Cool, Big Nerd Or Something Else?

Mostly I was just another 'kid' in high school. We had very few 'nerds' - but some really smart 'other kids'. There might have been some 'cool kids' - but I can't recall any that I would call that. There were some that were more popular than others - I hung about in the middle. Mostly I hated school - and had since the 5th grade - and I was so glad to graduate and get out of there.

In those days,I thought I was "REAL GEORGE" (look it up)...The "Pat Boone" of the school.

But this is how my class buddy, the late William Graham (in the blue circle) saw me (red circle) along with all the other guys



By the way, Bill knew better not to caricaturize the young ladies

There is one verb for those 4 years at this special school, High School of Music & Art, NYC

I FLOURISHED

On the heels of a comment I made this morning to Gene....nice to see you jumped on the topic, Ronald!
I didn't like anything about HS. I maxxed out my time spent with two amazing fine artists (aka teachers earning a living), who taught me most of what I needed to know about technique in and passion to paint.
I had my dance, piano and music lessons outside of school that busied my after school time and weekends. My social life revolved around youth group....and it was pretty wonderful.
Being a nerd or cool wasn't an issue. I figured out where to shine and that had little, if anything to do with being cool in public school.
I laos looked like a 10 year old, which wasn't particularly easy....now, it's nice to look a little younger!

Junior high is really where you worry about acceptance and conforming. In high school, everybody's on their way to growing up, and everyone is more accepting and kind. At least, that was my experience. Got teased a lot in my earlier school years for playing the violin, which was seen as a sissy thing in those days. Would that be nerdy? Whatever, I didn't let it bother me.

I was neither....somewhere in the middle.... I got along with just about everyone, be they "Quakers" or "Motorheads" on just plain regular kids. I LOVED highschool!

I would call myself a cool outsider but I got good marks. I skipped a lot of school...in fact, I dropped out a few months before graduating but the guidance counsellor talked me into finishing out the year being home schooled and that was perfect for me. Luckily I had one good friend in high school. We skipped school together, and did things like drink her parents' booze and sunbathe instead of going to classes.

Although I saw myself as weird and a nerd, I think I was very uncomfortable with me while others seemed to like me, but I was not in a comfortable home.

Most of my friends from high school and junior high are still my friends to this very day. Most of them were and are amazing people.

I do know that I graduated without studying even once and so I was very atypical for a nerd. I was in drama, art, ballet, piano, voice, choir and flag team. I was terrible at everything but I had fun being bad.

I started working at 15 and fell in love with making money, so I could move away from home which I did right after high school and I lived with two boys. lol.

Does that sound wild? I think I was wild and crazy.

I guess in between, I had my nerdy side but mostly I was just socially awkward, (still am really) I've definitely never been mistaken for being cool.

Chess club, cross country and art. Thought I was normal but looking back think normal might of been spelled NERD.

I was a pot head! Lol! but pretty cool.

Who's laughing now? To some the "cool" kids at my school were the ones throwing the drinking parties in the woods, never went to college, are on their third marriage and invested in video rental stores.

The successful ones never looked back.

I was neither nerd nor cool. I had a happy experience, however. I had poor grades until my Junior year then I made the honor roll for 2 years. I was starting guard on a championship football team and received a wrestling scholarship to college. Of course I was the "artist" in my class. And most important I began dating my future wife. I am still in touch with many of my former classmates after 45 years.

I was like my picture, didn't fit as I was always a foreigner everywhere.



In a way, it was good for my artistic creations...

Nerd.

I was a stoner. I quit at age 20 being a stoner. About the time I began to take art classes. My art got better.

High school? I was shy and quiet. Mumbled like a stoner in New England who was smoking out in the cold. LOL

I must have been good looking, but I did not know it at all. I was in love with all the girls. I went to a very mixed school, one third white Christians, one third African Americans, and one third very liberal Jewish. The conservative Jews were in the bigger town next over, West Hartford.

The point of that, the Jewish girls were over achievers taking over our class from start to finish. This included the year book. I am on the first page stoned with my head down on the desk photographed by one of those girls. The photo is actually of someone in the foreground, but I get fully included with the center of the shot between us, I am not even out of focus. I am a few pages deeper in a black and white shot where the caption reads that I am "wearing the school colors", blue and orange. I am something like two other shots and I have my year book pic as well. I realized looking at the book twenty years later that I was the most photographed kid in the book. Even the class president only had one shot in there. Even guys I thought were doing so much better with the girls, if you asked them or not they would tell you, were not often in that book. Even the three letter sports kids only got two or three team shots.

I thought I was a loner till I got to college. Then I began to have a better time.

The president of our class was a family friend. We met before we were one years old. She ran for the Senate in North Carolina last year, Deborah Ross.


Dave

Had lots of friends from all walks of life, but I couldn't stand the student council kids. They always acted like they were above everyone else and the ones who always got the special favors from the School teachers and staff. I guess it comes down too, I didn't like anyone or get along with anyone that had there heads up another's ' arse' for personal gain. I still feel that way today, haven't changed a bit.

Socially, I was neither fish nor fowl. I wasn't much of a drinker but I smoked a lot of dope and cigarettes, ate psilocybin and mescaline on a regular basis (acid when I was a bit older), and generally refused to follow convention or give a flying fig what others thought of my behavior. I wasn't just a doper, I was a voracious reader of anything and everything, which advanced my knowledge beyond high school curriculum. I played piano, flute and clarinet. My musical tastes were (and are) eclectic. I was also an avid naturalist, which flew in the face of typical teenage interests. I was sometimes ridiculed by peers for using "big words". I refused to dumb it down for their benefit.

Not sure if all the THC played a role in my deep dive into the tiniest details of nature or if I inherited the interest from elders who were all keen naturalists. It didn't hurt that I grew up in one of the most mind-blowing natural areas of California. My great-grandparents and grandparents on both sides had amazing ornamental gardens as well as truck gardens. They imported shrubs and trees from exotic places and hybridized fruit trees commercially. My great uncle, Robert Brandt, received his doctorate in Botany from Berkeley in 1916 and my dad, his favorite nephew, took time to acquaint me with all the local terrestrial and aquatic organisms, from the time I was tiny.

My closest friends in high school were those who terrified straight kids and those who were outcasts simply because they weren't physically attractive, despite being super-nice, but I was also friendly with some of the jocks and cheerleaders who weren't stereotypical jerks. Some kids looked up to me because I was reckless and what they considered sophisticated, while others looked down on me for the same reasons. Oddly, I got along great with most teachers. They respected me, though I'm not sure why since they knew full well that I was out of control.

I was much like I am now. Fiercely nonconformist, and following my own path. Back then, I tried to challenge my peers and get them to think about how many of them were just following the carrot that the establishment was dangling, Now I tend to just follow my own path and not really try to pull those around me out of the daze they live in, unless a deeper conversation occurs organically.

Since very young...probalby 2nd or 3rd grade...I pretty much felt that school was a waste of time, and pretty much served only to teach people how to be obedient, and dependable citizens and employees, rather than actually teach any useful lesson or skills. I also saw the value of seeing it through and getting a diploma, because I was smart enough to see that it would be the best and easiest way to open doors for some future opportunities.

I knew they couldn't numb my mind, as long as I didn't drink the Kool Aid....and did just enough to get what I felt I needed out of it...which was that silly little piece of paper.

I was most definitely cool, but certainly not one of the "cool" kids...and like the "big nerds", I was most certainly learning....but not by consuming the lesson plans with puppy dog like eagerness. I was watching what was going on around me, reading between the lines and thinking what the real motivation was behind everything.

Andrew,

I have one friend for the last few years that I see in Starbucks regularly. He is a farmer who grows for his own needs only. New England. He grows the three sisters. He is an artist. He has worked for others on their projects and that drives him crazy. He has put a $300k woodwork bar into a $10 million home. He has done other wood work.

He takes what you are discussing to an entirely new extreme. Even goes into Starbucks with a tiny cup and that is his espresso for the day.

He wants absolutely nothing from modern life. Yes he does drive. Currently most of his income is from selling flowers he has grown.

Dave

I was thirty four years old when I had my first drink of alcohol and I never smoked weed or took drugs. That defines nerd all the way.

Because I work in science and am a federal employee, I cannot take in drugs of any kind until after retirement. Bummer!

I was always so straight and terrified of popular jocks and cheerleaders! I cannot wait to have a pot muffin or brownie one day. I am no longer the "nerdy little bean pole Lisa." And most of those people that I was terrified of are my friends and customers now!

My teachers, with the exception of one, seemed to take a dislike to me. On the first day, they would try to kick me out and give me to another teacher, but that was because I was like "Boogar" in revenge of the Nerds. I was really odd with a new personality each day. It made others uncomfortable.

When I was in trouble at home, my dad would make me write...well ...which meant that I wasn't free until I wrote superbly. They also made me do timed equations if I was really bad, but I liked that punishment.

So as a smart but more of a smart ass kid, I usually harassed the teachers to some degree. I have a bit of bully in me as well.

One F that I earned, however, was in algebra. I decided as a silly kid that because I didn't like my math instructor for some gut reason, I did all my equations backwards...even on the test! Years later he was found to be grooming young male students to rape them. My gut never lies.

And years later in college, I took another type of algebra and the professor gave us a final of many equations, but had one equation at the end of the test that asked us to do the equation backwards. If we could do this, we earned an A for the class. I was the first person done and earned an A.

It's funny how memories find you. I have forgiven all those who harassed me because I probably caused a few teachers to have an early death from alcoholism or just concentrating on them having a terrible day. I pretty much hated all of them and the popular kids as well. Now I'm a gentle person and a little bit disgusted with my earlier self.

Well, I guess I got it out of my system because I have no interest in drugs and rarely drink, though I do enjoy a good red from time to time. I have no regrets about being a druggie for all those years because I had a blast but I've moved on so they don't have any place in my current life. I just thank my lucky stars that, though I do have an addictive personality, I never had a problem giving up the hard stuff. Not sure how I dodged that bullet but I am very grateful.

And I drink every day, a glass of wine or two.

Not sure what the term is for this now days, but I was probably a "goody two-shoes" in high school -- self imposed, not anything I was raised to be, really. I was always a bit envious of those who could drink or do drugs, because it looked like fun, but personally I wasn't able to handle it. Never wanted to sneak around, either. I had no reason to. I was given all the freedom in the world. Sometimes you just are who you are. I've never been able to be anything different.

I've raised my son with all the freedom in the world and he turned out amazing. I think control freaks do a lot of damage to their kids.

I think that is very true, Lisa.

I told him, there is the front door. Live your life, be creative and take responsibility for all your actions. He came and went as he pleased.

You bet Lisa. They'll always come home. For money. Ha!

Oh my goodness, so true, Kevin. I don't care though.

Yes we love em to death.

I give my son a lot of freedom. I hope it's not enough rope to hang himself.
It's better than stifling him with too much micro-management.

Kids don't come with users' manuals, I think all parents make it up as best they can as they go along.

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

***
I try to be a stable bow. That is the best I can hope to do. As the arrow flies, every moment more distant from my bow, I only hope it flies to meet a worthy mark.

I was always on the honor roll. I was also always stoned out of my skull. Go figure. Also, yay 70s! I'd miss you if I could remember you.

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire
"Whut?"

I saved the stoned for college. Beer was the fuel for rural Iowa farm boys in 1970. Beer, cars, girls. Yay youth.

Susan,
I was in college in the late 60's. They used to say if you remember those college years, you weren't living them.
I remember all of my art classes because I can only paint sober.
My children's friends, who came over every day after school to visit me in my art studio, thought otherwise.

I can only paint sober, too.

There are a lot of things that I do better when I'm sober.

I've never tried to paint while high or drunk and I don't plan to. I figured out quite early in life that if I continued to consume alcohol it would ruin my life so I don't touch the stuff, and by extension drugs either.

The only times in the last decade or 2 that I've had the urge to smoke dope is when I'm on road trips. That was always my favorite time to be high so maybe it's just the lingering associations, in the same way that ex-tobacco smokers associate certain places/activities with lighting up. I can't say that being high produces better work but it most certainly gets me in the zone where I feel much more creative when I'm on a shoot. Getting high is no longer an option because I need a clear head to ensure that I don't fail the lives whose survival depends on my not screwing up. When it comes down to their well-being or my getting high, there's no contest.

I was never really a big drinker. I am however, intimately familiar with just about every pharmaceutical that didn't require a syringe to experience. Personally I can't wait until Pennsylvania grows up and makes recreational weed legal, tho I'll be happy enuf when they finally get the medicinal weed ball rolling at a faster rate. Either way, I plan to relive my youth extensively. And yes, art and weed make beautiful music together. Or at least, as I recall they do.

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

In high school I was granted the senior art award. I went to a school of about 6000 students. In college I studied math and engineering.



One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head
Feed your head

Bullied...Mercilessly. So much i needed hospital treatment at one stage.

Hated school....Hate bullies even more as you can probably tell in my work here.

Drew, that is one of the coolest songs ever, not because of the lyrics though, it just sounds cool.

David, it is the sound that represents to me the generation of arrogant naivety.

It's even cooler to hear that live at the Fillmore back in the day, even when one's boyfriend is visibly drooling over Grace.

Life slaps us upside the head and knocks away the naïveté soon enough so I can't begrudge the young their arrogantly naïve bubble. It's a bit harder to put up with the oldsters who apparently didn't get slapped quite hard enough to clear the stars out of their eyes.

Or, Alice in Wonderland brought up to date in the 60s.

I was bullied mercilessly in elementary and middle school. I was absolutely miserable. Things got better once high school came around, though there are always bullies everywhere I suppose. I never enjoyed school though, even though I was really good at it. Not even college, hated every minute of it.

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

Your experience sounds a lot like mine Susan.

"it is the sound that represents to me the generation of arrogant naivety."

The arrogant part represents the drug induced,free love,feel good, anti war movement that pressured the end of the Vietnam conflict and the naivety represents the 6 million plus mass murdered in Cambodia following the troop withdraw.

I was a shy, quiet little nerd in middle school with just a handful of friends. Middle School was the worst. Kids that age can just be mean little boogers.

I had a great time in High School but not sure that I fit in to any one group. Though I was a city girl at that time, I dated a bull rider so I had that group of friends. I played sports, so I had that group of friends. I was a cheerleader, so had I that group of friends. And then I had just my regular old girlfriends that I hung out with most of the time. Back then the groups were pretty segregated so it made things interesting!

My top weight in high school was about 155. I was in a few fights. I had to defend myself. I was quick to do that. But I never started any fights.

I had two experiences trying to bully two different kids in junior high. They hit me back. And each time I was thinking good for them. LOL

Dave

Life is not a rehearsal it's meant for living, I can say I lived mine to the fullest and still do, no regrets, high times, good times bad times, a time for every season.

I was never bullied, nor was I a bully. My father was a champion boxer and we were made to understand that dad would not tolerate our being bullied. I'm short and back then I was slight. But never bullied. I have spent the past 10 years, or so, writing and publishing stories about my youth on an Iowa farm and small community.

Concerning Grace Slick, I was privileged (with my family) to meet her at an art opening. We purchased one of her prints and were ushered into her presence, where she did a special signing and chatted with us for about five minutes. Older now, but still a handsome and gracious woman.

Concerning the music, we don't get to choose (as individuals) what will influence current generations and what will be consigned to the dust bowl of history. A quick look backward to the 60s tells me that the Airplane and their music had a major influence. One can decide for themselves whether it was positive or negative. The greater judgment of history records that the music had a positive influence.

We still have Grace but we lost Paul, unfortunately. One of the many rockers we lost in 2016. I am so not ready to start watching my heroes drop like flies.

:::sigh:::

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

I think I was kind of popular, but didn't feel like it, particularly, and I believe I was perceived as somewhat of a goody-two-shoes (little did they know!). I was considered one of the "class artists" - art editor of the yearbook and the school paper, painting sets for class plays, spending every study hall that I could in the art room,etc. but I was also in the "A" division, college prep, so, one of the "smart" kids. If only I had put in any serious intellectual effort!

I agree with you Mario, gotta go for it
and I did it all - the nerd, the shy guy, the bully, the king of the block, the drop-out, the dazed and confused, weirdo and freak and back on track, working in high security jobs for several presidents in Europe, invited as visiting scholar to USC in L.A. etc
up and down and all around

Feed your head with the fackz!

Ahhh, the memories. .....

"it is the sound that represents to me the generation of arrogant naivety."

Wikipedia

This is a list of pop musicians who died of drug overdose along with the date, age at time of death, location, and name of drug.

Name Age Date Location Drug
Dinah Washington 39 December 14, 1963 Detroit, Michigan, USA Secobarbital and amobarbital
Rudy Lewis
The Drifters 27 May 20, 1964 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Frankie Lymon
The Teenagers 25 February 27, 1968 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
1970s deaths Edit

Name Age Date Location Drug
Alan Wilson
Canned Heat 27 September 3, 1970 Topanga Canyon, California, USA Barbiturate
Jimi Hendrix
The Jimi Hendrix Experience 27 September 18, 1970 London, England Barbiturate
Janis Joplin 27 October 4, 1970 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Jim Morrison
The Doors 27 July 3, 1971 Paris, France Suspected heroin
Brian Cole
The Association 29 August 2, 1972 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Rory Storm 34 28 September 1972 Liverpool, England Alcohol and sleeping pills
Billy Murcia
New York Dolls 21 November 6, 1972 London, England Methaqualone [1]
Danny Whitten
Crazy Horse 29 November 18, 1972 Los Angeles, California, USA Valium and alcohol
Gram Parsons
The Byrds 26 September 19, 1973 Joshua Tree, California, USA Morphine and alcohol
Zeke Zettner
The Stooges 25 November 10, 1973 Heroin
Nick Drake 26 November 25, 1974 Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England Amitriptyline
Tim Buckley 28 June 29, 1975 Santa Monica, California, USA Heroin, morphine, and alcohol
Gary Thain
Uriah Heep 27 December 8, 1975 Norwood Green, England Heroin
Tommy Bolin
Deep Purple 25 December 4, 1976 Miami, Florida, USA Heroin, cocaine and alcohol
Elvis Presley 42 August 16, 1977 Memphis, Tennessee, USA Assorted
Gregory Herbert
Blood, Sweat & Tears 28 January 31, 1978 Amsterdam, Netherlands Heroin
Keith Moon
The Who 32 September 7, 1978 London, England Heminevrin
Sid Vicious
Sex Pistols 21 February 2, 1979 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Lowell George
Little Feat 34 June 29, 1979 Arlington, Virginia, USA Heroin
Jimmy McCulloch
Wings 26 September 27, 1979 London, England Morphine
Judee Sill 35 November 23, 1979 Los Angeles, California, USA Cocaine
1980s deaths Edit

Name Age Date Location Drug
Bon Scott
AC/DC 33 February 19, 1980 East Dulwich, London, England Alcohol
John Bonham
Led Zeppelin 32 September 25, 1980 Clewer, Berkshire, England Alcohol
Darby Crash
Germs 22 December 7, 1980 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Tim Hardin 39 December 29, 1980 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Mike Bloomfield 37 February 15, 1981 San Francisco, California, USA Heroin
Lester Bangs 33 April 30, 1982 New York City, New York, USA Darvon, valium and nyquil
James Honeyman-Scott
Pretenders 25 16 June 1982 London, England Cocaine
Pete Farndon
Pretenders 30 April 14, 1983 London, England Heroin
Paul Gardiner
Tubeway Army 25 4 February 1984 Northolt, Middlesex, England Heroin
Gary Holton
Heavy Metal Kids 33 25 October 1985 London, England Morphine and alcohol
Phil Lynott
Thin Lizzy 36 4 January 1986 Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Heroin
Paul Butterfield 44 4 May 1987 North Hollywood, California, USA Heroin
Jesse Ed Davis 43 22 June 1988 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Hillel Slovak
Red Hot Chili Peppers 26 June 25, 1988 Los Angeles, California, USA Speedball
1990s deaths Edit

Name Age Dates Location Drug
Andrew Wood
Mother Love Bone 24 March 19, 1990 Seattle, Washington, USA Heroin
Brent Mydland
Grateful Dead 37 July 26, 1990 Lafayette, California, USA Speedball
Steve Clark
Def Leppard 30 January 8, 1991 London, England Codeine, alcohol, valium and morphine
Johnny Thunders
New York Dolls 38 April 23, 1991 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Cocaine and methadone
David Ruffin
The Temptations 50 June 1, 1991 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Cocaine
Iosu Expósito
Eskorbuto 31 May 31, 1992 Baracaldo, Spain Heroin
GG Allin 36 June 28, 1993 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Dave Rubinstein
Reagan Youth 29 July 3, 1993 Heroin
Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones
The Wonder Stuff 29 July 31, 1993 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Kurt Cobain
Nirvana 27 April 5, 1994 Seattle, Washington, USA Suicide while high on heroin
Kristen Pfaff
Hole 27 June 16, 1994 Seattle, Washington, USA Heroin
Dwayne Goettel
Skinny Puppy 31 August 23, 1995 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Heroin
Shannon Hoon
Blind Melon 28 October 21, 1995 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Cocaine
Bradley Nowell
Sublime 28 May 25, 1996 San Francisco, California, USA Heroin
John Kahn
Jerry Garcia Band 48 May 30, 1996 Mill Valley, California, USA Heroin
Jonathan Melvoin
The Smashing Pumpkins 34 July 12, 1996 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Billy Mackenzie
Associates 39 22 January 1997 Angus, Scotland Paracetamol
West Arkeen
The Outpatience 36 May 30, 1997 Los Angeles, California, USA Opiate
Nick Traina
Link 80 19 September 20, 1997 Pleasant Hill, California, USA Heroin [2]
John Baker Saunders
Mad Season 44 January 15, 1999 Seattle, Washington, USA Heroin
David McComb
The Triffids 37 2 February 1999 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Heroin
Bobby Sheehan
Blues Traveler 31 August 20, 1999 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Speedball
Erik Brødreskift
Borknagar 29 October 4, 1999 Bergen, Norway Pills
Wes Berggren
Tripping Daisy 28 October 27, 1999 Dallas, Texas, USA Methamphetamine
2000s deaths Edit

Name Age Date Location Drug
Allen Woody
The Allman Brothers Band 44 August 26, 2000 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Joachim Nielsen 36 October 17, 2000 Oslo, Norway Heroin
Carl Crack
Atari Teenage Riot 30 6 September 2001 Berlin, Germany Pills and alcohol
Layne Staley
Alice in Chains 34 April 5, 2002 Seattle, Washington, USA Speedball
Dee Dee Ramone
Ramones 50 June 5, 2002 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Robbin Crosby
Ratt 42 June 6, 2002 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
John Entwistle
The Who 57 June 27, 2002 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Cocaine
Howie Epstein
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 47 February 23, 2003 Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA Heroin
Jeremy Michael Ward
De Facto 27 May 25, 2003 Los Angeles, California, USA Heroin
Tim Hemensley
GOD 31 July 21, 2003 Heroin
Bobby Hatfield
The Righteous Brothers 63 November 3, 2003 Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Cocaine
Dave Schulthise
The Dead Milkmen 47 March 10, 2004 North Salem, New York, USA Pills
Robert Quine 61 May 31, 2004 New York City, New York, USA Heroin
Rick James 56 August 6, 2004 Los Angeles, California, USA Assorted
Kevin DuBrow
Quiet Riot 52 November 19, 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Cocaine
Ike Turner 76 December 12, 2007 San Marcos, California, USA Cocaine
Gidget Gein
Marilyn Manson 39 October 9, 2008 Burbank, California, USA Heroin
Jay Bennett
Wilco 45 May 24, 2009 Urbana, Illinois, USA Fentanyl
Michael Jackson 50 June 25, 2009 Los Angeles, California, USA Propofol and benzodiazepine
Vic Chesnutt 45 December 25, 2009 Athens, Georgia, USA Muscle relaxant
2010s deaths Edit

Name Age Date Location Drug
Jay Reatard 29 January 13, 2010 Memphis, Tennessee, USA Cocaine
Paul Gray
Slipknot 38 May 24, 2010 Urbandale, Iowa, USA Morphine and fentanyl
Mike Starr
Alice in Chains 44 March 8, 2011 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Methadone and anxiolytic
Amy Winehouse 27 July 23, 2011 London, England Alcohol
Jani Lane
Warrant 47 August 11, 2011 Woodland Hills, California, USA Alcohol
Mikey Welsh
Weezer 40 October 8, 2011 Chicago, Illinois, USA Heroin [3]
Whitney Houston 48 February 11, 2012 Beverly Hills, California, USA Cocaine
Jason Molina 39 March 16, 2013 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Alcohol
Dave Brockie
Gwar 50 March 23, 2014 Richmond, Virginia, USA Heroin
Jimi Jamison
Survivor 63 September 1, 2014 Memphis, Tennessee, USA Methamphetamine
Scott Weiland
Stone Temple Pilots 48 December 3, 2015 Bloomington, Minnesota, USA Cocaine
Prince 57 April 21, 2016 Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA Fentanyl

what about adding a list with all the ones dying in car or plane crashes etc

Becasuse it is irrelevant to being in the "in" crowd while back in high school....,.

That's an interesting question.

I wonder if all these pop stars who OD'd were part of the "in" crowd in high school.

I would bet my last dollar a lot of them weren't.

Well, that is interesting. I often lament the early demise of many of those performers through their own misadventure. BUT, what they did with their own lives does not represent how their music influenced MY life. And as far as I know I'm still here, listening to their powerful poetry.

I concur, Kevin. One example out of so many - Jim Morrison. I doubt that I would have liked him at all if I'd known him personally but I'm still moved by his music.

Definition of the “high school in-crowd”;
those peers who influence the micro-culture of a high school such that they set the predominant trends of the micro-culture in question.

It is not relevant if the pied-pipers of yesteryear were themselves in their high school in-crowd but the condoning of drug use that influenced thousands of the high school in-crowds. This influence directly effects the drug problem of today!


A culture weaken by drug addiction is a culture that will fail.
see: “Opium: The Downfall of Imperial China”
http://www.historywiz.com/downfall.htm

The irony here is that the British hooked the Chinese on opium and the boys from Liverpool help pave the way for wide drug abuse by leading a willing generation like cattle by the nose. Yes, I have referred to this group previously as the "generation of arrogant naivety.

It is not relevant if the pied-pipers of yesteryear were themselves in their high school in-crowd.

Probably not, except the subject of this entire thread is about which group you belonged to in high school. On that level, it's relevant.

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RE: the drug addiction / drug use by popular musicians. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg.

Do the people who are into using drugs choose music by bands that condone it?
Or do the people who love the music see what the musicians condone, and try to be like the musicians by using drugs?

Probably some of each, but I think there are lots of people who just listen to the music, and don't do drugs regardless what the musicians do.
And people who do drugs, who listen to music but the music isn't the primary influence.

I think, based on musicians' biographies that I've read, that the lifestyle: being on the road all the time - the way travelling disrupts normal social relationships, fans offering to buy drinks etc. for the musicians, being in a party atmosphere, having a lot of disposable income that you don't necessarily know what to do with, having to be "on" when you get up onstage for a scheduled performance even if you're tired & don't feel particularly "on" -- so you pop a pill and then you feel "on" enough to do your job.

There are a number of factors related to why career musicians get into drugs that seem to me to be directly related to how musicians have to live in order to be professional musicians.

Most teenagers have different forces leading them to drugs, it's not the same culture / lifestyle as high school -- unless it's a teenaged professional musician who is trying to combine the career with school work.

Yes, when Dorthy left Oz, she removed the emerald glasses and saw the truth. The more who put the emerald glasses on, the higher the probability that they will leave them on and those who reminisce on the days they wore the glasses condone the glass' effects. Those who promote the glasses are the follower of an illusion. The delusion of fantasy built on a foundation of stacked cards or corpses. By all accounts, the corpses are increasing at a geometric rate.

I never did drugs -- I never was drawn to drug culture, too many obvious down-sides to getting addicted. Including possibly ending up dead.

That, and I have always had other fish to fry, that are not compatible with being stoned.

I don't lump weed or hallucinogens in with addictive drugs. The glasses I wore gave me a perspective on the world that helped shape who I am today. I like who I am today.

I'm not faulting anyone who does, or did drugs. It's a personal decision, I'm not judgemental about it.

There were some pretty messed up things about the drug culture that I would have entered, if I had chosen to enter it at the time. I just decided not to do it, that's all.

Cheryl, I was responding to Drew's thing about condoning the use. In my case, he's right. I condone my use of drugs back then. As hypocritical as it may sound, I don't necessarily condone Joe Blow's use of weed or hallucinogens because Joe Blow may not be a suitable candidate.

I draw the line at addictive drugs, whether they be uppers or downers. Want nothing to do with them or people who use them.

ok

"wondering when you were back in high school were you a cool kid a big nerd or something else?"- Ron
Ron is a master pedagogist. He experiments with a group, gets to know them to a point and provides excellent universal subjects for discourse.

quickly, I recognized the two things that most of this group would have dealt with in high school. They are drugs and music. Ron's question may be about self perception but the truth is pop-culture and how and why it effects the adolescent and thier place within it especially as young developing artist is relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow.

There were other things that affected which clique you were in -- at least where I was from.

Socio-economic status.
How long your family had lived in town -- how many generations.
Which church you / your family attended.
Whether you were a good athlete, and which sports you chose to participate in.
Clothing - fashion was used to send social messages, what brands of clothes you wore, what hairstyle.
Whether or not you smoked cigarettes.
What classes you took, what grades you usually got, where you were headed after high school (college, or not).
Which TV shows / movies you watched.
What kind of car you drove -- or your family drove.

As you pointed out:
Music was part of it - what you chose to listen to. My generation, if you went to a party and talked to a stranger, if they told you what bands they listened to, they assumed you knew everything you needed to know about them.
Drugs / alcohol were another factor, whether you used them at all, or which ones you chose if you chose to do them.

Dear Drew
without the help of all kinds of substances there would be no FINEARTAMERICA today - a lot of the inventive IT revolutionaries were dope heads in their youth.
I'd go even that far to say, without the help of some stimulating aids we'd probably still be sitting up on trees to scared of exploring the savannah. But lucky us some primates ate of forbidden speak fermented fruits and felt all powerful and mighty..

LOL! Right.........

Drew, el al, I graduated high school in 1971 from a tiny rural farming community. At that time drug use was something you read about but was virtually unheard of in our town. Good old weed was just poking up its mellow head, being as a few college kids came home with new experiences. I was an athelete, so, no drugs. Beer? Sure. I was much influenced by the music and the poetry within. Also sort of a romantic idea of the Hippy lifestyle. However, I didn't ride off on my Hog, run away to SF, drop out to smoke dope, shoot up meth or take acid. I did follow most of the conventions by staying in school, getting good grades, competing in sports and attending college. ALL the while being profoundly influenced by the music of the day. You have a strong opinion. It's yours. Fine.

Kevin, your experience was probably typical at the time you graduated from high school. Here are the facts of what happened after 1971. It is also great to see artist who don't think dope contributes to artistic creatively.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/99ndcs/ii-b.html

Me too Kevin....I graduated in '66 and I guess drinking was the vice of choice.
I finished college in '71.....those last few years were quite the eye openers!