FLYING HIGH IN THE SKY......PRIVATE PLANES 101

We have had some adventures in tiny, private planes. They sometimes don't leave from the giant airports' terminals, so it's much easier to board and clear customs. Checking in 9-18 people with bags and gear is often hours of work, but it's smooth sailing, in the little, welcoming, private airports. The planes don't fly high so you have much less turbulence, which everyone loves! You can bring food and drinks and you don't get arrested for saying the word "bomb."



The first time I was in a small plane, was when I was young child and Dad took me to some crazy backwoods' airshow and put me in a tiny plane with a kamikaze pilot. I survived somehow and went on to my next small plane adventure...heading to the Xavantes' Tribe in Brazil! It was loud in the aircraft and we had a bit of roughness in flight....just enough to make you borderline queasy! I will never forget when I looked out the window and saw the round, grassy roofs of the tribe's homes below us!! The forest seemed to go on forever, rounding over the horizon! It was magnificent!

The next trip was a somber one and happened when we were leaving Donnington in 1996. I won't elaborate, but I will send a loving shout-out to Sharon and Ozzy for this comfort.

KORN was next on the list. Soulfly toured Russian and Belorussian hockey arenas as support, and I admit, we had some deliciously nutty flights to share! Like the time the promoter drank Marc Rizzo's entire flask of moonshine! And let's not forget Marc Rizzo's famous rant! Oh, such tight quarters to laugh in!! This was one of the super nice planes and the two stewardesses were superb fun! We all bonded on this tour...in various ways...right, Kanky?

Recently we had 2 jaunts in the small as a Sharpie airplanes. We flew from Reykjavik, Iceland to Neskaupstaour, Iceland for a festival recently. It was a serene flight with the beauty of Iceland below us, like carpet. Mountains and pastures untouched, slit by icy creeks and slippery waterfalls. It was surreal!

As some of you know, one way or another, Return to Roots played 2 festivals in one day this August. It wasn't easy and the production of making it all happen perfectly took a couple weeks to design. The band was booked at Wacken in the afternoon and 30 miles outside Lyon, France, at midnight. The trouble was, there were no flights available! We eventually had to hire a private plane and flip on over to France. The flight was cool, however we didn't know that once we landed, it was 30 miles of driving through dirt roads on cornfields! The corn stalks were taller than the van we were in and it was quite dark outside. Kind of similar to a Children of theCorn episode! The crew had 17 minutes to set up, line check and start the intro, and they did it! I won't say there was no chaos, but heck, how boring would life be if every day was perfect?

Class dismissed.......