Jason Moon’s February 2012 Newsletter

Jason Moon’s February 2012 Newsletter,

2011 Year in Review, Obstacles and the Future

2011 Year in Review

In 2011 Jason Moon traveled over 24,000 miles and raise over $13,000 for veterans’ causes. I performed at 54 different veteran events and concerts and gave 650 copies of my cd “Trying to Find My Way Home” to veterans and veteran healers. I traveled the country by plane and by car in 2011. From Tucson Arizona, to Walter Reed Medical Center, to Ashville North Carolina, to Fort Knox Kentucky, Lanse’ Michigan, and even Seattle Washington, along with so many more, spreading the message of hope for PTSD and our Veterans. I met countless veterans and veteran’s healers and they all seemed to have the same message to me: Keep going. Keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll find a sample of the testimonials and endorsements that flooded my inbox this year at the end of this newsletter.

The money I raise comes from a combination of donations from others and donations from myself. I gave the profits of “Trying to Find My Way Home” CD sales and a great deal of the proceeds of my performances to the cause, often times leaving only enough to cover my gas and lodging. Sometimes I didn’t even cover that. Without the help of people like Mary & Bill Hoettels and my good friend Corky I would have had to stop the mission a long time ago. After a year of traveling the country on fumes and after the encouragement of fellow veterans and veteran’s healers I have decided to take this mission to the next level.

Obstacles and the Future

I am in the process of creating, Warrior Songs, a non-profit that will facilitate veteran healing through music by teaming veterans with music and through songwriting collaboration. I am very excited to see this new project get off the ground, but we will not be ready to go until later this spring. Warrior Songs Inc. was incorporated December 29^th 2011. I am held up right now, waiting only to raise the $800.00 to file the IRS 1023 application for non-profit status. Yes, that’s right; the government charges you to start a non-profit. And while I was able to raise a substantial amount of money for other veterans’ organizations, I am at a standstill to raise the funds I need for the non-profit. Out of gas and out of money I sit patiently waiting. Ok, very impatiently waiting with great anxiety and frustration. If you’d like to make a donation please visit my web site at www.jasonmoon.org all donations are tax deductible. I have grants waiting for me once the non-profit application is complete, but until I raise the $800.00 I’m stuck. I don’t like being stuck.

If I don’t raise the money, I will be unable to proceed with this year’s plan. This year I’m invited to perform everywhere from San Diego at the first ever Military Sexual Trauma convention; bringing together women veterans from across the world, to Boston Massachusetts for the VA art competition. It costs just over $800.00 to file for the non-profit. Once that’s taken care of I need to raise another $600 for airline tickets and hotel. My monthly budget for the nonprofit, Warrior Songs Inc., is only about $200.00. I don’t pay myself for the performances or CD sales. I only need the startup fees and some travel money. The only money I take is reimbursement of travel, and once I get back out there and start applying for grants the mission will sustain itself.

What is the ultimate goal you ask? To make sure every veteran in this county knows that PTSD is not a weakness and that they are not alone. To give a copy of my CD to every veteran or veteran healer who wants one at no cost, and to let every civilian know that they have a sacred obligation to understand PTSD and that doing so alleviates the suffering of PTSD veterans. I want to be able to travel to any location where my music can help alleviate the suffering of PTSD veterans, even if the organization who requests music can’t afford it. Warrior Songs will also collect poems, songs, and stories from the veterans I meet along my travels and transform them into a CD which will then be used to raise awareness of veteran’s issues. Sounds big I know, but I’m a combat engineer, so I WILL TRY! Some other lofty goals are: to send 2 veterans a year (one Vietnam era, one OIF/OEF) to Vietnam to work at an orphanage that cares for the 3^rd generation of children harmed by Agent Orange. To slowly but steadily begin to sponsor the travels of other songwriting veterans to attend to the healing of other veterans, widening the focus from PTSD to include, Military Sexual Trauma, Physical Disability, Substance Abuse Recovery, KIA and Suicide Survivor Support, and more.

I thank you for reading this newsletter and for all the support I have been shown. I hope it continues. Below are the voices of the veterans and veteran healers I serve. If they resonate anything within your heart please consider making a donation to Warrior Songs so I can continue the work. No donation is to small and all donations are tax deductible. You can donate at http://www.jasonmoon.org/fr_donation.cfm

Thank You,
Jason Moon

02/08/2012

Mission Statement and Testimonials (updated 1/25/2012)

JASON MOON is a Milwaukee-based folk/rock musician and songwriter, an Army veteran, and an advocate for veterans issues. He was a soldier for a decade, has been writing songs for two, and holds a Religious Studies graduate degree. After returning from Iraq in 2004, Jason began his struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), almost losing his life to the disease in 2008. His latest album, Trying to Find My Way Home, portrays his struggle to reclaim himself after returning from war, and often gets through to veterans who suffer from PTSD when other methods have failed. He travels the country to inform both civilians and veterans of PTSD and to raise money for Veterans’ charities.

After receiving such an enormous response in the veterans community and beyond to his music, Jason created the non-profit, Warrior Songs. The mission of Warrior Songs is to provide a forum for the veteran’s voice to be heard through music. Established songwriters collaborate with the veterans and turn the words of their poetry, prose and journals into song. As he works to build his non-profit, Jason continues to travel the country singing for veterans. www.jasonmoon.org

Mission Statement (pending www.warriorsongs.org)

Warrior Songs Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to facilitating healing through songwriting and music amongst United States Military personnel and veterans. Established musicians work with veterans to develop their written works and then turn these pieces into a platform for self-expression and healing. Additionally Warrior Songs Inc. seeks to educate the public and veterans communities about veterans issues (PTSD, MST, and other war traumas)

What vets are saying about Jason’s music……

It seems like every generation has a songwriter who is able to capture the trials and tribulations of war and for this generation that songwriter is Jason Moon. His ability to capture the blood, sweat and tears in words is immeasurable. So immeasurable you can even hear, see and smell the days spent away from home at war. Moon’s ability to find common ground with his Brother’s and Sisters of war is remarkable and his crowd interaction and storytelling is second to none. Not only do Moon’s lyrics transcend all wars but they have the ability to unite all Veteran’s over their time in service, struggles and losses. The one thing that I hear most in Moon’s music is the message of hope. Doctors and Clinical Professionals cannot put in a bottle or pill what his humor is able to do for the soul. Laughter is often times the best medicine and far too often un-prescribed. Thank you Jason and Soldier’s Heart for helping this Soldier who has been “Trying to Find My Way Home” far too long.

SGT Peyton Boyd, 82nd Airborne

Jason Moon has removed the barrier between the Veteran and healing. Translating his own experience into words and verse which are universal, he is able to transcend ages, stages and gender. Jason’s CD is portable therapy to take home and play PRN (in medical lingo – anytime you need it.) It is Jason’s music that has been far more therapeutic for me than current intervention therapy. I have heard and read the same response time and time again from Veterans dealing with PTSD – and some with MST as well. MST is a way to mask what really is the problem – rape.

Mary E. Hoettels, MS, RD, Retired
LTC, SP, USAR, Retired
AUSA, DAV, RAMSCA, NABMW

Jason, although I had purchased your cd after meeting you in Dryhootch a while ago, I just started listening to it when I had some quiet moments to REALLY LISTEN. I must say that it struck some deep chords with me, and there were some painful messages. Despite this, it is giving me some inspiration to continue on my healing journey. Thank you for your music.

Betsy Beckner-Saunders: Veteran, US Navy and US Army

Jason Moon is an important voice for America and I encourage everyone to listen.................his songs tell stories only Combat Veterans can compose.... in a stark and realistic and sensitive effort. Jim Walktendonk (Nam 70-71)

I didn't know how to explain how i felt. This song not only hit home but also brought tears to my eyes.........thank you. I'm lucky to have sat and played with ya thanks bro.........Gene Hendrickson Jr. (Iraq 03-04)

Absolutely refreshing and you relate all you sing about clear as a bell man! - Bill Dyckns (Nam 68-69)

I met Jason Moon at two different Soldier Heart’s retreats; Jason is an Iraq war veteran with combat PTSD. I am a female veteran rape survivor with PTSD MST. How can two veterans with different traumas be able to talk about their trauma and begin the slow process of healing? Jason has become part of that process. He is able to put into words his journey with the horrific effects of PTSD. Jason is not ashamed to show his pain and emotions while singing his songs. This provides a safe environment for others to express their emotions as well. He is always attuned to the mood of the community and adds humor to the unthinkable while singing. Jason has found his creative art of storytelling and putting it to music with the simplicity of a guitar. His contribution to my healing has been incredible. I wish him success, and hope that you can open your hearts and soul to see what I see.

Deborah M. Stewart, DK! Retired Navy

Being almost twice Jason's age, I didn't think his music would have much of an impact on me. Boy was I wrong! It makes me want to work harder with these young men and women we have sent off to war for the last ten years plus. Humor is good medicine for these wounded warriors and Jason gives it in spades. The impact of his music and art in general is remarkable. Well done Jason...Well done.

Hugh Scanlen Vietnam Veteran 67-68-69

Jason's music touches veterans at an emotional level that is true to our experiences. As a fellow veteran, and doctoral student in counseling psychology, his music is relevant and therapeutic. In my personal opinion, it is stories such as his, that need to be heard, seen and felt by the individuals that have no idea of what our experiences were and how it affects the way we continue to experience life.

Irene Beltzer
TSgt USAF
Doctoral Student, PsyD Walden University

Jason Moon's music is played during an opening Soldier's Heart circle. The words hit home to the emotions bubbling at the surface. Tears of release and healing begin triggered from Jason's prose. We begin our journey of trust, inquiry and healing amongst a room full of strangers who have quickly become family amidst the common denominator of war healing. Jason's Music sets the stage. We love him and are grateful for his gift.

Jan Newell – Sister of a Vietnam Veteran

I am a Vietnam Veteran, 100% Disability from PTSD. My healing and survival has been deeply supported by music. When I hear the words of many musicians my HEART is opened for my grief and my joy to come out to continue my healing. Without this portal for me to pass thru my life would be less than it is now. I believe that our brother Jason Moon is giving to the haling that is so essential in all Warriors Return back to the World. I pray that our policy makers HEAR OUR CRY! Give us some help and we will do the rest by caring for each other. We know in our hearts how to move forward. Just get out of our way by giving what has been already paid for.

Bobbi Orlando,PS

Jason, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for being who you are and sharing the deep, dark, raw and then hopeful and humorous feelings you have had during and since your deployment. Putting words and music to feelings that many can't express is what deeply helps make healing possible. Describing in detail what you went through in combat and how it changed you, even your brain physically and chemically, makes PTSD so much easier to understand...my words alone cannot describe how you helped me and helped me know that I wasn't alone in my feelings of separation, anxiety and depression. I am so blessed by your presence in the world. YOU ARE THE CATALYST TO THE HEALING OF SO MANY... YOUR MUSIC strikes the chords of ones very being.

Elizabeth, Army Veteran – UW Oshkosh Veterans Group

What professionals are saying about Jason’s music…………

Get Jason's album and distribute it far and wide…. Jason's CD of songs as a veteran about the veteran journey to war and back is one of the most profound testaments I've ever encountered on the full cost of war. This album of songs itself is a textbook on PTSD. It covers all the wounds; substance abuse and alcohol suicidal feelings and just being lost and alone and saying good-by to your beloved son who you may never see again the night before you leave for war; and I could go on and on..

Edward Tick, Ph.D. Author, WAR AND THE SOUL , Co-director, SOLDIER'S HEART

I am a mental health provider who works primarily with veterans who live with the aftermath of war. Many struggle to make sense of their experiences and are trying to figure out how to somehow fit into themselves and civilian society again. I am always looking for ways to have a conversation with veterans about what is happening to them in a manner that is both close to their experience and non-clinical so that they can really hear and absorb the information. I think your CD tells a story that is both very recognizable and hopeful. It is great to have such beautiful music and lyrics available to listen to with veterans. I wish I could give each of them a copy of your CD to take home.

Johanna (Hans) Buwalda, M.Ed., M.A., L.C.P.C.

Jason Moon is a gifted singer and song writer. The CD "Trying to Find My Way Home" lets Veteran's know that they are not alone in their struggles to adapt to civilian life. Too many male and female Veterans are committing suicide daily, in large part due to feeling isolated and alone in their battle to cope with their mental health symptoms. Jason Moon's very raw honest lyrics cut to the heart of coping with family issues, addiction and PTSD.

He has an authentic voice which reflects his own personal journey home, a journey that only just begins upon discharge from active duty. The poetic honesty of his lyrics will reach all those who listen to his CD. Civilians will better understand the struggles of the men and women who are serving our country, therapists will find that this CD reflects the truest feelings shared by veterans returning from combat. Most importantly our Veterans who are silently facing the challenges of adjusting to life after war will know they are not alone.

Hillary Siedler, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Asheville, NC

Hans Christian Anderson says, "Music speaks where words fail." This couldn't be truer for Jason Moon's music. It gives a profound voice to the countless warriors who don't have the words to even begin to express the seemingly inexpressible wounds of war. As a psychotherapist who works with returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, I am daily witness to the heart-wrenching effects of war on individuals, families, and the community. And as someone that has met Jason and experienced his music live, I've seen firsthand the impact that his music has on the souls of other combat veterans. As he articulates his pain, he is articulating theirs. As he chronicles his journey of struggle and healing, he is chronicling theirs. As he accesses hope, he is helping them to do the same. Jason's gutsy songs are sometimes humorous, sometimes weighty, and always poignant. The more that his music is shared with our returning warriors, the more they will see they are not alone and that healing is possible. And the more that his music is shared with our community as a whole, the better we will be able to help our warriors to truly come home.

Carolyn C. W. Brown, MSW, LCSW Asheville, NC

I have heard Jason's music live in Seattle, and I can tell you, it was a profoundly moving experience. I not only got in touch with some of my own deepest feelings of sorrow, longing, loss, and hope, but I also felt closer to everyone else in the room who was experiencing similar feelings. Music is the universal language, and it is also a balm for the soul.

Sally Jo Gilbert
Veteran Advocate – Seattle Washington

It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for presenting and performing at the National Summit: Arts in Healing for Warriors held on October 14 & 15, 2011 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, and for offering participants a complimentary copy of your CD. After months of planning by numerous partners, this two-day summit was a tremendous success, offering an unprecedented opportunity for military personnel and practitioners and supporters of arts and health to share ideas and best practices for addressing the needs of veterans, Wounded Warriors, and their families. The summit touched on a range of concerns specific to these populations, from physical issues such as traumatic brain injury to psychological effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and the feedback we have received from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. It is clear that the conversations begun at the summit will continue on and become the catalyst for increased arts and health activity in military and veteran settings. In fact, we have already received requests for another summit to build on the topics and conversations from our brief time together. Please visit the summit webpage for copies of summit materials and PowerPoint presentations.

Your willingness as a speaker and musician to share your story and your work with summit attendees was huge part of the driving force behind its success. The summit partners planned and coordinated the event, but your contributions brought it to life, helping people at all levels of familiarity with arts and health better comprehend the vital importance of the field in the rehabilitation and reintegration of military personnel affected by their experiences in combat. We thank you for your contribution to the National Summit: Arts in Healing for Warriors, and for your dedication to expanding opportunities for our service men and women to approach their experiences through the healing power of creativity.

Yours in arts and health,

Anita Boles, Executive Director, Society for the Arts in Healthcare

Broke Down Engine

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Feb 23, 2012 Add comment Share

New Year

I get my non-profit bank account Monday and then a PayPal account, but for now you can donate at http://www.jasonmoon.org/store.cfm with the donate button. It is tax deductible and will be a great help. Since 01/01/2011 Jason Moon has traveled over 24,000 miles to raise $12,000 which has been distributed to many various veterans’ organizations. I performed at 54 different veteran events and concerts and gave 650 cd to veterans and veteran healers. I traveled the country in 2011 from Tucson Arizona, Walter Reed Medical Center, Ashville North Carolina, Fort Knox Kentucky, Lanse Michigan, and Seattle Washington to so many more. This year I’m invited to perform everywhere from San Diego at the first ever Military Sexual Trauma convention bringing together women veterans from across the world, to Boston Massachusetts for the VA art competition. It costs just over $800.00 to file for the non-profit. My monthly budget for the nonprofit, Warrior Songs Inc., is only about $200.00. I don’t pay myself for the performances or CD sales. I only need the startup fees and money to travel. My goal? To make sure every veteran in this county knows that PTSD is not a weakness and that they are not alone. To give a copy of my CD to every veteran or veteran healer who wants one at no cost. And to let every civilian know that they have a sacred obligation to understand PTSD and that doing so alleviates the suffering of PTSD veterans. Sounds big, but I’m a combat engineer. I WILL TRY!

Jan 24, 2012 Add comment Share

The New Year and the new non-profit

Jan 24, 2012 Add comment Share

And Now The Moment You’ve all Been Waiting For

And Now The Moment You’ve all Been Waiting For…
Or at least I have. What began in 2009 with an interview request comes to fruition tomorrow in Europe. The documentary On the Bridge which was the catalyst for Trying to Find My Way Home is airing tomorrow. How many people will watch it? I am happy, nervous and scared all at the same time. I have been working up to this date since June 2010. I’m looking forward to the screening in Chicago as well as going out to DC. Also I am looking forward to some much needed R & R. In celebration of this long awaited event I offer to you the instrumental version of Hold On. Here is the link below:
http://fullmoonmusic.org/files/08 (Instrumental) Hold On.mp3

Sep 29, 2011 Add comment Share

And Now The Moment You’ve all Been Waiting For…

Sep 29, 2011 Add comment Share

And Now The Moment You’ve all Been Waiting For…

Sep 29, 2011 6 comments Share

Jason Moon's September newsletter

I haven't written a newsletter since June and a lot has changed since then. I've been very busy, but that's a good thing. I know many of you are busy so i won’t be offended if you don’t have the time to read this. This month I'll celebrate my 37th birthday and the fourth anniversary of my marriage to my beautiful wife Sarah Dolens-Moon. Here is a short update of what I've been doing since June and the future what has in store.

As many of you know, since the release of my new CD "Trying to Find My Way Home" (01/01/2011), I have been on a mission to raise awareness about PTSD, as well as raise money to help veterans with PTSD. My goal is to raise $25,000 by 2013. As of today, September 12, 2011 I have raised $8858.10, and traveled 15,913 miles to achieve this. I'm exhausted, road weary, and have been suffering some pretty nasty episodes of PTSD myself lately, but I continue to drive on. So first let's look at some of the highlights of the last few months that made me happy.

A personal dream of mine came true when I was invited to play at The Coffee House in Milwaukee. My September 11, 2011 concert at The Coffee House raised $952 for the Milwaukee Homeless Veteran’s Initiative. I was glad so many people showed up to the show and that we raised a substantial amount of money. But nothing compared to the feeling I felt when I took the stage, to a room full of people waiting to hear songs I wrote. I can’t explain how it felt, except that it was magical perform on a stage that so many of my heroes played on If you don't know the history of The Coffee House in Milwaukee, do yourself a favor and take some time to learn about it. Many of my Milwaukee heroes have performed in this unassuming space.

Another wonderful occurrence was the invitation by my mentor, teacher, and all around great guy Lil Rev, to sing on his new album. Rev took a song I wrote which I played for him back in the early 90s when we first met and rearranged it. He recorded it at my absolute favorite studio, SurroundinSound Studios, with my absolute favorite studio engineer Jonathan Leubner. I sang back up on the chorus. It was surreal to be in the studio with two of the most talented people I know, recording a reworked version of a song I had written when I was very young.

Also, a gigantic thanks to Rev’s wife Carol who took the time to practice several craniosacral massages on me. I made a gigantic step forward with my PTSD when I was able to understand what my body was saying. We are so very much the component of many different organs and systems. If you have PTSD and you don’t know what your reticular activating system does, find out. Knowledge of how my RAS works turned my hyper vigilance into a friend instead of a foe. It’s hard to explain, but, from the bottom of my heart, thank you Carol Alvarez.

Speaking of people to thank, my most esteem gratitude goes out to Mary and Bill, two wonderful new friends whose generosity has allowed me to focus all my efforts on PTSD education and fundraising. Because of them I have been able to spend my time traveling around spreading my message and have been able to put aside the bar room performances I had been doing for a while. I sure did love playing at all those wonderful taverns in the Northwoods of Wisconsin this summer: Little Brown Jug, The Minocqua Brewing Company, Legends of St. Germain, The Timbers, and the Sayner Pub. And a very special thank you to my old and dear friend Becky Dunn for setting up the majority of these shows. While I always put a tip jar out at each of the shows and raised a little money for veterans charities, I'm excited be done playing the barroom scene for a while.

This year’s Locust Street Festival was a fantastic success, raising almost $2000 per veteran’s charities. It also brought a lot of attention to the needs of veterans. I enjoyed my many trips to Camp American Legion where I provided entertainment for both their woman's week and the American Legion Legacy ride. Thanks to Tom Guenther, of Big Wave Productions, I was able to play the side stage at country USA in Oshkosh Wisconsin, and raise some money for veterans there with help from my friend Benjamin Cloyd. We got to sit backstage while they interviewed Miranda Lambert, but unfortunately I didn’t really know who she is. I've also enjoyed the new friendships are formed with the veteran’s organizations: Dry Hooch, and Vets 4 Vets. As is always, the Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative remains the veteran’s organization nearest to my heart, followed closely behind by Soldier's Heart. I’m also thankful for the civilian organizations which have provided me with venues to spread my message, raise money for veterans, and find relaxation. Special thank you to: Linneman's Riverwest, Echo Valley Farms, Java by the Bay, and my Eagle River hometown favorite, Many Ways of Peace.

I've been having so much success using music to connect with those who suffer from, don't know they suffer from, or don't know about, PTSD. You can read some of the reviews of my work by veterans as well as civilians on my web page under the New CD tab. I’ve also added a press log just in case you’d like to see what the press has been saying about my work. You can find it under the Press tab. I'm a humble man, so I share these reviews and accolades with you in the hopes that you will find my work credible and allow me to continue my mission. The most important payment I ever receive for the work I do comes when I get through to a veteran with my story and song.

I’m not exactly sure why it works, but it does. Take this experience for example. I had the honor to be invited to play for the 327th engineering company of Onalaska, Wisconsin on July 15, 2011. The 327^th returned from a year of service in both Iraq and Afghanistan in December of 2010. In typical combat engineer fashion, I played on a rickety stage in rainy weather plugged into a generator. It took place at the USSA grounds in Pittsville, WI, which is a retired cranberry bog. It had just rained, and the spotlights on the stage made me a prime target for the many hungry mosquitoes. For three hours I told jokes, stories about my time in Iraq, sang songs, and eventually discussed my own personal struggle with PTSD. When the show ended several soldiers who had be struggling with the symptoms of PTSD, but have been afraid to come forward, began to speak. Members of Vets4Vets were there to listen. A soldier took me aside, and said he learned more about PTSD from listing to me for three hours than he had in six months of PowerPoint presentations by the military. This is the mission, and this is just one example of the work I do.

My new CD, now nine months old, continues to be received well. It has been accepted by Pandora Internet radio and is in rotation. They've also begun to play my very first CD “Naked Under All These Clothes”. Both CDs are now available at all major digital music distributors such as iTunes and Amazon MP3. I've set aside November and December of this year to begin working on my next CD. I'm going to try my very best to have the talent who worked on “Trying to Find My Way Home” work with me, next CD.

As I said earlier, I put down playing bar gigs for a while. So here are some of the exciting events that I'll be participating in over the next few months. You can view them all by visiting my webpage and looking at my calendar. I will be performing at the Tomah, Wisconsin VA for their annual POW/MIA recognition Day on September 16, 2011. I have another show tentatively scheduled their on Veterans Day November 11, 2011. The most amazing piece of news is that I've been invited to perform and speak at the first annual National Summit on Art in Healing for Warriors, to be held at the new Walter Reed medical facility on October 14, 2011. I'm a little nervous as all the scheduled speakers on the agenda have lots of capital letters after their names. It's an enormous honor to be invited to this event and I promise I will do my best to communicate the importance of music and the arts in healing from PTSD, both from my own experience, and the work I've been doing.

If you've been following along with these newsletters, which are incredibly long I know, then you know that this all started when a French director Olivier Morel asked me to be part of the documentary about the struggles of veterans returning from war and attempting to reintegrate into society. I am thankful I said yes, and I'm thankful that both Zadig Productions (France) and Roy and Linda Dolens, as well as many, many, other friends and family made it possible for me to create “Trying To Find My Way Home”. I hope the work I'm doing and have done and the money I have raised and will raise honors those who invested in the making of the CD.

The documentary, “On the Bridge” is finally set to be released. It will air on ARTE-TV on September 30, 2011, in France and Germany, for an expected viewership of up to 2 million. The documentary has also been selected for The Global Peace Film Festival, in Orlando Florida. It will air there on the 24th and 25 September. I’ve saved the most fantastic piece of news, an opinion based solely on proximity, for last. The documentary was selected to be one of 12 documentaries competing in the 47th annual Chicago International Film Festival. It screens on October 8th and 16^th. I am unable to attend the screening on October 8, but hope to arrange for a panel discussion and musical concert/fundraiser after the October 16 screening. The documentary will also be screened in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area later this winter.

On a final note I’d like to thank my dear friend Corky for coming through in the time of crisis. I would also like to thank my good friend Lin Daily for always reminding me to let love be the source of my inspiration. I'd like to thank my dear friend Dr. Zemler for always having a shoulder to lean on. I'd like to express unending gratitude to my dear friends Mary and Bill's whose generosity sustains my mission. And lastly I would like to thank my son Dylan, and especially my wife Sarah for allowing me to take the time to do this important work.

Thank you,

Jason Moon

September 13, 2011

"Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” Matt 25:40 CEV

“Where ever you go preach the gospel everyday; if necessary, use words” - Francis of Assisi

Sep 24, 2011 Add comment Share

Jason Moon's June Newsletter

Introduction
I wanted to write this on Memorial Day weekend. I wanted to write this on Memorial Day. An entire month has gone by and I have not written a newsletter. I've begun to wonder if anyone will notice. Someone once said “I will honor the dead by fighting like hell for the living.” So that is what I'll do. This newsletter will stray from the course and you won't believe parts of it. Other parts you will have predicted, but I offer you the truth for I have no other weapon.
Before you begin any mission, if you are lucky enough to be privy to the information, you get to do an assessment. What we have, what do us need, what is our objective, and how we achieve the objective considering the difference between what we have and what we need. I spent my entire 10 years in the military as a specialist, which is the highest rank you get, so long as you never get in trouble. If you do nothing, except follow orders well, you will attain the rank of specialist. Some of, more motivated soldiers, have laughed at me. But I enjoyed being told what to do. There was never any glory, but there was also never room for a mistake.
What is working?
There have been so many fantastic opportunities to communicate the mission. This June 4, 2011 I will perform for dry hooch on the VA grounds during the reclaiming our heritage event at 3:00 PM. On 10 June I will travel to Lake Tomahawk, to Camp American Legion. On June 21, I have the honor and privilege of playing in the VIP tent at country USA in Oshkosh Wisconsin. On Tuesday, June 21, 2011 anyone who served our country and has documentation of that fact enters the grounds for free. July 8 will see me at many ways of peace in Eagle River Wisconsin, and July 9 I will travel all the way to the northern rim of Michigan’ Java on Da Bay has invited me to play.
I hope to perform at Camp American Legion for the freedom ride on August 23, 2011, but plans have yet to be made. Later in September, I will play it the vets 4 vets gathering, and conduct a songwriting workshop at Camp Miller in Sturgeon Lake. I am absolutely humbled by the opportunity to perform in Ashville, South Carolina in early October for what will be my fourth soldier's heart retreat. Then, October 20 and 21st, I will be given the honor of performing and speaking at the first annual veterans healing and arts integration conference, at Walter Reed medical hospital Washington DC.
Of course June 12, is a Sunday. And so I expect you to be resting. If you have the energy make sure you come to the west end of Locust St., Festival and check out the brand-new first annual Wisconsin veteran stage, featuring Frog water, God’s Outlaw, The Mambo Surfers, and Shattered. All the proceeds go to help homeless veterans in Milwaukee. By the end of June 2011, I hope to be one third of the way to my goal of raising $25,000 for veterans by 2014. Imagine, all you have to do is come down, enjoy the festival, and drink a beer.
Failures, disappointments, and reality
The most difficult thing, about raising money for others is balancing the level of neglect one presides over concerning their own dignity. A better way of saying that is; traveling around, playing music and talking about the reality of PTSD, isn't paying the bills. Don't get me wrong, the communities and performances have been wonderful, I've raised almost $4000, and I have communed with some amazing veterans. But Sarah, my wife, and I are trying to have a child. And I am dangerously close to having to sell everything related to music to simply pay the bills.
What does someone say about that? I always have much more food in my stomach than those I feed. But I have been traveling, communicating, and performing, at a financial loss. I have yet to reach a place where I'm comfortable to both earn enough to eat, and raise money for others to eat.
To be quite honest, our music company, Full Moon Music, is almost $2000 in the hole. These bills will come due on the first of next month. When they do my mission will end. If you haven't taken the time to purchase a copy of my new CD, please do so now. It is funny that it may be the very act of charity that ends my charity work. But this is life, always ironic and present. I cannot ask, my religion and my pride do not allow it, so I simply say, “we are out of money.” “You're out of money because we give it all away.” There are many obstacles I have been trained to remove, but profiting from my charity is the most difficult proposition I have ever navigated. Unfortunately, I was looking down at the path, and neglected the greater picture. Drive on. I know no other way to exist.
With what we have
And so I offer you this Jason Moon newsletter with great joy, and great suffering. These letters that I write are not so much to you the reader, as they are an exercise for the author. The author needs to be reminded why we are here and what we are struggling for. I need help with webpage design, I need a tape recorder, and I need strings and picks and gas money. I’d like to get a hard top camper, which can be placed at any big-box realtor for three days, so I don't need to play for my bed. I'd like somebody to help me organize my schedule and my promotional material; this is my weakness. July 1 may bring the end, the end to everything I’ve worked on since the beginning of this year. But I will march proudly, and with knowledge of my direction, to the cause which the divine is called me to. If this is the last letter you ever receive from Jason Moon.org, know that I wrote it with love, joy, and kindness.
These are my only weapons. Sleep is a lover I haven't known in years. Depression lives in my shoestrings. Anxiety is not a matter of if but when, and to what intensity. The road less traveled leads to the same destination as the road well-traveled. All roads lead to Rome! But are we going to Rome? Each night, I close my eyes and I dream of a life with regular sleep patterns in the absence of chronic pain. Each morning I wake, if we could even call it that, with the harsh reality of insomnia and pain.
I leave you with that; have a joyful Memorial Day weekend. I hope that all of you made it home alive. You survived a stupid idiotic action of your own accord and hopefully you learned from it. Is this life a test? I don't know. A great man once asked me, “Would you love God, even if you knew God had abandoned you? Even if you knew, you are condemned the punishment for all of eternity?" I answer resoundingly yes. Bring it.
I close this letter in confusion, love, and trust. Confusion over what I should do next. Love, for I know that only 2% of you will have gotten this far in reading this letter. And trust, that what I am doing is important, and ordained. That to do anything else no matter how profitable would run against the grain. I will try. Of all the mottos in all the military branches no other rings truer to me than this one. I will try. I will try. For the love of God I will try.

Jason Moon
06/02/2011

Jun 16, 2011 Add comment Share

Busy

I've been really busy. Finally sat down to finish a song tonight. Haven't picked up the pen since i was in the studio finishing the new CD. How do you find the balance between promoting your music and creating your music.
Moon

Jan 26, 2011 Add comment Share

Jason Moon's December Newsletter

Jason Moon’s December Newsletter
News, shows, music, and disappointments.

Hello Friends
It’s time for my monthly newsletter. You are receiving this because you are listed as a friend through my web page www.jasonmoon.org. If you are receiving this email by mistake please unsubscribe by using the link above. There is a lot going on around here, so here goes

The New CD
My new CD, "Trying to Find My Way Home” is finally finished. As of today it is available digitally in its entirety at my webpage store http://www.jasonmoon.org/fr_store.cfm or
http://www.reverbnation.com/store/index/artist_447029. It will be sent to the manufacturer this Wednesday, and should be available as a physical CD directly from me by December 12, and through iTunes, Napster, CD baby, Amazon, and Amazon MP3 by December 20. The entire project has come together wonderfully. To get the sale of digital downloads rolling, and in the spirit of the giving season, the first 10 people who download my new CD digitally in its entirety, and tell me about it, will receive a free copy of my debut 1997 CD, "Naked Under All These Clothes". Download my new CD, and I will send you free of charge, shipping paid, a physical copy of the newly repressed Naked Under All These Clothes. If you go to my webpage you will also see that I have updated my online store. You can now purchase directly from Full Moon Music every CD Jason Moon has ever recorded.
In support of my new CD, I have lots of shows coming up, which you can view by going to my webpage. This month I'm playing Thursday, December 9, At the New Moon in Oshkosh from 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM. On Saturday, December 11, at Fire on Water in Milwaukee, I am performing with Adam Schultz, opening for the band Phalaphel around 9:30 PM. On Thursday, December 30, I have the great honor of performing at the County Clare in Milwaukee. They've begun a weekly singer-songwriter showcase. I'll be performing beginning around 10 PM for one hour. I have a lot more shows coming up in January, so visit my webpage for a complete schedule.
I am also looking for places to play. I am available to perform for fundraisers for any organizations which promote healing and support of veterans and/or the cause of peace. I'd love to come and play at your event free of charge, and also plan to donate two dollars of every CD sale towards your cause. Contact fullmoonmusic@jasonmoon.org for more information. I would also love to hear from you if you know of any places where I could perform at, press that would cover the release of my new CD, or media that would play my new CD.

The Sundance Film Fest
Well friends, the results are in. Over 700 films were entered into the international documentary category at the Sundance film Festival. The documentary which I wrote songs for, which should finally have a name within the next couple days, did not make it in. I had hoped it would. It has a lot of important things to say about soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. HBO recently aired “Wartorn-1861-2010”, a film that chronicles the history of post-traumatic stress disorder. The film tells the viewer that the armies attitude towards PTSD has evolved positively since it’s earlier days. They show the famous clip of Gen. Patton slapping a soldier with PTSD. One current high-ranking military official states, "PTSD casualties should be evacuated from the battlefield just like physical casualties." What this film doesn't tell you is that the military, as we speak, is redeploying soldiers suffering from, and medicated for PTSD. An estimated 20% of all soldiers being recycled back into the field are suffering from identified and unidentified PTSD. In some cases the military has canceled soldiers medical appointments where they would be diagnosed with PTSD in order to redeploy them to combat. Find out more at www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery
The documentary which I performed music for, and I'm also in, seeks to break the stereotypical stigma of PTSD. I was just informed yesterday by a friend I served with in Iraq of another soldier who, rather than face the humiliation associated with the "mental illness" of PTSD, when into his garage, put a shotgun in his mouth, and blew his brains out. I have a small circle of six Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans which I communicate with on a regular basis. This brings the total number of soldiers, known to us, who have taken their own lives, to eight. 6570 veterans take their own lives annually. Its time our country and culture changes the way it treats and talks about veterans who suffer from PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder is anything but a disorder. The good news is that the film is still in the running in several other national and international film festivals and will still air on ARTE-TV in Europe this September. They are also working towards a grant to help with outreach here in America. So there are several more chances for the message to be heard.

News from the Homeless Veterans Initiative
The HVI Food Program: On Dec. 7th Veterans For Peace is opening the first food pantry in the city of Milwaukee for homeless veterans. It will be located at St. John's Lutheran Church, 5500 W. Greenfield Ave. We expect to start out feeding over 100 homeless veterans every week.
The HVI Housing Program: We are presently renting a five bedroom house on the near northwest side of Milwaukee where five homeless veterans are staying. We're hopeful that we can raise enough funding in 2011 to rent out one or two more houses.
If anyone would like to help, volunteers are always needed, assembling and distributing the bags of food. And if anyone has grocery bags, both paper and plastic, we need them. We receive a donation of bread each week from Wildflower bakery at 28th & Lincoln and the rest of the food is purchased from Feeding America. Since everything is sold by the pound, can goods end up being the most expensive item we get. So any donations of can goods are also welcomed. If you have either bags or cans and need them picked up, email or call Dennis Johnson at 414-810-0655. Online donations can be made at www.neverhomeless.org

Salutations
I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and pray that the hungry will be fed, and the cold will be made warm. That the victim will find justice and forgiveness, and that justice will bring rehabilitation instead of retribution. That the world will move one day closer to knowing a day without war.
December 6th, 2010
Jason Moon

Dec 8, 2010 Add comment Share