Long-time musician Wes Geer went through drug and alcohol rehabilitation in the early-2000s.

Yoga, art and other forms of therapy were options at his treatment facility, but he noticed one option was missing: music.

Geer, founding member of Hed PE, got back into the industry after getting sober when he landed the gig as the temporary touring guitarist for nu metal band Korn.

But he knew the gig had a time limit.

"I was lost for a career," he said. "If I'm supposed to be a musician, and I'm supposed to be sober...maybe I can create something that will help people long after I'm gone."

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Geer said his motives were selfish when he first got into the industry — seeking fame, money and women — but that changed after becoming sober. He wanted to use music to help others.

So, like most musicians, he started with a name: Rock to Recovery.

Rock to Recovery, founded by Geer in 2012, is a specific brand of music therapy for non-musicians at drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, veteran's programs and mental health facilities, among others.

Geer and his colleagues, Dr. Constance Scharff, Ph.D., and Jeremy Bixler, held a press event on Feb. 28 launching the Portland branch of Rock To Recovery, partnering with De Paul Treatment Centers and 4th Dimension Recovery Center.

The therapy is also available in Salem.

During a session, groups form a band, write and record a song together in 90-minutes.

They held a live Rock to Recovery session at the Portland-event where more than 50 people wrote and recorded a song in about 20 minutes to the theme of, "we are just living our best life," Geer said.

Rock to Recovery holds more than 400 sessions each month, from California to Tennessee. It aims to use the healing power of music to stop destructive habits.

Coming to Oregon

Expanding Rock to Recovery depends on where they can find sober musicians who want to do the work.

Geer and Scharff, the science and research chair for the Rock to Recovery board of directors and vice president of business development, were connected with Bixler through a network of sober friends.

Bixler, the program administrator for the Northwest, said he wasn't seeking out a job when he was connected with Rock to Recovery.

"I was in the right place, at the right time, talking to the right sober people and a friend of Wes’ hooked us up," he said. "I wasn’t expecting it...strangely it worked out."

Expanding to Oregon has been in the works since mid-2018.

Scharff, who grew up outside of Lebanon, said getting down to the Salem area is a priority.

"Growing up down here, I know tons of people who have died from addiction," she said. "Both of those problems are in Oregon still."

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Geer, Scharff and Bixler are all sober, and their relationships with music have changed by being a part of this program.

A transformative process

Geer was at a gender-specific rehabilitation center during his recovery, he said. When he would break out his guitar, it had the power to tear down walls between the men there.

Scharff, who has a research background in complementary therapies for addiction and mental health, said the whole brain lights up when looking at a brain scan of someone playing music or singing.

This means that the entire brain is engaged in the activity, she said, as opposed to other forms of therapy that may only activate certain parts of the brain.

Rock to Recovery breaks destructive habits by engaging the entire brain through music and creating new neurological pathways, Scharff said. It also releases "feel good chemicals" like serotonin and dopamine, meaning people are more likely to engage in other aspects of treatment after a session.

A typical session is 90-minutes with about a dozen people and operates as a part of a treatment centers weekly curriculum.

It starts with a check-in to see how the group is doing, Bixler said, setting the theme for the song they will write.

Then they form the band by deciding who will perform what role and start jamming.

Within the hour, they are typically recording, Bixler said. The song is uploaded to the internet that day.

Geer said the verses of the songs usually address current struggles the group is going through, but the chorus is a theme of hope.

"I have watched people be physically ill from being dope sick...I have watched a girl come in after finding out that her best friend had OD’d and died in tears and by the end, she was a new energetic being," he said.

A universal language

Rock to Recovery was explicitly created for non-musicians, but sometimes people feel they aren't "good enough" to participate.

But it isn't about getting a record deal or being Beyoncé, Scharff said. Participants just have to be open to expressing their feelings.

"We are made of music; we have heartbeats and heartstrings," she said. "Music is in all of us and for all of us."

Sharing feelings can be painful, Geer said. Music acts as a lubricant that allows people to open up and heal.

Those interested in Rock to Recovery can learn more and reach out at www.rocktorecovery.org.

Abby Luschei is the entertainment reporter for the Statesman Journal; she can be reached at aluschei@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6747. Follow her on Twitter @abbyluschei or facebook.com/luscheiabby.

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