Rock and Roll Suicide - An Exploration into Music and Mental Health

Originally from Goleta, CA, Plourde was active in the Southern California punk scene and known for his fast and accurate style of drumming. In addition to being the original founding member and drummer for Lagwagon, he also drummed for Bad Astronaut, Jaws, Rich Kids on LSD, Mad Caddies, and The Ataris. It is unclear if Plourde was diagnosed with bipolar disorder or depression as I have found varying accounts of both on multiple websites.   In an interview with Lollipop, an online music magazine with Joey Cape, the former singer of Lagwagon, he stated,   “[Derrick] always had issues…I’m not going to go into specifics about them, but he definitely had underlying problems that, as he got older, started to surface…Derrick was having a real hard time coping…he started to use drugs. It got pretty bad. He was in rough shape. It got to the point where we had to cancel the tour while we were in Florida and send him to detox. He got clean, but not compl...

How have I never heard of this guy until last week? David Sutch sounds like he was a dynamic person with a wry sense of humor.    Even though he had no connection with English aristocracy whatsoever, Sutch changed his stage name to Screaming Lord Sutch, 3 rd   Earl of Harrow.  Sutch was influenced by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and, despite his self confessed lack of vocal ability, sang Halloween/horror novelty songs and R&B covers that were more fun and entertaining than talented.    During the 1960’s Sutch would dress as Jack the Ripper for his horror-themed stage shows. Props on stage included a coffin, skulls, knives, and fake dead bodies. The album   Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends   was voted the worst album of all times in a 1998 BBC poll, regardless of the fact that Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Noel Redding, Jeff Beck, and Nicky Hopkins performed on it and helped write it. Sutch was also a founder of a registered political par...

When my friend posted this on Facebook, it was an “a-ha!” moment for me. This has been reposted with her permission. Shauna is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and she is one of the smartest and most compassionate people I know. “On the heels of another suicide, the hanging death of a local mother, I feel compelled to share something about the science of suicide. Too often, I have heard or read comments suggesting that the suicide victim was sel fish or did not consider her own family, etc. How I educate patients about this serious topic is to liken suicide to having a heart attack. For example, we know the risks for Coronary Artery Disease: smoking, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, yet a heart attack doubtless feels surprising to its sufferer. Suicide is a lot like this. We know the risks: depression, substance abuse, risk-taking, history of other aggressions, etc yet the great deficiency in serotonin (a happy neurotransmitter or brain chemical ...

Born Jan Paul Beahm, Darby co-founded the punk band The Germs with his friend Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg), whom he attended an alternative high school with in Los Angeles. Both were expelled from school for being accused of brainwashing other students to ingest LSD, which the two experimented with on a daily basis. Crash  experienced some traumatic events in his childhood, most notably when his oldest brother died of a heroin overdose. His relationship with his mother was strained as she suffered from an untreated mental illness which caused her to behave erratically and become verbally abusive towards him.   Darby tried to find his real father (whom his mom never married), only to learn through an argument with his sister that his father was a Swedish sailor who was already deceased. Crash was, according to his friends, a closeted homosexual.    Despite the number of homosexuals who were out in the punk scene in the early 80’s, there was also a si...

The lead singer of the Plasmatics was known for her shocking stage antics, such as blowing up stage equipment, chain sawing guitars, and simulating sex onstage wearing only shaving cream. Despite her radical stage performances and appearance, she was a devout vegetarian and animal rights activist. Her many careers included: crocheting string bikinis, actress, making and selling jewelry, macrobiotic chef, working in a natural foods coop, stripper, and sex show performer.  The latter is where she met her husband of 22 years, Rod Swenson, who was her promoter. Swenson helped her launch her music career at CBGS's in 1978.  Wendy first attempted suicide in 1993 by plunging a knife into her chest, which ended up getting stuck in her sternum.  In 1997 she had a second attempt by overdosing on ephedrine. She succeeded on her third attempt at the age of 48 years of age due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the woods by her and Swenson's home in Connecticut.  Acco...

Ian Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980) Ian Curtis Died at the age of 23. It has been speculated that, had he lived, he might have eventually been diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to his fluctuation in mood swings. According to an article in the Independent, titled, "Dark Star: The Final Days of Ian Curtis by his Joy Division Band Mates", at  the age of 16 he took an overdose of Largactil (in the US it is marketed as Thorazine)and had to have his stomach pumped. Although seen mostly as a polite and withdrawn person, he could easily get wound up, manic, and aggressive.   His band mates were apparently unaware of his epilepsy until they all returned home from their first performance in London in 1978 when he suffered his first grand mal seizure. While the band apparently tried to work around his illness, it was challenging since they lived the life of musicians--drinking, over-stimulation, traveling, and strobe lighting in some of the clubs--all ...

I had an idea for creating this blog when I recently learned in greater the detail about Joy Division's former lead singer, Ian Curtis. It pained me to discover the torment he experienced with untreated depression and debilitating seizures, which is what ultimately lead to his suicide. Despite great advances in treatment and availability of services, the stigma of mental illness is still prevalent in our culture. This stigma prevents people from reaching out to others for help and treatment in the hopes they can figure it out for themselves or not be a burden to others by asking loved ones for assistance. According to the American Association of Suicidology, more than 38,000 people commit suicide in the United States every year, and it is the 3rd leading cause of death for individuals aged 15-24.  Sometimes we can be own worst enemies, casting heavy doubt on our self worth and esteem. That suicide seems like the most obvious answer, not at all out ...