Rock musicians in recovery
Richard Jankovich of Big Mother Gig pens an ode to sobriety on ‘Gusto’
Big Mother Gig is, from left, Micah Lopez, Albert Kurniawan, Michael Datz and Richard Jankovich. (Courtesy of the artist) The first Noble Truth of Recovery Dharma, the program that helped Richard Jankovich find a new way to live on the other side of a drinking problem, puts it plainly: “There is suffering.” Life as a…
Read MoreSoraia’s ZouZou Mansour makes the most of her ‘gift of desperation’
It took getting sober for ZouZou Mansour to realize that the unending perils of a predestined destiny could be sidestepped by something as simple as the power of choice. It seems so simple, at least on the surface: Make new decisions. Choose different paths. Break free from the crushing weight of generational trauma, self-inflicted pain…
Read MoreWaylon Reavis of A Killer’s Confession: ‘I live every day proud’ because of recovery
For Waylon Reavis, recovery from his addiction didn’t come through 12 Step meetings or on a therapist’s couch. It came down to a simple choice: Did he want to get clean for himself and the love of his life, or was he ready to give up and surrender to the cold siren song of abyss?…
Read MoreRecovery rocks: Thursday’s Geoff Rickly celebrates a life free of heroin’s shackles
Courtesy of Carly Hoskins “When at the end of the road, we find that we can no longer function as a human being …” Those bitter ends: Oh, how Geoff Rickly remembers them well. There was a time when his band, Thursday, was considered one of the pioneers of the post-hardcore/emo boom of the 2000s.…
Read MoreSurrender to win: Musician, producer Steve Drizos embraces the ‘Axiom’ of sobriety
Courtesy of Bill McAlaine For the bulk of his career, Steve Drizos has used his own musical talents to propel the careers of others, from his role as a drummer of both power and complexity, and his work as a producer at his Portland, Oregon, studio, The Panther. On Friday, however, he’ll release “Axiom,” the…
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