An unlikely American rock band, fittingly called “The Resilient,” is making headlines this week for all the right reasons.
The group of five is made up of “some of the most combat-wounded people in history,” according to their website, and they practice in a home in the woods of Bethel, Pennsylvania.
Its members include guitarist Nate Kalwicki, who lost his leg in Afghanistan; bassist Marcus D’Andrea 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.
The five “met at Walter Reed Hospital through the MusiCorps program during their physical rehabilitation, and have since developed and maintained a brotherly bond through their friendship and commitment to music,” their website states. (RELATED: Deployed Dad Gives Son The Surprise Of A Lifetime During Taekwondo Practice)
“Through the recovery, we all discovered this really intense passion for honest musicianship, and they’ve all gotten so good,” said Loman, who met his four bandmates during their recovery at Walter Reed, in an interview with CBS News.
Not many bands have a mission beyond creating great music, but The Resilient does. Along with obviously wanting to create great music — which they do — the band has another mission to present and share the message of, you guessed it, resilience.
“We just wear our scars on the outside whereas most people have, you know, they’ve got all their own messed up stuff going on inside,” said Donley, adding, “There’s something about it, that just, the motivation, the drive, the just the soul of it. It doesn’t feel it can go anywhere but up.”
“Music’s life,” Dominguez says in a video on the band’s YouTube page. He goes on to explain that he was in a coma during his injury when a nurse suggested he listen to music during his surgery, which the surgeons allowed.
“I was shot in Afghanistan,” Kalwicki says in the video, “but the recovery time in the hospital I spent doing music, and I’d say it’s close to a [kind of] meditation for me.”
The Resilient are working on their first album, and their next two shows are coming up. They’ll be playing at the Redneck Country Club in Houston, Texas, on April 4. You can get your tickets on the country club’s website or call 281-809-4867. They also have a show coming up in their home state of Pennsylvania on May 18. For more information, visit Operation First Response‘s website.
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