Unlock Now Running With Monsters Articulated By Bob Forrest Formatted As Paperbound

can't win them all, and I quickly discovered that while reading through other reviews, I picked this book up because I was curious to see what the "man with the hat" had been through before he was on Celebrity Rehab.
I was impressed with the level of honesty Bob had when writing this book, at multiple times he admits he was his own worst enemy and jacked up what he wanted in life.
He also admitted to being jealous of his friends success, something that's hard for almost anyone to do, Ultimately reading this made me curious to find out more about his band Thelonious Monster found some songs on youtube, and was surprised I hadn't heard of them when I was younger as that was exactly the type of music I absolutely loved in high school.
I also wanted to know more about Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, because he comes across as one of the absolute coolest people on earth in this book.
I liked the explanation of the process of recovery and how Bob reached the point where he is at, My only complaint was the consistent name dropping of people I had no idea who they were, I'm not a big music groupie so I spent a lot of time looking things up and trying to see why they were important.
Bob Forrest is a great person, I wish he was my friend, Bob Forrest is an interesting guy always on the sidelines, many times almost famous, nearly a rock star, nearly a husband, nearly a father.
You might know him as the interesting guy with the strange hat and glasses from Celebrity Rehab, I've heard him interviewed by Dr, Drew Pinsky several times, and I know that their friendship goes way back to the darkest days of Forrest's drug addiction,

Forrest's tale is wondrous and twisted, As you read, you keep thinking: this time, he'll make it! If his friends and superaddicts The Red Hot Chili Peppers can do it why can't Forrest

Forrest's story takes you deep into the world of the severely drug addicted.
You experience the highs and the lows with him, the close calls and the tragic events, I felt Forrest's confusion over his parent's relationship as well as his terror when things went south again and again,

What a remarkable life Mr, Forrest has led.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was there were not enough breaks in the text, The stream of consciousness would keep going deeper into the rabbit hole, with no good "stopping place", I like to usually read a chapter or section of a book every night before bed, but often found myself not picking this book up because the chapters were long and without clean breaks.
That is something that really could've been fixed in the editing, as Forrest's ideas definitely had places where a chapter could've ended before starting the next tale and still kept the flow.
Otherwise, this would've beenstars, A good look at an unsung hero of recovery, In hismemoir, Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers describes Lunatic Bob Forrest as a drunken wreck, bitter and angry.
Bob was quickly fired as the band's manager, He was according to Keidis "a guy who couldn't manage five dollars, " Next he tried his hand at being a road manager, but he was severely underqualified for that role as well, He couldn't even hack it as a grunt roadie,  

Then, through a series of fortunate events, he bumbled his way into forming a band of his own, He knew enough about hip culture to come up with a cool name, Thelonious Monster, but anyone who expected Forrest's music would bear any resemblance to the music of the mad monk of jazz would be sorely disappointed.
He wouldn't see the Forrest for the trees, so to speak, One of their most popular songs was actually an homage to the red rocker, Sammy Hagar, "Sammy Hagar Weekend, " Though their music may have been primitive and crude, it was heartfelt and sincere, They managed to record several albums and picked up a cult following that no doubt even included Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, as he would later find out while washing dishes and busing tables in a cafe frequented by the Hollaback Girl.
Awkward.

Of all the startling confessions of lies, thefts, felonies, sins of omission, and so forth, the most startling was when he confessed that he was actually bitter that he wasn't a big rock star like his pals in the Chili Peppers.
Admitting it helped him finally gain control over his demons, but my gosh, from where I was standing, he never worked very hard at his craft or his art, plus he blew off all the golden opportunities and burned all the bridges.
He suffered from what the Greeks called pleonexiainsatiably wanting more than one's due,  

Still, I have to admit that I found this book to be very compelling, and I read it without ceasing right up to the penultimate chapter.
It was:AM at that point so I was able to wait until the following day to finish it, What I found interesting was the insider view of the LA rock scene, Forrest was the Zelig of So Cal rock in the's and's, He had an uncanny knack for being at Ground Zero, For instance, when River Phoenix overdosed after a set with Johnny Depp at The Viper Room, Forrest was there to impotently warn River not to party so much.


Though some of the juiciest tidbits were only hinted at, he did give a blowbyblow of Britney's head shaving meltdownalbeit ostensibly to condemn the antics of the paparazzi.
Having your cake and eating it too Can you spell hypocrisy  How dare talk show hosts like Leno and Letterman mock  celebrities going through rehab Though he was to the manner born, confidentiality was a custom more honour'd in the breach than the observance.


At one point, he described a VIP AA meeting where his biggest idol got up and confessed that he had tried to end it all by washing some pills down with a Chardonnay and walking into the waves at Malibu.
This star of stage and screen said he felt like James Mason as Norman Maine in themusical A Star is Born, with Judy Garland.
Though he didn't actually spell it out, I had the feeling that he was talking about David Bowie, though Peter Gabriel also comes to mind when British Rock Stars are compared to James Mason.
But from other details divulged, it had to be Bowie, Forrest was on the one hand impressed to be in on the low down with his idol, but disappointed that he was a fan of Judy.
He had me with this story, but he lost it when he said that he felt Judy Garland was lame, Sacrilege! 

For the most part I agreed with his taste in music, except when he dismissed everything that happened before his time.
Karma caught up to him when

he tried to critique his own kids' musical choices,  The Replacements and Joy Division are two bands that I wholeheartedly agree with him on, They are stellar. Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers sounds like a great guy, and he kept his compass intact in spite of the murky waters they navigated.
I have never heard any of Bob Forrest's music, though I am intrigued since reading this book, As a memoir of someone who lived through a very interesting epoch with his mental faculties intact enough to remember, it is a very compelling narrative.
Though he had help from writer and journalist Michael Albo, Forrest certainly has a way with words and it would be interesting to see what he can come up with if he chooses to write any more books.

I enjoyed this book, I have also worked in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility so I could relate to alot of what Bob Forrest was writing about in terms of addiction and how addicts thing/act.
This is an honest view of his life, He doesn't skimp on the downside of addiction, It's not all fun and games in Hollywood when you are a junkie, The last few chapters seemed added at the last minute and didn't really flow with the rest of the book for me, Good story overall. I received this book from the Goodreads First reads giveaway program, Thank you author/publisher for the opportunity to read and review your new book,

Running with Monsters is the memoir of Bob Forrest known for being the frontman of the bands Thelonius Monster, and the Bicycle Thief.
He was a drug counselor and reality star on VH's Celebrity Rehab with Dr, Drew. Unfortunately he was also known as a drug addict,

Bob Forrest takes us through all these times in his memoir, Much of the book is about his life in the LA music scene, The problems of drug use among bandmates, He talks of the Viper room a private Hollywood hangout for musicians and actors started up by Johnny Depp and Sal Jenco, Also the place where the late actor River Phoenix overdosed,

Bob also tells us of hisfailed attempts in rehab, Eventually sobriety does happen for Bob, Today he isyears sober, Bob goes on to counsel other drug addicts and found much success on Celebrity Rehab and other spinoffs, I personally watched every season of that show and felt Bob was shown alot of respect from the patients, Patients really connected to him as he has been through the same experiences with addiction,

Today Bob seems to be enjoying life with his family, I found on his twitter page he is working on a new album,






/stars, I read this book over ahour time period, It's a good/sad/interesting rock memoir, Bob Forrest was in thes rock band Thelonious Monster, and later, in thes, Bicycle Thief, He's also on the VHshow, Celebrity Rehab as a counselor, This book delves into the L, A. rock scene and the world of hard core drug addiction, Forrest is/was buddies with Flea, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains and River Phoenix.
Forrest finally got clean after! stints in rehab, He's lucky to be alive, Anyway, this is another fascinating memoir about talented, lucky people who throw most of their opportunities away due to drug/alcohol addiction, I read it in less thanhours, That says tons.

Maybe it was because it was the perfect compliment to Last Night At The Viper Room which I finished yesterday, but I found myself transfixed to that era.
. . and not wanting the book to end,

Really cool insight on not only the world of addiction amp recovery, but the greed and scamming going on behind the walls of the most famous "treatment" centers.


A bit grittier in the storytelling than LNATVP, but that just makes it more raw and tangible, You can almost feel yourself walking thru the living rooms of those million dollar homes being used as drug dens,



I always take very little when reading memoirs by addicts, They were so stoned how can they even remember what happened much less keep track of it, I only knew Bob Forrest from Celebrity Rehab as "the guy in the hat" as he even calls himself, However I didn't like his book much, I doubt alot of the validity of it, I checked his Wikepedia page about a year ago and it didn't say much, Now it says he was a member of Theolonius Monster and they were a big deal, I live in LA and was a huge fixture on the Sunset Strip and I have never heard of this band, None of my friends have either, He claims he was at the Viper Room when River Phoenix died, So do alot of other people, Anyone can read what happened that night and claim they were there, He claims he was instrumental in getting John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers sober, Doubt that story too. And he claims that Celebrity Rehab was his idea, Yet he's listed as a recurring cast member not a producer or an executive of any kind,

I admire him for being able to finally get a grip on his addiciton which I know isn't easy to do and I admire that he worked hard and went to school to get certified when alot of "counselors" don't.
I admire his conviction in wanting to help people and hoping they can stay clean, What I don't admire him for is having a relationship and a child with someone who was a patient at Las Encinas, No one else in recovery is allowed to do that and keep their jobs as he told a similar story in the book yet it's ok for him Either that's another fabrication or Las Encinas thinks he's soooo valuable a counselor that they can overlook that.


Running With Monsters Maybe in his own head, But to me he was running with Puff The Magic Dragon, Which is just a story/song written by someone clearly high on drugs, Brought back a lot of memories of those years in SoCal, Saw Thelonious Monster a few times and it was always interesting whether they'd play or fight eachother, After seeing them the last time, I didn't think Bob would live long, Was a pleasant surprise to see him on Celebrity Rehab, alive and healthy, It always bums me out when I end up liking someone less after I read their book, That happened here. received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads

Great read, you get a glimpse of the LA music scene in the eighties and nineties and lots of interesting stories with some of his more famous friends.
The book really gave a great perspective on the life of addiction and what that addiction does to your life, It doesn't glamorize drugs or sobriety it gives an honest picture of the everyday struggle, Forrest takes you inside the ups and downs of the lifestyle, A very well done memoir, I read this book in one night, If you really want to know Bob Forrest, I suggest you listen to his music and read his lyrics, I wish I could call him on the phone whenever I think about relapsing, I wish I could hang out with him and have a cup of coffee, My husband is tired of hearing about him, The book just doesnt shine and comfort the way the real live Bobby does, .