Welcome to our Start Today Harm Reduction Interview series, where we’re connecting with bands, musicians, and others who have stories to tell about mental health and addiction, and how they intersect with life in the music industry. 

Today we are interviewing Jeff Russel, the guitarist from Cleveland, OH’s Signals Midwest!!!

Can you share how you or someone close to you coped with or overcame struggles related to alcoholism, drug use, or mental health issues?​

• I became sober February 28, 2022. I drank and used random drugs, but booze was always my D.O.C. My rock bottom was that I got completely wasted here in Cleveland and sent some unfaithful texts to a mutual friend of my fiancée and mine, which resulted in canceling our wedding. It was definitely the worst few months of my life, realizing I had ruined the relationship with the person who I cared about most. There was no one to blame but myself. Rock bottom is a very dark time, but once I realized that I could stop digging myself deeper into a hole, I could start climbing out.
  
  I spent the first month of sobriety calling and texting friends and family that the wedding had been canceled due to my drinking and me not being the type of partner my fiancée needed. On the recommendation of one of my best buds, Christine, I signed myself up for an outpatient program here in Cleveland through University Hospitals where I met some like-minded folks struggling with the same addiction I was. I learned real quick how much alcoholism and drug use is tied to mental health.
  
  The more I participated in the outpatient program, and the more involved I got, the quicker it was for me to realize how much easier life is sober—if you make sure to prioritize your own mental health. During that outpatient program I learned about breathing exercises, mindful meditations, and other tricks I keep up my sleeve if I ever get a craving or am feeling low. I used to think getting inebriated would help with my daily anxieties and rocky mental health, but this program showed me how opposite that thought was.

Do you think the culture of touring/performing contributes to substance abuse in musicians?  If so, how?
 

• Oh absolutely. Substance abuse is so romanticized in our society, especially in the touring scene that we find ourselves in. I think a lot of my generation (almost in our 40s) grew up listening to bands like Alkaline Trio and Lawrence Arms that just make you want to get absolutely tanked and rip up a photo of your ex, or whatever. Sad Bastard music. It’s just so easy to think about punk rock tours being associated with PBR, cocaine, and sleeping on someone’s piss-covered floor. I think there’s probably a few years’ worth of my life in total where I woke up in Kalamazoo or wherever having no idea where I was, wondering who had pissed my pants, and asking myself if I even had fun last night. Being almost 40, we grew up idolizing bands that were famous for trashing hotel rooms and drinking whiskey and blah blah blah.
  
  I mean, I still think Keith Moon is cool and all, but after 3 years of sobriety, it’s insane how different tours are looking through the lens of a clear mind. It’s night and day. Signals has played Fest I think 11 or 12 times, and the 3 I’ve done sober have been my favorite ones. And by far the cheapest ones. Now that I tour sober I feel like I meet people and form genuine friendships, as opposed to drinking buddies, ya know? If I would have met Jared during my partying days, I don’t think I would have understood how truly awesome that dude is!!!!!!!

How do you support each other’s mental health within the band?
 

• Well, luckily I hit the jackpot with dudes who are super chill and down to earth. Like mad chillers, bro. Signals turns 17 in 2025 which is insane. When you spend almost two decades with someone, you grow up with them, ya know? I feel like when I joined Signals in 2010 I was the complete opposite person that I am today in 2025. I prioritized partying first and foremost and took for granted the opportunities and friendships that were right there in front of me. Hindsight is always 20/20 I suppose.
  
  During COVID the band had to quickly adapt to the new way of things. We were in the process of writing *DENT* and only able to practice once every month or two, so our texting and calling started to increase. It was such a gnarly time, and the Signals group chat was more than just talking about *DENT*, it was also “how are you doing, dude?” or “how is everyone holding up?” I think the fact we weren’t able to tour, play shows, or barely even practice made us all realize how much we missed each other. Around that time is when I realized I missed Max, Steve and Ryan as friends first, and band members second (awwww!). When something or someone gets taken away from you, you realize how much it means to you. Since I got sober in 2022 I’ve really been working on myself and my mental health, and I’ve seen a huge increase with that in the other guys as well. I talk to Max on the phone at least once every few weeks. Anytime I start a new project around the house I have to text Ryan to let him know, and Steve and I have legit the most therapeutic conversations I have ever had in my entire life when we drive to Pittsburgh for practice. The best part of band practice is the drive with Steve.
  
  I also want to give a shout out to my dawg Steve because he unfortunately got stuck with drunk me for the first decade of our band, and man, that couldn’t have been easy. I wouldn’t have made it to Australia for our 2018 tour if he hadn’t gotten me on that plane. Saint Steve, as he’s known around my inner monologue. Him and I are also talking through my past transgressions and have these heavy, deep conversations about things I have done that weren’t things best friends do. I don’t think if we knew how to prioritize mental health and talk through emotions we would be able to have the conversations that we have. Now that I’m rereading this I’m realizing my answer is probably a bit too long, so a quick TL;DR is that the Signals Midwest mental health game is top tier. I support them and they support me, and if Fanduel ever allows you to gamble on “band who is most in touch with each other” put your life savings on us.
   

What role do you think musicians can play in de-stigmatizing addiction and/or mental illness?
 

• Talk about it and be there for each other no matter what. Talk about it with each other, talk about it with anyone who’s sober curious, and talk about it with anyone that’s been sober for 200 years. Us musicians have such a unique opportunity since we are lucky enough to travel and meet so many new people on a daily basis. Say we do a 14-day tour and 20 people come out to each show—that’s 280 new homies we get to meet for being in this silly little band. At least two people at the show will be struggling with addiction or mental illness, so if a traveling musician seems to notice the struggle, we should take the lead and reach out to them and remind them they’re not alone in this. There’s at least 10% of this room that is statistically an alcoholic, but I bet you there is more. Sobriety is crazy because statistically speaking 10% of us in the entire world are alcoholics, and out of that, 80% of us relapse at some point. Sobriety is never “achieved,” it’s an ongoing battle. In AA they refer to anyone in recovery as a “fellowship,” so to me that means we are all in this together—a bunch of Aragorns, Gimlis, and motherf***ing Frodos—and we got this, as long as we hold each other accountable and reach out to one another if we are struggling.

Are there any local organizations or resources in your area you’ve partnered with or want to support to promote mental health within the scene?
 

• We should all take a day and go visit a random stranger at the VA. The VA is full of folks who are doing the right thing, and are under-supported by our current government. Everyone from the vets to the nurses to the staff could all use a pick-me-up. Maybe if every one of us went to our local VA, we could bring a $5 Hot-N-Ready pizza, meet a stranger and just hear their story. PTSD wasn’t really “a thing” for some of these vets, and mental health is still not talked about enough. The VA is a place I think everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.