Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Lerone Simmons | Thunderstruck, the AC/DC coverband, rocks the crowd during an Independence Day...... read more read more
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NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Service members, families and friends celebrated Independence Day by taking a trip back in time; enjoying music from the legendary rock group AC/DC’s cover-band Thunderstruck, during their Fourth of July concert at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“This is what we do to say thanks to the military,” said Dyna Shirasaki, lead singer of Thunderstruck.
“We try to show that we respect and appreciate the service that the military provides by playing these concerts.”
This comes as part of the band’s annual military concert tour and was sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment, USAA bank, United Service Organizations, and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program. The band shares its name with one of AC/DC’s chart-topping songs, Thunderstruck. This time around Thunderstruck, usually known as Thund-HER-struck, for being all female, had a slight change due to their lead drummer not being able to make it, opening the door for Carlos Villalobos to fill-in, becoming their token male.
Since its inception in 2002, they have played on bases in Japan, Germany, Belgium, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Qatar and El Salvador, and have many memorable moments from being on tour.
“Our usual crowd surfing became contagious to others while performing at a concert in Camp Sharana, Afghanistan, leading to everyone else joining in,” said Tina Wood, lead guitarist.
“People back home don’t usually get to see the good, all you hear is the bad.”
The band was given a tour of the naval station where they went to the Northeast Gate, which serves as the formal division line between the U.S. and Cuba. They also were able to partake in some of the restaurant services provided on base.
The band received a special form of notoriety in 2006 when Chris Slade, AC/DC drummer for five years, filled in and toured with them, playing in Afghanistan.
When not on tour, each member has their own avenues of employment ranging from; running a guitar shop, songwriting, bookkeeping and personal assistant, working at a candy company, and biochemist.
They usually perform weekends in the U.S. when not doing their military tour. The Bahamas, Greenland, Honduras and Curacao remain on their tour.
| Date Taken: | 07.04.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2013 14:09 |
| Story ID: | 110216 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | BARBERTON, OH, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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