Jammin’ with GIs: Musicians rise from the ranks - Entertainment, Music - Navy Times

Jammin’ with GIs: Musicians rise from the ranks

Jacob Voth scribbled words in a cramped compartment below the pitching flight deck of the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, listening to a high-frequency, heavy metal jam session just around the corner from where he was standing watch.

A second class surface warfare-qualified interior communications technician responsible for keeping the ship’s phones and radios working, Voth had been a published poet in high school and sang in the Christmas choir.

Now returning from his second deployment — and the divorce that came with it — Voth poured his pain into words, creating lyrics to the driving riffs rising above the rattle and hum of the big ship at sea.

It didn’t take long for Voth to show the lyrics to his two guitar-wielding shipmates — Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SW) Reid Davis and ET3 (SW) Portifo Garza.

The three connected. Soon they had found a drummer among the Stennis crew and then, once back in home port in Bremerton, Wash., enlisted a bass player from the crew of a local submarine.

Witness the birth of Martyr Machine. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to say you knew about them before they made it big, back when they were just rowdy sailors jamming on a hangar deck.

It could happen — if not to them, then surely others now on active duty will someday rise from the ranks and break on through to the other side of rock-star glory.

So be careful about blowing off the band at your enlisted club — it could become the next rock band of brothers selling out shows across the nation.

Guitar heroes

There is a proud, if sometimes checkered, history of American war fighters emerging from combat-zone jam sessions, off-base gigs — and, yes, a few bluesy stints in the brig — to become real-life guitar heroes and rock legends.

A chorus of crooners and composers — Harry Belafonte, Glenn Miller and Sammy Davis Jr., among them — helped set the stage, storming the musical world from the foxholes of World War II. But it’s been those serving in the years since that war who helped create the brave new world of rock and roll, hone a dangerous new edge to country music and unleash the first staccato blasts of hip-hop.

From “American Bandstand” to “American Idol,” from Woodstock to MTV, GI rockers — Elvis, Hendrix and Ice-T, to name just a few — have shaped and moved the music of their generations.

While it’s unclear just who will carry that torch among those now in uniform, bands such as Martyr Machine are giving it their best shot while continuing to serve.

Among them:

• American Attitude. Formed in 2007 by three airmen and a sailor, this Jacksonville, Fla.-based hard-rock band has gone from playing covers at local clubs to crafting their own music and getting picked up to play alongside national acts including Great White and 3 Doors Down.

• Joe Speed Band. With lyrics like: “If you want to thank us for freedom/send beers cuz we need ’em,” it’s no surprise these pickin’ and grinnin’ country-rocker National Guardsmen have garnered a fast following since posting their single “Cowboy Soldier” online while deployed to Iraq this year.

• Reboot the Robot. Jonathan Ware, a one-man acoustic rock band, already has a considerable following in Wyoming, where the 25-year-old staff sergeant works at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in security forces. He’s toured locally twice and his original music is getting airplay on local radio. With three EPs on iTunes and Amazon, he’s starting to earn a national rep.

Making it

“There is so much amazing talent in the military,” says music industry insider Denny Randell, who knows talent when he sees it.

A songwriter and producer, Randell has had 45 songs hit the Billboard charts and has worked with constellations of top stars, from Quincy Jones and Diana Ross to Smash Mouth and Busta Rhymes.

Randell also knows how hard it can be to make it in the music industry. That’s why he and his wife created GI Jams, a Nevada-based music label designed to give military musicians a leg up.

Anyone with a military background can post his music and band info on the GI Jams website with a 50/50 split on any proceeds from downloaded content.

For bands with real promise, and their own material, Randell offers promotional contracts and a shot at the big time. American Attitude and Joe Speed were among the first acts he signed.

The label celebrated its first anniversary with a Veterans Day concert in Las Vegas and will soon release a compilation CD.

It’s only rock ’n’ roll

But it’s called rock ’n’ roll for good reason — not least of which is that the road to success can be rough-and-tumble. Trying to combine that with life in the military can create challenges.

Sure, there are the usual bar fights and rowdy mosh pits, says American Attitude lead guitarist Master Sgt. Shawn Watchorn, a full-time maintenance supervisor with the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Squadron.

But the band bit the bullet when it had to turn down an invitation to play with 3 Doors Down. “We were in the middle of a unit inspection, so we were unable to make the show,” Watchorn says.

The men of Martyr Machine can relate. Back from deployment for a year now, they’ve scratched and fought their way onto the competitive Seattle music scene.

For their first gig, Voth convinced the owner of a local dive bar to let them play, tripling his business that night with all of the shipmates, friends and family who showed up for the gig.

“We earned enough street credit there to start playing other venues,” says Voth.

In the months since, the band has pursued the dream, cranking out original songs — “Zombie Attack” and “Mele” are among several fan favorites — while working their way into bigger and better venues.

But when they landed a slot in the Slaves to Music Fest at Studio Seven, one of the top live-music venues in the Pacific Northwest, they had to drop out because of duty obligations aboard ship.

Like an unruly mosh pit, though, they roll with the punches and keep plugging away, booking gigs just about every weekend.

“That’s one of the hardest parts now,” says Voth. “In the beginning, when you’re just a garage band playing with your friends, it’s all music. Now, we spend 90 percent of the time on promotion.”

The work seems to be paying off. “The other day I was walking down the street and a car drove by playing one of our songs,” Voth says. “It literally gave me chills.”