Courtesy Photo | Uncle Kracker performs for service members during a base concert July 3 at Joint Base...... read more read more
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Story by: Sgt. Chad Menegay
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Like most service members here in Iraq, Uncle Kracker spent the July 4th holiday weekend at work—thousands of miles from fireworks and family barbecues.
Lead singer and front man Uncle Kracker, also known as Matthew Shafer, said he told his wife that coming to Iraq is the least he can do to show support for deployed service members.
“But, I’ve gotta be honest, when we decided to come over here, some of us were a little scared, some of us were [expletive] our pants,” Shafer said.
The band, which flew July 3 on a C-130 from Victory Base Complex, Iraq to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, will begin a three-month tour of the United States July 9 at the county fair in Jefferson, Wis., in support of Uncle Kracker’s recent country music EP “Happy Hour: The South River Road Session.”
The album, released June 22, features country remakes from the 2009 release, “Happy Hour,” and a new collaborative single, “Good to Be Me,” with Uncle Kracker’s friend, Kid Rock.
“I think it’s good for any artist to try to get into different music,” said Spc. Wayne Lovin, a combat medic with H Troop, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and a Rogersville, Tenn., native. “It’s always good to try and do a change, and that’s with anything in life. Uncle Kracker is getting older, and it’s good to gain more popularity with different age groups and ethnicities.”
Uncle Kracker has experienced relative success on the pop charts over the last decade with hit singles “Smile,” “Follow Me,” “Drift Away” and “When the Sun Goes Down.” He has displayed some diversity. He began his career as a disc jockey for Kid Rock, rapped on his own first album “Double Wide” in 2000, co-wrote Kid Rock’s No. 1 hit “All Summer Long” and hits “Bawitdaba,” “Cowboy,” “Forever,” and “Only God Knows Why.” Now he’s singing country.
“I like his music a lot,” said Pfc. Richard Meacham, a signal support systems specialist for the 540th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd ESC and a Newman, Ga., native. “I like that he does all types of music. He’s very versatile.”
Uncle Kracker said all of the service members he met so far on his Middle East tour were courteous and professional.
“My band and I have been having a ball,” he said.
“I hope more celebrities come out to bring the morale of the troops up,” Meacham said. “It’s good to be able to have a break.”
Lovin said it is a good break to get away from all the pressures of the job, just to enjoy the music, camaraderie and have fun.
“We just came here to play music,” Uncle Kracker said. “I thought about what I wanted to say when I got over here for a while, and then I thought ‘hey, you idiot, just say thanks.’”
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 06:35 |
| Story ID: | 52580 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 366 |
| Downloads: | 248 |
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