Band substance abuse

[StraffordMike]

I recently read a fantastic book called The Name of the Wind, it's sword and sorcery stuff so if it's not your scene, I understand, it usually isn't mine either, but it's a fantastic read.
To the point; the protagonist of the book happens to play the lute at local drinking establishments and describes a neat little "con" that he and the barkeep would use on patrons. Whenever an audience member would insist on buying the performer a drink, the performer would order a specific, unique sort of beverage, which was really a code word for water, and at the end of the night, no patrons were offended, the music didn't suffer and the barkeep and artist would split the take.

 

[basted]

Its not all bad. There are opportunities for others here. I got my first band gig when the original bass player showed up at practice on time but tripping and with no gear.

 

[Hover-Rich]

In the band I am thinking of, it wasn't necessarily the musical side of the whole thing that suffered so much. It was the personal interaction part. The guitarist/lead singer/band leader was an extremely gifted musician.
He was also a "schizoholic". Nice guy otherwise but a very mean drunk. After not-too-long I was walking on eggshells around him because it was very difficult when he got PO'd. Eventually, there was no more fun to be had, so I walked.
Alcohol (in his case) had control of him. It did not seem to be a choice. If he were to change it was not going to be because the band didn't like it, or someone gave him an ultimatum, or anything from outside of him. He had the substance hooks in him and that was all that mattered.
To address the original question, if you think there is a chance things may change it may be worth your effort. If it seems that the substances are a higher priority than the music, then it will be more frustration than it is worth.
Good luck to you.

 

[bolophonic]

I can’t hang with people who sound bad or are unreliable. If they can hold it together, I don’t care if they are on LSD.

 

[electracoyote]

every time we play should be treated as an audition

So true.

When everyone in the band truly believes this and acts accordingly, it's amazing how the quality and consistency of your shows improve.

When you can't convince everyone of this, well, yeah...

 

[saabfender]

I can’t hang with people who sound bad or are unreliable. If they can hold it together, I don’t care if they are on LSD.

Then you’re playing with fire and dynamite. It might not blow up in your face today or tomorrow but it will happen.

 

[Stewie]

I was in a band with a bunch of good guys. One of them would go out for a break and come back smelling like reefer. Turns out he would take a few lungfulls when he woke up, and another few at about 8 at night. He never got stoned, but prefered it for pain management over the oxycontin he could get legally. Now that it is legal here I have to agree with his choice ( I did anyways)

 

[bigboy_78]

Could have been a one off over indulgence. My current band keeps a lid on it most of the time, but they’re all stoners and the guitarist at one point was a fairly high volume drug dealer but has reformed to become a musician who only takes drugs on his own time. One gig he met up with an old friend and it was obvious in the second set that the old friend had convinced him to have some old-time fun. He knew he was wasted and was super apologetic about it. Maybe these guys got into some poopie that was a bit more than they expected.

I’m pretty clear with the guys in the band, they know that I think anyone over the age of 25 who still doesn’t understand the appropriate times to get off-chops needs a serious wake up call. Its unspoken, but if they embarrass me on stage or waste my time at rehearsals on any more than the odd occasion, they won’t see me again.

 

[Kmonk]

I don't tolerate it. I don't care what people do on their own time but when it effects me, my family or the band, I refuse to put up with it. I have absolutely no tolerance for drug use of any kind and that includes pot. Do on your time, not around me.

I don't mind band-mates drinking as long as it doesn't negatively impact rehearsals, gigs and they don't become the "angry drunk". I was in a band where we soon discovered that the lead singer was an alcoholic. The real issue was that when he drank, he couldn't remember lyrics and his voice, which was usually great, would all of sudden be terrible and off key. My Co-BL and I fired him after a gig where he was unable to perform. A few months later I called him and we had a long talk. We let him back in the band as long as he agreed to get treatment. He agreed and I instituted a strict no alcohol policy at rehearsals or on stage. We never had a problem again.

 

[Tony In Philly]

Everything in moderation I say. I would never join a band that had a strict no drinking at rehearsals or gigs policy. As a responsible adult I know my limit (especially when driving to a gig), so I would take offense at a BL who told me that I had to abstain because of his personal hang-ups, or because his previous bass player was a total lush.

 

[otp57]

I'm not the bandleader, but I just played a gig this weekend where I saw the performance level go from respectable working outfit to uncouth habidashery. All after a 15 min break.

So I'm pretty sure my bandmates (The Bandleader most of all) have a substance abuse issue. And I'm concerned it will get in the way of gigs. We're small time now, but everyone talks about how they want to be serious and play top shows. To me, if that's serious sentiment, then every time we play should be treated as an audition for bigger venues.

Sadly, like too many musicians I've witnessed, they don't seem to have the capacity to take themselves seriously. Gutted.

If on DRUGs you RUN...LIKE....HELL( that is what I would do).

 

[jamro217]

No. No. NO! Do you realize that you're putting yourself in jeopardy? Not only does the music suffer, your reputation suffers, the possibility now exists that you will be pulled into some messy nightmare merely through association, and continuing to enable this behavior in others will only make it worse. What would you do if you shared an office job with somebody who acted like this? What would the company do?

 

[mdlewis]

If it is affecting their performance in a bad way, leave, now. I've been there many times and always ends up the same. Lots of bad things can happen before you get to that place though - including you adopting their bad habits.

 

[Bassbeater]

I think if you are a "fun band", not a money making working band, it's ok to screw around a little bit, because basically it's a bbq with instruments and it's supposed to be as much fun as possible. When it's a paid rehearsal or a gig for a working act, that's work, not play time. Then it's just about productivity and staying sober out of respect for the other's time.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Substance abuse ends up abusing and wrecking the abuser.
A Zoom H4 records all of our shows so IF that occurs, it can be emailed directly to the person headed towards a serious problem. A recording of each performance also tends to keep one's ego in check and cause more practice at home.

I don't smoke during gigs because, although my playing's alright, I develop CRS (Can't Remember Sh*t) Syndrome,

It eventually affects your entire memory, you may want to revise use to zero(seen in and heard from users for decades, even a tour guide in Mexico mentioned she is sad for memory loss from it). It also tends to send your motivation and energy to sub-zero levels.
The longer you live and older you get, messing with memory function or lowering energy levels is REALLY bad.
Good luck.

 

[saabfender]

I appreciate your concern but haven't smoked in over a year. As far as energy and motivation, I was a pretty enthusiastic stoner. I did stuff and got stuff done while high, like work on cars, for instance. Yes, I have all my fingers.

 

[cloudermilk]

Can't these guys do this stuff AFTER the gig? It's still a good time and your band will sound better.

Whatever you do, make sure you address the band in person. I had an instance where some of the other band members sent an email...ridiculous...be a man and look them in the eye. At the end of the day, you'll feel better about it. Good luck.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I'm not the bandleader, but I just played a gig this weekend where I saw the performance level go from respectable working outfit to uncouth habidashery. All after a 15 min break.

So I'm pretty sure my bandmates (The Bandleader most of all) have a substance abuse issue. And I'm concerned it will get in the way of gigs. We're small time now, but everyone talks about how they want to be serious and play top shows. To me, if that's serious sentiment, then every time we play should be treated as an audition for bigger venues.

Sadly, like too many musicians I've witnessed, they don't seem to have the capacity to take themselves seriously. Gutted.

I don’t mind if our guys have a drink. But If people are getting wasted at shows to the point where it’s making the band look bad wether it be alcohol or drugs you’re wasting your time. The way I look at. I’m 36 years old now. I work hard and take care of not just my family but my mother in law and her bum son and if I want to drink responsibly I’m going to do it from time to time. But people have to be responsible. I never have more than two drinks of any kind before playing. If we’re not playing last I typically wait until after we’ve played. The ones that really make my eyebrow raise up are the bands that get a national show we wanted and then they are wasted going on first at like 8pm. That’s not only disrespectful to their own bandmates but it’s disrespectful to every other band in the scene that wanted on that show. In my band two of us work for hospitals, one works for DOT so drugs or DUIs could cost us our jobs. And our drummer who owns his own electrician business Is a gym rat and doesn’t drink. As for illegal substances. I wouldn’t be in a vehicle with anything illegal and I wouldn’t drive seperatly to out of the town shows worrying if other bandmates were gonna get their without no getting busted.

 

[AcadianBassman]

That stuff can RUIN a good night for someone in the band or someone who's out to see the band. When I was seventeen, I got a spot in a band that toured the east coast of Canada. We ranged in age from seventeen to mid twenties with the oldest members being thirty-two and gigged all over from Thursday to Sunday. We even did some cabaret spots on occasion - week long gigs at one venue. I often wonder how I made it through my last two years of high school! Some of the guys drank, some liked a toke and there were at least three of us who were pack a day smokers. Rules were - you play sober, no cigarettes smoked on stage, no beers until last break (usually around 12:30 to 12:45 before playing the last set from 12:45 until 2:00) and no beers on stage either. We took it serious, it was a lot of fun, we all loved it but we all realized that it was essentially a job. There'd be time to "relax" when the work was done, situation permitting. Besides, if you have to pull out at five a.m. after playing all night and packing up then squeezing into a cube van and drive to the next show, it is a helluva lot easier with a straight head - even if you ache from the rest of it. We weren't angels, far from it. But when it came to music, it took president over the other stuff any time. If people are paying to see you, if the establishment is paying you, or if it happens to be a free-bee (such as a benefit for someone/charity) and people simply take the time to show up and appreciate what you're doing, don't they all deserve the respect of having someone perform for them without being blitzed while doing it?

 

[bassbully]

Drugs always ruin a band.