Photo By 1st Lt. Jenny Wright | Capt. Paul Daigle, left, and Josh Baker, center, and Chief Warrant Officer Todd...... read more read more
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By 1st Lt. Jenny Wright
1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Taking time to unwind in a combat zone is not easy. Weekends tend to be just a couple more days of focusing on the mission, and entertainment choices are limited.
An event at Camp Taji's Mudhouse Coffee Shop, in Camp Taji, Iraq, however, has some Soldiers and airmen thanking God it's Friday each week.
The Mudhouse has become a venue for several amateur musicians and bands, including the Taji Mountain Boys, a Bluegrass band consisting of three Apache Pilots. Capt. Josh Baker, Capt. Paul Daigle and Chief Warrant Officer Todd Campbell, all of 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227 Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division are one of the biggest hits of the Mudhouse's Open Mic Night each Friday evening.
"The Mudhouse," a donor and volunteer based coffeehouse on Camp Taji, has hosted the event every Friday night since July.
The two captains, already avid music lovers, started the band in March after a few jam sessions during which Daigle learned to play rhythm bluegrass on his guitar. Baker gave him some pointers, and a few months later, they performed for a good-sized Mudhouse crowd.
The Taji Mountain Boys band was officially born.
Hearing good live music – especially bluegrass – is a rarity for deployed Soldiers. The fast-paced, twangy banjo seems to captivate the audience, especially on the Taji Mountain Boys unlikely signature song, "Ice, Ice Baby."
Among the band's fans is Spc. Garrett Allen, Company B, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st ACB, a native of Portage, Wis.
Allen brought along some of his friends to a recent appearance to introduce them to the band's unique sound.
"Nobody pumps up the crowd like these guys," Allen said. "Here in Iraq, it is really nice to hear these guys play. It almost makes you forget that you are stuck in Iraq; in a combat zone."
Baker, the banjo player, of Fayetteville, Ga., said he has been playing for 12 years. He picked up a banjo that was lying around his house and took it to the Opry House in Hollonville, Ga. It was there that he said he met his first teacher, Lynwood Lynch, who showed him "the basic banjo rolls; after that I mostly learned by ear."
The banjo that he plays with is an Alvarez Silverbell he has had for eight years; it's currently on its second deployment.
"When I deployed over here this time, it was in pieces. Some of the Soldiers from my shops platoon helped modify the wood so all the pieces would fit properly."
Though this banjo is probably the most beat up – he has seven of the instrument – his favorite is a custom-made Crafters of Tennessee Banjo.
The musicians that have inspired Baker include Earl Scruggs, Don Reno and J.D. Crowe. The Taji Mountain Boys is not the first band that Baker has played with. He was a member of the "Bluegrass Veterans," which, as its name implies, consisted of other military members and veterans who enjoyed playing bluegrass.
Baker, the commander of Company D, 1-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, said he doesn't get to "pick the 'banjer' as much as he would like."
Commanding the maintenance company of an Apache helicopter battalion takes up most of his time, and the three members of Taji Mountain Boys usually can only practice anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before going on stage at the Mudhouse.
Daigle, the band's guitarist, from Ft. Pierce, Fla., has been playing the guitar for 15 years and also has been in several bands.
In high school, he was in a punk rock band called "The Worms" that played ska-punk type music. In college, he played in a 1980s cover band.
While his mainstay remains jam-rock bands such as the Dave Matthews Band and Of A Revolution, Daigle is a big fan of the bluegrass scene. His favorites in the genre are the likes of Tony Rice, Sam Bush and the Lonesome River Band. He has been picking bluegrass for six months now and said he enjoys the chance to play something new.
The guitar Daigle plays with now is a Samick acoustic that he has owned for 17 years. It, too, is on its second deployment. Daigle has a collection of four guitars, one of which he earned in a 1-227th ARB raffle that was held Aug. 2006 back at Fort Hood. It quickly became his favorite – a $6,000 Crafters of Tennessee guitar.
"It's definitely a collector's item," he said.
Daigle, the assistant operations officer for his battalion, juggles many different responsibilities on top of his band practice.
"I fly missions three times a week on top of acting as the senior planner for the battalion," he said.
His responsibilities include working with the ground forces to coordinate missions, passing along reconnaissance information and synchronizing the battalion's efforts. Daigle also plays guitar for Camp Taji's Catholic mass on Saturdays.
Despite their busy schedules, the members of Taji Mountain Boys are able to find some down time to entertain the loyal audience at the Mudhouse each Friday night.
"The big thing about bluegrass music is that it is a very social style of music," Baker said. "It evolved in the hills of Appalachia when they had nothing else to do but play music. Groups of people would get together and that was the form of entertainment. So just like the people that grew up in the mountains that didn't have anything but the music, we find ourselves in a similar situation. You can only watch so many ... DVDs and play XBOX for so long."
Campbell, an instructor pilot from Company A, 1-227th ARB, is the Taji Mountain Boys' newest member. In addition to flying 20 to 25 hours a week, he has requested to work an extra day solely to be afforded the opportunity to get together and play with Baker and Daigle on Friday nights, he said.
Campbell has been playing the bass guitar for a year and half.
He said he packed his bass guitar when the battalion deployed to "take up my free time and see if I could get any better at it."
Campbell has played at the Mudhouse since the end of August and really enjoys it, he said.
"It is a whole different energy level playing in front of people. It's a lot more fun than just playing (solo)." Campbell's musical interests, like Daigle's, are vastly different from what he is playing now. His favorite genres are blues and jazz, but Campbell thinks he will stick with bluegrass for a while.
The longevity of the Taji Mountain Boys is uncertain; the two captains plan on playing together at least while they are both stationed at Fort Hood. Baker and Daigle have already made plans to attend one of the largest bluegrass festivals in the United States. The February festival is hosted by the Society for Preservation of Blue Grass Music in America, located in Nashville, Tenn.
Until then, this trio will be bringing the sounds of back home to the Soldiers and airmen on Camp Taji.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2007 08:07 |
| Story ID: | 12367 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 569 |
| Downloads: | 331 |
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