest 4 hour rides we have ever had. It was early, hot, and we had to get back to Cedar Falls in time to take care of some business before sound check that night.

We arrived in Cedar Falls, loaded in, sound-checked, and hung out until the show started. Cedar Falls is always a blast for us. The Hub takes good care of us and no matter what is going we always have fun there.

Sunday we all went our own ways before meeting up in Des Moines around 7pm. John, Mike, and Brandon loaded into the recording studio and got everything set up before hitting up the 10 pm showing of Batman. Go if you haven't.

Recording, Recording, Recording!!!!

2008-07-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

We promise to update you all on the happenings of the last week soon.... this summer just keeps rolling and we are having WAY too much fun.

For now though, we are recording for the next few weeks and you can watch it live at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sonic-factory

enjoy!!!

We're still here!!!

2008-07-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're all ok and still alive. Thank you to EVERYONE who has sent us messages or talked to us in the past few days and commented on the blog. We have been amazed at the response so we will continue to update it as long as people continue to read it.

After we arrived back in Des Moines we all scattered until Thursday night when we got together for dinner and a band meeting. The trip was an amazing experience for us so hopefully you can imagine the colorful discussion around the table when we all reunited. I'm sure people sitting in the restaurant found out more details about some of us than they ever wanted to.

Friday night we headed over to Friday after 5 in Independence to play our first show back in the states. Fun times were had by all once we got going but it took us a while to get going. Our bus didn't start, apparently we broke some things such as microphones and instruments while overseas (that was fun to discover 5 minutes before a show starts), and we forgot some things (we were rushed to cram everything in vehicles when the bus failed to fire up). All in all the night went great and we got through all the surprises. We loaded out and headed to a welcome home party thrown for us by our good friends Troy and Laurie Creery. We had a blast and were very flattered.

For the lack of updates and pictures we have put together some pictures of Kelly's eye throughout the trip. To eliminate any of the rumors we have already heard:

Kelly and Mike were running up a hill in the pouring rain to get back to our hotel while we were in Yokosuka, Japan. Kelly lost his footing and faceplanted into the street.

or:

Kelly and Mike got attacked by 9 Ninjas in Roppongi and fought off all of them. They were coming from all angles and lost in the excitement, Mike got confused and accidently punched Kelly in the face.

We'll let you decide.

The Chronicles of Kelly's Eye.
The night of....

The next morning....

a few days later the color showed up....

finally it rounded all the way around...

and by the time we arrived to Okinawa it was gone.

AFE Tour Blog Day 18: Heading Home

2008-07-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

This morning our bus came at 9 a.m. to pick us up and take us to the airport. We loaded up and spent 45 minutes discussing the stories from the night before. When we arrived at the airport we realized we got there without Mike's luggage. Shit!!! Our wonderful "guide", Ai Shears, in Okinawa called the hotel and had the baggage delivered to the airport with minutes to spare.

We were borderline late for the flight and we were the last ones to board the plane about 30 minutes late. When we arrived in Tokyo we had to re-check all our baggage and go back through security. Awesome! We got seperated due to customs lines and Brandon had to deal with airline hassles. Finally John and Brandon ended up running to catch the plane and were the last two people allowed on board. Phew!

After a few drinks, a few movies, several short naps, and 12 hours later we landed safely in Chicago. Again we had to re-check all the baggage and go through security. 3 times in one day! And with all our equipment/drums/guitars, it's extra fun.

We had a 5 hour layover in Chicago so we all passed out on the floors and caught up on a little sleep. Pretty soon we were back on a plane and landing in Des Moines. We arrived, got all the baggage/equipment, said our goodbyes, and at 9:30 pm all headed home.

awww.....sometimes brothers gotta hug.

Kelly: 0
Road in Japan: 1
Coral in Okinawa: 1
We'll see who wins next time.

AFE Tour Blog Day 17: 4th of July!!!!

2008-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

This morning our bus call was for 8:30 am. Ouch!
We all joined BIT so we didn't have to be up before noon, now we are having to get up and do stuff before 9..... we'll deal with it.

We headed to Kadena Air Base, which was about a 15 minute trip, where we hung out for a while, looked at some amazing planes and helicopters, and then soundchecked. Eve 6 showed up, said hellos, and soundchecked right after we got done. After sticking around for a few minutes we headed back to the hotel where we all took naps, checked emails, and finished up writing postcards.

Around 3 p.m. the bus came back and picked us up for the show. We arrived about 3 hours before showtime so we had ample time to walk around the festival and see all the cool booths. Each branch of the military was represented as well as tons of other booths selling anything and everything from workout equipment to fried oreos. We wandered around for about 10 minutes before we all evaporated. Did we mention it was hot in Okinawa!

At 6 p.m. we hit the stage, played 13 songs, and then signed autographs and took pictures for a half hour. Eve 6 came up around 7:30, it was their first show in a few years but they were very good. Their guitar player broke one of his guitars and ended up using John's for about 5 songs. They finished and about 8:45 the fireworks started.

Filling up a diesel tour bus this summer, $ 183.00
7 meals twice a day, $250.00
7 hotel rooms for one night, $665.00

Playing for US Troops on a military base in Okinawa, Japan on the 4th of July. Priceless!

soundcheck

Eve 6 guitarist using John's guitar.

AFE Tour Blog Day 16: Camp Foster

2008-07-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

After a few hours of sleep we had a bus call at 9 am to head over to the venue and soundcheck. Okinawa is HUMID!!! And to our surprise we were playing outside, we were drenched after playing three songs in soundcheck. Completely soaked. After soundcheck we headed back to the hotel where some members decided to go shopping for souveniers and the others headed to the beach.

The first beach we went to didn't have water. What???? We were all pretty confused by a beach that didn't have water so we walked about a mile to another beach.....it didn't have water either. The areas you were allowed to swim in were very restricted because of jellyfish and other hazards. We then took cabs to the Sunabi Seawall, a favorite scuba/snorkeling site of the locals. We spent about an hour getting beat up by reef and coral, getting sunburnt, and seeing some of the coolest fish ever up close and in person.

After the beach we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the show. We headed to the venue about 6 pm, ate some dinner, did an interview, and then played from 8-10ish. This was one of the hottest shows we have ever played. Frey's wireless mic quit working and upon taking off the cap we realized why. There was about 12 ounces of sweat inside the microphone. After the show we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, did some laundry, and crashed.

AFE Tour Blog Day 15: Travel day to Okinawa

2008-07-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

After getting dropped off at the hotel at 2 a.m. last night, the 8 a.m. bus pickup came awful early. We headed over to load out all of our gear at a warehouse, said good bye to Mr. Hwang (bossman) and Mr. Yi (our comedian/bus driver) and then hopped back on another bus to catch our flight to Okinawa. We arrived at the airport, grabbed some interesting tasting burgers (when I say interesting I mean bad), said good bye to Mr. Tae (our other bus driver), checked in with out any problems, got through customs and said goodbye to Korea. We had a lot of fun there but Okinawa was waiting.

After a short layover in Taipei we arrived in Okinawa. We were greated by our guide Ai Shears and THE HEAT; one by one we all asked Ai, "is it always this hot here?" She replied, "this is warm, not hot". After a couple minutes we loaded onto the bus and headed to the hotel. On the bus ride there we received another large packet of very usefull info about the island, our itenarary, and lots of other cool stuff. We also heard a radio commercial for our 4th of July show with Eve 6. We stopped at a restaurant, ate way too much food, and checked into the hotel around 10 pm.