Photo By Sgt. Breeanna Pierce | Mike Wright, a civilian employee with Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Police,...... read more read more
BAGHDAD – For six U.S. service members assigned to Forward Operating Base Union III, what began simply as a means to unwind after a day’s work has now turned into a part-time occupation performing at a wide variety of events around the FOB.
As they continued to work off stress, they found a name for their burgeoning band – MEC, short for the Minimum Essential Chords they use in their music.
“You can sit behind your desk for 16 to 18 hours a day, but you need to get out from behind your desk for a little while and go do physical training, watch some TV, or go read a book,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bill Welch, chief of United States Forces-Iraq’s J5 Forward, who plays guitar and provides vocals for the band. “My sanity check is playing my guitar.”
The members discovered their musical therapy just a few months ago after a rehearsal with the FOB Union III Praise Band.
“We got together around mid-December,” said Welch, a native of Leavenworth, Kan.
“They just started jamming at rehearsals for praise band together,” said Barbara Jeffery, a transmissions specialist with the USF-I J6 staff, who periodically serves as a guest soloist with the band, and provided vocals for the song “Stairway to Heaven,” during the band’s performance at the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad.
The band’s six regular members include civilian employees, enlisted service members and military officers.
“We actually have a pretty good mix across the FOB,” said Welch who paid his way through college by playing guitar in a band. “We have officer, enlisted, military, civilian, Army, Navy, and Air Force. A really good mix that I think represents the population over here.”
“These guys are such an explosion of talent,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Yetter, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the FOB Union III mailroom and a vocalist in the band. “I’m lucky to be up on stage with these guys.”
Along with Welch and Yetter, the band includes: U.S. Army Col. Wes Osburn, the senior advisor to the Iraqi Deputy Chief of Staff of Training, on drums, U.S. Air Force Capt. Carlos Jayme, the strategy and policy team leader for USF-I J6’s Iraqi Communications Capacity Engagement office; U.S. Army Staff Sgt. William Allen, the operations NCO for the FOB Union III Mayor Cell Information Systems Management Officer, on electric guitar; Mike Wright, a civilian with Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Police, on bass; and U.S. Navy Chief Ray Dannemiller, the NCOIC of motor transportation for the International Zone, who is the band’s sound manager.
For the wide variety of people that make up the band, they all agreed on what type of music they wanted to play.
“We found that we all had a common interest in the type of music, the style of songs, and the same artists,” Welch said.
The band’s musical focus ranges from classic rock by bands like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to current songs by groups like Train.
“Several of us already had songs chorded out, so it was really easy to throw out 15 to 20 songs that we already knew. It was just a matter of putting it together,” Welch said. The majority of the band members already knew the chords for songs from previous band experience. For the rest of the music, they listened to it and learned the chords by ear.
As the band continued to perform together, they started grabbing people’s attention.
“They started sounding really good,” said Jeffery, a native of Akron, Ala.
“Someone heard we had a band, and then asked us to play our first gig,” said Dannemiller, a native of Kings Bay, Ga.
The band’s first performance was for the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission holiday party.
“As we got to the end of our set, the crowd kept asking for more songs,” said Yetter, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., who is enjoying his first experience performing in a band.
As the band started to earn a reputation around Union III, the members discovered they needed to find a name for the band.
“Being in the Army, it is all about acronyms, so MEC was a common acronym that was developed over here that stood for ‘Minimum Essential Capabilities,’” Welch said.
MEC was a list of capabilities that Iraqi Security Forces needed to be able to perform in order to be considered mission-ready, Welch said. “It’s a list of prerequisites for service member to be able do their jobs to advise, train, assist and equip the Iraqi government.”
The band chose the name MEC for their band so they could relate their stress-relief to their actual mission here within USF-I, Welch said.
“For our name, we thought, ‘we’re a simple band, we play simple songs.’ We wanted to use the ‘Minimum Essential Chords’ for the songs so we figured we’d use the same term as MEC for our name.”
As MEC continued to play at events such as a farewell for a fellow service member and small concerts in the community center, they began to attract more attention, landing them an audition to play over at Baghdaddy’s, a club at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq.
“We actually had to audition,” said Wright, a native of Tampa, Fla., who has been playing the bass since junior high school.
One of the important aspects of the audition for Baghdaddy’s was MEC’s set list. The music they played needed to fit the audience.
“We just needed to make sure they fit our demographic, which covers such a wide variety,” said Sandeep K. Paul, a desk officer for the U.S. Embassy’s Office of Provincial Affairs. “They’re set list covers it.”
MEC’s set list of classic and modern rock music proved to persuade the organizers of Baghdaddy’s to give the band the gig, but the idea of playing for a crowd that wasn’t exactly filled with their closest friends fueled them to practice, working towards making sure every song was right.
“When you’re playing this kind of music, people expect it to be a certain way,” Welch said. “I’ve seen bands booed off the stage because they butchered Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven.’”
The band’s hard work and dedication paid off March 4, the night of its Baghdaddy’s debut. The crowd showed their overwhelming appreciation for MEC, asking for encores and even offering requests for songs they had already performed.
“They love them,” said Lamont Wheeler, a satellite television technician at the Embassy. “I’ve been here for two years and I know the crowd, so trust me, they like them!”
“You know they’re doing well because everyone’s bobbing their head,” Dannemiller said during the Baghdaddy’s performance.
One audience member was so impressed by their performance that he mistakenly thought MEC was a full-time service band.
“I thought they were one of those service bands that travel around,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Wochok, who works with the USF-I J9’s Energy and Services Division. “They’re really good!”
MEC impressed the crowd so much that many expressed a desire to see them play at Baghdaddy’s in the future.
“This is the first time I’ve seen that many people on the dance floor,” said Tim Evans, the lead carpenter at the U.S. Embassy, and a four-year regular of Baghdaddy’s. “They have to come back to play!”
MEC, a band borne as a deployment stress outlet, has grown into a local sensation that not only continues to awe friends and fellow service member at FOB Union III, but gained the respect and following of U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, employees. No matter what opportunity next presents itself, MEC will continue to play, just for the fun of it and to “let off steam.”
Editor’s note: DuBuke is a member of the Maryland Army National Guard’s 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment attached to the U.S. Forces-Iraq Deputy Commanding General for Advising and Training Public Affairs Office.
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2011 06:17 |
| Story ID: | 68520 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 436 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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