Guest Blog: Drowning Pool Keep it Slamming For Soldiers

It’s kind of ironic that Drowning Pool have become one of the biggest poster boys for the USO considering the hit they took after 911. At the time, the public misinterpreted their song “Bodies” to be about death and murder. It was, in fact, a description of the mosh pits at their shows, but no amount of explaining could convince radio programmers to support the song again. Actually, it was never the U.S. soldiers that condemned the band, and, according to Drowning Pool, many members of the military would listen to Drowning Pool’s 2001 album Sinner to get them pumped for combat. In the years since, Drowning Pool have taken an active role in supporting the troops. They’ve performed at military bases in the Middle East numerous times and recorded and expressed the power of the shows in the song “Soldiers” which is included on new album Full Circle. You’d think Drowning Pool might be tired of talking about their involvement with the USO by now, but its just the opposite. And when Headbangersblog.com asked bassist Stevie Benton if he would write a guest blog about the significance of his experiences performing for the USO, he had the whole thing penned practically by the next time we checked out email. It seems even peripheral military involvement makes a guy nothing if not punctual.

My first exposure to the United Service Organization (USO) was as a child when my parents watched Bob Hope entertaining the troops overseas during the holidays. Back then, those USO TV specials played annually just like “Frosty the Snowman” or “A Christmas Story.” Being that I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, I was aware that the Cowboys’ Cheerleaders do a great deal of work with the USO, but up until 2005, that was my only exposure to the USO.

Drowning Pool released “Bodies” in 2001 and it became an instant hit with the U.S. military. While touring over the next few years, we met a lot of servicemen and women who expressed to us how important the song was to them. Whether on training videos or to keep them on their toes while on missions in Iraq or Afghanistan, “Bodies” was an integral part of keeping up troops’ morale.

We spent the next couple of years trying to make the necessary connections to be able to play for our troops stationed overseas. Every attempt was a dead end. That is, until August of 2005. Jessie Jessup, the afternoon DJ at KDGE in Dallas, invited us to be on her show to announce Ryan McCombs as our new singer. Unbeknownst to us, Jessie had spent the prior few months doing all the necessary work to go to the Persian Gulf to interview and entertain the troops. The band she had originally planned to take got cold feet and backed out. So there we were… right place, right time.

Of the thousands of shows we have played over the years, none come close to the enthusiasm and excitement of the USO shows for the troops in the Gulf. The tension in the air around a crowd of people who put their lives on the line every day is impossible to describe. The appreciation for having a little piece of home brought to them there in the desert is similarly impossible to explain. But the experience was unbelievable.

Being able to give something back to the people that do so much for all of us was the most rewarding undertaking of my life. It was this initial USO tour that led us to write our current single “Soldiers” as a tribute to the troops we met along the way.

One show in particular was special for the band. It came during our second tour in the Gulf. After the tragedy of September 11, “Bodies” was banned on radio stations across America. A song written about a mosh pit was suddenly associated with the most horrible event in our nation’s history. Members of the US military, however, made the song their anthem for getting through a time of war. So, on the fifth anniversary of 911, we were doing a show for the troops in Iraq, playing the very song that had been banned. And that’s why we decided to cal our new CD Full Circle.

Our next USO tour will take place during the Christmas holidays. By being so vocal about our participation, we hope to encourage other rock bands to get involved with the USO. The troops are real men and women and they need our support. Also, anyone can support the troops by going to thisisforthesoldiers.org and signing an online petition to speed up a bill to provide funding for mental health care for returning vets. From there, you can link to the USO or the IAVA and find out what else you can do to help out the troops.

Related Posts: Listen to New Drowning Pool Before Digging Into Your Pocket, In This Moment To Premiere New Video on Tuesday on Headbangers Blog; Guitarist’s European Blog Part III, “Soundtrack to War” Depicts The Role of Metal In Battle

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