Interview with Clifton Hicks – an Iraq veteran, a banjo player and a friend.

 

Today marks the 5-year anniversary of the War in Iraq (originally Operation Iraqi Freedom). The justifications have changed, but the age-old questions of reason, power, money and humanity remain.

Clifton served in Iraq and departed the Army as a Conscientious Objector. He is now the Gainesville Chapter President for Iraq Veteran’s Against the War (IVAW). Playing the banjo is a passion and a hobby.

 

What years were you in the Army?

May 14, 2003 - December, 26 2005

 

What time of that was spent in Iraq?

October 2003 - July 2004

  

Your specific duty?

Officially I was a tank driver but mostly I was used as a gunner on an armored humvee. I was in charge of the .50 caliber heavy machine gun. Later on we didn't have the humvees anymore so I was turned into an infantryman and spent most of my time either on foot or as a dismount in an armored personnel carrier.

 

You brought your banjo?

I ordered a cheap one and had it mailed to me in May 2004 once I realized I was going to be in Iraq much longer than I'd originally thought.

 

How often would you play?

Around this time I was transferred to HQ platoon after my weapons were confiscated (due to some threats I'd made) and later I refused to take them back and continue going on missions and patrols. At this time I worked a radio shift from 4:00 p.m. to midnight everyday. Usually late at night, when most guys were either sleeping or outside the wire on patrols I would sneak back to my barracks and get the banjo and sit inside the TOC and play. TOC stands for Tactical Operations Center; ours was a mobile command post type thing with antennae on top and a bunch of maps and radios inside on the walls. My job was to sit in there from 4 p.m. to midnight and update the log every time somebody called in a new checkpoint or we made contact with the enemy. I was the runner for a Corporal who would send me to go run messages to people. For instance if somebody was attacked near such and such checkpoint I'd have to sprint down to whichever platoon was on standby that day and tell them to mount up and run out there.

 

Did the banjo provide any sort of outlet for you or help you cope?

Sure it did, when you're playing that's all you're thinking about. Everything else disappears. The Army disappears. The war disappears. Nothing but your fingers, ears, and voice.

 

Did you create any new songs over there?

No I didn't, it wasn't a creative time for me. Spiritually I was rotten and decaying rapidly everyday. It was not a time for creativity. Creation would have taken too much effort and I was already stretched to the limit.

 

Was it difficult to travel with it?

Never traveled with it actually, when it came time to go home I think I just hid it in one of the headquarters vehicles that was being shipped home by boat.

 

Did you ever play for any Iraqis?

No, I didn't ever have the opportunity. My only intimate human moment with any of them was when I got stuck in a guard tower with an Iraqi soldier all day. At that time they were called the ICDC (Iraqi Civil Defense Corps). It was lunchtime and we were both hungry I'm sure. I'd brought an MRE with me and had eaten it first thing that morning so my prospects were slim. As time went on, eventually three or four of the Iraqi's pals came climbing up the latter laughing and joking as if there wasn't a war going on or something. They shook hands with me, removed their helmets, took off their flak jackets, and sat down on the floor of the tower. They then pulled out all these paper bags full of food and laid everything out. Through their broken English I learned that one of their mothers had put together the meal, which consisted of some kind of flat bread which always smelled like cinnamon when they were baking it (a beautiful smell among all the burning garbage and overflowing sewage), tomatoes and some other vegetables, and what I presumed to be lamb. Of course they insisted that I eat with them and tried to pull me down to sit with them. I protested, trying to explain that at least ONE of us had to keep watch so we all didn't get killed, but I still managed to squat down real quick and make myself one of their burrito thing. It was good as fuck too.

 

Did you know you could sing or was it a surprise? Learned?

I still don't know that I can sing. I know I like to, and I'm told I have a good voice. Anyone can sing. One of the greatest tragedies of the modern world as that people no longer sing. The only thing special about me is that I refuse to be sterile and silent like many others. I have learned the value of song.

 

When did you learn to play the banjo? Tell me the story behind that.

Basically I saw a guy named Ernie Williams play somewhere. He played the old traditional style, not 'bluegrass' and I'd never heard anything like it. He also sang like nothing I'd ever heard. I decided that I wanted to figure out how to do that myself so I asked him to teach me, and he did. Later on I met another old man who played a very unique traditional style, unique to Eastern Kentucky where he'd been raised in the 30's and 40's. I caught a hold of his style and have been running ever since.

 

You had always know you would join the Army? You have enlightened me about many aspects of war. One that sticks out is you talking about being stationed in Germany and the feeling of being hated by the Germans just because you had the uniform on. Tell me more about all that.

Basically I grew up thinking that the only way I could ever be a real man was to serve time in the military. I did come from a military family, but not a militaristic one. No one ever encouraged me to enlist; in fact they did quite the opposite. I also wanted to take off on my own, see the world, experience real life, and ultimately to see what I was really made of.

As for the Germans, they hate us for plenty of good reasons, much like everyone else. We were a conquering Army full of drunken soldiers who'd been brawling in their streets and knocking up their daughters for sixty years. They hated me before I even got there. I've even had my nose broken in one of these ridiculous bar brawls.

 

Do you play any of your songs at the rallies, for IVAW or places where you are speaking?

Not yet. I would like the song "German War" to be heard by people. It is definitely anti-war, written by a veteran, and definitely effective. If it can help then I am interested.

 

Have you done any shows with just you and the banjo?

Nope, no shows. I don't really like performing, at least not yet. I always feel really pretentious like,  "What's so special about me that everyone should be sitting quietly and watching me on an elevated stage?" I don't really like it, I prefer sitting around someone's house and playing for groups of acquaintances, the way it has traditionally been played for thousands of years.

 

Do you write any of the songs or are they all "covers" so to speak?

By and large they are all traditional songs. The majority of my repertoire was composed prior to 1900, and much of that prior to 1865. I do have a few that I've composed myself but nothing to write home about.

 

Anything pertinent you feel to mention that I may have missed?

It is every veteran and active duty soldier's duty to openly resist this and other unconstitutional war.

 

 

 

You can download his songs from his myspace profile:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=58422215

 

 

 

 

 

You can watch more videos here: http://www.veoh.com/channels/clifton

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I spent this time last year (including Thanksgiving) traveling the South Island of New Zealand, aka Aotearoa, The Land of the Long White Cloud. It was a magical journey with many smiles, surprises and tears, but I will never forget the unique landscape and scenery of a country so untouched and unspoiled by the onslaught of life. To commemorate the year anniversary of being there, I thought I would introduce you guys to some of the sweetest island tunes you probably haven’t heard.

About three years ago I found out one of my best friends was going to study abroad in New Zealand for a year. I started saving for my eventual trip to visit her and also, had my ears on alert for anything New Zealand related. I was listening to NPR on a drive to work one morning, and I heard a music clip promoting Sound of the World, a compilation of current music from all ends of earth collected by World Music DJ, Charlie Gillett. The excerpt was “Midnight Marauders” by DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie and was described as, “what plays in New Zealand clubs at four in the morning.” I bought that Sound of the World CD online that day. I was not disappointed when I heard Midnight Marauders in its entirety. It left me wanting more so I did some research and discovered DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie are apart of a group called Fat Freddy’s Drop. I found their album, Based on a True Story online and ordered this too (mind you this was the latter part of 2005).

From the first moment I heard the keys soon followed by the horns and the gradual progression of a full sound enrapturing me, I knew I had stumbled upon something great. I was hypnotized by the Freddy voodoo, bewitched in their spellbinding jams. How they were not popular in America and not being played in our clubs, I didn’t know, but it made me even more giddy, to feel like I had a priceless gem in my pocket. I still feel this way and I have been apprehensive about sharing them because their sound has become so personal and almost spiritual to me that I feel playing it out on the radio or becoming mainstream would detract from the organic composition and unique collective. But that’s how I get about my music. I don’t think you can even find their album on any music shelves in the U.S.

If you’re not into slow burning roots/dub/soul/jazz/reggae/jam bands, then Fat Freddy’s Drop may not be for you, but if you are cruising in your car and need the perfect tunes, having a dance party in your living room or just in a mellow mood, seek no more!

The seven-piece band comes from the country’s capital, Wellington. Primarily known for their live gigs, Fat Freddy’s Drop was a NZ underground club favorite before they hit the charts.

The band is composed of 7 guys (tidbits taken from their website, and photos not in order of descriptions):

Joe Dukie- AKA Dallas Tamaira- Awarded Best Vocalist at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2005, Joe Dukie credits Bill Withers, D'Angelo and his mum as inspiration. The stage name/alter ego is drawn from his father Joe, also a singer, and grandfather who was a musician nicknamed Dukie after Duke Ellington.
Tony Chang-AKA Toby Laing –leads the horn section on trumpet and flugel-horn*
Fulla Flash- AKA Warryn Maxwell –tenor and alto sax. Flash has gone undercover in 2007 focusing on whanau (family) and a new psychedelic blues band, Little Bushman. Scott Towers is the sub stepping up the plate on sax duties for Freddy's live shows*
Jetlag Johnson- AKA Tehimana Kerr –electric and acoustic guitar
Dobie Blaze- AKA Iain Gordon –analog keyboard
DJ Fitchie- AKA Mu or Chris Faiumu - Fat Freddy's leader and technician armed with an Akai MPC sampler. He was awarded Best Producer and Most Outstanding Musician at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2005 and Best Producer at the b-Nets in 2003.
Ho Pepa- AKA Joe Lindsay –on trombone, tuba and smooth dance moves. Hopepa scored Male Fox at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2006. *

*All Freddy's horn players are graduates of Wellington Jazz School

Wikipedia says their name is a reference to a piece of blotter art that was circulating in the NZ dance scene in the late 90's. However, an article on their website reference’s Joe Dukie’s cartoon sketches (seen on the cover of B.O.A.T.S and throughout their website..and above) alluding a connection to Fat Freddy's Cat, a character from US cult comic strip The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Somehow they have fallen out of the all knowing Rolling Stone's radar. I’m surprised, really, with these guys sweeping the 2005 New Zealand Music Awards (they took the award for every nomination: Best Group, Best Album, Best New Zealand Roots Group and the Peoples Choice Award). By the end of the year they were awarded the Worldwide Album of the Year Award, as voted for by over 20,000 listeners of Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 1 'Worldwide' show. For the 2006 NZMA they won The People's Choice Award, the Highest Selling NZ Album (for Based On A True Story) and Best Music Video for the single “Wandering Eye”. (I personally don’t think the video was anything spectacular). It ended up being the most-played song ever on New Zealand radio.

Their first major release was recorded at a jam session in a Wellington nightclub. Live at the Matterhorn consists of four tracks between 12-22 minutes plus of dub jamming. They released their first studio album Based on A True Story in mid-2005. It went gold the next day! It stayed number one on New Zealand charts for sometime. It was released by the band's own label The Drop - despite attempts from major labels to sign them.

If you listen to B.O.A.T.S. in its entirety and you read my blog, then you will know what my favorite track is. I must say that I put this album (with 2 years being left to the unknown world of music) on my Top Five Albums of this Decade. Maybe it is the attractive lead singer, Dallas with his soothing sublime voice, and his comely Maori features or maybe it is because I have yet to hear anything of this caliber in the States.

Unfortunately, they haven’t come out with a new album for two years and I am patiently waiting for new tunes (they work on Island Time, what can I say?). B.O.A.T.S. is timeless in nature and I will be astounded if they manage to top it.

While in New Zealand, I wanted nothing more than to hear Fat Freddy’s live or at least be played somewhere. One late night in Queenstown at the World Bar I requested FFD and the DJ chose “Roady.” By God if that wasn’t one of the most fulfilling moments, I don’t know what was (maybe drinking water fresh from the melting snow of a waterfall or finally getting to Milford Sound {you have no idea}). I danced that entire song. It was funny, it seemed the tourists didn’t know the music either. Regardless, it made for my most memorable night out (of all 3 of them…not too many cities to truly party in). We walked the streets till after the sun came up…

On their 2007 Fantastic Voyages Summer Tour they played at the Glastonbury Festival where they were the second ever band to represent Aotearoa/NZ at the Vale of Avalon. Unfortunately, they weren’t touring when I was in New Zealand. I had a friend see them live and she said it was disappointing, but I still have faith…gotta see them with my own eyes!

These bush boys love their home and draw from its pristine nature. Their label The Drop and Fitchie’s studio are located on the beach. The homegrown jams take you right to Middle Earth where everything is unlike the rest of the world under the Land of the Long White Cloud. I assure you they’ll bring out the skank in you and you will be repeating the kiwis after you listen saying “sweet as.”

http://www.fatfreddysdrop.com/

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Tampa doesn't get the spotlight too often when it comes to celebrity action so I was somewhat, uh, err prideful to see this recently released on the mugshot section of www.thesmokinggun.com: 

Janis Joplin was arrested in November 1969 in Florida and charged with disorderly conduct after yelling obscenities at police officers during a Tampa concert. Charges were later dropped after it was ruled that the singer's actions were an exercise of free speech.

  

It's hard to believe that was almost 40 years ago. Just a little namesake for my hometown, not to mention I love Janis. She was 26 in this picture and unfortunately died less than a year later. I often wonder what the face of music would be like if the icons of the 1960s didn't OD and die (maybe they wouldn't have been icons then?). Would Joss Stone be performing with Jimi or would he fly to the moon and write space songs? Would Janis take up Broadway or tell everybody to leave Britney Spears alone? Would Morrison be living in as a snake charmer in the desert? Or would they all be doing reunion tours, battling labels, separating and splitting from bands or having bratty celeb kids? How would they feel about CDs, mp3s and the digital revolution of music? I love to specualte this, but there is no telling except that the era died with them and all we have left are small reminders of what was and could have been.

Hail to the melody makers and drug takers forever held in the hippie hologram of the 60s.

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