Jeremiah Bones with Guitar

Jeremiah Bones is a dynamic musician and compassionate founder of a non-profit dedicated to veterans and their families impacted by suicide. Balancing his artistry with his advocacy, Jeremiah’s musical talents captivate audiences and showcase his passion for the craft. Beyond the stage, his non-profit work offers crucial support and healing to those facing the aftermath of profound loss. Driven by personal experience and deep empathy, Jeremiah’s commitment to making a difference is a testament to his resilience and compassion, impacting lives both through his music and his mission.

Relative excerpts from the podcast:

Minus 22 Nonprofit

Relative excerpts from the Podcast:

Announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of *Coffee on the Couch*. Today, we have an exceptional guest: a local hero from Massachusetts, a talented musician, and the compassionate founder of the Minus 22 Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families and addressing veteran suicide. The foundation’s mission is crucial, reflecting the alarming statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide each day. Without further ado, let’s dive in and welcome our host, Chris.**

Chris (The Host): Coffee on the Couch listeners, we’re back with another exciting episode, and I can’t wait to dive into this one. Today, we’re hanging out with a friend who’s making serious waves in the music scene and doing incredible work off the stage. He’s a singer, songwriter, Army veteran, and champion for military families. Folks, get your coffee ready because we’re about to have a heart-to-heart with the one and only Jeremiah Bones.**

Jeremiah: How you doing, man? Thanks so much for having me.**

Chris (The Host): You’re welcome. It’s great to have you on too. I’m glad we could get this going. I kept looking at the calendar and thinking, “Oh, it’s coming up close.”**

Jeremiah: Yeah, it’s funny. It doesn’t seem like that long ago we scheduled it, but that was like a month or two ago.**

**Time flies and lots going on. Yeah, I’ve been able to make some headway. Ran into a couple of sicknesses; my producer, who’s with Absent State, got sidelined with bronchitis and other stuff. We haven’t been able to release a couple of songs like we had hoped, but we’re back on track to getting those done. So those should be coming out soon. That’s exciting.”

Jeremiah (musician): I always kind of want to give respect to that because it was a major growing point in my life, but it wasn’t fun or pleasant for most of that.

Chris (the host): Yeah, I believe that. It’s an interesting thought that sparks as I’m listening to you say some of this stuff. What would you say is the importance of not overgrazing the hard stuff and looking at those traumatic incidents and using them, especially in songwriting?

Jeremiah (Musician): I think that, and I mean, you know, songwriting is a spectrum, and there are all kinds of successful songs out there. A lot of the good ones, people don’t even really understand what makes it a good song. It just resonates, you know? That’s what I love about music. To me, music is the purest form of the human experience. It’s poetry in motion that you can feel, and it’s really powerful. The best songs pull on your heartstrings a bit. I’ve never been very good at writing happy-go-lucky songs or everything’s candy and rainbows. I have a couple of fun, rocky, poppy songs coming up, but it’s been really hard for me over these last few years to write songs that aren’t sad, depressing, or heartbreaking. I’m really good at writing those. My wife once asked, “Why don’t you write more happy songs?” I looked at my album and realized I had only two happy songs, and the rest were sad. I thought, “We need to change this; it’s too negative.” Some artists glaze over certain things, but I always strive to not only tell the story but to put you in the frame of mind for that story.

Jeremiah (Musician): I have a really good memory, so most of what I write comes from my own experiences. There are things I throw into some songs that are slightly fictitious, really just to pull it all together. But glazing over isn’t who I’ve ever been. If you’re going to write a song about an experience, you need to encapsulate that entire experience. That’s when the song comes to life. Sometimes, I’ll write a song so fast it feels like a lightning bolt, and it energizes me to write another one. When people ask me my favorite song, I always say it’s the next one.
Chris (The Host): That makes sense. It reminds me of NF, the rapper. I really like his music because you don’t have to be depressed to like his songs. You could just be having a bad day and want to be in your feels. I’m a big fan of NF. I really enjoy his music and have a lot of respect for him.

Jeremiah’s Links:
http://www.youtube.com/@JeremiahBones
Facebook: Jeremiah Bones
Instagram: Jeremiah Bones
Tiktok: Jeremiah Bones
Facebook: The minus 22 foundation