Josh Simpson: Recovery and the Rock Show

Welcome back to Fan Mail, a recurring feature where I interview a fellow Drive-By Truckers fan.

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At a Drive-By Truckers show at Bowery Ballroom in 2023, I stopped by a table welcoming sober fans. I had a good friend who was newly sober, so I made a donation and got her a bumper sticker that said "One Show at a Time." I deeply respect the ability of sober folks to find each other and create supportive communities, so when I decided to launch Mundane Mayhem, I set out to discover who was creating this fellowship at DBT shows.

My mission led me to Josh Simpson, a 47-year-old DBT fan who lives in Boulder, CO, and who recently celebrated four years of sobriety (congratulations, buddy). Josh originated the Truckers' sober fan group, The Righteous Path, although he notes that the group is dormant right now, partly because he doesn't have the bandwidth to run it. That said, he is still very happy to connect with other sober fans.

Keep reading for more on the rich history of yellow balloon groups, Josh's most cherished piece of memorabilia, and the perks of going to shows sober.

How and when did you discover Drive-By Truckers? 

I've been a fan since the early 2000s. My first show was August 9, 2003, at the Bluebird Theater. I still have the ticket stub.

I used to be a taper, and we had a message board where we talked about concerts we saw and bands we taped. I started seeing a lot of people talking about Drive-By Truckers — people whose musical tastes seemed to align with mine — and I thought the name was intriguing.

When I got sober back in 2021, yellow balloon groups were where I went to find support. I knew that I did not want to give up live music.

I saw they were coming through town, and a local band called Rose Hill Drive was opening up for them — they were a powerful three-piece from Boulder, young kids. I don’t think any of those kids was old enough to drink in the bar. So I went and I saw the Truckers for the first time. I remember thinking, these guys sound like the bastard love child of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Uncle Tupelo. From then on, I was a fan and I was off and running. 

What kind of bands were you taping at that time? 

It started off with Phish. At the time that I saw the Truckers, Phish was on hiatus. But I was into the Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic, the jam bands of the day. 

What DBT song do you think you’ve listened to more than any other and why?

"The Living Bubba." That one just has so much heart in it. I remember reading an essay by Patterson Hood about how that song came about, and that solidified my belief in these guys being tremendous songwriters and orators. To understand the meaning of the song shed some light on the type of people they are and the care that they showed to a member of their community who was dying of AIDS.  

Have you been to a lot of shows? Are you a travel around the country kind of person?

I have traveled to see them, most notably to HeAthens Homecoming. I went to that in Athens in 2023. And when they did Heathens West at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown, I went out for that too. And I’ve seen them A LOT in Colorado. I haven’t kept count. There are other bands where I’ve kept count, but I would say I’ve seen them a few dozen times. 

It makes sense now that I know you are a Phish / Widespread person, because I feel like the idea of having a group for sober fans – maybe the Dead started it, but those bands have always had groups like that. Is that how you got the idea?

You’re exactly right. The Righteous Path is a yellow balloon group. Like the Wharf Rats for the Grateful Dead, this came from the idea of having a community of people in recovery. They call it a yellow balloon group because a yellow balloon is how those fans used to find each other at shows, long before the internet and cell phones. That has translated into the Phellowship for Phish, and Widespread Panic has The Gateway. I could name about a half dozen other yellow balloon groups for other bands. 

When I got sober back in 2021, yellow balloon groups were where I went to find support. I knew that I did not want to give up live music, and I knew that those types of groups existed. That’s where I started to form my support network. And eventually I came to wonder, if something like this doesn’t exist for Drive-By Truckers, should it? And should I be the one that starts it? 

To the question of "should I?" — well, it was a bit of an undertaking. The reception I got was quick and very positive. Someone from within the organization saw my post and contacted me to say that they support this and we could set up a table at shows. I got support from the organization immediately, and I had just put the feelers out. I was like "Oh shit, this is actually happening! Now I guess I have to do something."

I had some experience organizing behind the scenes for yellow balloon groups. When I got sober, I joined the Ween yellow balloon group, which is called Sunny Bunny Recovery, after a lyric in their song "Chocolate Town" ("I’ve got that sunny bunny feeling.") I had run some tables, so I knew what was involved. I knew a lot of people in the sober community, so when it came time to start asking for volunteers, I knew the places to go, all the different Facebook groups where I could find people.

Because of The Righteous Path and the connection I made through that, I was able to be of service to someone who needed some extra support at a completely unrelated festival in Colorado. 

That first year, we were able to get coverage at more than half of the shows they played that year. But after that year, I got kind of burnt out — not just because of the group, there were a lot of things contributing to the burnout. But I had to sacrifice that to focus on other stuff. So the group is not dead, but it’s dormant. 

I was at the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard festival in Colorado a couple of weeks ago, and when I got there, I had someone reach out who I believe I had connected with because of The Righteous Path. They were on the other side of the country and said, “Hey, there’s a sober fan who is kind of struggling right now, who is there at the festival. Are you available?” Because of The Righteous Path and the connection I made through that, I was able to be of service to someone who needed some extra support at a completely unrelated festival in Colorado. 

Can you talk to me about how your relationship with live music has changed since your sobriety? 

I was nervous as hell the first show I went to sober. It used to be that live music was the perfect occasion to let loose — and let loose I did. I carried the belief for many years that substances enhanced my consumption of music and the way I experienced the music, the live event, and the camaraderie. But at the same time, when it came time for me to choose a path forward, I was not willing to compromise on the live music.

In recovery, I have come to understand the superpower of going through a security checkpoint and knowing for sure that I don’t have anything that would get me in trouble.

One of the things that we talk about in recovery is that we learn how to live life on life’s terms. We choose sobriety so that we can enjoy all the things in life. Live music is something that’s been a source of immense enjoyment in my life and also part of the way I identified myself. I knew that other people were doing it sober, because of the existence of these yellow balloon groups. I was like “well, shit. It’s gotta be possible.” That gave me hope, and that’s a big idea in recovery: hope.

Now do you find that there are benefits to going to shows sober?

Yes, there are many. I save a lot of money, and that’s money that would be spent directly on substances and money that would have been spent indirectly, because of substances. I don’t have to get Ubers; I can drive myself home. It’s much easier to recover from a night out without a hangover. There are fewer risks in getting to the event, whether that’s going through security into the event or traveling to the event. In recovery, I have come to understand the superpower of going through a security checkpoint and knowing for sure that I don’t have anything that would get me in trouble – which was not the case before.

What’s your Lynyrd Skynyrd – aka a band you wish you’d seen live but didn’t?

There are a few. I always regret not seeing Jerry Garcia. I had one or two opportunities. I was young, but I could have and I didn’t, and I regret that. But I’ve seen just about every incarnation of the Dead since.

Another one that I wish I had seen is Morphine. I don’t think I really discovered them until after Mark Sandman was already gone and after the band was done. He died on stage. But they are one that’s always been on my "if I could go back" list.    

Do you have any particularly cherished DBT memorabilia ?

Close to the end when he got sick, Wes Freed posted about raising some money, and he published a book of paintings and posters. I’d been eyeing it for a little while, but when I saw that he was raising money, I went ahead and bought one, and he signed it, dated August of ‘22. And I think by the time I received it, he had already passed — or very soon after. Knowing that I have one of the last things that he signed is pretty special.