A group of local musicians embarked on a four-day trip to perform for the US military stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Brady Clampitt and Isaac Corbitt of the Corbitt-Clampitt Experience travel from NAS Jacksonville to the famous military compound where they will entertain men and women in uniform.
The Corbitt-Clampitt Experience caught the attention of another military recruiter when it performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the St. Augustine Prohibition Kitchen.A representative for a group sponsoring entertainment at the military base liked what they heard and contacted officials at MWR Guantanamo Bay, who booked the band for a gig at O’Kelly’s Irish Pub.
“They heard from us at several festivals in St. Augustine and Suwannee, and they liked us, so they called us and asked if we had passports,” Corbitt said.”I’ve done a few things for the military before, but most were in the US, so I jumped when I heard about it.”
While the GTMO tour was only four days compared to Clampitt’s recent two-week stay with the Melody Trucks Band in upstate New York, it required background checks, temporary military IDs for both bases, and approval for T-shirts, dog tags, and for Other merchandise made to commemorate such an important event.
“Any way we serve the military is cool, but going to a destination like Guantanamo Bay, even the military isn’t stationed there. It’s such a unique place,” Corbitt said.”The base itself is 45 miles long. It’s a whole town. They have bowling alleys, movie theaters and all kinds of activities because a lot of people have families who live on the base.”
The band is sure to reenact the patriotic hymn that won GTMO tickets to show their support for the troops.Corbitt said they’ll also be heavily contributing to Southern root rock and blues with songs from the Allman Brothers, JJ Gray and Mofro, a signature harmonica jam, as well as some original material.
“It’s going to be a really cool experience. We also created this line of merchandise, and Brady and I co-designed the logo for it all. The 11×17 poster featuring the palm tree and American flag logo is available on Etsy’s Corbitt Clampitt store.
“While we’re here, we’ll be selling some for a limited short period, and then we’ll be giving away a large portion of our show. We’ll be throwing away dog ​​tags, shirts, and puppies to military members and their families.”
The band members will learn the dos and don’ts of basic life during their stay, but Corbett hopes they will be able to film the performance and post it on social media for friends, family and fans to enjoy.
“We’ll wait until we get there and then start asking questions. Can we even film it? There are places where you can’t even take your phone out or they’ll confiscate it,” he said.
“We just have one show from 7 to 9 p.m., and then, it’s like we’re on vacation and just hang out with them for a few days. We’re going to have a lot to do,” he said, including a tour of the historic base.
“They would take us on a tour of the camp and tell us everything, when it started, why it started, and all the things they did there, so that there was a chance to go to a place like this and get one — an experience is a lifetime opportunity .”
This isn’t the first time the band has used its talents for a military career.Corbitt performed with his brother Newsome in the Corbitt Brothers Band for three consecutive years at the Army Rangers 5th Battalion Mountaineering Base.
Clampitt performed with the Corbitt Brothers at the 2016 Valor Jam at the Florida Theater.The charity concert is hosted by the Quality Resource Center, a non-profit awareness organization for active duty military members, veterans and their families.The Corbitt brothers headlined the event with their farewell performances, which included opening acts Second Shot and Billy Buchanan & Free Avenue.Proceeds help build affordable housing for chronically homeless veterans under QRC’s Landing Veterans Program, the SALUTE program.
This fall, Corbitt and Clampitt will join Kevin Post of The Blake Shelton Band and Hallie Davis Music hosted by the Admiral’s Daughter for the second annual Rhythm & Boots on November 6th at the Blue Jay Listening Room in Jacksonville Beach Mini music festival.The campaign was created by The Admiral’s Daughter, a clothing line designed to raise awareness of maritime dialogue and military appreciation.Tickets include food at ABBQ and Jax Beach Brunch Haus, silent auction, raffle prices and open bar.
For Clampitt, he has a personal connection to Guantanamo Bay.His grandfather, Albert Frank Crampitt, was stationed there twice during his 20 years of service as a first mate as an aviation mechanic and as a U.S. Navy enlisted pilot.He was a sailor aboard the USS Lexington, circa 1937 sent to find Amelia Earhart’s downed plane.Although many of his friends who were accepted as volunteers did not return, he volunteered to join the Flying Tigers.At Guantanamo Bay, Crampet Sr. was dispatched to the U.S. Naval Base in Panama to get their engine overhaul facility up and running.
Once inspected, the engine is rebuilt, tested, boxed and shipped.When he arrived in Panama, all of the engine’s stainless steel headers were on backorder, and he asked the Admiral to approve his plan to make templates for the headers from scratch using stainless steel tubes and plates.He worked three 24-hour shifts to keep up with demand for American planes.Clampitt was certified to work and piloted a seaplane PDY5A, and he used his flight time to test the rebuilt engine and find the best fishing spots up and down the coast.
Albert Crampett and a few of his sailor buddies would take the crash/rescue boat off base to go fishing, where the fish were so plentiful that they caught them with shiny, unbaited hooks.The base is said to have a shark net on the beach made of stainless steel cables with anchors on the bottom and floats on top.
It was a special thing for Clampitt to be able to trace his grandfather’s road to GTMO and hopefully find some of his great fishing spots too.”When we look at the military and what it means for us to support the men and women in the military in the first place, a lot of times it’s a thankless job, so whenever we can do something special for them, we jump in Get up that,” said Clampitt, recalling his experience working with his uncle’s roofing company, Wilford Roofing, while working at the Mayport Naval Base in the airport control tower.
“I think it’s great to watch the morning routine of helicopter pilots out training and on missions at dawn. It’s nice to be able to go to where Grandpa is stationed though. The men and women there do them every day, no matter the politics. work. We have a responsibility to support them.”
Tags Admiral’s Daughter Allman Brothers Blue Jay Audition Room Brady Clampitt Corbitt-Clampitt Experience Florida Theater GTMO Guantanamo Bay Isaac Corbitt Jax Beach Brunch Haus JJ Gray Melody Trucks Band Mofro NAS Jacksonville Naval Station Mayport O’Kelly’s Irish Pub Prohibition Kitchen Quality Resource Center Rhythm & Boots Mini Music Festival The Admiral’s Daughter The Corbitt Brothers Band The Florida Theatre Valor Jam
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