Do you remember the band Days of the New? They were the acoustic grunge band whose 1997 single “Touch, Peel and Stand,” spent 17 weeks atop the Billboard rock chart. This week, the band’s singer/songwriter/founder, Travis Meeks, was on an episode of A&E’s “Intervention” (if you’re not familiar with the show, you can read our previous post about it here), where his full-blown meth addiction was profiled.

Meeks’ episode is one of the saddest of the series. Even though Days of the New were complete Nirvana-bes, Meeks was a talented guy. He was only 17 when he recorded his first album, and after a tour with Metallica and endless radio play, the record went on to sell over a million copies. He was frequently hailed as the next big thing, and Rolling Stone said this about the band’s second record: “In writing and producing the album and playing many of the instruments, Meeks compensates with knee-buckling dynamics and inventive instrumental voicings, coloring the arrangements with lavish orchestrations, layered voices, Eastern percussion, American Indian chanting, fiddle solos and rhythm loops. The songs bleed into one another, emphasizing a sense of journey that grows more durable with each listen.”

Should we be surprised then that Meeks lost it all to his crippling addiction? Probably not. After all, drugs and rock & roll have been frequent bedfellows. What is surprising however is that after Meeks’ family fails to do so, one of the show’s producers steps in and convinces him to enter rehab. As the camera sits on a distant table, we hear the following:

Travis: I don’t really want to get clean.

Producer: You told me you did. That’s just your desperation talking, man. You still got hope in there. You’ve expressed it. I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it in your music. You’ve told me with your own mouth.

Travis: I just don’t like how this went down.

Producer: Shit happens in life that you don’t like, dude. Get over it. Everybody doesn’t get their way. You’ve had your way for a long, long time. You got a whole lot really young. You got spoiled. You got used to everyone around you blowing smoke up your ass. (pause) I’ll carry your shit for you. All you gotta do is grab your guitar and go.

And go he did. For 73 days, at which point he left the clinic against the recommendation of his doctor. The fact that Meeks leaves prematurely, as many of the addicts profiled on the show have, underscores the heartache of addiction. But there’s also a hopefulness to the show that permeates each episode. Uplifting this reality show ain’t, but compelling TV it is for sure.