Scott Henderson Discussion

[countandduke]

Over the last couple months, I have fought and now hope to have beaten a VERY strong opiate addiction and I was able to do so with the love and support of my family and equally important...MUSIC!!!
I won't bore you all with the details but feel free to pm me if you need/want to. Suffice it to say, my addiction cost me my marriage which also led me to not seeing my son for almost a year. 2015 was the WORST year of my life bar none! Scott, your music and this forum have really helped give me focus and reminded me that life and music are good and important things.

Again, I will try and keep this short but I want to quickly say that opiate addiction which includes the scary word "Heroin" addiction is just as serious as cancer! If you met me, you would NEVER think I was an addict. This particular addiction is affecting all walks of life. If someone you know is an addict, please, please give them all the support and love you can. If they don't WANT to quit, there's not s whole lot you can do, BUT, if they want to quit...regardless of what they've done in the past, please help them. This is a HORRIFIC disease and shows no signs of slowing down.

Thanks for listening,
Chris

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks for posting Chris, and I wish you all the best. Thanks for the kind words and I'm honored to have helped you in any way.

Without addressing you personally, Bruce and I were talking about this on our podcast, in the context of musicians who were so down on themselves that they needed to medicate using alcohol or drugs. Some of them were people we'd give anything to sound as good as, but they obviously didn't care what their fans thought of them, only about their own goals, which in their minds they didn't meet. Not saying that's the only reason for the abuse, but it's common among artists.

I'm not mentioning any names, but everyone knows all the great guitarists of the 70's, and how drugs or alcohol have seriously affected their ability to play, or even killed them. One notable exception is Jeff Beck, who stayed away from drugs, and as a result he plays even better now than he did back in the day.

After meeting Jaco and seeing for the first time in person what drug abuse can do to a great musician, I'm extremely thankful that most of my musician friends have avoided that nightmare. Unfortunately Dave Carpenter, the bass player on Tore Down House, and who played with too many great musicians to mention, died because of cocaine addiction.

It's important to bring this subject up, and if there's anyone reading this who's fucking around with drugs, cut that shit out. There's no positive side to it.

[countandduke]

Thanks Scott. Drug addiction is a horrible thing but the more we talk about it and support each other through it, the better off we'll be. It's very easy to sit on our high horses and judge other people and say things like, "They knew what they were doing", "They need to live with their mistakes"... I can pretty much guarantee you that most addicts are NOT happy with themselves and they need help and support. If your loved one had cancer, they'd get all kinds of, "I'm so sorry" "How can we help?". You mention a drug addiction especially heroin or cocaine and people shun you.

Music has literally saved my life so again, thank you Scott.

Chris

[Beakes_90]

Yeah I agree that addiction can be hard to quit whether it is smoking, drugs or alcohol. I had hard time with my drug addiction and then my parents took me to the renowned addiction counseling Virginia center. The staff provided right treatment which helped me to get over opiate.

[Thanasis]

Stay healthy and dont touch it man, I cant imagine how hard it is to stay away from it. I know a lot of people who were extremely talented musicians and very nice people in general who turned into angry and empty souls and sadly their playing decreased and they thought they could play better than before. Boom. After a few years of partying and using coke and mdma and all sorts of uppers mostly they managed to piss everyone off and remain alone, isolated from others, daydreaming about finding the best partners in music who dont question their abilities. I knows how it is with the uppers. You feel comfortable and able at first, but as long as the effects wear off you cant even maintain eye contact, concentrate and find positive things in life.
Stay away from it, find some nice fellas to play music with, keep busy so you dont have to over think and that will keep you on the right path. I have read your posts and you seem like a nice knowledgeable guy and you should keep this bright side of yours outwards. If there is anything I can do to help anyone, pm me.
Life is too short to add artificial struggle to it. Stay positive.