AFE Tour Blog Day 6: Travel day to Korea (part 1)

Today we headed to Korea. The bus came and picked us up from the hotel at 7:15 am. We loaded up the bus and departed for the Tokyo Airport. We arrived, waived at bus loads of Japanese girls (apparently they see Americans holding musical instruments and assume we are famous......we of course are more than happy to play that role), looked around, found our airline counter, and checked in. Everybody is so nice in Japan. We had no idea what we were doing but people kept coming up to us asking if we needed help. We got through all the security and customs without a problem and then had a few hours to kill in the airport. We hit up the duty free shops and then got some food. Half the band ate sushi, the other half ate McDonalds. At McDonalds a few members feasted on a "double big mac with eggs and bacon".....this is the biggest burger we've ever seen. We hear its really good for you too!

The flight to Korea was quick and easy. The entertainment on the plane was amazing. It had movies, tv shows, video games, music, etc.... just about anything we could ask for to kill a few hours. When we arrived in Korea we were met by Mr. Hwang. He helped us get loaded onto the bus, and gave us all hats, bags, and a packet of information. This packet contained all kinds of information on Korea such as history, little known facts, helpful hints, the itenerary, basic words, etc.... The entire bus ride to the hotel was silent. We checked into the hotel and then set out to experience downtown Seoul.

AFE Tour Blog Day 5: Day off in Atsugi

Today is a day off in Atsugi. We did some laundry, went to the mall, and mainly just relaxed. It has rained hard everyday since we have been here and today is no exception. It is just a constant hard rain, apparently this is why they call it "the rainy season." We've had a blast in Japan and are sorry we have to leave but tomorrow morning we head to Korea, which should be an equally new experience.

Because there isn't a whole lot of excitement today here are a few random videos from the trip thus far.

1. Mike explains the layover in Chicago


2. John and AJ deliver pizza in a shopping cart


3. Cards and good times in Chicago

AFE Tour Blog Day 4: Atsugi

This morning’s 8 a.m. bus trip to Atsugi came earlier than any of us wanted but we woke up and quickly loaded onto the bus for the hour drive. The ride mostly consisted of each member telling their crazy story from the night before and everybody laughing at them. Kelly clearly wins "The Chaddy" for the night. (we will explain this award later)

When we arrived, once again our hotel wasn’t ready for us so we got to hang out in the lobby for an hour and a half. The show was supposed to be outside at the Atsugi Friendship Festival. It was raining again so they moved the show indoors. At 11 am we went and loaded in to the venue and soundchecked. We ate some amazing Jamaican food, and then went back to the hotel to rest, which we all needed. We played from 3-4:30, had a wonderful time, the crowd seemed to enjoy the show, we loaded out, and went back to the hotel to shower. Once we all showered our friend "Mike" showed us around the base and helped us find some food. After dinner we stopped over to the on-base bar for a drink before most of us went home and went to bed. A few members stayed out and ventured off base for some authentic Japanese fun.

AFE Tour Blog Day 3: Roppongi

We finally got some sleep last night!

When we woke up we went and loaded out our equipment from the first show, ate some tacos, and loaded up the bus for Yokosuka. After about an hour and a half bus ride we arrived at our hotel. Our rooms weren’t ready yet but while we were waiting we discovered the most amazing massage chairs in the world. Seriously, these chairs were incredible. We checked in about an hour later and met up with Brent Williams. Brent informed us that since it was raining and we were scheduled to play outside, we get a night off. He then showed us around the base, helped us get some yen, and gave us a map to get to Roppongi.


Roppongi is Tokyo’s equivalent of Times Square. We took cabs to a train station, got on the train, argued about whether or not we were going the right way, transferred to another train, argued some more, realized how stupid we all were for not even thinking about buying a Japanese travel book, transferred to another train, and finally arrived at the Roppongi station about an hour later. We walked up and down the streets for a while before settling down for dinner at a “real” sushi place. The food was wonderful and the sake topped it all off. We finished our dinner and walked around some more just trying to take all the sights and sounds in before getting back on the train.


Somehow, we made it back to the base and headed to the on-base club. There were about 8 people in the first club so we quickly went to an area called “The Haunch” which is a small strip of clubs just off the base. There we met lots of great troops, sang some karaoke, and once again just tried to take it all in.

Kelly tried to fight a wet road.......He lost.

AFE Tour Blog Day 2: It's Business Tiiiime

We woke up bright and early, checked out of our hotel and took the shuttle to O'Hare. We said goodbye to AJ and Ben-E-Ben and proceeded through security without a hitch. We ate a free lunch at Chili's and hung out in the airport for a few minutes before we boarded the plane for Tokyo.

Because we had been bumped from our flight the day before they had upgraded us to "Business Class". We boarded the plane and discovered our good fortune. Along with "business class" came EVERYTHING one could ever want on a 14 hour flight including:
clean socks (which we all needed since our luggage was in tokyo)
slippers
toothbrush and toothpaste
pillow
blankets
lotion
earplugs
3 feet of leg room
completely reclining seats with leg extensions
hot nuts
hot towels
endless drinks
courvasier
wine
liquour
chivas
filet mignon
the zen feast (had every kind of seafood you could ever imagine)
movies
radar of where we were
hot pastrami and turkey sandwhiches
vegetables and fruit
and anything else we asked for.....which was a lot.

Thank you to the flight attendants for keeping us comfortable during the 14 hour flight. We also received a shout out from the pilot when we landed.

We departed the plane, walked through the airport to the baggage claim where ALL of our luggage was waiting for us. We breezed through customs, met our guide Tawn and loaded the bus for Camp Zama. Two hours later we arrived, set-up, soundchecked, grabbed some wonderful food, and played a show from 8:30 to 10. The show was great and the crowd was very grateful. We received a plaque and graciously headed to the hotel where we all showered for the first time in days, put on our ceremonial yukatas and obi's (komonos), had a quick band meeting, and CRASHED!

Quote of the day:
Jet lag? I just dont get it......I get on the plane, I fly for 14 hours, I get off the plane, I look at the clock, I look at the day.........what's the f****ing problem?! -chris holz

AFE Tour Blog Day 1: Controlled Chaos

We arrived at the Des Moines airport at approximately 7:45 a.m., checked in, got all our instruments and equipment on the plane, sang happy birthday to brando’s mom, said our goodbye’s, went through security… (only 3 of us got searched), gave several phone interviews to newspapers and news stations, met some very nice people, dealt with flight changes, and finally departed for Chicago at around 11:15 a.m.

We landed in Chicago and ran down to our connecting flight to Tokyo. When we arrived we were told they had already given our seats away because they overbooked the flight by more than 30 people; we must spend the night in Chicago and catch the same flight tomorrow. However, they did confirm that all of our luggage and equipment was on the plane and would be arriving in Japan on the originally scheduled flight. So…. now we are in Chicago with no clothes, toiletries, or any of our luggage. The airline did give us all hotel rooms, food vouchers, and bumped us up in class.

We grabbed some food and headed to the Wyndham O’Hare Hotel. What does a band do during an overnight layover in Chicago? We call friends!!! And luckily, we have some great ones. Our good friend, A.J., took the train and met us out at the hotel where we had befriended a few more people that had been bumped from the same flight (more about Brittany, Gary, and Chad later). After a cocktail or two at the hotel bar we all headed to A.J. and the infamous Ben-E-Ben’s place in Wrigleyville via the subway. We stayed at their apartment most of the evening; played card games, drank PBR, learned some japanese from Brittany, ate gyros, and discussed philosophy and fine-wine before their landlord decided we were having too much fun around 10pm. We then decided we should retreat back to the hotel and two hours later we arrived safe and sound were we spent the remainder of the night.

Originally, we were scheduled to arrive in Tokyo and then have a day to rest and recuperate from the flight. Now, we will arrive in Tokyo and play our first show 3 hours later.

It is sure to be an interesting day 2.