Five Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) formed a band, they call “Death by Chicken,” to help relieve stress, have fun
and further their musical skills while deployed to the Arabian Sea supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
“We play all genres,” said Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Stefan Tillman from Training Department, lead guitarist. “We
want to play a little to cater to most listeners out there. Some rock, some metal, some alternative, some country, mellow rock—a
blend to please the majority.”
Some of the songs on the band’s playlist include Bush’s “Machine Head,” Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates,” and Eve 6’s “Inside Out.”
For Tillman, a native of Vacaville, Calif., playing the guitar is more than a hobby, it’s a passion.
“[I enjoy playing in the band] for the love of just playing. I’ve always felt when I play my guitar that I cease to exist on this plane
of existence,” he said. “I become the music; I get lost in it; it becomes me.”
Tillman said the band is a morale booster too.
“It’s also the camaraderie,” he said, “A chance to mentally ‘get away’ from the ship and deployment for a few hours. Music just
makes people happy and I definitely dig that.”
Tillman began playing guitar before many Lincoln Sailors were even born.
“I’ve been playing since 1986, when I heard Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive,’” he said. “I was so captivated by the guitar in
that song, I had to learn how to play it. And, the rest is history. That song is in our set as well.”
Like Tillman, Aviation Structural Mechanic 1st Class Brian Sullivan of Spokane, Wash., Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department,
and bassist, has been playing for many years.
“I have been playing bass since I was 16,” he said. “I just love playing and I’m having a blast with these guys,” Sullivan said.
Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman Apprentice Christopher Youngblood of AIMD, lead vocalist, said he’s been singing his
entire life as well as playing various instruments. He said he was even selected to be a part of the Air Force, Air National Guard and
Navy bands.
“I enjoy [the band] because we’re all diverse,” Youngblood, a native of Toledo, Ohio, said. “Every one of them is married with children,
and I’m 20, single and completely different from them, but the music brings us together.”
Tillman said there’s a good chance they will be able to perform during the steel beach picnic, July 26, and said it’s a chance for Lincoln
Sailors to “let their hair down.”
“We want to give the crew something to sing about,” he said with a laugh. “Seriously, it’s a chance for the crew to blow off steam and
feel normal again. Hopefully, there’s songs in our set that will be someone’s favorite song, or remind them of happy things, or just
an excuse to dance or bang your head. To cut loose, scream, bob your head, tap your toes-- whatever. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
“We enjoy playing just about anything,” said Chief Aviation Electronics Technician (AW/SW) James Kenyon, from AIMD, drummer and
native of Roseville, Mich.
“Each of us tends to lean one way or another, but in the end it’s all about enjoying the music. I’ve learned to appreciate stuff I normally
do not listen to.”
Completing “Death by Chicken” is Aviation Support Equipment Technician 1st Class Jamey Atkins of Oroville, Calif., AIMD, guitarist and
vocalist, who along with Tillman, Youngblood, Kenyon and Sullivan have been performing together for the last three months.