CHECK YOUR HEAD: Mental Help for Musicians

For Men's Mental Health Awareness Month, this "reboot" features Mari Fong's interview with country singer-songwriter Chase Bryant and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund's Aric Steinberg, Executive Vice President of Development & Artist Relations.  Chase Bryant shares his solutions for anxiety, depression and imposter syndrome recovery. After skyrocketing to fame, Chase Bryant...

Mari Fong interviews Nick Hexum of 311 and expert Michelle Naidenoff, LMFT on anxiety and benzodiazepine addiction recovery, Part 2. Welcome to the CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast where notable musicians and experts share stories and solutions for mental help and addiction recovery. I’m your host Mari Fong, and today we have Part 2 of our interview of Nick Hexum of 311 and also his side solo project, with...

Enjoy this "Reboot" where Mari Fong interviews musical guest Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace with suicide prevention expert Dr. Dan Reidenberg of SAVE.org.  Jesse Leach talks about how a toxic, abusive relationship triggered his anxiety and depression, how he came to realize the abuse, and what it took  for him to finally break away. Leach talks about his mental healt...

Enjoy this "Reboot" where Mari Fong interviews singer-songwriter Amos Lee and Dr. Melissa Boudin, psychologist and Clinical Director of Choosing Therapy. Amos Lee spent his life coping with anxiety and panic attacks which led him to be agoraphobic at the tender age of 10 years-old.  Lee shares his panic attack recovery tools, and also how to best support someone with mood disorders.  We&...

Mari Fong interviews Jared Watson of Dirty Heads and Dave Schools of Widespread Panic on the Neal Casal Foundation. Jared Watson of Dirty Heads on Alcoholism Recovery with the Neal Casal Music Foundation “Reboot” for Alcohol Awareness Month “I would sit on my couch and say, ‘I’m not drinking today’ and five minutes later, my body would get up and walk to the fridge,” Jared Watson of Dirty Heads sa...

Mari Fong interviews Nick Hexum of 311 and Brandon Jay of Altadena Musicians for a special episode for Podcasthon, focusing on nonprofits and those who do good in this world. For our featured musician, I’m excited to have singer-songwriter Nick Hexum of 311, share his secrets about a mental health and addiction story that he kept hidden for more than a decade. With 311 being known for their songs...

Mari Fong interviews King Iso and expert Scott Fears, MD, PhD on schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder with addictions, Part 2. He’s a rapper who’s turned his lifelong battles with mental health and addiction into life-saving music, amassing millions of streams and selling out shows across the country. Our guest today is King Iso who’s survived homelessness, suicide attempts, jail time, and was...

Mari Fong interviews King Iso and expert Scott Fears, MD, PhD on schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder with addictions, Part 1. He’s a rapper who’s turned his lifelong battles with mental health and addiction into life-saving music, amassing millions of streams and selling out shows across the country. Our guest today is King ISO who’s survived homelessness, suicide attempts, jail time, and was...

Mari Fong interviews Linda Ronstadt (singer-songwriter) & Dr. Ish Major (Psychiatrist, Relationship Coach, “Marriage Boot Camp”).  Linda Ronstadt talks about her Mexican heritage and traditions in the documentary, “Linda and the Mockingbirds.” Her thoughts on immigration and the mental toll and trauma for children separated from their families at the border, racism , and importance of making a...

Mari Fong interviews singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp and expert Bill Taylor of The Phoenix.  Today's featured musical guest, Trapper Schoepp, boosted his career after discovering old lyrics of an unfinished song written by Bob Dylan about his home state of Wisconsin. Trapper took those lyrics and decided to finish the song he called “On Wisconsin.” So when Bob Dylan heard about this, Trappe...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot": Mari Fong interviews comedian and musician Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, Trenchmouth, and more) and Keren Clark (Psychotherapist, Dialectical Behavior Therapy), Part 1.  Fred Armisen on 8 YEARS IN THE PUNK BAND TRENCHMOUTH, the DIFFICULTIES OF TOURING with a band, taking left turns in life, BATTLING STAGE FRIGHT, his favorite Death Metal...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" with Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry and Carly Hester of NAMI, Philadelphia for Suicide Awareness Month, September 2025,  Chris Robertson  of Black Stone Cherry shares his story of having bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depressive disorder) with anxiety and panic attacks, along with his solutions for recovery . *Warning: Suicide and suicid...

Mari Fong & Kat Jensen interview Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and expert J. Stuart Ablon, Ph. D., Harvard Medical School.  Today's featured guest just came back from playing with Metallica, Slayer, Lamb of God and the great Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, for the “Back to the Beginning” show, touted as "the greatest day in the history of heavy metal." A bigger hint? She was the only...

Mari Fong interviews musical guest Margaret Cho and Kandace Kuwahara of Infinite Love Rescue.  Margaret Cho gives a no-holds-barred interview talking about opioid addiction (such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, Heroin and more) and other addictions (alcohol, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium and more), being bed-ridden for a month while detoxing, sharing her solutions for how she survived and...

Host Mari Fong interviews pop singer/songwriter David Archuleta and psychotherapist Thomas Keenan-Hunt.  David's story begins as a devout Mormon that includes a message from above that helped him move past his suicidal thoughts to finally come out as gay. David also talks about his natural solutions to calm his paralyzing anxiety attacks . His new EP entitled “Earthly Delights” drops August 1...

Welcome to the premiere episode of our fifth season of CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast , the podcast where notable musicians and experts share their stories and solutions for mental help and addiction recovery. I’m your host, Mari Fong, and today I’ve chosen to spotlight our partner MTV for “Mental Health Action Day” which is today, May 15th. Our mental health action was to create and premiere this very s...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Sammi Doll (Kat Von D, IAMX, Bullet Height, solo artist) with Mari Fong & Kat Jensen speaking on Depression & ADHD Recovery for Mental Health Awareness Week, May 12-18, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Sammi Doll (Kat Von D, IAMX, Bullet Height) on depression and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), then Mari Fong (former Life Coach for Mus...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of While She Sleeps (Sean Long) & Therapist Andrea Vassilev (DBSA) speaking on Panic Attacks & Agoraphobia Recovery for Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2025. Mari Fong interviews guitarist Sean Long of While She Sleeps and Andrea Vassilev of DBSA, San Gabriel Valley. Sean Long share his story and solutions for recovery for anxiety, panic attack...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Tower of Power (Emilio Castillo) & Tim Ringgold (Music Therapist, Sonic Recovery ) speaking on Drug & Sex Addiction Recovery for National Counseling Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Emilio Castillo (Tower of Power) and Tim Ringgold, MT-BC (Music Therapist & Author of Sonic Recovery: Harness the Power of Music to Stay Sober)...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of The Lumineers (Wesley Schultz) & Kerry Abernathy (Therapist & Addiction Specialist) speaking on Alcoholism & Mood Disorders Affecting Families for Alcohol Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers with Kerri Abernathy, Marriage & Family Therapist and Addiction Specialist.  Schultz shares how a fam...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Sal Rodriguez (WAR) & Jeff Duke speaking on Alcoholism & Multi-Drug Addiction recovery for Alcohol Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Sal Rodriguez of WAR and Jeff Duke, Founder of Christ Powered Recovery.  Sal Rodriguez shares how music, drinking alcohol and parties were part of his lifestyle growing up which led to an addiction...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Katelyn Tarver speaking on Anxiety & Teen Self-Doubt for World Teen Mental Health Day, celebrated on March 2, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Katelyn Tarver, singer-songwriter and actress, and Dr. Adi Jaffe, psychologist, addiction specialist, and author of The Abstinence Myth.  Katelyn Tarver shares her story and solutions for living with anxiety and t...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Lindsey Stirling & Dr. Christina Wierenga speaking on Anorexia Nervosa recovery for Eating Disorders Awareness Week, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Lindsey Stirling, singer-songwriter, violinist, and dancer, and Dr. Christina Wierenga , Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuropsychologist at UC San Diego’s Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Re...

You’re invited to the CHECK YOUR HEAD Afterparty where Mari Fong and Kat Jensen take best lessons from each episode and talk about how to ease them into our daily lives. For September 2024 which is Suicide Prevention and Recovery Month, we’re spotlighting the Seether & Dr. Dan Reidenberg (SAVE.org, Suicide Prevention Expert) episode.  Say hello and give us feedback! We love hearing from our Su...

CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" for September 2024 for Suicide Prevention and Recovery Month. Next episode, listen to CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast Afterparty where Mari Fong and Kat Jensen talk about best lessons from each episode and how to ease them into our daily lives. Mari Fong interviews Seether (Shaun Morgan and Corey Lowery) & Dan Reidenberg, PsyD (SAVE.org, Suicide Prevention ex...