Re: [Harp-L] re: addiction and harmonica's

[BiscuitBoy714@xxxxxxx]

I've watched this thread for a  while but didn't feel compelled to post about 
it until now. I feel very bad  about anybody losing their life because of 
addiction, having dealt with it in my  own life. Coming up as a musician starting 
in 69, I have seen addiction take the  lives of a lot of talented people. 
Alcohol took the life of one of my best  friends about 8 years ago. He was one of 
the best guitar players I ever had the  pleasure to work with. We wrote a 
couple of really good songs together and when  it came to jammin' off of the cuff 
he had no equal. He just couldn't control  what happened when he drank, and 
it killed him.
 
         There was a time in  my life where my addiction dictated what 
harmonica's I would buy. I found out  about Big River harps because I didn't have 
enough money to buy 4 SP 20's and  the drugs I needed to get through a gig, BUT, 
I had enough to buy Big  River's AND the drugs. So I found out the hard way 
that Big River's were  pretty good harps.
 
      This is really hard for me to write but I  feel like I have to. I work 
with addicts now myself, and see success and  failure come and go. I quit some 
years ago, but I still have to quit every day  to keep it that way for me. 
Addiction is a daily struggle for life, I help  whenever I can, and grieve when 
I have to. I'd much rather help, but sometimes I  don't get that chance.
 
          Randy
 
    BiscuitBoy Blues
 
In a message dated 10/1/2007 7:52:04 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
jim.alciere@xxxxxxxxx writes:

Sergei  asked: "I suppose the proportion is not greater than among the rest
of the  population?"

I looked it up because I was curious. Bar waitress and  restaurant staff seem
to have the highest rate of substance abuse. I did  find a study that showed
pop stars have a decreased life  span.


Per the Journal of Epidemiology and Community  Health:

Our results show that at between 2 and 25 years of  fame,
both North American and European pop stars tend to
experience two  to three times the risk of mortality expected
in an average population  matched by age, sex and, in North
America, ethnicity

Consistent with  other studies of pop stars, a disproportionate
amount of their mortality  appears to be related to alcohol and
drug use
The article states that  car accidents, lack of insurance, substance abuse,
and mental illness all  take their toll. Whether you can extrapolate that to
all musicians...who  knows? In any case being a professional musician can be
a tough  life.

Rainbow  Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.myspace.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals
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