Band leader Jason Davey, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq in 2003, says the message turns heads. "I literally get on the microphone and say it's okay to go to therapy. And people will turn around from the bar," he said.
Davey's path to the military began with loss. His older brother enlisted first and died, and after the funeral, with its 21-gun salute, Davey signed up to finish what his brother started. After Iraq, he married, started a family and settled in New Orleans. About four years ago, he lost his wife. He had begun therapy before she died.
Therapy helped save him, Davey says, along with connections to other veterans who understood. "I've never told my wife anything about being in Iraq, but you will tell a complete stranger sitting at the bar stool next to you everything about it," he said. Three years ago, he partnered with Army veteran Chet Pierson to form Vet Jams.
Davey says plenty of people in the military never seek therapy because of the social stigma. The band goes where those veterans already are: a room full of strangers, a microphone, and someone who has been through it.