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“Most of my patients are carpenters; they cut
their fingers a lot doing carpentry, not from
playing music. Or they do pressure wash-
ing, which is really hard on the wrists and
fingers. There are a lot of injuries not related
to playing.”
One of the biggest issues the Musicians’
Clinic addresses is mental health problems
in their patients. Musicians, as a group, are
especially vulnerable to depression and anx-
iety disorders. Bethany Bultman addressed
this topic specifically. “There’s research com-
ing out showing that with that gene to be
creative you also get depression,” she says.
“The fact is there’s no performer who doesn’t
struggle with it. It’s like a handmaiden of the
creative gift you’ve been given.”
For artists who live in poverty, emotional
health is an area of their wellbeing that is
sorely neglected. Formusicians in poor com-
munities, criminality and violence become
such familiar parts of life, it never occurs to
them to seek mental health care following
traumatic experiences. Megan McStravick
elaborated on this point: “
Because we didn’t
have mental health services for so long,
they’ve become very stigmatized. We’ve
worked with a grammy-nominated band
who witnessed one of their bandmates shot,
and none of themhave ever addressed their
trauma or had any formof grief counseling.
They just became accustomed to substance
abuse of any kind.”
Especially for performers in poverty, poor
mental health brings substance abuse. The
nature of a musician’s work and lifestyle
also put them at high risk for these prob-
lems. “A very high number of our patients
struggle with substance abuse issues,” says
McStravick, becausemusicians have a work
environment that is, for their audience, a
relaxation environment. While they per-
form, they are surrounded by alcohol and
patrons who have access to drugs. Much like
in the service industry (which has signifi-
cant overlap with the musician population),
a huge part of musician culture is having a
few drinks (or more than a few) after you’ve
finished your set. Working in an environ-
ment where it can be so tempting to party
after every set makes musicians more likely
to develop an addiction.
Catherine Lasperches believes the health-
care situation for musicians will improve
when musicians as a subculture begin to
take their healthmore seriously and become
more vocal advocates on their own behalf. “I
don’t thinkmusicians are neglected somuch
as they neglect themselves. For an artist, cer-
tain parts of the brain are more developed
than others, it’s true, but they still need to be
held responsible for their own health.”Beth-
any Bultman adds, “Many people are will-
ing to say [to a musician] ‘this is what you
signed up for, get another career if you don’t
like it,’but do we really want a society where
the bearers of our musical culture are dying
young of treatable diseases, simply because
their chosen profession limits their access
to affordable care?”
When we talk about the loss of New
Orleans’musical culture, we’re not just talk-
ing about the loss of our favorite local bar
to the tourist hordes; we’re talking about the
poor quality of life of the people who are in
the business of creating and promoting New
Orleans culture. Speaking of her background
in anthropology, Bultman says: “I know how
you destroy a culture, and it really scares me
when I see a climate being unresponsive to
[musicians’] health needs, removing fund-
ing for mental health, removing funding for
the arts ... [Music is] different here. It’s like
a wildflower, it has to come up through the
crack in the concrete. Nomatter what, it has
to come through that crack.”
Here’s to watering our NewOrleans wild-
flowers, like the Musicians’ Clinic and the
culturally invaluable population they serve.
We’ve got plenty of water!
n
“I know how you destroy a culture,
and it really scares me when I see
a climate being unresponsive to
[musicians’] health needs, remov-
ing funding for mental health, re-
moving funding for the arts ...”
—Bultman