To drink or not to drink?

(you have to realize I'm trying to get this section of the forum moving a bit more...)

I refuse to have more than a shot before I play- after that my musicianship goes to hell, and I don't beleive in giving anything less than my best at a show. How do you all feel?

[Edited by Raskolnikov on 12-18-2000 at 10:50 PM]

I hate being underage can drink in public,

but i do believe being at your best when doing a show it realy reflects the seriousness of yuo playing and people do judge you.

I don't agree with you, Rat540.

All the big rockstar guitarist (and other musicians) have tried the "Jack D.-syndrome", as we call it in my band.

Not that I encourage people to be drunk before performing, just that no matter what state of mind, if you love to do what you do, you'll look and sound serious.
I remember seeing Zakk Wylde once, he drank a lot of beer during the show, I'm pretty sure he had already swallowed a few gallons before the show. But the man kick'd ass!!!
And how about Slash?? ...always semi-drunk, just "an old habbit" as he says himself.
But I guess all of them are clean (whatever) when they're recordeing albums. Except me, last I recorded, I had a ****in' deep hangover and the solo just sounds like it!:p

Fiddles
Trolle

i really do believe that people shouldnt drink before on stage, because if they are insecure before the drink, and they are ok after there are big chances they wont be able to perform in the future, without drinking...
however i like to get drunk in any other opportunity :)

.....but I loosen up a bit with a couple drinks in me before I practice and especially before a lesson.
I have not yet had the chance to play live in a band situation----Yet!
My friends and my teacher say I'm to hard on myself, but I am to self-critical. But I've been trying to lighten up a bit.

well, that is why I'll take A shot, but also I feel inside that having to bring outside elements in (alcohol, drugs, supid little casset tape confidence programs, whatever) takes away from the whole experience. When I was a kid I needed to build my model or lego set all alone with no help. I get annoyed when somebody shows me something I'm trying to figure out on my own. I guess I'm just that kind of person.
Also in the back of my mind I'm reminded of how sad being too wasted to play is. Or I end up looking at someone and thinking "hey, they're pretty good wasted... they must be amazing sober."
I think it all depends on the person too. SRV just got more amazing when he cleaned up, Eric Clapton... well lets just say I don't like any of the solo work he's done since "From the Cradle."

... Eric's Pilgrim album was ....just.... ugh! But he redeemed himself with Riding with the King(with B.B.).
Yeah, when I first started this guitar stuff I would practice alone in my apartment with my Squier and a 12-pack.
For awhile I would wonder why my playing didn't improve as much as it should have then. Then one day after paying rent, I was stuck with only three beers for the night.
Needless to say after praticing scales and stuff that night, the next day when I got home from work I was amazed at my memory and motor skills retention I had!

Well, I'm very meticulous when it comes to my own personal recordings as well as getting up on stage communicating with others. I guess I try to remain orderly in my life so I can be be free and chaotic with my work, but I need my brain for those rather unexpected moments when you have to re-act within a split second. You can't rely on others to take care of it for you. Personally, Ive always found other ways to relax myself before going up on stage instead of plugginbg myself with alcohol, I mean theres always afterward, (time for celebration, :D.) Of dcourse I like to take chances, but I guess its safe to say that i don't like po rely on the chemical re-action, which isnt real.

-Joseph, :)

I'm lucky enough to not feel nervous about a show until the last possible second (as in right before I go on). I'm fairly comfortable once on stage and doing my thing. I'm not entirely sure if it's just me as a person, or if it comes from many years of Tae Kwon Do (my instructor loves to put people on the spot infront of alot of people). It's probably a mixture of both. Of course I have yet to face more than a few hundred people, so time will tell just how lucky I am.

On stage or in the studio, never. I just keep a water bottle handy.
But.. at some point, I'll privately
*listen* to stuff I've recorded with a few beers in me though. I can identify 'cheeziness' a whole lot better after a few drinks. It also gives me a better perspective on what the audience might be hearing. (Cause a majority of them are kinda hammered by the end of the night anyways)
Occasionally (and privately again) I'll have a six pack and go nuts for an hour playing to midi files.
I don't advocate alcoholism though.
Major reason why I don't have a beer sitting on my cabinet on stage is I can't stand the thought that some young teen out there might think it's cool to play in a band and get wasted. Besides, it's really unprofessional looking.

Originally posted by schmange

But.. at some point, I'll privately
*listen* to stuff I've recorded with a few beers in me though. I can identify 'cheeziness' a whole lot better after a few drinks. It also gives me a better perspective on what the audience might be hearing. (Cause a majority of them are kinda hammered by the end of the night anyways).[/B]

Heh, yeah well I tend to be rather judgemental at times (especially) when it comes to my personal recordings, I guess we all try and find some ways to put our mind at ease. But when I was recording with the band a from the beginning,(especially on stage) although our nerves tended to get the best of us at times, (I just didnt want to take any chances of screwing up.) For the most part I took the band very seriously, and although the rest of the guys were out of it half the time, we would have basically fell apart much sooner if I wasn't solid like a rock. Same as when it comes to the recording process at home, when an an idea comes to mind I try to keep things going very naturally. I like to keep my reflexes strong...

-Joseph, :)

Not to start any crap, but I was wondering why it's considered tacky to have a beer while your on stage.
I have yet to glorify a stage with my presence, but just fill me in so I won't make that mistake when I come to it!

Personally - I don't and have no intention to. Admittedly, I'm still underage, but that's never stopped anyone. I know I can't handle my drink well, so I don't go drinking before I go on stage. Perhaps it's boring of me, I doubt it though - after all, I still enjoy playing the music, I can still get a buzz from being on stage, I can actually find the notes I'm trying to play AND I can remember what the hell I did after the gig! (hehe). I wouldn't say this is gospel or anything, but it's not a bad thing to stick to - if you can over come your nerves without a drink then it's much easier for you simply to pick up and play anytime, anywhere, for anyone.

I've seen many a beer, shot, and mixed drink up on stage in my day- I think it comes down to not drinking so much that you can't function at 100%. But I've seen everybody from local acts playing slide with a beer bottle or bar glass to Larry LaLonde of Primus spitting a mouthful of beer directly into the air at the finish of a guitar solo (just as the lights went off... you should have seen it).

*OK, Folks, time to get real here.....I've noticed NOBODY here has looked at this from a physiological perspectice so here goes.....I think a good belt (maybe a shot or a beer) is probably a good idea to help calm nerves and focus on the tunes/show (if ya got stage nerves), but OTHER THAN THAT, Alcohol de-hydrates you on stage (lights, sweating, jumpin' around) and this is a BAD thing !!!! If you want to ROCK AND ROLL TO THE MAX, keep PLENTY of water around (or gatorade) and keep your body ready to go with a vitamin B complex multi-vitamin (any drug store)........ALSO, your roadies and sound/light man will do what you and your band-mates do (After all, if you're a band just starting out, it's not like you're PAYING them to stay straight !!!) .....NOT good when half of your staff is wasted when handling your equipment and trying to keep the sound mixed fairly decent.....FYI, The V has done boo-koo drugs/alcohol on stage...You may think you sound great...The audience may have a diferent view.....They're not gonna tell ya that you suck when you're wasted....The management just stops bookin' ya and the reputation follows ya......

[Edited by LEEtheV on 02-18-2001 at 06:02 PM]

Kinda like the incident you described in the "takes a licking and keeps on ticking" thread, eh?

Yes, I can destinctly remember carying my sound man out one night... luckily it wasn't my show, it was his open mic. Also, I had to move my cabinet (a nice and large 2x15 deal) with the aid of a very drunk friend of mine. This guy doesn't have "reverse gears" sober, and here he is on the up hill side of the operation while we move this heap of amp down a stair case. My back didn't enjoy that night.

One band I was in, we played clubs about twice a month and parties pretty the rest of the time. A the clubs, we each had at most 2 beers during the night and we would generally share a joint or 3 sometime during the evening.
At the parties, which were usually at someone house. We had a beer between\during each set. We never got ****faced unless the party went past say, 3am (usually the police were there before then :)).
The only real problem we had was our drummer. He could drink beer all night long and still keep a good beat. But, once he got ahold of hard booze (JD etc.) his timing went to hell. BAD. One weekend, we had no gigs going on so we went around town to see other bands playing. We went to this one party (wedding reception actually). We knew the band playing there and got them to let us do a set.
Afterwards, some guy offered us $1000 to do another set!
Unfortunatley our drummer had already found himself a bottle of Jack, so we had to decline. The rest of us were very pissed.

As long as you can keep in in moderation, there should be little problem with it.