Woody Giessmann is an addiction specialist and interventionist. He’s also a musician, artist and the author of “A Life of Recovery, Breaking the Chains of Addiction.” For the past few years, Woody’s been working on a new musical called “Rock Bottom.” It’s a love story about two people as they fight addiction through music and laughter. Giessman joined GBH’s Henry Santoro to discuss his new musical and book. The transcript below has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Henry Santoro: It’s so great to see you. Before we get into your book, let’s talk about “Rock Bottom,” the musical you have written. Is any of it autobiographical?
Woody Giessmann: I was asked where are you in “Rock Bottom”? And you know the lead character, Al, is someone who is in the throes of his addiction and he falls in love with this young lady. And it’s a comedy but it’s tragedy, but it is a love story ... it’s a little Shakespearean in that way.
Santoro: Is the statement true that an addict has to want help first? I mean, do they have to hit rock bottom?
Giessmann: It’s my responsibility to help people [move on] from that contemplative state of “I don’t I want help” or “Maybe I need help.” And bringing them into that state of “I need help. Let’s get into and look at our options.” That would be the stage of preparation. And then helping them get into action.
But it’s important that they discover their true authentic self as a person, not only as an artist, but as a person. ... I’ve worked with a lot of people who were afraid to do what they wanted to do without the assistance of drugs and alcohol: going on stage as a comedian, going on stage as a musician, writing a book.
Santoro: After becoming a licensed counselor, a certified drug and alcohol and drug counselor and a board-certified interventionist, you started Right Turn, which was a recovery center in Watertown whose mission was to help musicians and artists get clean. How does one tell an addict and musician that they can, in fact, get sober?
Giessmann: Well, that’s a really tricky question because —
Santoro: Because they are in denial. You were in denial.
Giessmann: I was also in the culture of the entertainment business, on the road, doing what I needed to do, and music and art are the two things that I thrive on. Right Turn was an amazing experience. It was a nonprofit that I established in 2003. And Dr. Anne Alonso, who was the head of the advancement of psychotherapy at Mass General Hospital, was the person who said, “Meet me for lunch in Harvard Square. I’m going to write you a check. You open the doors to Right Turn. Get busy!” And the interesting piece was yes, it was for creative people, but more importantly, we used creative approaches: music therapy, drum circles, sober nights. So it was building community. And as I said in my book: The opposite of addiction is that community connection piece. Right Turn ended up being a wonderful place for people to come and connect.
Santoro: And lasted until, what, 2024, right?
Giessmann: It lasted until 2024. Unfortunately, I was put in the hospital in 2024, and Right Turn did not survive while I was away.
Santoro: You cover a lot of this in your book. You write about the different types of treatment or programs in “A Life of Recovery: Breaking the Chains of Addiction.” How is it best for someone to pick one of those ways?
Giessmann: I always recommend that you get some professional help. That’s why I do what I do, and I’ve been doing it for a long time.
Santoro: And we should say that former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker brought you on as a health official as well.
Giessmann: I just love Charlie Baker. It was immensely helpful to the Board of Registry in Medicine for the Medical Board for Physicians to bring me on as a public member to talk to doctors about the responsibility of prescribing about substance use disorder. I like to feel I’ve made a difference there.
Santoro: In a previous life, in your addicted life, you were the drummer for the Del Fuegos, the beautiful 1980s rock band out of Boston. You found yourself at rock bottom, right?
Giessmann: I did. ... I arrived in Boston and was quickly welcomed into the Del Fuegos. I didn’t know at the time that they were in the queue to be signed to a Los Angeles record company. And we ended up on Warner Brothers, by way of Slash Records.
Santoro: And toured the world.
Giessmann: And toured the world. Yeah, we had some amazing experiences touring with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and ZZ Top. We went from the Rat [bar] on a Friday night to Nassau Coliseum with ZZ Top in the same weekend. We played 300 sweaty bodies to 18,000 people [with] the Kinks and INXS, which I just so much appreciated that tour. Unfortunately, they lost Michael Hutchings. And we were joined on stage one night with Bruce Springsteen and Nils Lofgren.
Santoro: And who knew that your bandmate, Warren Zanes, would go on and write the book about Springsteen, and now the movie. Unbelievable.
Giessmann: He’s such a talented writer and he’s the only guy that could make me laugh and blow coffee out of my nose.
Santoro: Woody Giesmann, always a pleasure to see you. Thank you for the God’s work that you do.
Giessmann: Thank you, thank you Henry, it’s so good to be here.
