My children went to school with Mike Aguilera, who had enlisted in the Marine Corps. He helped me contact the right personal, so I could send my troops into Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, located in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It took some clearances and direction, but soon we were authorized to enter the base and kick some ass, Max Style!! I only had to plan a day off in our tour and make it fit!
Soon enough, our bus was rolling into the secure landscape, boarded with 2 Marines, escorting us. They were super pumped for the show and we were all in awe! They lead us to a parking lot set up for our rager, and we prepared for our battle! A grill was brought in, with a pile of food, and the day began!! A flat bed of a truck became a drum riser and a tank evolved into a backdrop!
When the band started, you could tell the Marines wanted to jump into the pit, but they had uniforms on and were conditioned to a specific behavior, and it wasn't moshing! Their Captain arrived soon after, and permission to grind was delivered! A quick rush ran through our veins and theirs and soon, it was one uniform flow of thrash! After the last riff rolled out, Max was presented with a plaque from the 2nd Marine, Tank Battalion and Soulfly was given some military coins, which are a form of medals. I was given a big thank you for organizing, because WE WERE THE FIRST ARTISTS TO PLAY FOR NO CHARGE!!! Can you imagine!! All the artists through the years publicizing their grand performances for the military and not of them could give a show for free.
The Marines escorted us to the PX for some shopping. We got some sick Marine swag and I added a George Bush doll to my doll collection! Some of us even got to sit in the tanks and check out the games inside, which were designed to hunt combative enemies...similar to a video game! I admit I left a red lipstick print on the inside of the tank. It seemed like the thing to do, at the time. Remember when I drank the albino cobra blood in Indonesia? Sometimes, you just gotta roll with it!
As we exited, a young soldier jumped onboard the bus and cruised out with us. Seemed strange to me, but who the heck in our bus, knew the rules? Apparently you cannot leave the base wearing the type of uniform he had on. He was a bit alcohol-ed up, and we were all sharing quizzical looks but hey, what the heck? When he tried to convince Christina and me to head back to the base in the dark and joyride in a tank, we knew excitement was coming, Christina and I didn't feel like being on CNN, so the Marine decided to take a walk to Taco Bell with Max. Bad decision!!
Max got alarmed as several off base Marines driving by started yelling at the soldier about being out in his uniform. The Marine yelled back "Don't you see I am with Max Cavalera!" In no time at all, the circle pit around this dude became serious, as his Commander rolled up. Soon enough, the Marine was in a headlock and the Captain said "you will be cleaning latrines for the next 6 months!!" I imagine he would be cleaning them with big hangover...
We returned again to Camp Lejeune, special request from the Marine Corps, and gave them the best Soulfly around! It was a small gift to give men who were willing to give their life for our country and for people like us to live free! As July 4th approaches and the fireworks soar, remember what it's all about. Remember who it is for. It's for ALL Americans and their freedom to live free! It's not for us to be bullied, lied to, killed, or to have our rights taken away, by self serving zealots. United We Stand. Divided We Fall.
Class dismissed......
