{"id":27758,"date":"2023-09-17T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=27758"},"modified":"2023-09-18T06:40:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T06:40:14","slug":"a-veterans-journey-from-music-to-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=27758","title":{"rendered":"A Veteran\u2019s journey from music to healing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Veterans\u2019 Bedford Green apartments on the Bedford VA<\/a> campus lives a Navy Veteran whose life story captures the strength of the human spirit and the healing power of music.<\/p>\n

Ray Fernandes, once the drummer and background vocalist for the Boston rock band \u201cThe Atlantics,\u201d will soon be inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame on Sept. 30th.<\/p>\n

Fernandes\u2019 connection to music was nurtured from an early age thanks to his father. \u201cMy dad was a pretty decent singer. My connection to music came from his influence and his playing records every weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In 1977, Fernandes joined The Atlantics just as they were becoming part of Boston\u2019s emerging punk scene. The Atlantics shared stages with bands like The Cars, The Ramones and Cheap Trick. After departing from The Atlantics in 1979, Fernandes embarked on a new musical journey, forming the synthpop band Primary Colors.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Memories of musical career<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Despite his musical successes, life took a challenging turn, leading him into a homeless situation during a period of personal turmoil. \u201cWhat\u2019s really hard is I\u2019ve lived most of my adult life with somebody else. Then I was on my own. It\u2019s devastating and scary. I still wake up every morning with fear. When you\u2019re alone you have too much time to think of bad things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

VA provided support he needed to rebuild his life<\/h2>\n

During this trying time, VA played a pivotal role in his life. \u201cVA has treated me well. If it wasn\u2019t for VA I\u2019d be dead,\u201d he said. VA provided him with not only a physical space but also the support he needed to rebuild his life. He served two years in the Navy as a boatswain\u2019s mate and receives health care treatment at Bedford VA.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fernandes\u2019 journey comes full circle as he prepares for induction into the New England Music Hall of Fame. His recognition acknowledges not only his musical contributions but also his resilience through life\u2019s challenges. \u201cAfter everything I\u2019ve been through, in a homeless situation and to this now. I really needed this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A resident at Bedford Green, Fernandes continues to draw strength from his memories and the community he helped shape. He firmly believes in the role of music in connecting Veterans. \u201cI think these things that I did. They play a big part in keeping me alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 30, along with Lizzie Borden & The Axes, Mach Bell and others, Fernandes will stand tall, celebrated not only for his career, but for his unwavering spirit and the inspiration he offers fellow Veterans who might be facing their own struggles. His is a story of the healing power of music and the support systems that can help individuals rebuild their lives, no matter how daunting the journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Veterans\u2019 Bedford Green apartments on the Bedford VA campus lives a Navy Veteran whose life story captures the strength of the human spirit and the healing power of music. Ray Fernandes, once the drummer and background vocalist for the Boston rock band \u201cThe Atlantics,\u201d will soon be inducted into the New England Music […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":27760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27758"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27764,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27758\/revisions\/27764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}