SOUTH RIVER, NJ - Many of us understand the impact the law enforcement profession has on mental health. We go from one incident to the next every shift, which can wreak havoc on you and your mental health. The same goes for the military and first responder community.
Now there's a group of veterans that are combatting mental health challenges among the law enforcement, veteran, and first responder community. They are coming together to perform a legendary concert to bring these heroes in one place to improve mental health and prevent suicide.
But these aren't your average veteran musicians.
They are professional rock and roll musicians who write their own music, tour the country and have hundreds of thousands of followers from all over the world. And they haven't forgotten where they came from.
The Veteran Performers
The featured bands consist of veterans from every major branch of the military. And they all know post-traumatic stress too well.
"The bands we have on board, Silence and Light, Weapon-X, and DAVE BRAY USA have military backgrounds and each of them understands the devastating effects of PTSD," Ken Molina, the VFW Post Commander said. "And several of us here at our VFW have lost friends to suicide. That’s why this event is important to us.”
The lead guitarist for Silence & Light and retired member of the U.S. Army’s most elite units, Brad Thomas, is driven by a passion to perform.
“It means a lot to us to play for a crowd of veterans. We want them to have a great time and remember that we’re all here to take care of each other. And we’re going to do that through music,” Thomas told LET.
Marc Herzog, the regional leader for a national non-profit organization, Irreverent Warriors, understands the epidemic too and knows firsthand how beneficial social gatherings are for veterans.
"Any 'vet-together' decreases the chances that a vet will commit suicide. The fact is that isolation kills, and every event that brings veterans together must be encouraged to combat the veteran suicide rate. We at Irreverent Warriors applaud the VFWs efforts, and we expect it to be a great success," Herzog said.
More on DAVE BRAY USA
DAVE BRAY USA will be the opening act. He intends to start the event with a patriotic bang, as he is typically known for. He is also known for always backing the blue and isn't afraid to tell people that. In fact, he often gets questioned why he supports police.
“There are a lot of people out there who wish to demonize the badge, damage and discredit the reputation of the uniform and to puff out their digital chests behind a keyboard," Dave Bray USA told LET. "They want to implant a ‘Cops are Bad’ mentality into your brain and the brains of your kids to feed their very false, and extremely dangerous, narrative. Sadly, this ‘narrative’ goes way beyond just words...It turns into actions."
DAVE BRAY USA also proudly supports Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). C.O.P.S. provides support for the families of fallen law enforcement officers, helping them rebuild their lives and create a sense of community for those affected by the death of a loved one. You can learn more about C.O.P.S. by going to https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/
Dan Clor & Charlie Zeleny
Singer, songwriter, producer, and Marine Dan Clor of Weapon-X is no stranger to concerts. He has put together dozens of similar, many much larger concerts. And most of his songs, like POW, Strength in Numbers and One Shot One Kill are all geared toward the military community.
Clor has also recruited an internationally recognized drummer and strong supporter of the military community, Charlie Zeleny, for the concert. Zeleny has performed for millions of listeners and has played for countless mainstream singers. He even performed at the 2014 Winter Olympics concert in Sochi, Russia. More on him here.
But Clor’s work doesn’t stop at music.
Clor also runs a nonprofit organization, Strength in Numbers Entertainment, which helps prepare youth for military service. Many young men and women struggle with academics and physical fitness or are at-risk youth. And Clor’s nonprofit helps these children with following their dreams of enlisting in the military.
VIP’s
The concert is hosting several VIPs who also strongly support the law enforcement community, like Patriotic artist Scott LoBaido.
LoBaido has had several high-profile bouts with anti-cop and former NYC Mayor Deblasio. LoBaido will stop at nothing to support the men and women in blue, including painting a thin blue line on a public street in Staten Island, New York, which made national news.
LoBaido will be performing a speed painting live during the concert, which will then be auctioned off for charity.
To learn more about Scott LoBaido and to watch his documentary trailer visit his website, www.scottlobaido.com
If you would like to purchase tickets, sponsor, or donate to the event to help the LEO, first responder and military communities, visit www.vfwconcert.com
Now there's a group of veterans that are combatting mental health challenges among the law enforcement, veteran, and first responder community. They are coming together to perform a legendary concert to bring these heroes in one place to improve mental health and prevent suicide.
But these aren't your average veteran musicians.
They are professional rock and roll musicians who write their own music, tour the country and have hundreds of thousands of followers from all over the world. And they haven't forgotten where they came from.
The Veteran Performers
The featured bands consist of veterans from every major branch of the military. And they all know post-traumatic stress too well.
"The bands we have on board, Silence and Light, Weapon-X, and DAVE BRAY USA have military backgrounds and each of them understands the devastating effects of PTSD," Ken Molina, the VFW Post Commander said. "And several of us here at our VFW have lost friends to suicide. That’s why this event is important to us.”
The lead guitarist for Silence & Light and retired member of the U.S. Army’s most elite units, Brad Thomas, is driven by a passion to perform.
“It means a lot to us to play for a crowd of veterans. We want them to have a great time and remember that we’re all here to take care of each other. And we’re going to do that through music,” Thomas told LET.
Marc Herzog, the regional leader for a national non-profit organization, Irreverent Warriors, understands the epidemic too and knows firsthand how beneficial social gatherings are for veterans.
"Any 'vet-together' decreases the chances that a vet will commit suicide. The fact is that isolation kills, and every event that brings veterans together must be encouraged to combat the veteran suicide rate. We at Irreverent Warriors applaud the VFWs efforts, and we expect it to be a great success," Herzog said.
More on DAVE BRAY USA
DAVE BRAY USA will be the opening act. He intends to start the event with a patriotic bang, as he is typically known for. He is also known for always backing the blue and isn't afraid to tell people that. In fact, he often gets questioned why he supports police.
“There are a lot of people out there who wish to demonize the badge, damage and discredit the reputation of the uniform and to puff out their digital chests behind a keyboard," Dave Bray USA told LET. "They want to implant a ‘Cops are Bad’ mentality into your brain and the brains of your kids to feed their very false, and extremely dangerous, narrative. Sadly, this ‘narrative’ goes way beyond just words...It turns into actions."
DAVE BRAY USA also proudly supports Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). C.O.P.S. provides support for the families of fallen law enforcement officers, helping them rebuild their lives and create a sense of community for those affected by the death of a loved one. You can learn more about C.O.P.S. by going to https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/
Dan Clor & Charlie Zeleny
Singer, songwriter, producer, and Marine Dan Clor of Weapon-X is no stranger to concerts. He has put together dozens of similar, many much larger concerts. And most of his songs, like POW, Strength in Numbers and One Shot One Kill are all geared toward the military community.
Clor has also recruited an internationally recognized drummer and strong supporter of the military community, Charlie Zeleny, for the concert. Zeleny has performed for millions of listeners and has played for countless mainstream singers. He even performed at the 2014 Winter Olympics concert in Sochi, Russia. More on him here.
But Clor’s work doesn’t stop at music.
Clor also runs a nonprofit organization, Strength in Numbers Entertainment, which helps prepare youth for military service. Many young men and women struggle with academics and physical fitness or are at-risk youth. And Clor’s nonprofit helps these children with following their dreams of enlisting in the military.
VIP’s
The concert is hosting several VIPs who also strongly support the law enforcement community, like Patriotic artist Scott LoBaido.
LoBaido has had several high-profile bouts with anti-cop and former NYC Mayor Deblasio. LoBaido will stop at nothing to support the men and women in blue, including painting a thin blue line on a public street in Staten Island, New York, which made national news.
LoBaido will be performing a speed painting live during the concert, which will then be auctioned off for charity.
To learn more about Scott LoBaido and to watch his documentary trailer visit his website, www.scottlobaido.com
If you would like to purchase tickets, sponsor, or donate to the event to help the LEO, first responder and military communities, visit www.vfwconcert.com
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The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
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