# Bob Forrest
**Bob Forrest** (born 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, and chemical dependency counselor, best known as the frontman of the Los Angeles post-punk band Thelonious Monster and later as a counselor on the VH1 series *Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) • [2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) Born in Los Angeles, he has been a fixture of the city's music scene since the early 1980s and, after achieving sobriety in 1996, built a second career in addiction treatment in southern California.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) • [2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961, Los Angeles, CA[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) |
| Bands | Thelonious Monster (formed 1984, disbanded 2024); The Bicycle Thief (formed 1997)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p23863/biography) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) |
| Notable albums | *Next Saturday Afternoon* (1987), *Stormy Weather* (1989), *You Come and Go Like a Pop Song* (1999), *Modern Folk and Blues Wednesday* (2006), *Survival Songs* (2015)[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-ca-563-story.html) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) |
| Recovery | 24 visits to rehab facilities before finding sobriety in 1996[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) |
| Treatment career | Clinical director and board member of Musicians Assistance Program/MusiCares for 5 years; 8 years counseling at Las Encinas Hospital; founded Hollywood Recovery Services in 2010[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) |
| Television | Counselor on *Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew* and *Sober House*; addiction commentator on CNN and HLN[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) • [2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) |
| Writing and film | Memoir *Running with Monsters* (Crown, 2013); documentary *Bob and the Monster*, premiered at SXSW 2011[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) |
## Thelonious Monster
Forrest formed Thelonious Monster in Los Angeles in 1984 and remained the band's constant leader through an ever-changing lineup.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p23863/biography) The band's style found a middle ground between the purposeful chaos of punk and alternative rock, with blues and funk folded in.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p23863/biography) Its early live shows were famously unruly: by May 1986, Forrest counted six promoters or bookers who had threatened to "ruin us in show business," and the seven-member, four-guitar lineup of that period was controversial among club personnel.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20749-story.html)
The debut album, *Baby . . . You're Bummin' My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion* ([Epitaph Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epitaph-records)), blended punk-tinged chaos, barroom blues, and balladry with New Orleans-style horns.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20749-story.html) The 1987 follow-up, *Next Saturday Afternoon*, caught the attention of Los Angeles Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn, who called it "a mini-masterpiece, a series of questions about identity and self-worth."[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) *Stormy Weather* followed in 1989 on the independent Relativity Records.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-ca-563-story.html) Despite critical acclaim, the band never reached the commercial mainstream; three albums and countless live shows left it on the college and alternative rock circuit while former sidekicks such as the [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-hot-chili-peppers) went on to stardom.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-07-ca-1266-story.html) Over its history the band released five albums and performed at Holland's Pinkpop Festival in 1993.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
Forrest's songwriting drew on post-teen alienation and insecurity, and his choice of outside material ranged from [Bob Dylan](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-dylan) to [Public Image Ltd](https://www.edgepedia.org/public-image-ltd); *Stormy Weather* included a cover of [Tracy Chapman](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracy-chapman)'s "For My Lover."[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-ca-563-story.html) A contemporary and longtime friend of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Forrest is credited with discovering guitarist John Frusciante, who later played with the band during its most popular era.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248)
## Addiction and the band's disruption
Forrest's music career was derailed by drug addiction. He cycled between heroin, cocaine, and alcohol, and a series of temper tantrums on stage and off alienated him from his bandmates.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) In 1992 he acknowledged that most of the blame for the band's stalled career pointed at himself, citing a litany of drugs, alcohol, and insecurities that led to the band's break-up and a three-year gap between albums.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-07-ca-1266-story.html) One self-identified mistake was going on a Los Angeles college radio station two weeks after *Stormy Weather*'s release and launching into a tirade against Relativity Records.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-07-ca-1266-story.html)
The drug overdose death of Thelonious Monster bassist Rob Graves finally persuaded Forrest to enter a drug rehabilitation center in March 1990.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-07-ca-1266-story.html) In total he visited rehab facilities 24 times before finding sobriety in 1996.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
## The Bicycle Thief and solo work
In 1997, a year after getting sober, Forrest formed The Bicycle Thief with guitarist [Josh Klinghoffer](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-klinghoffer), who later joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) The band released its album *You Come and Go Like a Pop Song* in 1999 on [Goldenvoice](https://www.edgepedia.org/goldenvoice); a Los Angeles Times review described it as a scrappy, sprawling mix of regret, defiance, despair, anger, and hope, and noted Forrest's refusal to contrive a storybook redemption.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-15-ca-22406-story.html) The Bicycle Thief played the Viper Room regularly, appeared at the inaugural Coachella festival, and toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, and [They Might Be Giants](https://www.edgepedia.org/they-might-be-giants).[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
Forrest launched a solo career in 2006 with the country- and folk-flavored *Modern Folk and Blues Wednesday*, featuring appearances by Flea, John Frusciante, Zander Schloss, and Josh Klinghoffer, and contributed to the soundtrack of the Bob Dylan biopic *I'm Not There* the following year.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) His second solo album, *Survival Songs*, recorded with Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan, followed in 2015 on Six Degrees Records.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248) • [9](https://laist.com/shows/take-two/bob-forrest-on-battling-addiction-la-in-the-1980s-and-returning-to-music)
## Counseling and television career
After achieving sobriety, Forrest spent five years as clinical director and board member of the Musicians Assistance Program/MusiCares and eight years counseling at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) In 2010 he left the established treatment world to start his own program, Hollywood Recovery Services, where he counsels cast members from *Celebrity Rehab* after they leave the show as well as other clients, with a staff of four including a psychiatrist.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html)
Forrest became widely known as the counselor on *Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew*, which he and [Drew Pinsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-pinsky), an addiction medicine specialist, put on the air in 2008 after Forrest pressed for a television show about their work; the series spawned the spinoffs *Sober House* and *Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew*.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) Forrest later said he was conflicted about the show, criticizing its editing and what it had become technically.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) He also appears regularly on CNN and HLN as an addiction specialist commentator.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
## Memoir and documentary
His life story is told in the documentary *Bob and the Monster*, directed by Keirda Bahruth, which premiered at SXSW in 2011 and won awards on the festival circuit, tracing his arc from Thelonious Monster frontman to full-time addict in the 1990s to addiction treatment advocate.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html) • [2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/) His memoir *Running with Monsters* was published by Crown Books in 2013.[2](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
## Early life
Before music, Forrest was a native of [Palm Desert, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/palm-desert-california), and was once the eighth-ranked amateur golfer in the state; at 13 he caddied for Lee Elder in the Bob Hope Desert Classic.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20749-story.html) He worked as a club manager booking shows at Los Angeles venues including After Everything Else, the Cathay, the Sunday Club, and the Lingerie before joining the band that became Thelonious Monster.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20749-story.html)
## References
1. [Bob Forrest – Biography, AllMusic (Timothy Monger)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/forrest-mn0000061248)
2. [Bio, Bob Forrest Music (official site)](https://bobforrestmusic.com/bio/)
3. [Thelonious Monster – Biography, AllMusic (Mark Deming)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p23863/biography)
4. [The Thelonious Monster Mash, Los Angeles Times (Robert Hilburn, March 5, 1989)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-ca-563-story.html)
5. ["Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" counselor Bob Forrest, Los Angeles Times (August 3, 2011)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bob-forrest-20110803-story.html)
6. [Thelonious Monster Is Having Fun Under Siege, Los Angeles Times (Jeff Spurrier, May 18, 1986)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20749-story.html)
7. [The Education of Bob Forrest, Los Angeles Times (Robert Hilburn, November 7, 1992)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-07-ca-1266-story.html)
8. [Record Rack, Los Angeles Times (Richard Cromelin, October 15, 1999)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-15-ca-22406-story.html)
9. [Bob Forrest on battling addiction, LA in the 1980s and returning to music, LAist (October 15, 2015)](https://laist.com/shows/take-two/bob-forrest-on-battling-addiction-la-in-the-1980s-and-returning-to-music)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Punk rock › Hardcore and underground punk musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license