• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Carmel Magazine

The Lifestyle Magazine of the Central Coast

  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food & Wine
  • Music
  • Golf
  • Cars
  • Subscribe to Carmel Magazine!

Def Leppard Drummer’s Philanthropic Journey

Carmel's Rock ‘n' Roll Power Couple, Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe

December 6, 2021 by Michael Chatfield

Rick and Lauren

You don’t choose Carmel,” says Lauren Monroe, “Carmel chooses you.” Monroe, a healer and musician, moved to the area in 2017 with her husband, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen. The couple previously called Malibu home. “We started coming to Big Sur around 2002, a couple of times a year,” Allen recalls. “We were so sad every time we left.” It would be a mistake, however, to assume that Allen and Monroe came here to live a life of ease, playing golf and watching the world go by. Between their professional and philanthropic endeavors, they are perhaps as busy as they’ve ever been.

Allen is, of course, a rock star, but not only in the sense that he’s a member of one of the most successful rock bands of the late twentieth century. Yes, in that sense the term fits him to a tee, but in its other usage, to describe a person who exhibits great determination, ability and grit, to a perhaps daunting situation, that truly applies to this transplanted Briton. He joined Def Leppard in 1978 at the tender age of fifteen. Six years later, the band was headlining arenas around the world.

Fast cars always lure young men who find themselves in such situations. No exception, Allen purchased a Corvette, and was involved in a tragic accident which cost him his left arm. A lesser man would perhaps have thrown in the towel and wallowed in self-pity, but this drummer is cut from sterner cloth. During a difficult recovery, he created technology that enables him to play the drum kit with the signature virtuosity that made him a star, propelling his band to even greater success. At the band’s 2019 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, upon being introduced and credited for his comeback following the accident, Allen received an emotional standing ovation.

“It became a blessing,” Allen said in an ABC News “Nightline” interview, “and a responsibility to other people. It enabled me to grow in so many ways.” Twenty years ago, he met New York native Monroe in Los Angeles. A healing arts educator who uses alternative medicines, specializing in trauma recovery, PTSD, crisis care and suicide prevention. She helped her future husband overcome the “invisible injuries” that often occur to those who undergo great trauma. “I was so busy that I really didn’t realize that I had PTSD,” Allen says. She is also a musician, and the couple played music together as part of the healing process—a practice they continue to this day.

During a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Allen was deeply touched by the wounded warriors—some of them amputees—that he encountered there. He instantly recognized their invisible injuries and decided to do something to help them, and with Monroe, created the Raven Drum Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit that “serves, educates and empowers veterans, first responders and trauma survivors through innovative wellness-supported programs,” according to the organization’s web site. Since its inception 20 years ago, the foundation’s focus has expanded to trauma recovery and resiliency and suicide prevention for veterans in addition to at-risk youth, women’s shelters and victims of domestic violence. “This is a direct result of that visit to Walter Reed,” Allen says. “Music is a safe and universal way to bring people together.” Currently there are plans to bring the program to Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, with a focus on incarcerated veterans. To date, the Raven Drum Foundation has touched the lives of more than 50,000 individuals.

In addition to his obvious musical chops, Rick Allen is an exceptionally talented visual artist, working in acrylic paints, multi-media and photography. He is represented by the East Coast Wentworth Galleries (wentworthgallery.com/allen).

Monroe’s music career is in high gear. Her band consists of the cream of Monterey Bay Area musicians, including bassist Steve Uccello, Dylan Rose on guitar, vocalist Tami Brown and guitarist Brian Whelan from Los Angeles. She was a hit at last summer’s West End Celebration in Sand City. Her latest album “Under the Wolf Moon” was released in February of 2021. As for Allen, he is “cautiously optimistic” that a Def Leppard tour currently planned for June 2022 will go forward.

Rick Allen is living proof that with hard work, ingenuity and a positive attitude, virtually any obstacle can be not only overcome, but turned into an asset. He and his wife Lauren have also set a shining example of what can be achieved when people look beyond themselves and any adversities they might face and choose to direct their energies to helping others.

For more information, please visit rickallen.com and laurenmonroe.com.

Filed Under: Winter 2021 Tagged With: Music

Primary Sidebar

CURRENT & PAST EDITIONS HERE

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

GUIDETOCARMEL

READ THE GUIDE HERE

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music Travel

ForAdvertisers

  • ► Publisher’s Note
  • ► Mission Statement
  • ► Ad Rates
  • ► Ad Specs
  • ► Editorial Calendar
  • ► Advertise in Carmel Magazine
  • ► Media Contact
  • ► Full Media Kit

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

  • March 2023
  • December 2022
  • September 2022
  • June 2022
  • March 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • June 2021
  • March 2021
  • December 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • May 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • May 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • February 2016
  • November 2015
  • August 2015
  • May 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • August 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013
  • August 2013
  • May 2013
  • February 2013
  • November 2012
  • August 2012
  • May 2012
  • February 2012
  • November 2011
  • August 2011
  • May 2011
  • February 2011
  • November 2010
  • August 2010
  • May 2010
  • February 2010
  • November 2009
  • August 2009
  • May 2009
  • February 2009
  • November 2008
  • August 2008
  • February 2008
  • November 2007
  • August 2007
  • May 2007
  • February 2007
  • November 2006

Footer

Carmel Magazine is the quarterly lifestyle magazine for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula, featuring the notable people and places, arts, food and wine, destinations, styles and events of Carmel and the Peninsula.

Address:
126 Clocktower Place, Suite 103
Carmel, CA 93923

Phone: (831) 625-9922
Fax: (831) 626-3613

Recent Posts

  • Carmel Cowboy
  • Delivering Good Vibez
  • Permission, Passion and Relentless Research
  • New Kid in Town
  • Peace of Mind Dog Rescue

Search

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music Travel

Copyright © 2023 Carmel Magazine · Carmel, California · Designed by BEAR★PRESS