|  | 
03-21-2002, 10:20 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Cork, Ireland | |  Bass players and drink!
Just began to wonder why european orchestral bass players always seem to be heavy drinkers; can even drink the brass section under the table. I noticed this after playing with a few different youth orchestras. Everywhere you go, always the same, come end of rehearsal its straight to the bar. Has anyone else noticed this. (Admittedly I am quite fond of a drop or two myself!) 
Sign in to disble this ad
__________________
"Hey!, thats a big guitar you've got there!" - Idiots everywhere.
|
03-21-2002, 10:54 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: SE Wisconsin | | I drink because I like the taste  |
03-21-2002, 11:57 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Somewhere Over the Barline | | | Re: Bass players and drink!
Quote: Originally posted by conor_maccarthy
Just began to wonder why european orchestral bass players always seem to be heavy drinkers; can even drink the brass section under the table. I noticed this after playing with a few different youth orchestras. Everywhere you go, always the same, come end of rehearsal its straight to the bar. | That's probably because by the end of rehearsal they've just friggin' had it with the conductor, the rest of the whiny strings, the obnoxious brass, and the out of tune woodwinds, and out of time percussion. Being the only real musicians in the orchestra can take a toll and make one want to escape a little. |
03-21-2002, 12:35 PM
| | | >BURRRRP<  |
03-21-2002, 06:54 PM
|  | Student of Life Forum Administrator | | Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Louisville, KY | | | Haven't touched a drop in the last 12 years or so. Before that? Different story.... |
03-22-2002, 11:00 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Maui | | | Has anyone ever gotten "overmedicated" on a break, only to return to work and suddenly realize, "hey, I forgot how to play"? THAT is a nasty, humiliating feeling. |
03-22-2002, 11:27 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: New Albany, MS | | Quote: Originally posted by Marcus Johnson
Has anyone ever gotten "overmedicated" on a break, only to return to work and suddenly realize, "hey, I forgot how to play"? THAT is a nasty, humiliating feeling. | And the reason the club I play at will not serve alcohol to the musicians. You wouldn't drink on the job as an accountant, why should a musical job be any different?
After the gig may be a different story.
Monte
__________________
I want people to feel good. Or bad. Or happy. Or sad. I just think music should make you feel something, and the focus is to never lose sight of that.
Ian Hendrickson-Smith |
03-22-2002, 09:44 PM
| | Supporting Member/Luthier | | Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio | | ever have one of these gigs?
when is this horn player going to stop....
how can I get the drummer to not rush the bridge....
how loud can this guitarist get...
sometimes a drink can take the edge off a bad gig. I'm not talking about getting loaded; just a drink.
BTW- more accountants should drink on thier lunch-hour  |
03-23-2002, 06:41 AM
|  | GOLD Supporting Member | | Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: New Joisey Shore | | | I remember playing an AFofM New Years gig at age 16 or 17, had gotten a cold call for it and had to get my father to drive me.
The trumpet player, "old" to me at the time, but probably in his 30's or 40's, bragged about drinking a pint of cream before he came to the gig so he could drink more. By the end of the second set he was useless. Shame, because he was pretty damn good first set.
In the 70's my main band, a rock trio with 3 part harmonies and tight arrangements, had a rule. No drinking on the job. These days I might nurse two bears over the night, but that's it, and on a cold call, I wouldn't drink at all. I've seen too many musicians lose their edge and more as a result of booze.
A good friend in my youth (has several albums out on Concord) had a major problem with the stuff, damn near washed him out. |
03-23-2002, 07:52 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: SE Wisconsin | | Quote: |
These days I might nurse two bears over the night, but that's it
|
Gee, Bob, isn't that hard on the nipples? |
03-23-2002, 08:19 AM
| | GOLD Supporting Member | | Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: New Joisey Shore | | Quote: Originally posted by Mike Goodbar
Gee, Bob, isn't that hard on the nipples? | Not as hard as getting all the hair off my suit coat. |
03-23-2002, 10:46 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: st. marys, ga | |
well, i'm also a sailor in the united states navy...that's all i'm gonna say about that  i'm more of a coffee drinker...sorry |
03-26-2002, 02:28 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tracy CA | | | Drinking
Show up to your day job three sheets to the wind and see how long you last!
Don't drink and play.
Joe
__________________
:I never said I could spell!
|
03-26-2002, 03:28 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Maui | | | Joe..."day job"?...whazzatt? But I agree. |
03-26-2002, 07:46 PM
| | Vorsprung durch Technik | | Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Cologne, Germany | | | Re: Bass players and drink!
Quote: Originally posted by conor_maccarthy
Just began to wonder why european orchestral bass players always seem to be heavy drinkers; can even drink the brass section under the table. I noticed this after playing with a few different youth orchestras. Everywhere you go, always the same, come end of rehearsal its straight to the bar. Has anyone else noticed this. (Admittedly I am quite fond of a drop or two myself!) | Legal age for drinking is 16 in Germany.
When I still played classical violin, we used to do summer camps with the youth orchestra in some youth hostel in an area where there was nothing else to do after rehearsals but to meet in some bedroom and shoot the bull.
The brass usually were the heaviest drinkers, but only by a slight margin.
Strangely enough I drink much less now since I switched to EB.
__________________
"El sueno de la razon produce monstruos."
"The sleep of reason brings forth monsters."
Francisco
Goya
|
03-27-2002, 09:54 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: London | | Quote: Originally posted by Marcus Johnson
Has anyone ever gotten "overmedicated" on a break, only to return to work and suddenly realize, "hey, I forgot how to play"? THAT is a nasty, humiliating feeling. | Not really, but I've had it when the drummer comes back like that and forgets how to play, or the singer offers to fight the whole crowd. Sigh...
__________________
This post was actually written by Carol Kaye.
|
03-27-2002, 10:50 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Ridgewood, NJ | | | From a book by Bill Crow:
Back in the days when "stoned" referred to booze, legendary imbiber Zoot Sims was asked by an earnest admirer "How come you play so well when you're stoned?"
Zoot replied, "I practice stoned."
We all have our own gig/booze stories, most of them hilarious. On the other hand, two learning experiences:
I used to drink heavily on gigs. Thought I was pretty cool. Then I joined Eddie Hazell, a very good guitarist and excellent vocalist (not the dead rock guy). Huge repertoire, Porter, Van Heusen, Wilder, etc. and jazz originals. The key would be wherever he felt like singing. We might start in Bb and suddenly go to B. Or How High the Moon, up, in F#.
There was no way to stay mentally sharp while drinking. It stopped immediately.
I also worked with a pianist who accompanied and arranged for Mel Torme, Peggy Lee, etc. He was a raving lush yet played surprisingly well. But when he was sober, he was so good it was astonishing. It was a measure of his talent that he sounded so good bombed; but it was also a measure of how much of his talent he was wasting.
End of lecture. Johnny Walker black, please?
__________________
Certified to teach the Alexander Technique. see donaldhigdon.com
Last edited by Don Higdon : 03-27-2002 at 11:06 AM.
|  | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
