SongFest for Vets – May 13th at the South Florida Fair
Interview conducted on May 19, 2021
by Dan Locke
The first ever SongFest for Vets, featuring combat Veterans introducing songs that were important to them during their tours had approximately 500 visitors and raised money for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, The VFW Village and Paws4Liberty. stay tuned for the next event! Hooah!
What is my upbringing?
Bill Millard: My name is Bill Millard and I was born in New Haven, Connecticut. My family moved to Sunrise, Florida when it was just a retirement community in 1969. Sunrise has grown a lot since then. At 7 years old my grandmother asked me to visit her in Kabul, Afghanistan, and I lived there for a year, visiting Iran, Pakistan, India, and Tibet along the way. The Taj Mahal is still the prettiest thing I think I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of this World). I was a boarding student military school in St. Petersburg, FL, and made some life-long friends to this day. I attended Stetson University and graduated with Bachelor’s Degrees in History and Russian Studies. I was married for the first time at 19 years old while attending college. I was Chairman of the college radio station and served as Union Board President. I also completed ROTC at Stetson and joined the Army in 1985, serving 30 years in various capacities. As an Artilleryman, I ensured the safe and accurate firing of more than 40,000 rounds of 105mm and 4.2″ mortar ammunition in support of the Aviation Center at Ft. Rucker, AL. Two of my 4 children were born in Alabama. Those “babies” are 33 and 31 years old now. I transferred to Military Intelligence and served as the Battalion Intelligence Officer for 1-37 Armor, a Tank Battalion in the 1st Armored Division during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and commanded a Headquarters and Headquarters Company in Germany. My oldest daughter was born on the day I returned from overseas service, in Boca Raton, FL. I studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. for a year, followed by a year and a half at the George C Marshall Center in Garmisch, GE. I worked on destroying nuclear weapons and all the logistics support that entails in Ukraine for 4 years, where I met my soulmate, and she agreed to become Mrs. Millard in 1999. We have been married for 21 years now. Our daughter was also born in Boca Raton, FL and she is now 15 years old. I have commanded at every level up to and including Brigade and retired as a Colonel in 2015.
How did I discover music?
My father was a Disc Jockey in Massachusetts when I was born and worked in Rock and Roll and Country music for more than 40 years. Not only did I get to watch him work in many radio stations around the country (the coolest may have been atop the Reunion Tower in Dallas, TX) but my parents also bought me Soundtrack albums to kid movies and I was always glued to the radio. By 1973 I was really getting into Rock and Roll. I own more than 1000 albums and lots of CDs, cassettes, and even a few 8-tracks.
How did I decide to create SongFest for Vets?
To summarize, the idea is that Veterans choose and introduce songs that were important to them while serving in combat zones, and then a band honors that Veteran with a rousing rendition of the chosen tune. But it was a long road to get there. I am a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #9610 in Lake Park, FL. They are a great bunch of people and really care about their membership. Finding ways to connect with veterans is always their first priority. The Commander of the Post, a man named Rob McQuaid, asked me one day if I could come and answer questions about songs that mean something to the members. He asked me because I host a group on Facebook that discusses the roots, trunk, and multiple branches that makeup what we call Rock and Roll. That group is called Rock Pathology. I was truly honored and excited to help, but then I started thinking- what if we could get real bands to play the songs that Veterans picked and wanted to talk about. I figured that we might be able to make it a fundraiser and also give Veterans a good show, to boot. Without the VFW and especially Post #9610, there would not be a SongFest for Vets. I should also thank Jack McDermott, who helped collect money from Sponsors and ensured the bands got paid!
How did you get the bands to be a part of it?
At first, I thought maybe we could pull off what you describe below, with Veterans requesting songs and then the actual artists that wrote/performed those songs could play them in honor of those Vets. Maybe one day that will be the case. But I also considered starting small to see if the idea worked, before trying to raise the 100s of thousands of dollars it might take to get the artists/writers to perform (which is not to say they wouldn’t give us a discount on their regular price for charity, but it would still be very expensive). I reached out to a very dear friend who performs in a KISS tribute band. His name is John Carlazzo. I asked if he would consider performing for a local event. He unabashedly answered in the affirmative. It was his idea to include an Aerosmith cover band and a Classic Rock Band in the Festival so they could play almost any song a Veteran might choose. He further assured me the prices would be reasonable, and they were. It was also his idea to reach out to the South Florida Fair people, and he even gave me a point of contact there. Travis Martin was a huge reason why we had a successful event last week. He explained to me it would be difficult and expensive to rent the amphitheater and get all the equipment and personnel necessary for the sound, lights, and execution of such an event. But he also had a great idea. Would we be interested in being part of the South Florida Fair, which is running from May 7-23rd at the Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach? Travis said the Fair could provide the stage, lights, sound, and the personnel to run them. How do you say no to such an offer? Travis and Theresa Agricola (the Sponsorship Director) did, even more, to help SongFest for Vets. Theresa got Good Greek Moving and Storage and Entertainment NAPA to fund Heroes Day on May 13th. That meant 1/2 price tickets for all First Responders, Military and Veterans so more people could attend our show. I cannot thank the South Florida Fair enough for making SongFest for Vets a reality.
How many bands played?
A DVD is going to be available soon at the VFW Post #9610 so you can see the whole show as if you were there. Even better, we had drones and extra cameramen filming the whole thing. Please purchase a copy of the DVD so we can raise even more money for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, The VFW Village, and Paws4Liberty. The show opened with a presentation of the Colors. Miss South Florida Fair sang the National Anthem and I introduced the first band. They are a group called Erasmith and they were really great. During their almost 90-minute performance, there were 5 songs introduced by Veterans on a huge screen behind the stage. After the applause, the band played the requested song, especially for each Veteran. After the Fire Department gave a demonstration of an emergency vehicle extraction, the second band, Shovelhed, came on stage and rocked the socks off all in attendance. During their show Veterans introduced 4 songs and Shovelhed made each one count for the Veteran requestor. We also had DJ Uno and his Noir Sound at the intermission between bands and 5 more Veterans introduced songs, after which the DJ played the original compositions in honor of those Vets. Finally, KISS Alive, the Tribute took the stage. They also performed 5 songs that Veterans introduced, and they included members of each of the other bands on some of those special songs. Highlights for me included Erasmith’s rendition of We Gotta Get Outta This Place, Shovelhed’s Fortunate Son cover, and KISS Alive’s War Pigs. We also had a Veteran introduction from a man who was at Woodstock one year, and in Vietnam the next. Hearing the Vets pour out their hearts and then watching the band rock the songs was really something. People everywhere at the Fair stopped and listened to the Vet intros.
How much money did we raise?
We raised more than $10,000 overall. That includes money that was given to us by our amazing Sponsors, Krave Kreations (a T-shirt company in Tampa, FL), Humana Health Care (Mr. Jeff Michael is the best), Gun and Range Training Center (and an excellent facility that will meet all your needs in West Palm Beach), Tropical Logistix (home builders from the West Coast of Florida capable of building whatever you need anywhere in the Caribbean) and Encore Entertainment (a quality arcade company that supports many VFW posts across Florida and beyond).
Did you look into some bigger bands that support Vets like the following: Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Metallica, Roger Waters, Five Finger Death Punch, Maynard from Tool, Limp Bizkit, Ice-T, John Fogerty, Willie Nelson?
I know some of those you mention are in fact Vets themselves- John Fogerty, Ice T and Willie Nelson, for sure served our nation at some point. I certainly will look into it, but as I explained above, we really wanted to try the idea out, first, and when we linked up with the Fair our timeline became very short. Our earliest discussions were in February and we did all this in basically 3 months.
Have you looked into many getting a partnership with Joe Walsh –VetsAid (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Joe Walsh and VetsAid, a non-profit veteran’s organization, will bring their 3rd annual music festival to Toyota Center on November 10th! VetsAid 2019 will feature sets from ZZ Top, the Doobie Brothers, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and Joe Walsh! As every year, all net proceeds from the concert will go directly to the veterans’ services charities selected through a vetting process coordinated in tandem with the National Association of Veterans Serving Organizations (NAVSO). In its first two years, VetsAid has disbursed nearly $1.2M in grants to veterans’ services organizations on the national level and the regional level with a focus on the festival’s host city.)
That certainly is some great information. I will do that as we begin planning for the next one. I did reach out to Vanilla Ice and Gary Sinece. The former was very nice, but we could not afford him, even at a very discounted price. The latter has not returned our email, yet. I will send some information to Mr. Walsh, et. al. as soon as we have a date for the next SongFest for Vets. Thank you for sharing that.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an independent artist career?
COVIDhas been a plus for no one. It was a historic tragedy and I pray we never see anything like it again on this planet, ever. Perhaps some artists used the isolation to develop their writing and playing skills, but I think artists may actually learn more from performing live than practicing at home. Blessings to all who write and make music. I hate to imagine life without it. I hope everyone will do what they think they need to do to feel safe, regardless of the pressures to conform to this or that. It’s your life and you should not be afraid wherever you go. I also hope you will take precautions and get out and see some independent artists and groups at local venues. I believe COVID, the threatening rain that day, and the gas shortage affected attendance at SongFest for Vets. I hope that all but the rain is behind us (cautiously) from here on out.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
We had some criticism- that all the bands should be Veterans or Combat Veterans, and that we were somehow selling Veterans out by having civilian bands perform. We also had many many bands contact us that wanted to perform and were disappointed when we said no, this time. To all those people I would like to say, “I hear you. I understand your point of view.” Honestly, the bands were so excited and honored to play for Veterans. We are a community of Vets and civilians. Let’s not isolate Vets from the community and those who want to honor Veterans, ever. Can we look at including some bands made up of Veterans? Sure, we can. We have lots of ideas for the future. Please like the SongFest for Vets page on Facebook and stay tuned. Most importantly, please support your local Veterans! More to Follow!
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