Audrey Conklin | Reporter
The Resilient, a Pennsylvania-based band made up of four wounded veterans and one professional musician, has big plans for the future.
The band is currently working on their first album, as CBS News first reported, but theyve already garnered a decent social media following due to their unique story. Nearly 2,000 people have liked their Facebook page, their Instagram page has about 400 followers, and their YouTube videos have thousands of views.
Their early yet dedicated following comes as no surprise, given their exceptional outlook on music and its overall purpose in life.
As The Daily Caller reported last week, “its members include guitarist Nate Kalwicki, who lost his leg in Afghanistan; bassist Marcus DAndrea and lead vocalist Tim Donley, both of whom lost their legs; drummer Juan Dominguez, who lost an arm and both legs; and professional musician Greg Loman.” Nate is an Army veteran; Marcus, Tim and Juan are Marine Corps vets.
The men met at Walter Reed Hospital, where four of the five band members were receiving physical rehabilitation treatment for combat wounds. Two of those four — Nate Kalwicki and Marcus DAndrea — were taking music lessons through a program called MusiCorps, a program to help veterans adjust to regular life after coming home from war through music. The other two veterans — Juan Dominguez and Tim Donley — were not receiving lessons through MusiCorps but had prior musical experience.
Dominguez told the Caller, “Guitar was my passion,” but after becoming a triple amputee, he chose a different instrument to tackle: the drums. He was interested in mastering the drums before his injuries, but after surviving combat, they were an instrument he just naturally “gravitated toward.” Since transitioning from his guitar to a completely different instrument, he says “its been a learning curve.”
The five men came together as an official group when the MusiCorps Wounded Warrior band first performed with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd in New York City in 2012.
“From there, we played good together,” Dominguez told the Caller. “We got along. It was kind of a natural fit. … The thing that unites us is the fact that were all injured, we were in the military, and we got a band together.”
But Dominguez says the band doesnt want to use their injuries as a way to promote their music: “Were not trying to get publicity from our injuries, but were not trying to hide them, either.”
And while members of The Resilient have their injuries in common, their individual musical tendencies are all very different. When asked what kind of sound listeners can expect to hear on their first album, (which theyre aiming to release in “about a year”), Dominguez said it will be a mix of rock-based sounds since the bands roots started in rock, hip-hop beats and possibly some bluesy undertones.
“Everyone comes from a different background, so there will be a unique sound from … a whole variety of ingredients. Were not really sure whats going to come out [for our first album]. Weve got a lot of tasty songs right now,” he explained.
But despite their ranging musical tastes and backgrounds, they have one common goal for their music: to have a conversation about PTS syndromes and feeling disconnected from the rest of the world.
“We want to bring light to that. Thats our main goal,” Dominguez said. “Were all weird and mess up. Were not making music to please people, but hopefully, to cRead More – Source
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The daily caller
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