Addiction can be overwhelming, sometimes fatal. Deuce Thevenow, co-director of the music committee for the Business Careers and Entertainment Club, found this out all too painfully. His friend died of a fentanyl (pain medication) overdose the night before their high school graduation in 2006.
Now a senior at IU, Thevenow has devoted countless hours to helping others in their fights against addiction. By creating a foundation called Addicted to Music, he has helped raise awareness of the crippling condition.
Last May, Thevenow brought State Radio to Bloomington. The group performed in Dunn Meadow, raising money for the IU Alcohol and Drug Information Center and providing resources to those suffering from addiction.
Inside: Why State Radio?
Thevenow: They’ve always been one of my favorite bands, and I think that stems from my love of Dispatch (the former band of lead singer Chad Urmston). I’ve always liked the message they put out. They care about people over profit, mostly all of their music is free, and they want to share it.
Plus, they believe in helping causes. I mean, Chad has even been to Congress in Washington to speak (during the controversy over Napster). He has his own foundation, ‘Calling All Crows,’ which is a foundation that donates energy-efficient stoves to women in Africa so that they don’t have to leave their village to gather wood and put their safety at risk ... we couldn’t have a band that sings about getting drunk or getting fucked up. That would not have served our cause. And music that has a message is always more powerful.
Inside: Was there any particular moment from the concert when you stepped back and just said, “Wow”?
Thevenow: Oh definitely. When the entire crowd was chanting my name and I got to crowd surf, it was incredible. It did a lot of good, too. People were coming up to me after the show and telling me about their friend or relative who has struggled with addiction, and say how much this event meant to them and how they could help next year.
Inside: What feedback did you receive from people after the concert?
Thevenow: A lot of people liked it. It was a sick show. It’s all thanks to a lot of hard work by the 17 organizations involved. It was a real collaborative effort. And people liked that it was very intimate.
We got State Radio to do a jam session in the Arboretum, too, and said that anyone who wanted to play with them, just bring your instrument. Not a lot of bands go that far to reach their fans. It was crazy. Anyone could get a picture with the band. That’s why State Radio was the band we chose. They even watched our documentary that we had made prior to them arriving in Bloomington. They really cared about why they were here.
Inside: What would you have changed in regards to the concert, both in preparation and at the concert itself?
Thevenow: I wish we could have made a better connection between the concert and helping people get the resources they needed. There was a bit of a disconnect. This was my first large-scale production, and it was difficult for me to balance the concert production side and organizing the addiction resources. Besides that, I’d be able to save $4,000 if I was going to put on the same concert right now, just doing things the same I did last year. I’ve learned a lot about the whole preparation process.
Inside: Why is music such a unifying force?
Thevenow: There aren’t many better ways that you can bring a lot of people together to promote a positive cause and a positive message, especially with college kids. Most social gatherings tend to involve alcohol or drugs. That’s why this concert is so great; it provides people an outlet to get away from the distractions of drugs and alcohol to promote living a healthy lifestyle. And I agree with Chad – music allows you to connect with people and with a message.
For more information, or to volunteer for or donate to Addicted to Music, visit areyouaddicted.org. The site includes a documentary about the foundation’s mission and a streaming video of the State Radio concert last May.
