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Music Industry’s Drug Effort Hits New Obstacle

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

With a major symposium called for June 20 to address ongoing drug problems in the music business, signs of infighting are developing that underscore the delicate nature of the situation and could threaten the industry’s entire anti-drug campaign, observers say.

The meeting, to be held at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences headquarters in Santa Monica, had already been scheduled when the issue was driven home on one recent weekend when Depeche Mode singer David Gahan was arrested for investigation of cocaine possession and being under the influence of heroin, and Sublime singer Bradley Nowell died of a suspected heroin overdose.

Those incidents came on the heels of Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland’s much-publicized struggle with drugs, which caused the band to call off its summer tour plans.

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The gathering, like a similar one in December, was called by Michael Greene, recording academy president; Aerosmith manager Tim Collins; and Bob Timmins, a drug interventionist and counselor.

The first session, spurred by the October cocaine overdose death of Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon, was attended by 400 artists, managers and record company executives and employees. Participants generally praised the effort for cultivating a healthy dialogue, but many others in the industry remained skeptical of plans to develop record company policies and programs to prevent future casualties.

Greene, widely quoted after the Gahan and Nowell incidents as saying that definitive industry action was a must, has become the most visible--and therefore most controversial--figure in the campaign.

In a series of interviews this week with record company executives and managers, many questioned Greene’s motives for launching the campaign, even suggesting that he was “grandstanding”--both for his own glory and to quell criticism of pop music by politicians and others.

Blind Melon member Rogers Stevens even accuses Greene of unfairly assigning blame for Hoon’s death.

“Mike Greene wants to be a champion in his backyard, and he’s not up to it,” Stevens says. “He said [at the December meeting] that everyone knew that we shouldn’t have toured with Shannon in that condition. We thought we were doing the right thing, and now him standing up and pointing fingers and saying, ‘I’ve got the answers,’ is not the thing to do.”

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Stevens, though, says he will attend the coming meeting in hopes of fostering a positive direction. Others planning to attend include Blind Melon manager Chris Jones, who gave emotional testimony at the December session, and Stone Temple Pilots manager Steve Stewart, who has lately been praised for his openness about Weiland’s problems and the willingness of the band to suspend activities.

But none of the six major record company heads surveyed said they planned to attend. (One said he would have attended but has plans to be out of the country.)

“Maybe Mike’s right,” says one label head who requested anonymity. “I’m not opposed to [an industry drug policy] and I don’t look down on the efforts. But I don’t see myself involved with it.”

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Speculation about the upcoming meeting has centered on talk of instituting an anti-drug program similar to those used by major sports leagues, in which individuals refusing to get help for drug problems would be dropped from their contracts. The notion has been ridiculed by many in the industry as unworkable and, according to lawyers, perhaps in violation of antitrust laws. Others point to the long-standing belief in some circles that--despite the obvious dangers--creativity and drug use go hand in hand.

Greene, Collins and Timmins, meanwhile, are trying to stay out of the verbal warfare, preferring to focus on developing constructive dialogue at the meeting. They’ve uniformly turned down interview requests from numerous news outlets, including ABC-TV and Geraldo Rivera, until after June 20. Greene and Collins, though, each agreed to briefly address what they say are “misconceptions” about their efforts.

“Some people seem to think that we’re going to insist on mandatory drug testing by record companies,” Greene says. “I think that comes from the Internet chats and gossip--people start talking and it gets out of hand. And if I were grandstanding, I could be all over the television talking about this now.”

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Says Collins, who in the mid-’80s sought help for serious addiction problems that plagued him and members of Aerosmith: “I’m not trying to preach. But if I can join with people who know what they’re talking about, and if the resources of myself and Aero-smith can be of any service to anyone, we’re there.”

It’s not the first time that Greene has been the target of criticism for high-profile actions. His moves to change Grammy procedures to add credibility and currency to the awards, which had been called for by many powerful industry figures, still managed to alienate some.

“Mike Greene can be abrasive,” says rock manager Ron DeBlasio, who once managed actor Freddie Prinze, who abused prescription drugs and eventually committed suicide. “But he’s very forthright and hard working. And who else is going to do something about this in our industry? Whenever you make a bold move, someone will call it grandstanding.”

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