The singer-guitarist in my punk-indie trio is a pretty heavy drinker, while I'm sober. (We've been friends for more than a decade and the two of us used to get wasted quite a bit together back when I was drinking.) He still has four or five beers every time we rehearse, and generally, I'm cool with it. But it can be a problem at gigs. He starts as soon as show up for soundcheck — say, at 6. By the time we go on at 8:30 or 9, he's had three or four, as well as some shots with his friends, and he's drunk. I've found that his playing and singing really start to suffer after the third drink or so. Alcohol being what it is, he has no awareness of that. In fact, quite the opposite. His hero is Paul Westerberg, circa 1985, and even though he's old enough to know better (mid-50s), he still buys into the whole sloppy, rock-and-roll-excess myth.
FWIW, audiences seem to respond well enough. But I know that we could be so much tighter and leaner and meaner if he could control his intake. I've tried to bring it up, and his response tends to be a sarcastic, "Ok, dad."
I try hard not to judge other peoples' choices when it comes to substances. And he so clearly loves to drink when he plays. Plus, this is a hobby-band, not a moneymaking situation, so the stakes are low. So I've kind of made peace with the idea that he is who he is, and if I want to keep playing with him – which I do – I gotta accept that. But it's a shame because I know the drinking is holding us back.
Anyway, I'm curious how you-all handle similar issues with players who drink.
