Making Music Heals the Mind & Restores Harmony After Brain Injury

Music may soothe the soul, but a group of traumatic brain injury survivors are tuned into its healing powers for the mind in their brand new CD dropping on September 12, 2019. “Joint Venture” was composed by The Get Around Crew, who came together at the Ability Beyond ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) Day Program in Bethel Connecticut. They also filmed a video for their first single “Sitting On The Side Of The Road”.

The Get Around Crew members Ken Barrachina, Seyid “Tony” Hosseini, Zach Dallas and Sam Plourde, worked on the three-song effort for the past eight months.

The group assembled “loops”, which are prerecorded parts, to create their original musical compositions. Once the music was in place, the guys collaborated on the themes and words for each song. They recorded their melodies at their Ability Beyond Day Program in Bethel with vocal support from Amber and Peter Sullivan.

The Ability Beyond ABI Day Program was created in December 2018 to serve individuals under the CT ABI waiver. The goal is to provide personalized learning opportunities, projects and community outings. Since the launch of the program, participants hosted an art show displaying the work they created during a 16-week art class at the Georgetown School of the Arts. They attended a performance of the “Jersey Boys” musical in Hartford and visited Orange County Choppers. The group takes yoga and Zumba classes in the community, visits the library, goes bowling, and are working on a cookbook of their favorite recipes.

“The ABI program follows the interests of the individuals who participate and the results have been amazing!” said Pete Sullivan, the producer of the CD. “It was incredible to see these guys come alive and get really creative!”

The EP has three original songs with a little something for every musical taste. There is a country song, a hard rock song and a rap song. All music was arranged and lyrics were written by the group, but the foursome only lends their voices to the rap song. For crew member Zach Dallas, this song is highly personal as he raps about his traumatic brain injury and how he came back from it.

“The one thing I want people to know is that the world is full of possibilities, but you have to overcome to make yourself to be who you really want to be,” said Dallas.

The video of “Sitting On The Side Of The Road” stars the group’s members acting out the lyrics of the song. The comical take on a man’s very bad day illustrates the need to persevere when things go wrong. The refrain “Boy if you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all, but you gotta keep on trying when the world makes you feel small” reflects the crew’s serious struggles.

Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/hlgOSMdUsD8.

The Get Around Crew will be signing their CD’s at Ability Beyond’s wildly popular Games and Grub company event for employees and the individuals with disabilities served by the nonprofit organization. The friendly competition on September 12 features 16 teams that will be timed as they make their way through a slightly silly, lightly physical obstacle course.

“We all look forward to coming together for Games and Grub that celebrates the diversity within our Ability Beyond community,” said Jane Davis, President & CEO of Ability Beyond, who has a cameo appearance in the video. “We are so proud of our latest superstars and are thrilled to show our support for their accomplishments.”

Ability Beyond is a 501{c} (3) organization headquartered in Chappaqua, NY and Bethel, CT. It provides a wide range of services for over 3,000 people with a disability that inhibits their activities of daily living -- including numerous residential alternatives, employment training, career counseling, job placement services, cognitive and life skills instruction, clinical and therapeutic support, and volunteer and recreational activities. Today, its services extend
throughout Connecticut and New York’s lower Hudson Valley. For more information about Ability Beyond go to www.abilitybeyond.org.

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PHOTO: Ken Barrachina, Seyid “Tony” Hosseini, Zach Dallas and Sam Plourde are members of the musical group The Get Around Crew who came together at Ability Beyond’s ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) Day Program in Connecticut. Their CD “Joint Venture” debuts September 12.