bremen Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Do you like a drink, a smoke or a hit before playing? I ask here as alcohol has been mentioned in another thread concerning pre-gig nerves and I didn't want to hijack the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I have a pint, but only to quench the thirst created by the fat doobie i've just smoked :-p I don't mind doing gigs sober, I just get bored before we play. I play "better" when i'm a little "herbal" as i'm more relaxed. I could use any number of other techniques to make me relax instead though. Alchohol doesn't seem to affect the way I play or feel on stage, although that's from my POV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ergon Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 i've tried playing after quite a bit of drink at home last new year and my accuracy deteriated quite badly and i was unable to play even quite simple tunes with enough accuracy, i allso dented the acoustic i was playing on. i don't smoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Back in my gigging days I would vary from playing (well, just living really) on a bottle of Southern Comfort, (NO! It is NOT called SoCo!) or a pint of orange squash. The worrying thing was that even my close friends couldn't tell the bottle of whiskey me apart from the squash me. More than once someone asked me to drive home after a full bottle of booze (I never did) or try to take my car keys off me when I had been on soft drinks all day. However, when I drank two bottles of Southern Comfort my ears used to get drunk. I lost all relative pitch and couldn't tell one song from another. So to sum up, I use too many (brackets). p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I certainly like my ale, am warming to red wine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Nah.. not at all. Although I do enjoy a cheeky glass of port afterwards, if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3V17C Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I never drink or smoke before or during a gig - afterwards is a different story mind you! I did used to smoke alot of the weed and the reason I stopped doing so at gigs was because the stoner/hawkwind stylee band i was in at the time (many, many moons ago!!) were booked to play a bike show as the headline act. Of course we spent the whole day sunning ourselves and smoking all day in the run up to our set. But oooh dear...when it was time to go on i seriously couldn't move! I just about got my bass on but then had to sit on my combo from the get go. Now I KNOW we played a 2hr set that day but I honestly, absolutely cannot remember any of it. I remember starting the first song and then I remember finishing the last song but nothing at all inbetween! Lord only knows what the hell I played for 2 hrs (although no one said anything so i assume i stumbled through Ok!). But a bit worrying really! so....since then, never smoke or drink before a gig!!!! peace c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Very much so. I have been a bit too drunk for my playing's good on a few occasions, mind. I had fun though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Quite like a coffee before and a tea after .. We even have that on our rider when we have that luxury. I want/need all my faculties about me to play to the best of my somewhat megre ability. I also have to drive home, usually a long distance, and like to stay out of the hedge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='3V17C' post='107033' date='Dec 20 2007, 12:47 PM']I never drink or smoke before or during a gig - afterwards is a different story mind you! I did used to smoke alot of the weed and the reason I stopped doing so at gigs was because the stoner/hawkwind stylee band i was in at the time (many, many moons ago!!) were booked to play a bike show as the headline act. Of course we spent the whole day sunning ourselves and smoking all day in the run up to our set. But oooh dear...when it was time to go on i seriously couldn't move! I just about got my bass on but then had to sit on my combo from the get go. Now I KNOW we played a 2hr set that day but I honestly, absolutely cannot remember any of it. I remember starting the first song and then I remember finishing the last song but nothing at all inbetween! Lord only knows what the hell I played for 2 hrs (although no one said anything so i assume i stumbled through Ok!). But a bit worrying really! so....since then, never smoke or drink before a gig!!!! peace c[/quote] Excellent story. I've done loads of gigs like that. One time we played a festival on a stage made out of hay bales with plywood on top. It was ever-so-slighhtly sloping but I was convinced it was about 45 degrees off level and I played the set rooted to the spot, terrified that I'd fall over if I moved. Then I took 10 years off playing. I've just started again and I don't smoke, and what I've realised is that I used to depend on dope to make the music sound better. For sure I'm playing a hell of a lot better now because I'm not kidding myself! The audience is always going to be more 'enhanced' than I am so I can be sure that if it sounds good to me it sounds better to them. I don't drink before a gig, either, simply because it affects my timing. During and after is ok, I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odub Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 (edited) My first ever "gig" (house party) I drank a lot of beer beforehand with nerves, then drank through a bottle of JD during the set, including gulping the last couple of inches in one go. Needless to say as the alc hit my system my playing got worse and worse, first speeding up to speed metal proportions (in a blues band), then to wrong keys, then to: get to the end, please just get to the end hazy stumblings. Straight after we stopped playing I went upstairs to bed. Missed the whole party. Edited December 20, 2007 by odub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I don't drink or smoke. Never have. Its not a moral stance, just a taste thing. I have never played with anyone that plays better after having a drink or getting stoned. They usually play a lot worse but either don't know or don't care. Sometimes the deterioration is not enough to get arsy about but I will mention it. If you do it again on my watch, you're a dick and I am highly unlikely to book you again. Simple as. You'll lose work, even if you don't know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I find a quick shot of adrenochrome usually gets me on my way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='107048' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:09 PM']I have never played with anyone that plays better after having a drink or getting stoned.[/quote] Strangely, I know a couple, but they've been doing it since 1963 so I guess they're just immune to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='odub' post='107046' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:07 PM']My first ever "gig" (house party) I drank a lot of beer beforehand with nerves, then drank through a bottle of JD during the set, including gulping the last couple of inches in one go. Needless to say as the alc hit my system my playing got worse and worse, first speeding up to speed metal proportions (in a blues band), then to wrong keys, then to: get to the end, please just get to the end hazy stumblings. Straight after we stopped playing I went upstairs to bed. Missed the whole party.[/quote] I see you edited that post...go on, what else happened that you decided against sharing? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='nick' post='107050' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:12 PM']I find a quick shot of adrenochrome usually gets me on my way! [/quote] I like the taste of sweet strychnine ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='nick' post='107050' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:12 PM']I find a quick shot of adrenochrome usually gets me on my way! [/quote] "Psychoactive effects of adrenochrome include euphoria, confusion, changed train of thought, and inability to concentrate" Ah most guitarists then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I have live recordings on video, some of me playing sober, and some of me not sober. There is no noticeable difference. If I am driving I do not have any alcohol at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='OldGit' post='107065' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:25 PM']"Psychoactive effects of adrenochrome include euphoria, confusion, changed train of thought, and inability to concentrate" Ah most guitarists then [/quote] but are there any negative effects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odub Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 [quote name='bremen' post='107052' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:14 PM']I see you edited that post...go on, what else happened that you decided against sharing? :-)[/quote] Ha nothing but spelling and grammar errors. That’s what you get for not previewing your psots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenofthedepths Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 (edited) I used to drink a 2 litre bottle of coke to keep myself awake through 3 hour rehearsals and gigs (I had a somewhat radical sleeping pattern at this time) but now and previously to that period, I usually have a pint or 2, not so much to make any difference to my playing but because I like a drink when I go out I actually played my own 18th and had numerous drinks bought for me before we went on - meanwhile the guitarist/singer was turning into a nervous wreck coz his ex was there and he was also afraid I'd compromise my playing... in the end I think I played great and afterwards I did an entertaining show of my own with a couple of other friends... However, if it had been anyone else's special occasion I certainly wouldn't have indulged myself Edited December 20, 2007 by queenofthedepths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I can't play when drunk or otherwise intoxicated (there's many as would say I can't anyway) - I forget my place in the song, co-ordination goes to hell & I get stressed cos I know I'm going to screw up - which makes me screw up more! So, no drinking to the point of tangible intoxication for me - I might have a social pint before playing, and like to have a drink with me onstage - but that'll be water with ice. I'm not much of a drinker anyway, tbh - I'm too prone to not actually getting drunk regardless of how much I neck, but still having the headache from hell the next day. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16Again Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I used to smoke weed before gigs years ago but the paranoia got too much so i dont do it anymore. Now i have about 3 or 4 pints before i go on depending if its a week night or a weekend, week nights i have a pint of shandy and a couple of redbulls but weekend gigs i have a tipple but i only play punk so its pretty easy to play while mashed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 If I have a drink before a gig, it's nothing stronger than a pint of shandy, because a] I'm invariably driving and b] I don't want it to affect my playing, and it's only the one pint or I'll be busting for a slash halfway through the set. The nature of my job means that Jazz-Woodbines are out of the question these days, but even if I could partake I wouldn't before a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 (edited) No serious intoxication for me, (learned my lesson there) might have a swift half. if I have to drive home it's a diet coke or two. Dope smoking? nah, most stone heads play sh*te when stoned anyway, I know this because I used to be one but I knocked it on the head when I realised I never did get round to changing those strings man Edited December 20, 2007 by Jase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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