Sherri Lewis aka Sherri Beachfront, lead singer of the 80’s pop duo Get Wet was discovered by Lou Reed at the legendary club Max’s Kansas City and featured in Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine. Signed to Neil Bogart (Casablanca Records, Donna Summer, The Village People, Cher, KISS) to head up his new label Boardwalk Entertainment (Ringo, Joan Jett). Produced by multi-Grammy winner Phil Ramone (Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel) their debut album hit the Billboard top 40 charts and top #15 on the Australian Singles Chart that led to appearances on American Bandstand, Solid Gold, Merv Griffin, two music videos on the fledgling MTV Network and a European promotional tour. Sherri has been performing at countless AIDS benefits for Project Angel Food in Los Angeles, Sheryl Lee Ralphs DIVAS Simply Singing and Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS in her hometown, New York City.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date?
A. I am 41 years sober May 15, 1985!
Q. Is there anything special in your sobriety toolkit that helps keep you sober?
A. Meditation, having a sponsor and fellowship. Sponsorship but I had to lay low on that, the past ten years, because I’ve been my mother’s caregiver. Exhausting.
Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist of fate?
A. I believe it’s a disease I have no control of but thankfully the twelve steps and all the many tools recovery gives us can get you through anything. Get a big God.
Q. Where are you from and where do you reside now?
A. I am from New Jersey/New York where I grew up and began my career. I got married in 1987 and moved to Cambridge, MA. where I lived with my husband and stepson until 2000 when we got a divorce. My stepson was grown and living his life and I had another career as an HIV activist, public speaking, counselor and writer. Still singing and storytelling many fundraisers.
Q. What is one word you would use to describe yourself?
A. Fun loving, talented, resilient, courageous.
Q. Describe how you came to your “rock bottom” point.
A. I had to lose everything. In the end I was a heroin addict, no home, my heart was broken, losing my dream career and I crawled into a long-term state funded old school drug treatment facility in 1983. It was a cross between the army and jail. A work program for 18 months supported by the Catholic Church in Paterson New Jersey. It was an eighteen-month program. I stayed eight months. Dry, no program. Addicts didn’t get the benefit of the AA meetings that came in there. There were about 300 men and 15 women and one Jewish person, me. Since I’m a singer I sang in their church choir. I rose up to becoming the secretary for the father who kept trying to convert me. Nice try but I knew who I was.
Q. If you ever retire, would you prefer to live by the ocean, lake, river, mountaintop, desert, or penthouse?
A. I am an urban creature. I’d like to live by the ocean for vacations but prefer apartment life. I’ve lived in both high risers and had a brownstone when I lived in Cambridge just blocks from Harvard. It was beautiful. That when my husband and stepson were a family. We had a lot of rooms. My husband was also a Musician, so guitars and a piano was part of the scenery.
Q. How do you measure success?
A. I measure success by my health and peace of mind. Living through the AIDS crisis was the lemon that turned into lemonade. So much loss. But gratitude gets me through. I miss singing and performing most of all. I excelled at that.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Phonies. Liars. Denial. Self-centeredness.
Q. If you had an extra million dollars, which charity would you donate it to?
A. Easy. All things HIV related. We still need so much. Housing, food, medical investments.
Q. Who has been the biggest influence throughout your life?
A. My biggest influence throughout my life starts with family. Many of them were professional musicians, one Filmmaker.
Q. If you could give advice to your younger self what would it be?
A. Try not to be so hard on myself though much of the unhealthy behaviors were routed in traumas as a teen that led me to psychiatric words and drugs both legal and street. Music was my salvation.
Q. Who made you feel seen growing up?
A. I’ve had support in my family mostly for my talent. Seen? I had a friend across the street growing up. A few years ago he called me from his deathbed and told me I reminded him of the girl, the character in Forest Gump who was abused and found drugs. I didn’t know he saw me or even thought of me but he did. Mitchy. He had a terrible stutter as a young boy and I interpreted for him. We were close until drugs and sex. He was a kind sweet boy.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. My grandmother, Krichman, on my father’s side. She was poor but educated and worked as a social worker. She taught me real life. Humility, helping the poor was a must. I grew up with wealthy people, so I had the best of both worlds. She was the first loss I experienced when she died at 56 from cancer. Sometimes she would stay at our house and get out of the city. She lived in Newark. I would stay by her bedside with my plastic stethoscope and pez dispenser pretending it was medicine. She would play with me that way. When I’d say I want to be a nurse she said you could be a doctor. She was striking, brave and good. I’m sorry she suffered illness all her life.
Q. What major event or realization shaped who you are?
A. I realized what I wanted to do and could do when I saw my uncle perform on tv. We sang together at home. Big influence. I always knew what I was going to do and could. I realized that dream in my twenties when I became a recording artist and made a good living singing and meeting artists I had listened to on the radio, had their records. I knew I could do this! Then I was handed a death sentence in 1987, HIV. My train fell off the track but my dream is unfinished. I started out as a dancer in NY, acting classes but singing became my golden ticket.
Q. What sound or sounds do you most remember from your childhood?
A. Sadly my mother yelling. She was on diet pills for many years and very unhappy. Screaming, slapping me. My father came home late most times. Eventually he got an apartment in NYC where he worked and they divorced. The sounds of music playing in the house, my escape until I could. My dog barking. I’ve always had a dog.
Q. What do you love most about living sober?
A. Knowing anything is possible if you’re sober and brave and fortunate to live a good life. Freedom of choice.
Q. Which part of your treatment and recovery do you feel was the most interesting or unexpected?
A. Coming out of the darkness, the hopelessness and despair. I had a wonderful therapist for years who helped me with these complex issues.
Q. What’s your concept of a Higher Power?
A. God. For me the twelve step was seeking God. I was born Jewish, culturally but uneducated until my solution was born out of a resentment having not had a Jewish education like my brother did. I felt so good in temple. Once again I joined the choir and became part of the community. I joined a temple and went every Saturday to study. They knew me, the saw me and I did my one woman show there. I learned service in program and now it expanded into my world, putting prayer books on chairs for service, greeting. More recently at my mothers retirement home.
Q. What is your Astrological sign?
A. Aries.
Q. Who is your favorite celebrity in recovery?
A. I’m always pulling for Ben Affleck since I know him as a Cambridge kid like my stepson. They went to school together. I deeply admire Jodie Foster, Robert Downey.
Q. What book(s) have you read more than once?
A. I read mostly plays and memoirs. Now I cheat listening to books on tape! Streisand memoir was so long. Cher, I have a diva list. My first ever was Judy Garland.
Q. What books are you reading now?
A. Cher pt 1 & 2. It Seemed Like A Bad Idea at The Time / Bruce Vilanch. Unexpected / Katie Couric. Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper. Carrie Fishers Books. Born Standing Up / Steve Martin. Nobody’s Girl / Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Many recovery/spiritual books.
Q. If you were giving a dinner party for your 3 favorite authors, living or dead, who would they be?
A. Joyce Maynard. Woody Allen. Billy Crystal / 700 Saturdays.
Q. Which film have you watched the most?
A. REDS. Wizard of Oz.
Q. Who is your favorite film director?
A. Steven Spielberg. Martin Scorsese.
Q. What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV show that hasn’t already been adapted?
A. Be My Baby: The Ronnie Spector Story by Vince Waldron. The Mudd Club by Richard Boch.
Q. Are you binge watching any TV series?
A. The Madison.
Q. What is your favorite App?
A. Netflix and Apple TV.
Q. Who is your favorite performer, living or dead?
A. Bruce Springsteen. Pink.
Q. Who are your heroes in real life?
A. RBG. Anne Frank.
Q. What are some of the most memorable songs in your life?
A. Never Never Land. Being Alive (all Sondheim). Gershwin.
Q. What is your favorite city?
A. It was Paris years ago. I still love NYC, my home.
Q. What is your favorite cuisine?
A. Thai.
Q. What is the best concert/performance/play you’ve ever attended?
A. First one: Hair. Chorus Line.
Q. What is your biggest regret?
A. Wasting time, too precious.
Q. What is the greatest risk you’ve ever taken?
A. Moving. Going for it! Whatever it is! Taking care of my mother.
Q. Which living person do you most despise?
A. Trump.
Q. What is something you’ve learned about yourself in the last six months?
A. I have a lot more work to do. I need more help.
Q. What is something you are currently curious about?
A. My next miracle. When and where? Who will be my forever love? My forever home?
Q. What do you love most about yourself?
A. My soul.
Q. What is your greatest extravagance?
A. Chocolate. A good car. Hotel living. Spa treatments.
