Generations: Healing and the Music of War, Vietnam to Today
courtesy Warrior Songs
A person with a guitar in front of cacti.
Jason Moon
Set for release on Aug. 8 is The Last Thing We Ever Do: Warrior Songs Vol. 3, the latest compilation album from Madison-based nonprofit Warrior Songs, which uses the creative arts to help veterans heal. The official CD release show is in Milwaukee, but there are several Madison area events as well, kicking off with a Saturday afternoon concert (2 p.m., July 31, Bos Meadery) featuring Warrior Songs founder Jason Moon along with Bone Holler, Matt DeBlass, Lisa Johnson, Mark Lint’s Dry Folk, Kyle Rightley, Kris Sheehan and Chris Wellner. On Aug. 5, a 5:15 p.m. concert at the top of State Street (free and open to all) will be followed by a panel discussion at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum (free, but RSVP here). Find more events and info at warriorsongs.org.
media release: The concert and panel discussion are free and suitable for all ages.
5:15 – 6 pm : Concert at the top of State Street. Open to the public, bring your own seating.
6:30 – 8:00 pm : Panel Discussion with the musicians. Please register in advance on Eventbrite due to limited seating at the museum.
Live music is back and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum will host a free, outdoor concert at the top of State Street to preview the release of the album, The Last Thing We Ever Do (bring your own seating) followed by a public panel discussion (free; register in advance on Eventbrite) with the musicians. The album is a collection of songs based on first–hand testimony of Vietnam veterans about their experiences. The panel will explore their creative process and the healing that art activities can bring about.
Inspired by first-hand testimony, Vietnam-era veterans and professional songwriters created the songs and studio musicians gave them voice resulting in the 14-song album, The Last Thing We Ever Do. The origins of the project begin with Vietnam vets sharing their experiences at retreats like Warrior Songs where veterans heal through the creative arts, personal conversations, and interviews. Topics range from combat and the draft to reintegration and moral injury.
Panelist:
- Jason Moon, founder and executive director of Warrior Songs;
- Yvette Pino, Iraq war veteran and curator of veteran art for the Museum;
- Doug Bradley, Madison Vietnam veteran and co-author of We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War;
- Jake Froelke, songwriter and musician. He and Bradley collaborated on “Look Out Sam,” one of the songs on the album which emphasizes the significance of music to troops in Vietnam.
The Last Thing We Ever Do is produced by Wisconsin native and Iraq vet Jason Moon of Warrior Songs, a Madison-based nonprofit which brings hope and healing to veterans through music and the creative arts. Warrior’s second volume, Women at War, was awarded album of the year by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry in 2019.
*Copies of The Last Thing We Ever Do will be provided free to veterans who attend the event.
The program is presented by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation with the support of Madison’s Central Business Improvement District.
An album of songs based on the experiences of Vietnam era veterans, titled “The Last Thing We Ever Do,” is scheduled for release in August by Warrior Songs, a non-profit helping veterans heal from the trauma of war through the creative arts.
The CD features 14 songs created by professional songwriters from the firsthand testimony of Vietnam era veterans, brought to life by professional studio musicians. Copies of the CDs are made available to veterans and veteran non-profits free of charge.
The songs on the album run the gamut of topics, from dealing with the Selective Service to combat to coping with returning to the U.S., civilian life, and moral injury.
Nineteen Vietnam era veterans gave testimony, transformed into song by 21 songwriters and recorded by 81 studio musicians in 14 different studios across five states in two countries – USA and Vietnam. A total of 109 artists, including 17 Vietnamese nationals, joined forces to complete the project.
“This album is about healing, and also about reconciliation,“ said Jason Moon, an Iraq war combat veteran plagued by severe PTSD who founded Warrior Songs to help other veterans. He wrote one of the songs, “Seeds of Peace,” in Vietnam in 2019 and recorded it with Vietnamese children as vocalists. It is about the importance of reconciliation in healing moral injury. The renowned conductor of the United Saigon Orchestra, Son Mach, completed recordings in Saigon and Da Nang.
The song was inspired by Moon witnessing a meal in Duc Pho shared by Vietnam veteran Chuck Theusch, founder of Children’s Library International, and other US Vietnam veterans, with former Viet Cong. The two groups had fought against each other 50 years ago in that province.
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