Jerome Lee Word Press Archive Blog Site

Tag: travel

  • Travel – How to get to the Show? (Originally posted on November 23, 2016)

    Travel – How to get to the Show? (Originally posted on November 23, 2016)

      When I look back at having done so many shows and gigs over the course of nearly five decades as a bass player, I am taken aback at the modes of transportation that I and various fellow band members have taken to arrive at the event. I remember early on for me it was buses, big, yellow, and lots of them, to get me to and from the many concerts that I played with my school district’s orchestras.

      Traveling within my school district was rather easy; the distances to travel to the district schools were not too far apart from each other. While there was not much travel for the elementary school orchestra that I attended, the amount of travel picked up considerably once I began to attend junior high school. During my seventh-grade year was the first time I heard the term “exchange orchestras” spoken by my elders. They told us orchestra students that we would join together with the other junior high orchestra in the school district to create one large orchestra. We were told that both junior high schools have been rehearsing a few of the same pieces during the school year. I was anxious to hear what two orchestras combined together would sound like.

      When the two school district junior high schools got together for the first time during my seventh-grade year, it was my first exchange orchestra experience. We traveled as an orchestra from our school to the other junior high school in our district; it was very different than traveling to another school as a sports team. But we still had our own school spirit, and all of the players in our orchestra wanted to play their best in the presence of another school orchestra. The big yellow school bus was the way to get there, with their firm to hard dark green seats, no seat belts, and so long and cavernous inside.

      As I moved on from eighth grade and became a high school freshman ninth grader, the travels that the school orchestra took were numerous when I look back on those days. Those big yellow school bus rides to events and concerts were not without the occasional mishap before traveling. Somehow, the emergency back door on one bus came open and an acoustic bass tumbled right out of it. The bus was parked at the time, and nobody got hurt, but I can tell you that the sound of an acoustic bass hitting and crashing onto the hard pavement in that parking lot was a sound that I will never forget. A sound that is hard to describe indeed!

      When I was playing with the high school orchestra, the travel became more extensive, and we did exchange concerts with high schools that were outside our school district with high schools on Long Island. And more of those big yellow school buses to ride around in. They were always an experience to be in. And for special event use, I had the privilege to ride in a station wagon car that was painted school bus yellow and adorned with the requisite lights to identify it as an official school bus. When I was a high school sophomore, a group of five orchestra players, including me, had been granted permission to travel to the elementary schools and demonstrate playing our chosen instruments for the young students. I remember how cool it was to get out of class and go play at the elementary schools that year. Hey, these are some of the perks for playing music well I realized.

      Travel by car became the main mode of transport after high school for a while. But soon came the vans, and the trucks that were often rented to get to shows with the band I joined right out of high school. I remember that most of the guys in that band would take turns riding along with the band’s equipment technician in either a van or a truck to the band’s shows. I took my turn in the van mostly and got to see Long Island and New York City from the view of an equipment van. Unique to be sure. But all of us wanted to ride with the band’s manager to the gigs; she had a small two-seater British sports car that we all loved. I got to ride to a couple of the band’s shows with her, she could really drive that car and that car could really fly when you stepped on in. That was fun for me.

      When I spent time in Japan in my early twenties, we got to band gigs mostly by cars and vans. The occasional gig there would be an equipment truck or two for the band’s backline and P.A. system. And just when I thought that I would not ride in one again, the band reserved a big school bus that was dark blue in color this time, to travel a long distance to some shows on the north part of Honshu Island. It was winter and cold, but that big bus had a heater that worked and that saved the day for us. And it was nice to travel at the height that a bus seats you. The view was very nice, and the landscape of Japan was beautiful to look at. I never said never again about riding in a big school bus, because, well, it could happen at any time!

      Most of the shows that I traveled to in the U.S. as a bass player have been by cars, but vans and rental trucks are included here as well. I would rent a truck sometimes for one band that I was leading in the high desert of southern California; we would make the 200-mile round trip to Los Angeles and do our shows there. The band would try to ride together to save on fuel, and so I would always try to rent a travel truck that had a compartment door leading to the cargo area in the back of the truck. The guys would bring something soft to sit on and ride on top of the backline and P.A. gear. We were all young and having fun in a good band, I enjoyed driving the truck and having a laugh with the band members.

      But as I moved on to Los Angeles as a bass player, the modes of travel began to include airline travel to and from shows. Traveling with the band on an airline is one of the fun experiences to have as a musician, I think. There is nothing like knowing that reason that you are riding on this aircraft is because you practiced at home as a musician, and you rehearsed very well as a band. I thought about the major label artists that I saw early on in my musical career and how they often traveled by air to their shows. I thought that it was a real privilege to travel by air to shows, and I felt that I would do so for as long as the opportunities presented themselves.

      Once I made the move to Europe and to the Netherlands, it became surprising at all of the modes of transportation that I took to get to shows. I traveled to shows in cars and vans when they were long distance from where I was living in Amsterdam, which was normal. And the travel by air to get to the concerts in Italy and elsewhere were special indeed. To travel by tram or bus in the city was easy once I learned the city routes. But what set apart my mode of travel once again was my use of a bicycle while I was living in Amsterdam. I walked around Amsterdam and used its public transport system during my first year living there. But once I got a good touring bicycle, that was how I got around for most of all of the remaining years that I spent there. You see, there is a very real bicycle culture in the Netherlands, and people there take their bicycle system and infrastructure quite seriously. It is possible to ride your bicycle safely from one end of the country to the other there, clearly marked bicycle paths that include traffic signals are everywhere, in every small village or town to every big city there is a place to ride your bicycle.

      And people who decide to drive cars there know that the person on a bicycle has the right of way, but things do happen. I did get hit by a taxi one day while I was riding my bicycle, I was not hurt too badly, and I was much angrier than hurt. I shouted at the driver, he knew what he had done, but he and his passenger stayed behind locked doors and rolled up windows as I shouted at them. When I was done, we went our separate ways.

      I thought to travel to as many shows as possible on my bicycle in the city of Amsterdam would be my way of getting around. I had purchased a touring bicycle that had a rack on the back wheel and a slightly smaller rack in the front wheel. These came in handy as I could wear my bass travel bag with my bass inside of it gently on the back wheel rack of my bicycle. On the front wheel would be my backpack that had cables and spare parts and sometimes gig clothes for the stage. Keep in mind that when on a bicycle, you’re out in the elements. The winters are very cold in Amsterdam, so I would dress very warmly to make sure that I would not get too cold on the way to my shows. And dressing properly afterward to make sure that I would be warm on the way home after a very late night/early morning gig when it was really cold outside.

      I also keep in mind how many people got around by boat in Amsterdam; there are more than we think. I always loved a boat ride on the canals in Amsterdam; each one was very special to me. It is the most different way that I have seen a city anywhere I have lived. So, I think that the shows that I played on the canal touring boats were just great. I met a guitarist and his sister who were doing a duo show on the touring boats and they asked me to join them. I did, and I must say that to ride my bicycle down to the dock with my bass and get on board the touring boat and play music for the entire 90-minute tour were some of the most memorable experiences that I had while living in Amsterdam.  I really liked doing that and I am so thankful to that guitarist for inviting me to join him and his sister. 

      I enjoyed my mode of transport by bicycle during my years of living in Amsterdam. I finally wore out the first bicycle that I bought, and I went back to the same bicycle repair shop that I bought it from and got another one. I rode that second bicycle until I left Amsterdam, and funnily enough I went back to the same bicycle repair shop and sold it back to the shop owner. We both laughed about this, and he was happy that I had taken good care of that bicycle so someone else could use it.

      Returning to the States, it has been back to cars and vans to travel to shows with along with the occasional airline mode of travel. It was strange when I sold my bicycle in Amsterdam; I went back to walking and using public transport to get around. But when I see the new driverless cars beginning to populate the roads here in the U.S., perhaps it is just a matter of time that I will get the privilege to travel to a show in one. And that will be a story in itself indeed. Happy trails to your next show and stay safe out there!

    Jerome in flight to a studio recording date in Parker, Colorado, 2014
    Jerome traveling to a show date on Sardinia Island, Italy 2008
    A sign showing the way back from a show by Jerome Lee City on Sardinia Island, Italy 2008
    Jerome Lee in Hesperia, California visiting an old friend for a reunion gig in Apple Valley, California, 2010
    Jerome would park his bicycle among the thousands of bicycles at Central Station, Amsterdam, the Netherlands during the late 1990’s
    Jerome Lee would very often travel by tram or by bus in order to get to shows, rehearsals, and giving music lessons in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Photo taken of Marnixstraat, Amsterdam, NL in 2000
    Sometimes a school bus gets the job done to get to and from the show!

  • The U.S.O., Bob Hope and Me (Originally posted on November 11, 2016)

    The U.S.O., Bob Hope and Me (Originally posted on November 11, 2016)

      As a child growing up in the late 1950’s and into the 1960’s I became interested in what we call “modern entertainment”, this is often referred to as “show business” or “show biz”. Watching the early evening variety shows on television exposed me to a number of celebrities who had made a name for themselves. While there were variety shows led by celebrities with big names, there were a small number of them who seemed to stand out from the rest. Among these standout celebrities was a man named Bob Hope. He stood out among the most popular of celebrities during that time period and for a lot of good reasons.

    As I grew old enough to understand what was going on with the war in Vietnam, I was watching on television as Bob Hope took an entourage of celebrity actors, musicians, dancers, and artists on several tours into the land where war was taking place. I was fascinated by this; I mean that there was a real war going on not too far from where he would stage his performances. The older folks around me would praise Mr. Hope for his efforts to entertain the troops in such environments. It was not the first time that celebrities would entertain the troops during wartime; I was reminded that during World War II many kinds of entertainment from celebrities took place. But somehow, watching what Bob Hope did during the Vietnam War to help the morale of thousands of troops had an impact on me. And I would unknowingly follow through with my own experiences of entertaining the troops later on in my own music life.

    While I was in the service, I began to truly entertain the troops once I had been stationed overseas in the Far East, in Japan during the late 1970’s. I had been teaching some other guys in the barracks there who wanted to learn to play the bass guitar. They were fun times to be sure. But one day a man I had not met before peeked his head in my door and started asking some music related questions about who I was. I answered him, and then he asked me if I would like to be in his band. I said yes, and we kept that band together for over a year and a half as we entertained the troops weekly at the base NCO club, and at other bases around Honshu Island in Japan. The band played contemporary jazz music mainly, but we would throw in a couple of the hit soul songs of the day for fun. Playing in that band got me used to the idea of playing music for the troops; I really liked to play music for the men and women on active duty.

      Once I had returned to the states in the early 1980’s, I finished my contractual duties with the service and was honorably discharged. At this point in my life, I was living in the high desert region of southern California. I had already put together a good band there, and we were entertaining the troops on the base there even while I was still in and on active duty. But once I was out, the shows for the troops did not end for my band. One night after a rehearsal, one of the parents of the band members suggested that I give the U.S.O. a call and inquire about playing music for their functions. A flood of memories came rushing back into my mind as I thought of those shows that I saw Bob Hope perform in Vietnam many years earlier. I was inspired by the thought, I wanted to walk down some of the path that Bob Hope did, even though the nation was not officially at war. I wanted to feel some of what he felt, and I wanted to do some good for the troops.

      After getting the phone number for the U.S.O. in Hollywood, I called them up and spoke to the director of that division. His name was Jim Balla, and he was a most gracious, kind and intelligent man to meet and to work with. My band was ready to go for the most part, but Jim let me know that it would be better for me to have a female lead singer fronting the band. He said that this would be better for the troops, and I understood why. After a short search and some auditions of female singers, the band began to work with a beautiful model/singer/artist from Los Angeles who wanted to be part of the experience.

      During the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, the U.S.O. notified me that they wanted to hold an Olympic Games closing party at their Hollywood facility. I accepted a contract for the show with them and later drove the band about 100 miles to Los Angeles to perform the event. It was great fun for the band, and our beautiful female lead singer kept the many troops there nicely entertained. There were many other young women there as well, and they all had a name tag with their names clearly printed on them. I asked Jim Balla who they were, and he told me that they were chaperones for the troops. They were there to dance and socialize with the troops, and to help keep their spirits up. After the event was over that night, I watched for a moment as all of the female chaperones got back on some big tour busses to be whisked away into the night. I told Jim that I thought working with the USO was a great experience for me, and that night I told him about my thoughts on Bob Hope.

      Having told director Jim Balla of the Hollywood U.S.O. about my admiration for Bob Hope and what he had done for the troops during wartime did not go unnoticed. Jim then later booked my band for a show out at a really large Army base in southern California. He said that we would be playing for several thousand troops at this show. I said OK, it will be good for my band to do this.

       When my band arrived at the Army base, we had traveled there in a few separate vehicles. I got out and spoke to one of the Army officers, he was thrilled that we were coming and told me that he had studied acoustical engineering while he was in college. He told me that he had found an area on the base that would serve as a natural amphitheater. The Army had already set up a pair of flatbed trailers for a stage and a diesel generator for power for the band gear at the show site. “Where is this place?” I asked. The Army officer let me know that we would have to drive out over six to seven miles of tank trails to get to the location. Wow. What an experience that was for the band. We were in passenger cars loaded down with backline gear, and one of the band members came in a pickup truck. It was a very slow and tough ride navigating the tremendous potholes left from the tanks on that trail to the concert site. What a journey that was.

      Once we had arrived at the flatbed trailers and diesel generator at the show site, we got all of our band gear out of the cars and set up on the two opposing flatbed trailers the Army had set up for a stage. There was a heavy piece of rubber mat material that covered the place where the two flatbed trailers came together; to keep a good safe place to step for us, and to keep things from falling through the gap between them. Setting up, it was amazing to see a huge, long line of personnel trucks bringing the troops out to the show site. And the Army officer that I had spoken with was right; the large rocky hillside that he had chosen for the event had the proper slope to it, just like you would see in a man-made amphitheater. It was perfect it seemed. As the troops arrived, the number went above 5,000 in number. Closer to show time, one of the officers informed me that there were over 6,000 troops that had come to see the show, all of them in their combat uniforms. 

      My band played an amazing show, and funnily enough, we were using a male lead singer for this show. But the U.S.O. told me that this was ok for this event. The stage lighting was austere as it was six 100-watt floodlight bulbs each inside a large portable light fixture. But this somehow worked out to light the band up for all the troops in attendance. The roar from the crowd of troops was deafening after each song. They were really appreciative of our being there. It was an amazing experience, and I thought of Bob Hope for a moment while the troops were cheering. And then I understood why he did his shows, and why he chose to go out into harm’s way to make things better for the troops.

      The U.S.O. in Hollywood did call me shortly afterward and asked me to return to that same Army base in southern California to play another concert. They laughed and reassured me that I would be on pavement the entire time for this show; they had heard about our adventures of driving miles across tank trails. They gave me their sincere thanks and a positive nod for doing that show with my band. And they kept their word on our return to that Army base, we set up the band on a nice stage in a good outdoor location on the base, it was easy to get to. The crowd was smaller this time too; around 2,000 troops showed up and had a great time with the band. Again, it was a good experience for me and my band; we played well and had fun.

      The U.S.O. shows and bookings lasted for more than a year with my band; we played for the different branches of the services and did our best to entertain them all. We did this and we wanted to be there, to bring our best to the troops. To this day, I still ask young bands if they had ever considered playing for the U.S.O. Because playing music for the U.S.O. it is a unique experience to have as a musician, to be a part of those kinds of experiences is very special to all who are involved. And I did this because I was inspired by a man named Bob Hope, a man of talent, wisdom, courage and conviction who did the shows that other top celebrities probably would not have done. Rest in Peace Bob Hope.

    And my eternal thanks to the U.S.O. for the great music event experiences for the troops that I was honored to participate in during my lifetime.

    Bob Hope and Raquel Welch at a U.S.O. show in Vietnam 1966
    Bob Hope in stripes at a U.S.O. show in Vietnam during the 1960’s
    Bob Hope and Rosey Greer at a U.S.O. show in Vietnam during the 1960’s
    Bob Hope entertains troops at a U.S.O. show in Vietnam, 1967
    Bob Hope stands on stage and smiles with Les Brown’s band, during a 1967 USO show to entertain American troops overseas during the conflict in Vietnam.
    My band Fat Sound Incorporated (FSI) in 1984 played many U.S.O. shows in Southern California 1984-1985