The Tali Band

Valentine’s Day turned out to be something special at HQ ISAF – turns out there was a live band playing. WHAT?!?! A live band – I am so there. :) So 8 o’clock rolled around, and I made my way to the Milano restaurant to see what was going on. There was a band there alright – and they were very good. There had to be about 9 folks up on stage, 3 guitars, 2 acoustics (one doubling on mandolin), bass, drums, trombone, 2 singers (in addition to 2 guitar players that also sang), keyboards. . . I think that was it. They were doing cover tunes – stuff you would know from the radio – songs from the 70’s & 80’s – and they were doing very well. Here I am, Kabul Afghanistan, and there’s a live band playing. How cool.

As a point of reference – and reading this blog you should realize this by now – I am a musician. I love music. I play in a couple bands and as a worship musician at church. Knowing as I did that it was possible that there would be some downtime while I was stationed here, I brought with me a few items that would help me pass the time – including one of my basses. I brought my fretless custom Wilkat/Anderson/BEE with me so I could practice my intonation on the fretless and just get more comfortable playing it. I mean, I’ve only had it for, what – maybe 6 months by now. So I knew there would be time on my hands, and what better way to spend it than by honing my craft. I know the guys back home are working on writing a new cd – in StrangeLand – and DC Key just finished a cd – so there may be gigs to play. What could be better?!

The band played through a set for about an hour – then they went on a break. I grabbed the bass player, Mark, introduced myself, and asked if they would need a bass player at some time in the near future. He was very friendly and nice, and instructed me to come on in to a practice, and they would be more than happy to have me. Sweet! I was in! I listened to the rest of the set, and then turned in for the night with a plan.

I attended practice and met the guys, who all introduced themselves (including “Jim” – who I later learned was a Brigadier General in the UK Marines!). Very nice folks – and some very talented folks. The band included folks from all over base, and all over the world. LtCol’s in the USAF, a LtCDR from Canada, a BG from the UK, a Major from New Zealand, and on and on. This band was a pretty diverse group – and as we played and learned the songs, I found them to be a talented group as well.