No matter where you stand politically or where your opinions on the American military take you, we all can agree how veterans should be treated when their service is up.
Every day, more than a few men and women come home broken; offering them medical assistance and helping them gain education, employment and life stabilization should be a priority. Organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project often pick up federal slack; the nationwide nonprofit assists veterans and their families with health care, jobs and other needs.
On Saturday, Animas Herbal Wellness Center will sponsor a benefit for The Wounded Warrior Project at Moe’s. The legal marijuana industry is a strong backer of veteran support, as many vets are using the drug to treat pain, symptoms of PTSD and other injuries inflicted in service.
Performing will be Juan Blanco, Cause & Effect, Magi Nation, Squoze and hip-hop group ILL Methods. There also will be a raffle and auction with prizes donated by local businesses.
ILL Methods, comprised of Jamie “Angrymonk” Brown, Larry “UBO” Hogue, Francis “Merv” Modzianowski, Monty “Phrase” Frazier, Randy “Sac One” Cross, Keeno “2nd Born Son” Gallegos and Lemanuel “Dead Penguin” Allison, is a New Mexico hip-hop collective formed when the members were students at San Juan College in 2006. They’ve grown into a do-it-yourself outfit; members engineer and produce their recordings, organize their promotional material and create artwork for posters and CDs.
“We try to be self-sustaining,” Hogue said earlier this week from the KDUR studios. “For the most part we try to keep it all in-house.”
They’ve gotten large support in the Southwest with shows in Albuquerque and northern New Mexico along with a spot opening for KRS-One in Durango that landed them on the label run by the management of Wu Tang Clan, Protect Ya Neck Records.
“In March we signed the contract, and the label is now supporting us more and more. Things are rolling now,” Brown said.
They also carry a lot of pride for where they come from. New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest are not where people go to seek out new hip-hop. Their signing to a label attached to the name “Wu Tang,” arguably one of the biggest hip-hop groups of the last 20 years, should help get their music picked up nationwide.
“I think we’re the only Native Americans on that label from the Southwest region,” Brown said. “Throw that on there – we’re on that label and to be Native, it’s a milestone for everybody.”
The benefit sits near to the hearts of members of ILL Methods; two members served in the U.S. military. Their forthcoming record, “W-ILL,” will be released in February.
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s best
Saturday: ILL Methods, Juan Blanco, Cause & Effect, Magi Nation, Squoze, 4 p.m., no cover. Moe’s, 937 Main Ave., 259-9018.
Saturday: Intelligents, 10 p.m., no cover, The Balcony Backstage, 600 Main Ave. upstairs, 764-4083.
