How the shruti box and humming help Def Leppard’s Rick Allen stay calm

A young boy singing along at their Mumbai concert is a memory that Rick Allen, 63, drummer for Def Leppard will carry with him from the legendary band’s recent India tour. “This young boy, must have been about 11, was singing every single word to every single song. And then when Joe (Elliott, the lead vocalist) came back on and did Two Steps, he just started to weep. There were tears rolling down his face. He looked like he just arrived in heaven. It is moments like this that really touch us,” says Allen in an interview with Lounge in Bengaluru.

As the drummer of a band that has ruled the charts for over four decades, Allen is acutely aware of music’s emotional pull. “Over the years, I've realized that music is a time machine. For the older generations that come to see us, I see them having really, really special moments when they hear certain songs. You see the emotional reactions, sometimes there are tears of joy,” Allen reminisces. “It’s as if they are remembering what they were doing when they first heard the song. For the band to experience those kinds of moments is such a gift because it confirms why we started doing this in the first place.”

TURNING INWARD THROUGH SOUND

While playing sold-out shows continues to drive him, Allen – who survived a life-altering car accident in December 1984 but lost his left arm – finds solace in music when things get overwhelming. “I think music, when you add intention to it, can heal. And I think that is why I find myself constantly listening to tones,” he says before sharing the tools he uses to get into the zone.

“I bought myself a little shruti box in 2006. I also bought a synthesizer later. What I do is I choose a musical note—like a C or an F—for the day and let it play for hours.” That’s not all. As Allen reveals, he’s got an entire room in his house set up for a sound bath. “When I start to feel myself getting a little anxious or a little too much in my head, I’ll go downstairs into the sound bath and immerse myself in the music. One of the things that really helps me is if I join in and start to make the tones myself say, by humming. Just making that sound and connecting with where I feel it in my body brings me back into the moment. It’s so easy.”

Dressed in a denim on denim look, Allen is a picture of calm as he opens up over the course of the interview. At one point, he confesses that he continues to suffer from PTSD but quickly adds that he now has tools to keep himself from spiralling. Breathing, he says, is a really good tool. “I am aware of the fact that my breathing gets shallow when I am feeling anxious. So, then, I force myself to go into deep breathing to feel normal again. The breath work I do at this time, however, is breathing out more than I breathe in. Doing that helps settle down my nervous system, which can easily get triggered.” Tapping into gratitude is another grounding technique. “Feeling gratitude for the things and people I have in life, as opposed to things that I don't have, helps me. It stops me from spiraling.”

A DRUM CIRCLE FOR THE COMMUNITY

At a Def Leppard concert, Allen’s drumming is the beating heart of the show. That he delivers those thundering beats—earning him the moniker ‘Thunder God’—with one hand and his feet only adds to the sense of awe. But beyond the packed stadiums, there is quieter work he has been doing.

Along with his wife, Lauren Monroe, Allen runs the Raven Drum Foundation, which since 2001 has been offering “mind, body and drumming integrated workshops” to communities such as war veterans and first responders who are at risk of post-traumatic stress (PTS). Recalling how it began, Allen says: “My wife and I were in a special place in Denver called Red Rocks and a friend of ours brought some kids from Afghanistan. A few of them had lost limbs to landmines. We were all in a bus and we had a few hand drums with us. So, we set up a rhythm and had the kids play along. It was such a profound experience because the kids started to open up and talk to us. And then, my wife and I realised that if playing drums could work for young kids, why wouldn’t this work for others?”

Soon, the couple found themselves holding drum circles in women’s shelters and prisons. “We began working in prisons and that was so interesting because we would be doing the drumming sessions and these rival gangs would be doing dance-offs against each other!” Today, the foundation works a lot with soldiers, war veterans, firefighters and first responders. “It’s a powerful shared experience where the participants are invited to let go of things they want to or set intentions for things they want to bring into their lives,” he says.

Besides the foundation, Allen’s philanthropic work also extends to the mental wellness app Ahhaa, founded by Ashwin Srisailam and Diane Bacchus. As a brand ambassador, he supports its focus on helping users build mental fitness through daily practices such as meditation, journalling and gratitude. In a world dominated by clickbait and negative content, Allen believes such platforms are increasingly necessary. “We’re not supposed to be driven by negativity or by trying to provoke reactions out of people; that’s not sustainable. We’re supposed to be collaborative, to be there for each other, and I think Ahhaa is one way to do that.” he says.

For someone who refused to quit when it might have been the easier choice, Allen’s journey continues to resonate. “I didn’t give up because the people in my life—my family, my band mates, the band’s producer Mutt Lange—rallied around me.” Ask him what lessons he hopes younger generations can take away from his life and his answer is a continuation of that thread: “As I get older, the more I realise the importance of surrounding yourself with people that lift you up, that reflect a certain contentedness. It’s good to gravitate towards people who are easy to be around. I think that’s the most important thing for me.”