by Bob Maxwell
Voice of the Vet
Def Leppard, the newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Band was in Las Vegas at the Zappos Theatre in the Planet Hollywood Casino on the Fabulous Las Vegas Strip.
Rick Allen, the drummer for Def Leppard showcased his artistic talents at the Wentworth Gallery in the Miracle Mile Mall located inside Planet Hollywood. Rick is the first Rock Star to display his traveling art tour in Las Vegas while doing a residency here.
Voice of the Vet had the opportunity to meet with and interview Rick to discuss his artwork and his work with wounded Veterans. His devotion to our Veterans is absolutely heartfelt. The Raven Drum Foundation was set up by Rick and his wife Loren (who is also and entertainer and author). Project Resiliency is one of their programs designed to inspire wounded Veterans affected by PTSD. Project Resiliency has retreats that include drumming, equine assisted therapy and good old fashioned therapy sitting around a campfire and talking about their experiences. These are some of the different ways to help cope with PTSD.
Backstage after Def Leppard concerts, Rick also meets with Veterans and others that suffer from PTSD where they all share their stories and explore ways to become stronger as they live with the effects of PTSD.
A good portion of all proceeds of the sale of Rick’s artwork, is donated to Veterans and their families. Project Resiliency also provides current information, resources and healing tools to help cope with the emotional, physical and psychological wounds of war.
About the Artist
Musician, Humanitarian, Visual Artist
Rick Allen became the drummer for Def Leppard at age 15. At the height of worldwide fame in 1984, he had a car accident that changed his life. Rick lost an arm, but
turned personal tragedy into spiritual transformation and continued his musical career. While he was already a hero to millions of young people, he soon added millions of new admirers. Since then Rick has been reaching out and giving support to others all over the globe by sharing his personal experiences and his love of drumming. Over the past 13 years Rick has reached out to teenage cancer patients, children with special needs, at risk youth in crisis, families of domestic violence and veterans who have served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Humanitarian Award by Maria Shriver’s Best Buddies of CA in 2002 and in 2012, was also awarded the prestigious Wounded Warrior Project’s Carry It Forward Award. Rick continues his work helping wounded warriors through Project Resiliency’s Warrior Resiliency Program sponsored by his charity foundation the Raven Drum Foundation.
An integral part of Rick’s creative life went public in 2012. After years of personal photographic work, Allen ventured into the fine art world with a blockbuster debut collection of abstract artwork built from rhythm. Allen has become a pioneer in the new medium, utilizing drumsticks and rhythm to dictate abstract visuals on canvas.
The debut collection, featuring 300 pieces, quickly sold out in its initial offering to the public and boasted a sold out exhibition. A second collection, released in 2013, and titled “Rock-On-Canvas” met with a similar exceptional reception and brought forward a relationship with America’s leading fine art retailer Wentworth Galleries. The Artist is pleased to present this new Collection: “Legends & Dreams” in 2019.
Rick’s art is currently being showcased in Wentworth Gallery locations throughout the country. This extraordinary collection houses originals, limited editions, the painted drum series, mixed media originals, and sculptures.
Enjoy this video and if you have any thoughts or questions, please contact us through our contact us page.
A Special Thank You to Rick Allen for taking the time to meet with us, we had a great time! Thank you to Allison Zucker-Perelman of Relevant Communications for making this interview possible.
To view Rick Allen’s artwork click on this logo:
To view Rick Allen’s Project Resiliency, click on this logo:
A big thank you to our Voice of the Vet TEAM:
- Debbie Hall, our Voice of the Vet Magazine Editor-in-Chief for coordinating with Allison to get us on the list… and for writing an article for Broadway World (which she is the Las Vegas Editor of) from this video.
- Marcel & David Forestieri on cameras 1 & 2.
- Eric Clements & Lance Maxwell for the post production work.
