We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Malachias Gaskin . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Malachias below.

Malachias , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was in the 4th grade I used to walk around on the playground with my best friend and we would sing together. It started with “Sister Christian” by night Ranger. I was about 11 years old and I knew then I wanted to do two things with my life. I wanted to be a soldier and I wanted to make music.

Malachias , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I served for 17 years in the Army with multiple combat deployments. I was entered into a medical retirement process in 2012 and retired in 2014. During that 2 year process I ended up writing a book called “A Warrior’s Garden, a therapeutic guide to living with PTSD. ” this book was a document of my journey to find a way to heal holistically. It focused on three main pillars. Faith, music, and gardening. Integrating all three spiritual, creative and physical aspects.

My music has morphed into sharing my journey of healing. My album “For Those That Remain ” that released in 2022 was a concept album telling the story of the American veteran. From the desire to join to the desire to find a new purpose. Sharing my faith and my journey through music hoping to inspire others to find that journey for themselves.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2004 my father died and everything I had worked for from 1985 to 2004 was taken from me. My landlord sold my house. And my band at the time fell apart while we were in negotiations with a major record label. I ended up homeless with a wife and 3 children. I lost it all. After a year and a half of couch surfing and getting no where I joined the army for a second time. I went from all that to a 4 bedroom townhouse. Medical insurance and a guarantee my family would be housed and safe. I came home from combat to have my career cut short yet again. I struggled with suicidal ideation for several years. It would have been ever so easy to just give up and take my life. But I knew I didn’t want to put my family through all of that. So I dug deep into finding ways to deal with all of it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to help veterans, first responders, and gold star families find healthy ways to heal their trauma. I run a nonprofit called Warfighter Gardens that builds therapy gardens for them at no cost to them. And i work with an organization called Warrior Rounds that takes veterans and/or their families and shares their stories through music. All of this hopes to reduce veteran suicide.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.awarriorsgarden.com, www.malachiasmusic.com
• Instagram: Malachiasmusic
• Facebook: Malachiasmusic
• Twitter: Malachiasmusic
• Youtube: Malachiasmusic
• Tiktok: Malachiasmusic

Image Credits
Christie Chaney