Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-nominated drummer Rick Allen has just returned from a tour across Australia and Japan with his Def Leppard bandmates. Up next, a gig at Carmel Valley’s Folktale Winery with his wife – singer-songwriter Lauren Monroe – and fellow musician Keith Greeninger.
The spirit behind the songs they will perform is one of empowerment and hope. “Music to me is a wonderful vehicle for intention,” Allen says. “When we make music, our intention is to lift people up.”
It’s befitting for the show’s purpose as a benefit for Project Resilience, the couple’s charitable mission to raise awareness and provide services to area veterans coping with PTSD. It’s a cause close to both of their hearts – Allen has suffered from PTSD since the 1984 car accident that caused him to lose his left arm.
“I’m still a work in progress,” he says.
Monroe has also dealt with trauma, and made a career as a healer, writer and musician. Together, the couple founded the Raven Drum Foundation in 2001, which began by serving incarcerated youth, sexual assault and domestic violence survivors and people battling addiction, helping them heal through drum circles.
“When people drum together, the same thing happens – a feeling of unity and openness to their own healing,” Monroe says.
Over time, the project expanded from drum circles into weekend and five-day retreats offering various modes of healing – from equine therapy to neurofeedback – and recovery from trauma.
After Allen visited Walter Reed Hospital in 2006 and befriended Jon Roberts of the Wounded Warrior Project, he was inspired to focus on veterans. The couple’s hope is that through their music, they can raise awareness and provide education and services to address the impact of trauma rippling from veterans through their families and out into the community.
“We’re actively at war,” Allen says. “PTSD is something people have to live with all the time, and it’s something that should be on people’s mind more often. It takes a group investment to heal.”
Allen is known for supplying the driving beat behind “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Photograph,” and other Def Leppard classics. After the before-show VIP-meet-and-greet, he’ll join his wife on stage for some songs and storytelling.
LAUREN MONROE, RICK ALLEN AND KEITH GREENINGER 6pm VIP reception, 7:30pm concert Saturday, Nov. 17. Folktale Winery, 8940 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. $60-$250. folktalewinery.com