Belinda takes us behind the scenes with stories of struggle with health issues of those in the Music Industry.

For the next few months leading up to Festival Season in the US, I will be profiling several people who work both on and off the stage.  Stories you wouldn’t normally read anywhere else.  The untold stories of triumph, tragedy, happiness and grief that make festival participants more than fans, artists and workers.  It makes them family.

The first person I want to introduce you to is Scott Baughn of Death Grip who will be performing on the Retrospect Records Stage at Rocklahoma.  From the sight of Scott and the mean drums he plays, you’d never know he has Multiple Sclerosis.

I asked him to tell me in his own words about his struggle with a disease most people would consider a sign to retire.  As it attacks the central nervous system of the body, it disrupts the signals between the brain and other functions.

 “When I was diagnosed with MS the day after Christmas 2013 I was afraid I would no longer be able to play and perform. And even though it is a daily battle my neurologist encourages me to move forward with my career as not only does drumming provide physical exercise for him to keep me out of physical therapy but it also provides mental exercise for my brain. I have 5 large lesions in my brain one of the largest being in my memory cortex area. He had told me that if I had not been a musician all of these many, many years, I would probably be in much worse shape already because that part of my brain was already strong ……… I am happy to share my story with anyone as I do quite a bit on several different MS support groups.”

 

For more information on this disease go here.   If you are at Rocklahoma you should definitely check out Death Grip.  They are the second band to perform on Friday, May 26^th.

Written by Belinda Reedy

Photos by Got Image