The Ties That Bind Us
July Fourth: In addiction recovery, freedom takes on a whole new meaning
Freedom didn’t feel very free at first. After six days in a detox facility, the heroin was effectively out of my system, save for a few Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome-style hot flashes and bouts of insomnia. That was nothing, though. I could do that all day long, because compared to the gut-twisting agony of full-blown opiate…
Read MoreSobriety forms the backbone of LAPÊCHE couple’s relationship and rock
LAPÊCHE is, from left, David Diem, Jeff Gensterblum, Krista Holly Diem and Drew DeMaio. (Courtesy of Kate Hoos) If it doesn’t bend a few rules, can you really call it rock ‘n’ roll? If it hadn’t been for Krista Holly Diem, singer and guitarist for the New York-based indie outfit LAPÊCHE, and her husband —…
Read MoreCalm like a Bomb: Rock to Recovery’s Brian Plink reflects on the serenity of sobriety
Brian Plink, a.k.a. Brian Bourke (fourth from left) and the Rock to Recovery crew. (Courtesy of Steady Jenny) One of the elements of addiction, according to a certain 12 Step recovery program, is obsession, defined as “that fixed idea that takes us back, time and time again, to our particular drug, or some substitute, to…
Read MoreLife clean and sober feels ‘All. Right. Now.’ for Drew McManus of Satsang
Courtesy of Greyson Christian Plate Drew McManus is living proof that not all of those recovery cliches, the signs hanging on the walls in 12 Step meetings around the world, are a one-size-fits-all guide to sobriety. The co-founder, songwriter and vocalist for the Montana-based band Satsang, McManus went to rehab in 2010, stumbled briefly and…
Read MoreHappy birthday to us! The Ties That Bind Us celebrates three years
Over the three years The Ties That Bind Us has been telling the recovery stories of musicians, it’s felt a bit like cartography. What I mean by that is this: Recovery is a mountain range, peaks so high it scrapes the clouds, crisscrossed with ravines and gorges, valleys and outlooks, forested meadows and desolate stretches…
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