Shinedown's Eric Bass Flies With the US Air Force's Thunderbirds (PHOTO EXCLUSIVE)

"It was always a childhood dream of mine to fly an airplane. I actually wanted to be a pilot as a kid. I obviously took another path in life and sort of wrote it off," Shinedown bassist Eric Bass tells Noisecreep who is on the phone talking about his recent flight with the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds in Indianapolis on June 21-22.

Bass explains how his flying dream came to fruition: "My brother-in-law is actually in the Air Force and he knew how into flying I was and he knew a pilot in the Thunderbirds. That's how I got a chance to fly with them. Well, it also doesn't hurt that I'm in Shinedown," laughs Bass.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbrids are the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force, based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bass tells Noisecreep that it took about a year of scheduling and physical tests for the flight to happen. "I totally understood that they had to do all of the different background checks to make sure I was a decent human being too [laughs]. Shinedown has always been a huge supporter of our military and what they do for us. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be able to do this."

If you've ever seen the Thunderbirds in action, you already know how daring they are, cutting through the air with death-defying spins and all kinds of other aerial feats. Noisecreep asked Bass if he had any trouble with the physical aspect of his flight: "Man, I was so proud of myself. Before I got into the plane, everyone was telling me that I was probably going to get sick. I got a little queasy after about 30 minutes or so, but I held it together [laughs]. It was obviously very intense and something I'll never forget. After about 45 minutes of flying, I was exhausted.

"It gave me a huge respect for the pilots -- the physical shape you have to be in to do what they do. Especially the fact that they do a lot of this stuff during combat missions. It's incredible."


Catch Bass on tour with Shinedown on the UPROAR Festival tour which will kick off Aug. 17 in Kansas City, Mo., criss-crossing the U.S. before wrapping Sept. 30 in Albuquerque, N.M. The trek also features Godsmack, Staind, Papa Roach, Adelitas Way, P.O.D., Deuce, Fozzy, Redlight King, In This Moment, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Candlelight Red.

Please see below for the current tour dates, cities and venues.

Date Market Venue
Friday, 8/17 Kansas City, MO Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone *
Saturday, 8/18 Little Rock, AR Arkansas State Fairgrounds (KDJE Radio Show) *
Sunday, 8/19 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre **
Tuesday, 8/21 Grand Rapids, MI Rock The Rapids (downtown)
main stage bands only
Wednesday, 8/22 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre *
Friday, 8/24 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center *
Saturday, 8/25 Syracuse, NY TBA
Sunday, 8/26 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center *
Tuesday, 8/28 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain *
Wednesday, 8/29 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center **
Friday, 8/31 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion *
Saturday, 9/1 Saratoga, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center *
Sunday, 9/2 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live *
Wednesday, 9/5 Simpsonville, SC Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park *
Friday, 9/7 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre ***
Saturday, 9/8 Noblesville, IN Klipsch Music Center ****
Sunday, 9/9 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center ***
Tuesday, 9/11 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek ***
Wednesday, 9/12 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood ***
Thursday, 9/13 Tampa, FL 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre ***
Saturday, 9/15 Houston, TX Woodlands Pavilion ****
Sunday, 9/16 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion ***
Tuesday, 9/18 Denver, CO Comfort Dental Amphitheater *****
Wednesday, 9/19 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre ***
Friday, 9/21 Spokane, WA Greyhound Park and Events Center ***
Saturday, 9/22 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre ***
Sunday, 9/23 Portland, OR Sleep Country Amphitheater ***
Tuesday, 9/25 Boise, ID Idaho Center Amphitheater ***
Saturday, 9/29 Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion ****
Sunday, 9/30 Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion ****

*Thousand Foot Krutch will not be performing at this show
**Fozzy and Thousand Foot Krutch will not be performing at this show
***In This Moment will not be performing at this show
****In This Moment and Thousand Foot Krutch will not be performing at this show
*****Fozzy, Redlight King and In This Moment will not be performing at this show