Front Row Center: Yellowcard in Kuwait

Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 14-Jan-08 @ 05:23 PM

This past week has been quite an experience. Sean, Mendez, and myself travelled to the Middle East to perform for our service men and women stationed there. It was 19 hours of flying each way and we just got back today. While we were there we had been scheduled to play in Kuwait the first day and then head north into Iraq for the rest of the trip. At the last minute the President came in after his visit to Israel which made it impossible to get a flight north. All of the resources there were being used for security. So we made some changes and ended up playing the bases in and around Kuwait instead.

Even though we didn't get to be in Iraq and fire machine guns out of the sides of helicopters and drive tanks (which were just a couple of the things we were hoping to do), it was still an amazing trip for the three of us. We played the shows acoustic which gave us the chance to really hang out with the troops during the show. We really felt like we were bringing a piece of home to them and could tell how grateful they were to spend some time away from their normal routine. We have never held our tongues when it came to our feelings about the war in Iraq, however we have always said that although we may not support the entire mission, we will always support the men and women who are there.

We would like to thank everyone there that came to the shows and especially those that took care of us while we were there. It was something we will remember for as long as we live. We wish only for everyone there to return home safe.

-Ryan Key, Yellowcard

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