Taken from punknews.org: ” The Vandals have announced a 10-day trip to Southern Asia to play for the armed forces troops deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The band previously stoked controversy with their Christmas 2004 trip to Iraq to play for troops deployed there. They will play 4 to 6 shows in the Afghan region during their 10 day trip beginning April 5, 2006 on a tour arranged by military entertainment contractors AKA Productions. Joe Escalante discussed the trip: “We’ve played a lot of fun shows in a lot of interesting places in our 17 year history but believe it or not, none has been as satisfying personally as playing for soldiers that are laying down their lives for their country, The thing is, most of these soldiers really don’t want to be there, just like many of people that end up at our shows state side.” For the tour, the drum position will be filled by Pennywise‘s Byron McMackin who will be filling in for Josh Freese who is performing with Nine Inch Nails. The band released their last studio album, Hollywood Potato Chip in 2004. “
