Recovery is never a straight line. Things we do to comfort ourselves can create the most uncomfortable outcomes. But us humans can overcome even the most difficult situations and with good bones we can reanimate the animal within.

Welcome to episode one seventy eight of Above Ground Podcast. This week we are joined by Mike Langone. Mike is the singer for Nippertown based band Black Belt Jones, the promoter of Upstate Punk Rock Flea Market and the bone artist behind Odds, Sweet Things and Dead Ends.

"You can't focus so much on why, it's more like how I can make things better", says Langone about his struggles with addiction. Langone made his way to Nippertown via the Lower East Side of Manhattan more than twenty years ago. 

Langone took his experience and turned it into a career. First as a CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor) and now as a Housing Specialist for an Albany, NY based non-profit who helps the homeless population. 

Langone expresses how much his life has changed from living the life of an addict. His vulnerability and choosing to live has provided him a way to stay busy as an artist of the living and the dead. 

https://blackbeltjones.bandcamp.com/album/ep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzNMmkBJSw

https://www.facebook.com/people/Upstate-Punk-Rock-Flea-Market/100076174182021/

https://www.facebook.com/people/Odds-Sweet-Things-And-Dead-Ends/100045470088401/

https://www.facebook.com/BlackBeltJonesAlbany

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Above Ground Podcast. We are grateful to have you here and we cherish being the "curators of hope". 

TPP will be releasing his new book, Never Underestimate the Power of You, via Amazon very soon. Please follow our socials for all the updates and a link to order. Until next week, get well, be safe, stay ABOVE.