Japan/ Singapore 6/30/25-7/11/25
6/30/25-7/1/25
Leaving a day early for an overnight stay in Los Angeles before meeting up with the band, Autumn Kings. All went well with no travel problems. Got some sleep and headed to the airport to meet the band when they arrive. Their flight out of Detroit was delayed for almost an hour, which will be cutting it close to make the connection for the flight to Tokyo. As soon as their flight landed I got a notification that the flight to Tokyo has been delayed by 2 hours. Then another text saying it will be delayed another hour. No problem making the connection now. This gives everyone plenty of time to grab some food before the long flight.
Received another text, flight is delayed for an additional 3 hours. Luckily we are on a direct flight and not going to miss any connections. We finally board around 3:00, long day of waiting followed by a long flight. We arrive in Tokyo around 8:30 pm and have an hour and a half bus ride to Camp Fuji marine base. Our contact, Pon Setabuta, has our room keys ready for us on the bus and we get to our rooms for some much needed sleep. 8:30 am lobby call for sound check, doing 2 shows tomorrow.
7/2/25
Everyone is up and ready to get the day started. I was up at 4:30 and got to see Mt. Fuji before the cloud cover concealed it. We have breakfast at lodging and meet our driver at 8:30. After a short drive we arrive at the Roadhouse Club for sound check. The production company is running about an hour behind schedule. Going to be a tight window for the first show at 11:30. Had a few issues at sound check, but got it worked out just before show time.
The base is celebrating the fourth today and have a big cookout, sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation. The first show went great. There are still a few kinks to work out with the sound because of the limited time beforehand. The band stayed around after the first set to get the sound fine tuned before the second show tonight. After a bite to eat we headed back to lodging before the 6:00 pm lobby call.
After a little down time, we make it back to the Roadhouse for the second show. Showtime kicks off on time at 7:00. The crowd is super energetic and everyone is having a great time. The band was supposed to have a 15 minute break in the show, but decided to play straight through because the audience energy was so high. It was a great show.
After the show the band hung around and took pictures with everyone. There was a small group that had seen them on a previous tour and drove for 2 hours to see this show. The guys remembered meeting them and it was great to just be able to hang out. We made it back to lodging for some sleep and have a travel day to Misawa AFB tomorrow.
7/3/25
Traveling to Misawa today. This will be the bands first time at Misawa and my second time. Misawa is a good sized base compared to Camp Fuji. We made it to the airport on time with no delays on the flight. It’s a short 1 hour flight and we are met by the ‘J team’, Jared, Amanda, Sheena, Saori, and our driver Tummy. Before we go to lodging we stop and get some food at Hamasushi. The guys chowed down, I however am a picky eater and I usually lose a few pounds on these trips. I will eat well the next couple of days though because the base has a ton of food options. After dinner it’s a short ride to lodging and we’re in for the night. Show is tomorrow for the big 4th of July celebration. Lobby call at 9:30.
7/4/25
Today is show day for the big 4th of July celebration on the base. We have breakfast delivered to the hotel by the J team at 8:30, it was delicious. After breakfast, we head to the beach for sound check. It’s an outdoor stage right on the lake and they have a lot of other festivities going on as well. After working out a few kinks and almost blowing out everyone’s ear drums, sound check goes smooth. After sound check we went to lunch at the golf course restaurant. Last time I was here the course was covered in snow and no chance at playing any. This trip I will get to play tomorrow, very happy about that. After lunch and some quick photos with the girls in the pro shop we head back to lodging for some down time before the show.
We all load up on the bus back to the venue at 5:15. Looks like rain, but there are quite a few people there for the celebration. No one seems to be bothered by the weather. The show kicks off right at 6:00 and the crowd is hyped. The guys put on a great show, even with the light rain. The crowd is having a blast and is high energy, Joe even jumps down in the crowd during one of the songs. The guys decide to do a full 90 minute set instead of the scheduled 75 minutes because of the crowds energy. The show ends with just enough time before the fireworks start. The fireworks show is awesome, and we have a front row seat. After all the festivities are done, it’s food, lodging, shower, and bed.
7/5/25
We have the day off today and Jared has got us set up with some recreational activities on base. Jake, Henry, and myself are going to meet Sheena’s husband Chris at the golf course for a round. The rest of the guys are meeting up with some of the J crew to play paintball. The golf course is very nice, but Jake is only going to play 9 holes. We leave him at the restaurant where he will meet up with the rest of the band for lunch while we finish the last 9 holes. The guys that played paintball said it was 5 of them vs. 6 airmen and they won every matchup. I guess Canadians do know how to shoot a gun. After me, Henry, and Chris finish our round of golf we have some time for rest before dinner. We were going to eat on base but decided to go to a restaurant in town. Being the picky eater I am, I decided to stay behind and opted for a double whopper with cheese from Burger King, and yes it was delicious! After everyone returned from dinner, we were joined by Jared for cigars and drinks. It was a good chill night before having dinner to leave in the morning to go to Singapore.
7/6/25
Today will be a long travel day that includes a 12 hour layover in Tokyo. Jared had breakfast for us at 8:00 before an 8:30 lobby call to leave for the airport. We make it to Tokyo with no problems and are heading in to town to sightsee in Tokyo during our layover. We decided to take the train to Shibuya crossing and hang around that area. We don’t want to travel too far because we don’t want to miss our flight and the train rides are a little confusing. Henry was very good about figuring out our routing which took a lot of my stress away. I was nervous about getting lost on the wrong train but we made it just fine. We had a couple hours to kill before leaving for Singapore.
7/7/25
We arrive in Singapore around 6:30 am and are staying at the crown plaza at the airport, so just a short walk. After check in, the breakfast buffet is already open and we meet there after dropping bags in the room. The guys are loving the buffet. It’s not your typical continental breakfast. After breakfast it’s shower and sleep time for most everybody. We have the rest of today and the next 2 days off to explore in Singapore. Jake and Marty had already gone into town by the time the rest of us got up. Me, Henry, Troy, and Joe caught a taxi and went sightseeing the rest of the afternoon into the early evening before going back to the hotel. John hung around the hotel and airport and did his own thing. The hotel and airport are really nice with a lot of food options, especially in the new Jewel wing of the airport. The Jewel wing is a big dome shaped structure with a huge waterfall/vortex in the middle surrounded by a huge shopping mall. The prices are very reasonable. The only downside to staying here is having to pay the taxi fares when we want to go into the city and back.
7/8/25
We still have today and tomorrow off. The guys are still raving about the breakfast buffet. We all went into the city as a group later in the afternoon and checked out the area around the Marina Bay Sands (hotel with the cruise ship on top) and the Gardens by the bay where the lit up super trees are. After the gardens we walked over to the area I’m familiar with to eat at the little Mexican restaurant I like. We were going to go back to the gardens to see them at night, but the guys liked the vibe of the area so we decided to hang out there before heading back to the hotel. Not much excitement, but a good day of checking out the sights.
7/9/25
Another day off today. We gorged ourselves at breakfast again and are going to hang around the hotel/airport before going into the city just before dark. Joe and Jake have a dinner date with someone from their label and will meet up afterwards. The rest of us go and see the Merlion statue before they light the super trees up at the gardens and then there is a light show on the water at the bay. Again not anything too exciting, but a good day of sightseeing. Tomorrow will be the last show day and then headed back to the states after the show.
7/10/25
Lobby call to go to the base is not until 2:00 pm so everyone is just going to relax around the hotel. Everyone is talking about how much they are going to miss eating the breakfast buffet. It’s a great buffet.
The guys from the base, Isham and Pay, arrive with the vans around 1:30 and we head out for sound check. My nasal cavity is on fire and I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with something. When we arrive at the venue the production crew is still not set up. It takes the guys about 30-40 minutes to get set up and sound check goes fine after that. About an hour to kill before showtime. The guys have a room to hang out in with plenty of snacks and fresh fruit. My nose is on fire, not good.
The crowd for the show was not very big, but the ones that were there were having a great time. The guys gave them a really personable show. I spent most of the show back and forth clearing out my sinuses. After the show the guys hung out with everyone, taking pictures and having good conversations. We are able to leave for the hotel on time to be able to clean up before heading to the terminal and home. The flight leaves at 1:10 am.
7/11/25
We were all able to get in a shower and check out of the hotel on time. We take the sky train to terminal 2 and catch a bus to terminal 4. We all get checked in, bags checked, and head to security. Everyone but Marty made it through just fine. Marty had a keychain souvenir he bought in Japan in his carry on. Problem was it was a throwing star. The situation caused them to call for a supervisor who studied it for a few minutes. Then it escalated to having the police come over. After some conversation and “required” paperwork, they confiscated it and sent him on his way. I thought for sure he was going to get fined. After that, it was almost time for the flight. I had enough time to eat and found a fried chicken place, thank god. Not a fan of airplane food.
The flight to Seoul is slightly delayed which is fine for me, but cuts it close for the band. They have a short layover and I have a long 8 hour one. After almost an 8 hour flight we make it to the guys gate a little before boarding starts for their flight to Detroit. I thank them again for the great time we had and for being so passionate about entertaining the troops. We say our goodbyes and my long journey begins.
Have to kill a bunch of time just hanging out. Found a burger joint and ate again before the long flight. My flight to Seattle boards on time, but took another hour before we actually took off. Now I’m going to be pushing it in Seattle to make a connection. It’s a 12+ hour flight to Seattle and I sleep most of the way. I did get up for eggs and bacon breakfast, but still airplane breakfast.
I make it to Seattle with barely enough time to go through ticketing, security, pop off my mouth to a TSA agent, and make it to my gate. Luckily the incoming flight was delayed 15 minutes and didn’t start boarding on time. The delay does make it a tight window for my connection in Denver. I got lucky again and my flight out of Denver is delayed as well, which is fine because I didn’t miss the flight. After we board and we taxi out. The pilot informs us that we are 20th in line to take off, again due to storms. After about 15 minutes he says we are rerouting and can take off in the other direction immediately. This is good but it’s going to add almost another hour to the flight time. At this point I don’t care, I’m on the last plane that gets me home. Finally make it to Nashville and Lindsey picks me up. I go to Mom’s and grab my dog. After almost exactly 40 hours of travel I finally get to my house, my bed, and my fan.
