Ahem. But in our defense, what we wanted to be were intoxicated rock stars, so there was a kind of logic in our inebriation, if you didn't think about it.
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Alcohol effects
- Thread starter dougazbass
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Ahem. But in our defense, what we wanted to be were intoxicated rock stars, so there was a kind of logic in our inebriation, if you didn't think about it.
I find it weird that threads about drinking are as common on TB as threads about P basses.
It depends on the drinks, how quick, and the person. There is no rule for alcohol at all. Similarly some infamous drunks can play pretty well when under the influence.
I'll usually have a beer or a cocktail before I go on stage to help with the butterflies, but I know that I get a little sloppy if I've had more than that.
It depends on the drinks, how quick, and the person. There is no rule for alcohol at all. Similarly some infamous drunks can play pretty well when under the influence.
I'll usually have a beer or a cocktail before I go on stage to help with the butterflies, but I know that I get a little sloppy if I've had more than that.
Big Hoss
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I don't have any real issues with ability to play when drinking, I just don't drink all that much. Literally my wife and I are not wine collectors, and we have bottles in the kitchen pantry that are from when we were dating. We are getting ready to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, so....
When I was single, and angry at my ex, I used to drink a LOT, and play. Drinking made my playing a lot more aggressive. I tended to play a lot of really harsh punk rock, Mentors type stuff.
At this point in my life, I have no desire to play like Dr. Heathen Scum, so I'll pass on the alcohol until the instruments, power tools, and firearms are put away...
When I was single, and angry at my ex, I used to drink a LOT, and play. Drinking made my playing a lot more aggressive. I tended to play a lot of really harsh punk rock, Mentors type stuff.
At this point in my life, I have no desire to play like Dr. Heathen Scum, so I'll pass on the alcohol until the instruments, power tools, and firearms are put away...
Even one beer will render me useless. My hands lose their coordination immediately, I really don't know why.
Big Hoss
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Now THAT I definately agree with, the more they AUDIENCE has had to drink, the better I sound... Sort of like the old saying, the girls get prettier at closing time...
Alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system. Its effects upon the human body are well-known, predictable, and entirely consistent with the effects you've just cited. Since every person possesses a human body, it stands to reason that every person is affected in this same way by alcohol. The only difference from one person to another, if any, is one of degree.
MM
I used to drink while performing (before and after too.) I quit over 30 years ago. The first few gigs felt stark stone sober, but I quickly got used to it. I played far better and enjoyed myself more after I quite the alcohol. (No other drugs used.) I used to "waste" playing enjoyment looking forward to breaks to get another beer. Now, our band takes two short bathroom breaks in a 4 hour gig, because we love just playing. Hit the can, and get back on stage.
Alcohol never helped my playing or singing. I thought it did when I drank, but learned the opposite after I quit. Alcohol was a huge waste of time, money and brain cells I dearly wish I had now. It also damaged relationships and was a problem at work (coming to work hungover etc.)
My life would have been much better had I never drank.
I have no problems with the audience drinking.
Alcohol never helped my playing or singing. I thought it did when I drank, but learned the opposite after I quit. Alcohol was a huge waste of time, money and brain cells I dearly wish I had now. It also damaged relationships and was a problem at work (coming to work hungover etc.)
My life would have been much better had I never drank.
I have no problems with the audience drinking.
If I'm playing a payed gig. I never drink before I play. After OK.
A jam or just a hang, different story. I never felt I had to have anything to relax, or make me play better.
Your either prepared to play, or your not. If i don't know the music, tequila is not going to help me.
A jam or just a hang, different story. I never felt I had to have anything to relax, or make me play better.
Your either prepared to play, or your not. If i don't know the music, tequila is not going to help me.
3-4 pints a night, not an issue. If i start mixing the hard stuff and the green stuff with it, well it's a 50/50 thing on how much it effects my playing, depending on strong the other stuff is. But I can diz on a song just as easy stone cold sober. In fact, I find it harder to concentrate completely sober sometimes.
the biggest problem i've noticed is the following day. a nice buzz can loosen things up and doesn't affect my playing negatively in the moment, but the main reason i've cut my alcohol intake back these days is because i realized that i have a much clearer mind and more energy the next day, which is huge when we have to be productive in the arenas of writing, arranging, recording, and/or performing
A couple are good a few are ok if spaced out during the show. I feel it takes away the pre-show edge.
Yes, can not need to be a boring player, no problem in to have some fun along the road... or to be a side musician only, not an artist.
Maybe this is the question: are you sale art or just music reproduction?
We drink a couple (NOT 12). We're also all over 30 and know our limits better than when we were 20.
I think there are pros and cons to drinking and not drinking depending on the style of music and the type of gigs you play.
Drinking too much can result in sloppy playing and embarrassing behavior. That much is pretty obvious
Not drinking may not always, but often leads to lame shows particularly with Rock and metal bands where the band might go up onstage 100% sober and never miss a note but have a boring performance because they look like a deer in the headlights or stare at their hands the entire show, or appear like they aren't into it.
There are a lot of factors that play into it. In our band we play music well below our ability levels. Our music is more about songwriting than showing off. Our live performance is more about the energy we bring, its not about playing complicated lines or playing flawlessly. Playing flawlessly doesn matter if you put on a boring show. If that's all you care about you can play songs flawlessly in your bedroom. And anyone can learn to play pretty much anything. But there's a difference than just playing a piece of music and actually putting on a performance.
I think the entire issue of drinking at shows is getting better for everyone over time. For one bands and local clubs are starting to do shows earlier like national acts have been demanding for years. Drinking tends to be more of an issue at long shows where the headlining band plays till 2am. But that's old school bar band stuff. That's not the way to do it anymore. Most people don't have the attention span for those types of shows anymore. If we are done playing by 11 there's still plenty of time to drink and mingle with fans without hurting our performance on stage. When we were going on after midnight and playing till 2am is was more of an issue because everyone did all their drinking before hand while the opening bands played because we knew the bar would close as soon as we finished our set. Now when we play out of town we open for other bands and we try to be placed in the lineup so we're done by 11. And we've been around long enough that for local shows we can pretty much demand that if we're headlining instead of the entire show going from 9 or 10pm -2am that the opening band starts at 9 and the shows over by 11pm. This has also helped pay because moving the entire show earlier bands typically don't want to play super early so it's more 3 band shows than long marathon shows where you split money with more bands.
I think there are pros and cons to drinking and not drinking depending on the style of music and the type of gigs you play.
Drinking too much can result in sloppy playing and embarrassing behavior. That much is pretty obvious
Not drinking may not always, but often leads to lame shows particularly with Rock and metal bands where the band might go up onstage 100% sober and never miss a note but have a boring performance because they look like a deer in the headlights or stare at their hands the entire show, or appear like they aren't into it.
There are a lot of factors that play into it. In our band we play music well below our ability levels. Our music is more about songwriting than showing off. Our live performance is more about the energy we bring, its not about playing complicated lines or playing flawlessly. Playing flawlessly doesn matter if you put on a boring show. If that's all you care about you can play songs flawlessly in your bedroom. And anyone can learn to play pretty much anything. But there's a difference than just playing a piece of music and actually putting on a performance.
I think the entire issue of drinking at shows is getting better for everyone over time. For one bands and local clubs are starting to do shows earlier like national acts have been demanding for years. Drinking tends to be more of an issue at long shows where the headlining band plays till 2am. But that's old school bar band stuff. That's not the way to do it anymore. Most people don't have the attention span for those types of shows anymore. If we are done playing by 11 there's still plenty of time to drink and mingle with fans without hurting our performance on stage. When we were going on after midnight and playing till 2am is was more of an issue because everyone did all their drinking before hand while the opening bands played because we knew the bar would close as soon as we finished our set. Now when we play out of town we open for other bands and we try to be placed in the lineup so we're done by 11. And we've been around long enough that for local shows we can pretty much demand that if we're headlining instead of the entire show going from 9 or 10pm -2am that the opening band starts at 9 and the shows over by 11pm. This has also helped pay because moving the entire show earlier bands typically don't want to play super early so it's more 3 band shows than long marathon shows where you split money with more bands.
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Alcohol gets you drunk - plain and simple. When drunk, you are less coordinated, have slower reaction times, are behaviourally disinhibited, cognitively impaired...shall I go on? There are reasons why driving under the influence - or even doing things like consenting to important procedures and decisions - is not legal to do. So, who wants to have to deal with those problems when playing? If you are just hanging out with buddies and jamming, sure, go ahead and have a few pops and relax. Some may say that being relaxed can even help creativity. But if you are talking about gigs in front of a crowd where you want to make any sort of good impression, or if you are getting paid, then IMO it is not the responsible thing to do. With my current band, we don't even drink much at practice - maybe one, two at the most over a 4-5 hour period. At gigs, same thing - we all have one drink/beer max before going on stage, and then depending upon how long we are sticking around afterwards, maybe another then. As someone noted above, if you have to drive home at the end of the night, it isn't like you can start tossing them back just because you stepped off stage.
I had a band that was mainly casual in its intent that broke up due to the drinking of one of the members in particular - this guy thought that practices and gigs were all about drinking and "having a good time". As much as I didn't like it, one of the other guys in the band felt it was so unprofessional, even in the mainly casual context we were in, that he bailed on the group, and moved on to something more serious...where needless to say, the guys in that group aren't spending practice and gig time getting drunk. Amazingly enough, they are getting good paying gigs now, something the other band never had. Coincidence? I think not.
I had a band that was mainly casual in its intent that broke up due to the drinking of one of the members in particular - this guy thought that practices and gigs were all about drinking and "having a good time". As much as I didn't like it, one of the other guys in the band felt it was so unprofessional, even in the mainly casual context we were in, that he bailed on the group, and moved on to something more serious...where needless to say, the guys in that group aren't spending practice and gig time getting drunk. Amazingly enough, they are getting good paying gigs now, something the other band never had. Coincidence? I think not.
I never drink before or during a gig, though during a rehearsal I may have one or two beers (only after a full meal and with enough time to process so I can drive home safely). I don't have a problem with having a few drinks but I keep a mentality of "I'm here to work so let's work" which keeps me out of trouble. Tried the plant-based thing once over ten years ago and I never took to it, so I have no interest in it at all.
I don't know about y'all but I have noticed that not drinking does tend to make me less patient with bandmates who are drinking onstage.
I don't know about y'all but I have noticed that not drinking does tend to make me less patient with bandmates who are drinking onstage.
