In 2011 after a habit which had followed me round and clouded me for just over 2 decades I finally quit alcohol. I have the date tattooed on my left wrist and have never looked back.

I continued working in pubs running my Wildfire Sessions music nights, including all weekend beer and music festivals, which made it all the harder - which I have often paralleled as to being a chocoholic working in a chocolate factory. Whilst at first it was strange as time has gone by my focus has remained unremittingly on the music, the event and the artists I have been putting on. This has been my high, my energy.

What helped me change direction was not only a good counsellor (thanks Jo of New Walk Alcohol and Advice, Leicester) and a huge wake up call that my lifestyle was destroying my ability to function, it was doing research into others who had managed to turn a corner. Chatting to people, making new friends, other people who had been there too.. I read biographies by Steve Earle, Christy Moore, Slash, Anthony Keidis and Keith Richards and read about their experiences on how they quit life-long habits and picked up the pieces and shifted their drive to other channels, above all making their music as a main focus.

I went back looked at all the punk bands I used to listen to in the 80s. I looked at the energy and tried to understand the origins of Straight Edge bands. I had been a fan of Henry Rollins and Black Flag and went to revisit them, Fugazi, what Ian McKaye did with Discord and all the early edge bands. I looked up the website StraightEdge Worldwide and unearthed an amazing current, thriving supportive global community. The DIY ethos and collective support is what I was used to when I first started out putting on gigs and releasing cassettes with my first bands in the 80s and this ethos continues to mirror what I still do with Wildfire Sessions today. But what struck me is why is Straight Edge nearly always only associated with hardcore music? I like hardcore bands but it's not my only musical background or current chosen platform. Being a Straight Edge musician should not limit you to hardcore music. I see it more as a positive mental attitude without the need of drugs or alcohol as a crux. We shouldn't be hemmed in by rules made up of hard edgers either demanding abstinances of everything. It should be liberating.

Clarity makes you stronger. My single 25 Years touches on this subject and I'm very pleased with the video produced by Mik Davis . I hope you enjoy it.

Stevie

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