Alcohol..

[Baard]

I was playing in this tent,saturday, when it struck me. Last two or 3 gigs i had not been drinking any kind of alcohol. Not that i´d normally will pour it down, but i´ve been known for having a beer or two in the breaks, which adds up if you play a lot. I guess it´s like the cigarettes....they started to iriitate me, I did not get any fun out of it, so i quit. Same thing with booze. We play a lot, and often have time to kill, but it´s just too easy to have one too many, when it´s free. So It kind of makes sense to not drink at all. Anybody of you have this kind of notions when playing ?

Also I used to be nervous before a gig but that has totally changed, to confidence, and excitement....maybe it´s because i´m gettin older. I take the whole thing a bit more easy....Whatever it is, gigging stone sober is more fun for me than beeing a little liquered up....
The downside, is that you notice all the silly drunk people......



Baard

[The Snowman]

Agreed...I don't drink either....even when it's free at gigs...I really like the feeling that it's me playin without any stimulants or other things getting in the chain....


well...I am always lookin at the woman and that definately gets me rockin......but that's another story.....don

[bo]

I agree totally, especially about noticing the drunks. However some nights I just feel like drinkin'. Anymore it often depends on the gig and how far I gotta drive afterwards.

[Honga Man]

I usually drink beer at gigs if it's free. My cover band played either three or four sets a night so I'd drink three or four beers over as many hours. In my opinion, that is reasonable and responsible consumption. My bandmates were about the same.

In my younger days (my early 20s, new to the gig scene) we'd bring a cooler with us. 8)

I found the problem wasn't getting drunk but rather having to visit the men's room rather urgently when you're only 15 minutes into a 45- or 60-minute set.

I would gladly play a gig without alcohol and have done so, but I do like beer and when I'm in a bar playing rock music surrounded by beer drinking customers and bandmates, I'm gonna bend my elbow too, 'specially since they have my favorite beer: FREE!

(BTW, tip the bartender!)

[Mike D.]

I'll drink if it's free. I really have a problem with club owners trying to charge me full price when it costs them next to nothing. At the very least they should offer draft for free. We slam one song into the next so we don't have much time to do anyhting on stage. I don't see any problem with downing a beer in between sets. In fact, I look forward to it.

[The Snowman]

good point about the club owners....our Thurs nite gig the guy gives us 1/2 off drinks and food...but when the music starts...he doubles everything anyway...so we end up paying regular price......

but I can do without drinking...but I have to eat before every gig....don

[Ward]

I can do without drinking...but I have to eat before every gig

Yeah, I really like gigs where they give us a free diner, especially if its a good restaurant!!!

[astro]

I only drink one beer or other drink if that before playing. It sucks if you gotta burp and sing at the same time.

I saw this band the other night that was totally awful. I was hanging (not intentionally) with the singer earlier in the evening. He was basically drunk an hour before the show. He talked a mean mean game before they got up to play. He made mistakes, couldn't hit notes, stuttered and slobbered, in a real pathetic, not good way.

After the show I wannted to tell him, "keep drinking the fans dig it."

[Bluesbob]

That's it for me. I have a beer after the first set and one after the second (we only play three one-hour sets). If it's not free I make a point of bringing my own. After all, I'm not there to pay $5.00 for a Bud. After the show I tear down immediately, get paid, and leave, so there's no time for anything else, especially with the DWI laws the way they are now. I'm not there to pick up girls, either. (I swear this is true). I find the left-overs at three A.M. to lack something. I don't know what it is, but you may understand. I'm married and my wife puts up with all this weekend warrior stuff, so why should I? Before a gig I only drink water. That way, if something goes wrong, it can't be because I had a drink. Then the beer after the first set is a lube job. If the first set is killer, then the beer after is a reward to myself. The beer after the second set is just because I'm thirsty.

[Jakedog]

I drink if it's free, like alot of you other guys. I'm definitely not into giving half my pay back to the bar. I do however, tip generously, even for the free stuff. There is no reason the bartender shouldn't get his/hers. As far as effect on my playing, it get's a little looser, in a good way. I'll be the first one to say, if I have too much, I suck bigtime! But a few over the course of the night definitely has a positive effect on my soloing.


Jake

[Michael R]

Originally Posted by Baard

Also I used to be nervous before a gig but that has totally changed, to confidence, and excitement....maybe it´s because i´m gettin older. I take the whole thing a bit more easy....Whatever it is, gigging stone sober is more fun for me than beeing a little liquered up....
The downside, is that you notice all the silly drunk people......
Baard

I would replace 'older' with 'experienced' and just rack it up to the fact that maybe you are becoming 'professional' 8) .

[telefreak]

I suck enough without alcohol, so I leave well alone

[Raymond]

I've never formally gigged, but back in college, in Ohio, a couple of friends and I were in this bar and there was an "open mic" night.
The music was quite good and after a few 24 oz beers we got quite drunk. By midnight, one guy from the stage says "hey, I know you guys play guitar, come over...there's no one left to play". We said that we didn't have our guitars, that we've never performed in public before, etc. After a couple of min, the hosts produced a couple of guitars and somehow we got convinced to perform. We only knew stuff in spanish, and I remember that the guitars were completely out of tune. We didn't even tuned the guitars and after a couple of awfully played songs some guy in front of the stage said something like "I must be really drunk, because I hear you guys singing in spanish and I like it...."

[tenstrings]

i really suck at drinking so i dont really do it anymore. as stated above the cops are out to get drunks and its not worth the risk.
I know what you mean about everyone else looking drunk... i bartend for a living.
i will use all my drink tickets on redbull though...
brian

[feojack]

I've done it both ways, in my crazy youth we'd drink & smoke all night. It begins to wear on you after a few years. As Joe Walsh allegedly said, "When you burn the candle at both ends ,you get twice the light in half the time."
Baard wrote:

Also I used to be nervous before a gig but that has totally changed, to confidence, and excitement....maybe it´s because i´m gettin older. I take the whole thing a bit more easy....Whatever it is, gigging stone sober is more fun for me than beeing a little liquered up....
The downside, is that you notice all the silly drunk people......
Baard

I think we get more "professional" as time goes on and that makes it easier. I still get nervous at first, but after the first tune or two, everyone's locked into gear & starts cooking. I've been clean & sober for 10 years now & it's a gas to remember what key the tunes are in and making fewer "mistakes" both with the songs and the clientele. Drunks are fun to play for, though, I have to admit :D
Cheers, feo[/quote]

[telemann51]

I might have one cold one after the first set or so, but that's it. I can feel the alcohol affect my playing before I feel it its effects in other ways.

I'm in that awkward situation - I love to drink but I hate being drunk. I hate it more than I love to drink.

[Baard]

But then again, I don´t drink at my full time day job (We may have one unit at work) or at home any more. It just get´s irritating, when you have to get up at 3 in the night to feed the baby. So for the next years time it´s good economy with my time and my mind to stay off any kind of downer. I don´t need it because most weeks I´m buzy for 60 hrs + between music and my day job. I swear I can feel it in the morning even if I´´ve had only 4 units of alco the night before. And the things it does to my mind when playing is not positive in any way. I don´t get more overbearing, sooner I get more easily irritated with flaws and imperfection.
One glass of wine with a meal (we always get fed before the gigs) seems to be nice enough tho.
I think it has something to do with our schedule. We play a lot now, it´s not just a hobby anymore, it´s a job. If it´s only twice a month then it´s a recreational thing. Then It might make sense to have some brews along with the experience. Or maybe not. Alcohol seems to have a way of gradually creeping up on me. I drink what i have and then I don´t drink for a long time. I never have the urge to drink the next day either. I´think I can put it in the bad habits category, thus it needs to be avoided, if it does not give me any pleasure.




Baard

[NashTele]

I have not drank any alcohol while playing in a good 20 years. Nothing wrong with that.

[stantheman]

is torture. when the only sober people are the band, the waitstaff and the detail cop you really start to see all the downsides of alcohol and there's plenty. As long
as they bring a designated driver I don't give a hoot how
intoxicated they get - it's when they're gonna put those keys in the ignition that I get really apprehensive 'cause
in a few minutes I'm gonna be drivin' home down that same road as Mr/Ms "loaded" and I don't need the hassle.

[cowboy]

results from playing as a kid when the rest of the band took "break time" to either down a bottle of wine or smoke a couple.....I don't have a problem with it as long as its under control, I just don't do it myself.....

However when I'm not playing....now thats another story. later.

cowboy

[11 Gauge]

it was not even accepted, but also kinda humerous. i can't even remember being in a club back then without being fairly torqued up and at least halfway thru a pack of smokes...

my how times change.

looking back on it, i'm just glad there weren't worse circumstances, i.e. BAD bar fights, car accidents, illegitimate children (that i know of) at least in my personal experiences.

but now i've been married to the same woman for what feels like forever (this is GOOD), i'm a daddy, my body isn't as forgiving, cops are even less forgiving, etc.

even if it was socially acceptable like it used to be i still couldn't keep up - just a few drinks and i'm typically dragging a$$ the next day.

which brings up - smoking. i quit for good back in '91. my lungs just could not take it any more. at first i had no probs with other folks smoking, but it's gotten to be a problem over the years. i just can't stand being in a small smoky club for hours any more. my eyes sting, my lungs sting, my clothes reek (as does my equipment), and i feel a bit run down the next day. i hate to sound like a no smoking snob, but i've been smoke free for long enough to realize that it's taking time off my life just 2nd hand...

but back to alcohol. i recently conducted a recording experiment over a period of a few weeks - some sessions with a moderate amount of booze, the rest stone cold sober (my standard recording neuroligical state BTW). my conclusions are that the 'under the influence stuff' sucks in every way. the tracks even sound lethargic and misguided...

[Honga Man]

Originally Posted by stantheman

when the only sober people are the band, the waitstaff and the detail cop...

I'm in the restaurant business.

The waitstaff isn't sober. :o

[Scotland]

For years we used to drink as much as we could, during before and after playing. One night a friend recorded our gig.....I can honestly say I have never mixed drinking with playing since. The gig had sounded good to us at the time but listening to the play back was nothing but pure embarrasment
Makes me cringe now when I think of the nights we "thought! were good.

[Baard]

This gig we had to do a 3 hr nonstop "dinnermusic gig" befor we got to play the dance...We had all had more than a couple, and you can hear it for sure.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/winchestersmusic.htm

Not that hearing it back made any of us drink any less at the time... We´re just not that concerned as a band...

Baard

[Long_Ghost]

began by ordering a drink.
In spite of that,I still play almost totally,in ba