Vermont veteran finds healing through music and drumming
(InvestigateTV) — At the age of seven, a Vermont man discovered his passion after picking up a pair of drumsticks.
At Taylor Park in Saint Albans, the Knobby Reed Project is getting ready for an evening of the blues.
Knobby Reed may be the lead singer, but Kent Blackmer keeps the beat, setting up his drums, mics and a mixing board.
“Modern technology just blows me away,” Blackmer said.
By 5, people are trickling in, armed with lawn chairs. The mostly older crowd is about to hear some cool blues on a hot summer night.
Kent is in the zone as he plays the drums.
“The brain isn’t really not connected, it’s hard to describe. It’s like from the universe, to the top of my head to my hands to my feet,” he said.
From Massachusetts to Vietnam
Kent was just 7 when he picked up the drums for the first time. He’s been playing for most of his life.
The Massachusetts native took his sticks to sea.
He was shipped off to Vietnam and served in the Navy from 1969 to 1973, most of the time going up and down the Vietnamese coast looking for contraband. He says the enemy would take aim at their ship.
“There was still a lot of pain, a lot of misery; it was just suppressed,” Blackmer said.
Kent says it was PTSD.
After his time in the Navy, he tried college.
“I felt really out of place,” he said.
When asked why, he explained: “I was a veteran and they’re were a few veterans on campus, but you could always tell who they were.”
Finding home in Vermont
He left after a year, feeling lost. He headed to Northern New England.
“And at that point, I was looking for a place to just go and ski. And I drove through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and when I got to Stowe, I could tell I was home,” Blackmer said.
Working and playing his drums became his focus.
“I try to keep my mind open and my mouth shut.....learn as much as I can,” he said.
And that’s what the 73-year-old is still doing at his home.
“This is where the literal magic happens,” Blackmer said.
Mixing music, sharing passion
For a while, he’s been fine-tuning his other passion: mixing the gigs of the Knobby Reed Project, including recordings from the Saint Albans event.
“It is, it’s a lot of fun, it’s a way of keeping my brain active. And the end results is nice to share with the other band members,” he said.
Kent and the band remain in harmony, along with his love of Vermont.
“The people, the places and the spirit,” he said.
Watch more of Kent’s story by clicking here.
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