Naming his album Diary of a Sick Boy was no exaggeration — At the age of 34, Chicago native Stephen Howard has struggled with more health problems than most individuals have to deal with in a lifetime. Shying away from the spotlight, Howard has honed his skills over the years in bands (Pinebender, Denali, Ambulette, and Mississippi Heat), playing music written by others. Diary of a Sick Boy is his debut as a solo artist, a collection of songs composed over a period of 12 years. Howard took some time to chat about his music, and the struggles with addiction and health problems that inspired many of the tracks.

Is there a story behind your band name, Quieting Syrup? For me, it brings to mind cough syrup that was given to babies around the turn of the century that had opium in it.
It is exactly that — laudanum syrup that was supposed to get your baby to stop crying, but it just made your baby stop breathing, and got all the moms super high. It was over the counter. Aspirin was prescription.

You’ve played in a number of bands — do you have a specific project that’s been your favorite to work on?
I think playing with Pinebender is probably the most fun for me. When we play, which is rare, nothing else matters. There could be nobody there or hundreds — we just have so much fun making loud sounds together.

Do you prefer playing other people’s music, or is it more satisfying to play your own?
I am much better at playing other people’s music. I hate my music. I feel so lucky when I get to play on someone else’s song that I feel like I could have never written — like I’m cheating. I get to be a part of it but its not mine, I love that. I like how other peoples’ ideas inspire ideas and sounds in my head — I’m much better at that than writing my own songs.

What’s your songwriting process like? Do the words come first, or the music?
Lyrics usually come last. If I could, I would change them all. The music always comes first, but sitting down to write the music usually happens around strong emotional events, and those events are usually what the lyrics are about. So in a way, it all happens at the same time — or the ideas do, but the final lyrics come last.

I read that it took you 12 years to complete this album. What is the oldest song on the record?
I think “Going for the Gold” is the oldest. It’s really old. If I could find the demos of some of the first songs I wrote I would have probably put them on as well.

Do you still relate to “Going for the Gold,” or does it seem kind of far away now?
They all seem really far away. I am 34 now, and that song was written in my early 20s.

Which song brings up the most acute emotional response for you, and why?
“So This Is Dying” was one where I really said what I wanted to say. I still remember how I felt when I wrote that song. It means a lot to me.

Had you always intended to release the collection of songs you’d accumulated as an album, or did you just recently come to the decision that they should be released to the public?
When I made it I wanted to — it was made many years ago. Then I sat on it. Then I didn’t really want to release it, but Brian at Lovitt kept telling me he wanted to put it out. So finally I said, “Sure, go for it.”

Do you naturally gravitate towards music that’s slower? I was wondering if not only the music you compose but the music you prefer to listen to is down-tempo and melancholy like this.
When I wrote most of these songs, I would say yes. When I played drums in Pinebender, I would try to make the songs as slow as humanly possible — like I was playing in molasses. I think that’s changed a bit as I’ve gotten older, but the songs on this record do reflect what I was into at the time. I still like myself a slow jam though — I’ll never lose that.

On that note, who are some of your favorite artists — who has inspired you in the past, and what are you currently listening to now?
Now I listen a lot to AA Bondy, and I’m excited for the new Autolux record. Dinosaur Jr. has always been a huge influence on me. When I wrote a lot of the songs on this record, I was listening to lots of Pacific Northwest indie rock: Built to Spill, Pedro the Lion, etc.

I read that you’ve struggled with addiction. If you’re comfortable doing so, could you elaborate what addiction you struggled with? Is it an ongoing struggle, or do you feel it’s behind you?
I never met an opiate I did not like. Well, methadone is a bit gross but I wouldn’t kick it out of bed for eating crackers. When I was 15 years old, before a bone marrow aspiration, I got a 100mg shot of Demerol straight into my arm — no drip or anything, just right in there. I was like 80 pounds. I had never felt such pleasure. I remember my mom saying, “I think he likes it,” and I did. I still do. It will always be a struggle, but with my immune system, I have a hard time acting a fool. I get sick so quickly these days I have to always try and live a healthy lifestyle. A year ago that answer would have been different, and a year before that it would have been the same. So, it changes. It’s a struggle. Right now, I am a good boy.

Your health struggles — are they over for now?
They are not over. I am IgA and IgG deficient, which means I don’t make the proteins that protect your blood and your mucous membranes from outside invaders and infections. So I get sick easy. Sometimes bacteria get in my blood and then I go septic (toxic shock syndrome). Then all your organs shut down –- it’s horrible, like, unreal horrible. At the same time, my immune system is totally fucked up in the opposite direction and attacks itself. So while it’s not fighting the strep infection in my blood, it is killing off all my red blood cells and platelets as if they were a strep infection. Due to all of this I have had to take lots of steroids, which decayed my hips. So, I had both of those replaced. Then, when I went septic the bacteria went to my fake hips causing them to have to be removed, left out for two months, then put back in. Then that happened again! Shit, I have had seven hip surgeries, my spleen removed, two near-death septic infections, meningitis…I feel pretty good right now, but it is always something I have to deal with.

How has going through these problems changed your outlook? Has the experience made made you love and cherish life more, or has it depressed you?
I think life rules, and I love all my friends and family. It’s so easy to take everything for granted. Even after something happens when you realize you shouldn’t take things for granted, it’s just a matter of time until the routine of the day to day makes it so that you are taking all the important shit for granted again. I fall victim to that, then I try and catch it and really appreciate everything great — there is so much cool shit like Don Delillo, and Black Sabbath, and the City of Chicago, and my wife, and cat, and the Nebraska Cornhusker football team.

The “you” you speak to in songs — for example, in “Night Nurse Calls” — is that a specific person? Do you have someone that’s been with you in good times and bad?
That is a specific person. The “you” is always a specific person in these songs, but that person changes from song to song due to the fact that they were written over such a long period of time. I am lucky to have always had someone there — that “someone” changes, but I will never be able to repay all the “someones” who have sat with me through all this. They all deserve better.

Who are the performers on Diary of a Sick Boy?
My friend Dennis Stacer played drums. I played all the bass and guitar, some keys, and all the vocals. My friend Dave Zollo played Wurlitzer on a few songs, and Stevie Doyle played slide guitar on one song.

What kind of guitar do you play on the album?
I played an early ’70s Fender Telecaster Deluxe through a 1966 Princeton Reverb. My main instrument is bass. I’ve been playing bass since I was a kid.

Do you plan to continue to gather material, and eventually release a follow-up album?
I have a backlog of songs for like, three records. I will probably do nothing with it, but it’s good to have options.

Are you going to be touring?
I tour playing bass with a blues band called Mississippi Heat — that takes up most of my touring time. Also, I have to have income ‘cause I’m not 19, so indie rock touring is hard, but I would like to do some. I just need to find someone who wants me to open for them.