Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
The L.A.-based band Thelonious Monster never had huge commercial success, but in the 1980s and 1990s, they exerted a powerful influence on the city's post-punk scene with songs like "Body and Soul."
Bob Forrest was Thelonious Monster's frontman, but his career in music was derailed by drug addiction. He visited rehab facilities more than two dozen times before finally finding sobriety in 1996, and since then he has worked tirelessly to help others struggling with addiction. You may have seen Bob working with Dr. Drew Pinksy on the VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab."
Forrest has written about his experiences in a memoir called "Running with Monsters." His life story was the focus of the documentary "Bob and the Monster." Now, he's released his first-ever solo album titled "Survival Songs."
https://open.spotify.com/album/76cPtLV5lXqGbpPqzrXEHa
Forrest recently joined host Alex Cohen to talk about his new album, addiction and what it was like growing up in the 1980s music scene in L.A. If you'd like to hear the entire conversation, click on the audio embedded at the top of the post.
If you'd like to see Forrest speak about his book, you can do so tonight at Book Soup in West Hollywood.