Yes, Chef

In this episode of Talksicology Joseph and Jason talk about what they thought the future would look like when they were kids. (Spoiler: 2023 is not as much like The Jetsons as you might have hoped.) Musician Ricardo Gonzalez, drummer for Lance Herbstrong, and Chicago Afrobeat Project joins the show to talk about his sobriety and the long road that led him there.

Have you ever been so excited to see a band only to leave the concert with no memory of the show at all? Joseph talks about his experience missing out on Tool when he was too drunk to remember he saw them at all, and Ricky says he really missed out on some of the best acts at Lollapalooza by partying backstage.

Ricky discusses his childhood, how he was a band-nerd, and an academically gifted kid who turned to drinking and smoking to cope with his mom’s cancer diagnosis at a young age. Being a popular kid, running in different social circles made it tough for Ricky’s friends to notice when he wasn’t around, or wasn’t doing well and his addiction persisted into his adulthood.

Ricky never lost his musical talent and could still play drums, even when he was too drunk to walk, but the wakeup call came when he was fired from one of his bands for being too drunk to catch flights to their gigs.

Today living the new future he created: sober, playing music, practicing yoga, anger management, working as a sous chef, and becoming the best version of himself.