The words jack of trades or Renaissance man, still might not be enough to properly describe Dr. Zwig—bilingual psychologist, clinical director, international workshop leader, singer-songwriter, recording artist, touring musician, author, podcaster, lecturer, and teacher. This artist surely has more on his lyric sheet then your average local musician.
Whether he’s working with clients, inspiring at the lectern, or rocking a packed theater, Zwig unlocks a powerful, passionate, and pure form of release. If rock ‘n’ roll equals freedom, then Dr. Zwig’s approach to the human condition is rock n roll therapy. “Traditional psychology and psychiatry have it wrong,” Zwig explains. “Your problem isn’t a disease—it’s your personal growth trying to happen. It’s your calling. It’s your life song trying to be heard. Even your worst issue is a meaningful and purposeful process that’s trying to awaken you to deep change. Just suppressing your symptoms misses the whole point.”
Zwig’s work stands out as living proof. This modern renaissance man has helped just as many people from the stage as he has from an office. Moreover, the results mirror each other in the most wonderful way possible. “You know how a song makes you feel a certain way? he comments. “Happy, sad, mellow, or pumped up–these feelings are already in you. That’s why you’re drawn to certain music. It instantly connects you to something within yourself. It’s this other way of experiencing the moment. Processing your problems delves deeper into these feelings that live in the shadows of your psyche.”
With 50 new songs, 10 new music videos, collaborations with GRAMMY® Award winners Brandi Carlile and David Bianco, a forthcoming book–Music in the Mayhem: Tales of Total Transformation from a Rock n Roll Psychotherapist–and his podcast–The Dr. Zwig Show–this multi-talented scientist/artist aims to send us a message. “Your life is an unfolding process, and everything you experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly–aims at positive transformation,” he says. “The key is to learn to tap into the hidden intelligence, the mysterious music, the message in your life’s mess.”
Glide is proud to premiere the official video for “Medicine Gun” (below) a sweet and melodic number that jangles with a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers spirit alongside a 90’s college rock undertone referencing Buffalo Tom and The Posies. Zwig also surely knows his way around the fretboard and his guitar leads and rhythms carry his lyrically vibrant mission.
“It’s about how the poison in your life, meaning your problems, contains the hidden medicine you need to become your true whole self. For the video I collaborated with Los Angeles mural artist, Yher, and the video tells a story about a world in which she finds a medicine in the poison,” says Zwig.
“The other component is that the video narrative is about racism, xenophobia, etc. In the story, both the psychological and social-political elements unfold in the protagonist as she transforms the oppression by finding the medicine in the poison. She does this by painting the traditional Mexican concept of the life cycle over graffiti saying, “Build the wall higher.”
“The video portrays the social situation we’re currently experiencing. ‘Fight the power’ is important but there’s more to it. We have to ask why humans oppress each other and what the deeper process is.”
