OPERATION ENCORE: A VETERAN MUSIC PROJECT is a collaboration of highly talented singer/songwriters and musicians from across the veteran and military communities. The artists create original music covering an array of topics such as the loneliness of being away from home, the joy of returning to loved ones and the loss of a friend.
Tonight’s OE artists include: Steve Wilson, Tom Abbott, Andrew Wiscombe, The Real Doug Lane, Brian Boland, Keith Broecker and Theresa Bowman.
Learn more: https://operationencore.org/
About the Artists
STEVE WILSON
Steve Wilson is an award-winning singer-songwriter and a veteran of both the Army and the Air Force. The son of a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, he served for 16 years as an Army paratrooper and a B-52 Electronic Warfare instructor. Steve has created a unique style that comes through clearly in his return to Operation Encore. Steve recorded an updated version of “Cold Steel Rain” for our first album, and returned to our second compilation with “The Words,” about the impact music has on humanity and its capacity to unite. Inspired by a glance into his youngest daughter’s room, it’s an autobiographical roadmap of Steve’s lifelong dream to play music, but touches on the way war affects the veteran.
TOM ABBOTT
A native of Eugene, Oregon, Tom spent a 22-year career in the Air Force, flying A-10s and F-16s all over the world. He joined the first OE album as both a studio musician and songwriter with “In Tent City,” inspired by his time serving in the Gulf War, then continued with “I’ll Let You Know” on OE’s second compilation album. Now a member of the OE board, Tom is a prolific songwriter, musician, and producer who frequently accompanies other OE artists during their performances.
ANDREW WISCOMBE
A folk musician based out of Utah, Andrew Wiscombe’s style has been referred to as foot-stompin’ street music. He showcases his musical talents in one-man band fashion, playing up to five instruments at once. A Berklee trained award-winning songwriter, Andrew has a unique ability to clothe stories, words, and emotions in American roots music. A married father of two boys and former U.S. Army sniper, he joined Operation Encore with “The River, the Lark, the Pine,” an upbeat song about having the guts to play music in front of people, and being okay with yourself regardless of what others think.
THE REAL DOUG LANE
Raised in south Texas, Doug now resides in Utah with his wife, four kids, and Dodger the boxer. He enlisted in the Army in 2000 after a sly recruiter convinced him to audition for the Army band as a saxophonist. Doug was soon assigned to the 1AD Band in Germany. He deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, where he played concerts for troops, supported ceremonies, and performed lots of guard duty. While Doug has been performing in various groups for more than a decade, he recently began playing his own music publicly as The Real Doug Lane. Doug joined Operation Encore’s second album with his song “Faces,” inspired by his grandfather, a World War II veteran. “Faces” became the title of his latest EP, released in November of 2018.
BRIAN BOLAND
After joining the Coast Guard at eighteen and experiencing a few twists and turns, Brian joined a ragtag group of C-130 pilots and learned to fly to some of the most remote places in the world. While flying throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the northern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, he felt an insatiable urge to capture the emotion and experiences that shaped his life. After publishing his first novel, Caribbean’s Keeper: A Novel of Vendetta in 2016, Brian sat down with his guitar and started to chronicle nearly two decades of experiences gained from his military experiences.
Under the name Unknown Rider (a nod to his oftentimes solitary trans-oceanic flights), Boland launched a project with a group of North Carolina musicians to capture his ideas through song. Unknown Rider released its first album, RTB, in May of 2017. With the grit of Southern Rock and Roll and the tempo of Americana music, it displayed the raw emotion of a life on the road. Now an Operation Encore artist, Brian has recently released another set of songs on a self-produced new album entitled “Oceans”.
THERESA BOWMAN
Theresa Bowman (formerly Theresa Denofre) was born in the Philippines and grew up as a Navy brat. At age four she began to play piano, and by junior high she demonstrated great vocal talent. In high school, Theresa picked up both cello and ukulele, and she continued her passion for music while serving as an air battle manager in the U.S. Air Force. Fortunately, her ukulele was small enough to accompany her on deployments! Theresa separated from the Air Force in 2017, and she continues to write and perform music in the Seattle area, keeping her fans up to speed through her website and blog at www.filitaliana.com. Theresa was recently selected as one of We Are The Mighty’s “Mission Music” Top 5 Finalists for 2017.
KEITH BROECKER
Keith Broecker discovered a cheap souvenir guitar exiled to the back of his brother’s closet when he was 12. A curiosity boiled inside him as he plucked the strings for the first time. Eventually, that fascination developed into a hobby, and after experiencing the rush of a live performance at his local community college, Keith became passionate about creating music.
Keith was a U-2 pilot and flew many other aircraft during his time in the service. After living all over the United States as an Air Force officer, he retired and settled down in California with his family. His song “Late November” is a high-energy journey that tours listeners with a fast paced acoustic guitar, full of intricate picking and layered with a skillful solo.
