Photo courtesy of Guitars for Vets
Taylor Ullom has deep and extensive personal and familial ties with the military – and with music. Taylor is a US Air Force veteran who has dedicated herself to promoting mental health awareness and alternative therapies like music for enhancing the lives of veterans and military families. She shares her powerful journey and personal experiences that fueled her passions for music and veterans’ advocacy, which intersect in her role as National Development Director for Guitars for Vets. Discover inspiration and resources for finding purpose in pain.
Guest
My guest today has deep and extensive personal and familial ties with the military – and with music. Taylor Ullom is a US Air Force veteran who has dedicated herself to promoting mental health awareness and alternative therapies like music for enhancing the lives of veterans and military families. Taylor’s passions for music and veterans’ advocacy intersect in her role as National Development Director for Guitars for Vets.
Notes
We discuss:
- Guitars for Vets (G4V): What is it, who is it for, and what resources does it offer?
- In addition to developing (the obvious) guitar-playing abilities, what other skills are gained through guitar lessons at G4V that most participants wouldn’t anticipate?
- Guitar is not a one-size-fits-all tool. While guitar is a primary tool utilized by G4V, the organization’s partnerships offer many other resources to veterans.
- Taylor’s powerful personal story ultimately led her to the personal mantra “in your pain, you can find your purpose.” She tells us a little bit about her journey and how her experiences now inform and motivate her work with G4V.
- Taylor is featured in an upcoming Hulu docuseries called It’s All Country (releasing this fall).
- Taylor has redefined Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to PaTh of Self Discovery, vowing to continually strive to become the best version of herself.
- Beyond her advocacy work, Taylor is an accomplished guitar player and emerging songwriter. She has released three songs and is currently working on her debut album. Listen on Spotify and other platforms (Taylor Ullom).
Connect/Other Resources
- Guitars For Vets (G4V) website
- G4V email: info@guitarsforvets.org
- Taylor mentions G4V partners Creativets, Challenge America, and Challenge Aspen.
Other episodes we mentioned or that you may enjoy:
- Ep. 43: Memorial Day: A combat veteran tells his story and shares how music is serving those who serve our country, with CreatiVets’ Richard Casper
- Ep. 150: Chronic pain relief and management through music; with Nancy Jackson, PhD, MT-BC
- Ep. 143: Harness the Power of Music to Stay Sober, with author Tim Ringgold, MT-BC
- Ep. 15: Veterans Day Tribute + Role of Music in the Military: with Jari Villanueva, Taps Historian, USAF
- View all episodes related to Science & Health and Education & Community
In-Episode Promo
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The Business Side of Music podcast
Coda
Taylor shares a story about her birth father and why she has a special affinity for James Taylor’s song, “Fire and Rain.”
She also tells us about the first song she wrote, “On the Road,” which will be included in the upcoming Hulu docuseries It’s All Country:
Closing Words
And that’s a little bit of “On the Road,” by Taylor Ullom. You can listen to the full song with the YouTube link in the show notes. Thank you so much to Taylor for sharing her journey with us, and for her willingness to help others through her authenticity and vulnerability, and her work with Guitars for Vets. I’ll have all the links from our conversation in the show notes, as well as a picture from Taylor of her birth dad, a screenshot of the two of us on our call, and some other fun photos.
You’ll also find a transcript of this episode and links to related episodes you may enjoy, including my interview with Richard Casper of Creativets, that Taylor and I referenced.
If this conversation resonated with you, please connect with Guitars for Vets – whether as a military family or veteran or as a supporter. You can also support our veterans and Guitars for Vets by letting others know about this organization – share this episode or the Guitars for Vets website, or simply follow them on socials and like and share their posts. As Taylor mentioned, “We cannot help our veterans if they do not know we are out here.”
You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Until next time, may your life be enhanced with music.
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