Sponsored by McKelvey Insurance and LightSource Psychotherapy.Who this episode is for:

• Anyone who’s ever tried to outrun their demons with a six-pack and a Stratocaster.
• Those who believe pain is the price of creativity.
• Anyone who's fallen down the rabbit hole of booze, bar tabs, and backstage passes.
• Recovering musicians, sober-curious punks, and people who've hit rock bottom with a guitar in hand.
• People who don’t believe in rock bottom—until they slam into it face first.
• And especially: anyone who thinks addiction is somebody else’s problem.

Matt Pryor, frontman of The Get Up Kids, joins the Pondoff’s Anonymous crew and brings the fucking heat. From teenage Alateen meetings to tour bus whiskey benders, Pryor lays it all out—no filter, no fluff. This is the raw-ass story of a man who went from punk rock poster boy to broken, bedbound, and ready to die… before clawing his way out and writing a brutally honest record about the whole damn mess.

Chris, Jeff, and Zoe dig deep with Pryor into the romanticized chaos of the music industry, the quiet hell of performing for thousands while dead inside, and what it takes to rebuild your soul from the inside out. We get real about diabetes, depression, spiritual recovery, and the hot mess that is AA vs. Dharma vs. “whatever keeps you alive and growing.”

Also on deck:

• The shittiest non-alcoholic beers of the '90s
• Whether deep dish pizza is a valid hangover cure (spoiler: no)
• Detoxing with a diabetic’s nightmare hospital staff
• Satanic recovery groups and why they might be your jam
• Wrestling, wrestling, and more goddamn wrestling
• Touring Europe sober (and terrified)
• And the raw fucking truth about hitting a stage clean for the first time in decades

Pryor’s not selling redemption stories or tidy endings. He’s here to tell the truth: recovery is weird, hard, slow—and fucking worth it.

Episode Time Stamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Recovery and Coffee
• 02:59 The Journey of Matt Pryor: From Music to Recovery
• 06:08 The Impact of Addiction on Lives and Music
• 08:46 Navigating the Music Scene: Drinking and Creativity
• 11:56 Romanticizing Addiction in the Music Industry
• 14:54 Finding Creativity Beyond Substance Use
• 18:00 The Shift in Music Culture: Sober-Friendly Spaces
• 20:58 Personal Reflections on Recovery and Creativity
• 23:55 Defining Success in the Music Industry
• 31:07 The Evolution of Passion in Music
• 32:46 Navigating Early Success and Its Pitfalls
• 34:41 Hitting Rock Bottom: A Journey Through Darkness
• 36:10 The Road to Recovery: Detox and Sobriety
• 39:23 Relearning Life: Sober Living in a Party Environment
• 41:28 The Impact of Alcohol on Health and Relationships
• 44:31 Diabetes and Alcohol: A Dangerous Combination
• 48:31 Challenges in Medical Detox and Recovery
• 52:45 The Stigma of Addiction and Recovery
• 56:35 Finding Alternative Paths in Recovery
• 01:01:10 The Importance of Community in Recovery
• 01:06:00 Navigating Spirituality and Recovery
• 01:11:25 Understanding Human Nature and Addiction
• 01:13:15 The Creative Process: Writing and Recovery
• 01:20:00 Artistic Expression and Personal Interpretation

Links & Resources:

• Matt Pryor on Instagram: @mattpryorsongs
• Listen to Matt’s brutally honest record “The Dishonesty”: mattpryorsongs.substack.com
• Catch Matt live – Tour dates & tickets at: mattpryorandthesaltonsea.com

Support the Show:

Grab Light in the Dark Coffee: A bold, Colombian roast made by the show with Long Story Coffee.
Buy it at: pondoffsanonymous.com

Sponsored by McKelvey Insurance and LightSource Psychotherapy.