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Subscribe to RSSThis camera-phone video of Sidewinder, featuring Tech Sgt. Angie Johnson covering Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" went viral last year. Sidewinder, part of the 571st Air Force Band - a unit that is slated for stand down - has probably played its final songs together.
The little military unit that became an improbable Internet sensation will soon fall silent.
Sidewinder, a rock band within the Air National Guard, whisked from Afghanistan all the way to Ellen via massive Internet popularity, has likely played its last gig.
“It’s been a wild adventure,” said Sidewinder’s front woman, Tech Sgt. Angie Johnson, a former active-duty Air Force intelligence analyst who also competed on NBC’s “The Voice” last March. “Sidewinder had only been home from last summer's deployment (to Afghanistan) for about two months when we learned of the decommissioning of our unit. Needless to say, we were shocked and heartbroken.”
The Air National Guard plans to phase out six of its 11 regional concert bands, converting hundreds of musician slots into other guard specialties, confirmed National Guard spokesman Rick Breintenfeldt.
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One of the six posts slated to stand down is the Air National Guard Band of the Central States, a collection of 35 brass, woodwind, and percussion players based in St. Louis, otherwise known as the 571st. Originally formed in 1941, the ensemble was the first National Guard band ever deployed to Afghanistan. They performed classics like “In the Mood” and patriotic pieces for fellow troops and civilians. Their 35 slots already have been slashed to 19. Some of the remaining musicians, who, like other guard units assemble for two weeks each year and one weekend each month, plan to leave their part-time military jobs. Some will assume new guard duties.
But it was Sidewinder, the 571st’s band-within-a-band, powered by bluesy vocalist Johnson, which truly put combat boots and camo on the American pop music map.
While touring U.S. bases in Southwest Asia last summer, preparing to fly to Afghanistan the next morning, a sweaty Johnson and her fellow musicians cranked out a blazing, acoustic version of Adele's "Rollin' in the Deep.” A soldier in the small audience grabbed his camera phone and captured the “super rad little impromptu gig,” as Johnson calls it. On Aug. 8, the video was posted on YouTube. After two days, the clip had reached some 130,000 views. By Aug. 19, the video was virall: 1 million views and headed to more than 3 million clicks.
Sidewinder soon was invited to play on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”and at the White House. They slapped groovy beats and racked up good will for the American military – all of which made the decommissioning news so hard to hear for the musicians in uniform.
“We all shed tears that day,” said Johnson, who plans to continue her fledgling music career and serve with the 571st until the unit is formally mothballed in September 2013. “It didn't make sense to us and still doesn't. But when you're in the military, you learn that people with a lot more stripes on their arms and brass on their shoulders are entrusted with making hard decisions for the betterment of the Armed Forces as a whole. So, we've come to accept the decision ... I will dearly miss my current guard family.”
“It’s a little incongruous to chose our unit to stand down when it has garnered the most attention,” agreed Maj. John Arata, commander of the 571st.
Arata also plays clarinet and piano – but was best known for his funky, blue fiddle in Sidewinder. Like Johnson, Arata will stay with the downsized concert band until its last day. Until then, the 571st intends to book occasional gigs when feasible.
“We’ll just need to be more creative with our instrumentation. We’ll have to draw upon our members’ flexibilities. There are fewer events that we can accept,” said Arata, a music teacher at Eureka High School, southwest of St. Louis. “We’ll try and do military-support events where they would only require a small unit, maybe a brass or woodwind quintet.”
The other five Air National Guard bands scheduled to shut their instrument cases for good in 2013 include units based in Georgia, Ohio, Washington, California and Massachusetts.
“Those selected for decommissioning are the bands closest to active-duty regional bands and the bands with the most sparsely populated (areas of responsibility),” Breintenfeldt said.
The 571st has long been tasked with playing events in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota.
“The opportunity to support troops in those four states – especially for those of us who have been able to deploy to the Middle East, who have that meaningful experience of relieving the stress of life in a forward, deployed location – has been a very distinctive privilege for us,” Arata said.
“I’m sorry to see it go. And I’ll miss it a lot. It has been a good run.”
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Leave a Comment:
4 F for the clowns in the Air Force at the pentagon. Morale and safety for the troops are job # 1. they do more good at a concert for our people that 50 officers. retire some of the brass and keep the bands.
Having gone to little concerts while I was in the service was very beneficial to everyone.(1968-1970)
ANG are all civilians..they stop this..but ok to let them all go into battle for years to make up the short fall of our regular military personnel!
GO AIR NATIONAL GUARD!!!!!
108th ARW
Your tax dollars at work! No f**king wonder why our military is so big. The military is for the defense of the nation, if your job is not defending you shouldn't be in the military. 20 years in a band and retired for life with free medical care! Socialism isn't mainstream but it is in the military.
dick2100935
were you ever in the service?
Hey Dick 2100935,
I'll bet your given name is Richard Cranium, AKA as Dick He@d. Lighten up and the ride of life will get easier!
First NASCAR and now Rock and Roll.
They have really taken the fun out of killing people in other countries.
Say, (BILL IN TIGHTS) your are one insignificant troll, I assume you are a troll, and not just plain stupid.
It was regular Army for NASCAR..not a national guard unit.
Article is about Air National Guard..not even Army related!
Air Force is close if related!
I am smart enough to know the USA hasn't legally declared a war since WW II.
I know all our "police actions" are for purposes other than the defense of our country.
I know the industrial military complex is funding our politicians to keep fighting wars for profit while our soldiers die.
I know things like NASCAR and rock bands attempt to make military service "fun and cool" to attract young applicants.
What exactly do you know that I don't???
What a morale killer. Why do they think Bob Hope spent every single Christmas on the front lines with some of the top stars in Hollywood instead of at home safe and sound?
How many of the Tinsel Town Toys do you think would volunteer for Bob's trips today?
I always suspected English born Leslie Townes ("Bob") Hope might actually have been a British spy. After-all, we fought two wars against those "Limeys", right?
I would think not very many, if for no other reason than the sheer boredom. Bob hasn't traveled far since his death 9-years ago. Additionally, San Fernando Mission Cemetery where Bob is buried in Los Angeles hasn't put-on any USO Christmas shows at that venue. since Bob arrived.
I'm just sayin'....
( tongue firmly in cheek ;-)
Sad AND shortsighted.
No it isn't the AF has ALOT of Bands and cutting a few is a good start to saving money. Do you know how much $ it costs to send 10 people to Iraq/Assghanistan that NOBODY wants to see.
This group does more good for the air force than any talking head Officer could ever do. They are excellent musicians / entertainers, but hey, what does the brass care if their troops become demoralized? Time to straighten up and fly right Air force.
Man, they just take all the fun out of war. Well, strap the speakers on the helos and fire up "Ride of the Valkyries". That should scare the crap of those Taliban creeps. Bring back napalm strikes while they're at it and we got us a barbeque Afghan style. Yee hah!
I love when the chickenhawks start regurgitating what they see in movies and try to act tough.
As a former USMA Band member ... Music is an international language ... big loss indeed.
This is wrong. You can't underestimate the morale value of things like this. I guess the Democrats figure they can pay Hollywood to entertain the troops - after all, Hollywood is one of the biggest supporters of the democratic left.
It's about the band, not DEM"S or REP"S. Focus, the band the band not your political view. It's about the young men and women that we ALL should care about, not your obvious obsession with your selfish right wing agenda.
Typical military bs. They have been a great recruiting tool. Hopefully as they all phase-out of their active duty service, they will form into a band. Tho, given the military, they will probably expect a royalty of everything they produce, perform, and sell. I'm sure the recruiter didn't tell them all of the details when they each enlisted.
They are shutting down 6 of 11 bands . . . and choose to shut down the most successful one? Sounds like typical government boobery.
I agree - sad and short-sighted and definitely a morale killer. As a veteran, I can say, that's the military for ya. I'm wishing Angie Johnson the absolute best of luck in the future - what a voice!
The guy who made this decision must have been the same guy who pulled the plug on Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney in London .... not the best decision .... Just saying ....
Man that girl can wail!
Johnny Cash, Spiral Starecase and all the way to Sidewinder, the musicians who cut their teeth in the military have gone on to do great things, musically... some may have been one hit wonders in the civilian world, but for those of us who got to hear them in some places the civilians just wouldn't go, they were a blessing! DAMN IT... don't stop the music.
Oh rock and roll, you're such a sad tool of government and industry now.
This is a real jackass move by the Obama administration, the commander in chief. THANKS OBAMA, SEE YOU IN NOVEMBER!
What a mo-fo waste of money... You can actually serve out an entire enlistment in the military doing nothing but tooting horns, playing guitars and banging on bongos?
Quit stealing form the taxpayer for such nonsense.
Taxation is theft and these bozos are accomplices to the crime.
Dak-1250684
Like no one in the military is supposed to do, or receive, anything to relieve stress when their not on duty?
Like these people volunteer and donate several years of their life so you have a place to save your all important money?
If this situation is anything like the standard, most of these people have many other jobs within their units to do. The music is usually a side line. Do you really think the Commander of the unit sits around on his butt all day, plays a little fiddle and then goes home to sleep?
Why don't we say the service people aren't allowed to read books or watch movies if it costs the taxpayer anything?
It seems to me that there was the mention of the unit being in southwest Asia last summer, preparing to fly to Afghanistan. I'll bet that's a fun place to be in the summer! I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be at that time of year.
This might be about the most selfish comment I've heard on these blogs in a long time. This is a big part of what is wrong with America, pure selfishness, not anything else.
I'm sure that if you were in the military serving in the middle east, your quality of life might just be a lot higher because of these folks.
Go to your room and think your ethics over a bit. They need an overhaul.
Or better yet, why don't you volunteer for a couple of tours over there, but specify that you don't want any entertainment, good food, air conditioning, etc., so you don't waste our tax dollars. Maybe your attitude might become a little more humane.
What have you done for our men and women in uniform? Of course, I wouldn't expect you to spend any money.
After all, no one in the services deserves any ammenities while they are deployed, a lot of them being shot up, blown up, etc., after sweating their butts off in sweltering heat all day long, day after day. That would be ripping you off, and we can't have that. What is America coming to anyway? Part of that is sarcasm, and part of it is intended to stimulate some thought on your part.
you support government theft and dare preach to me about ethics?
Something just tells me you take more than you give to society and the country, which probably qualifes under your definition of government theft.
You go girl. The military has had a long history in the music scene. ( Ya Think) I think this decommissioning is wrong. Get you a good 3 piece ensemble and then call Dick or Dave Pruitt with the Bel Airs in Columbia Mo. You got a great voice with great range. Stay on it. It's a sad loss for the troops. Especially when we need it the most...
Good .. the AF/ANG bands are an increadable waste of money that could be spent on Fuel and Parts to keep airplanes flying.
They do nothing for morale as you are usually FORCED to attend their concerts as no one in the AF cares. Pretty much the same for Tops in Blue ....
They need to cut three or four MAJCOM Bands and three or four more Air Guard Bands too. The nimber of bands should have been slashed years ago with the regular reduction of forces that has been ongoing for the last .
By all means, take away the only 'good' thing and replace them with Dick Cheney's private contract military personnel at 4 times the cost per soldier. A regular military SNAFU is what you call it.
Thou protest too much. One of the failings of these paid political apparatchiks is that they don't know when to insert, what to insert and how to insert their nonsense so it shows appropriateness, relevance or continuity.
If tangeant2 speaks true words, the others here sure either got fooled or are AKs. Nothing not under control from the puppet masters is safe. If any pols or pols' staffers read this, go with the flow.