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Band substance abuse

#101
jnuts1 said:
Ive been playing a long time with a lot of different musicians and I know like 3 that are sober. and they are the ones that are kinda crappy and flakey. I have found that booze is definitely the worst of all the drugs. best front man I ever had was coked out of his mind all the time. I don't partake but i'm not his mom. and whomever said "do that on your own time" I'm pretty sure you are both sharing time. as if your time is worth more than another's because you are so righteous.
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I don't care if people do drugs. I don't even care if they are high around me. But, "your own time" is not the same as "shared time". They are sharing a stage together. If they are saying they want the same things, then part of that sharing includes being on the same page. If everyone wants to shoot heroin in the back, and that's the shared vision, fine, whatever, but if you're booking gigs and half the band is secretly getting wasted in between sets, not everyone is respecting that shared time.
 
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#102
I'd like to subtle, understanding, open-minded, etc., about one's personal foibles and choice of stress-relief, we're all grown-ups, etc. . . . . . . . but I can't.

Personally, if I had to go back to playing in bands with drunks, stoners, and God-Knows-What-Else, I'd just lose it.

I played 20+ years, everything from little hometown VFW's to road tours to nice venues and more than a few of those places your Mama warned you about. I've seen and had to endure playing with a long line of substance abusers.

And you know what? If just ONCE, just once I found the guy who really was cooler, faster, a better player because of whatever he was doing, I'd have done anything to find out what his recipe was.

I'm still looking. Haven't found ONE, not one musician that was better for it. However I do know lots of guys on third or fourth marriages, second or third rehabs, lives demolished one after another, and I can take you to a few cemeteries. Plus, I can look at how successful artists like Elvis and Michael and Whitney and Prince were so happy and successful human beings because of their indulgences, and that's only 4 names at the head of a VERY long list full of people who would still be here.

Drugs and alcohol are the Big Lie, and people, after all these years, and all of the demonstrably concrete evidence that it's bad, bad, bad, are still believing it every day . . . . . that it won't get them. Read the preceding posts and see if you don't see some Believers ahead of me.

This is one tough, heartbreaking world, cruel as it can be at times. I've been knocked down plenty, and am waiting for more. But that S**T is only going to make it worse, and guess what? If you're lucky enough to come out the other side into sobriety, you'll find how much bigger the problems became . . . . . cause you'd checked out.
 
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#103
I'd step away from that band. I hate being around with drunks (drugs are not that big here in Belgium)... even seeing our guitarplayer going on a alcoholiday on MORC 2018 makes me feel uneasy.

No paternalizing, as I tend to enjoy a glass of wine from time to time (like once in every 2 to 3 months) myself.
 
#104
If you're getting paid for it, it's a JOB and a BUSINESS. No matter what the audience does, imagine going to an office job in the morning and breaktime drinking a beer instead of coffee. Come to think of it, that's what the Germans did in Baumholder, Germany, when I was in the army. They actually had beer wagons next to construction sites! :laugh:
 
#105
The best is when people think they play better when they're blasted - some actually do, the vast majority don't. Try taking a video of someone who's wasted who thinks they're playing well, then show it to them when they're sober.

I like the approach Steve Harris of Iron Maiden takes. Steve himself has always been an athlete, almost became a professional football player when he was young, a very 'your body is a temple' type guy - watches what he eats and plays many sports. It shows, he's always been in great shape and continues to be in his 60's. All the guys in Maiden are in great shape, because Steve has always had a policy that people can do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't affect performances. You can drink yourself silly or smoke or snort whatever weird thing you find, but come stage time you'd better be 100% on your game - he was always tough with that and that's why we've had almost 40 years of Iron Maiden to enjoy.

If you start caring more about getting high or buzzed than playing well in a show, that's where you have a serious problem. You owe the audience respect - ESPECIALLY if it's a paying audience. They could've taken those 5/10/whatever bucks elsewhere but instead chose to give it to you and you owe it to them to perform at your very best. They are paying customers.

If I were in OP's shoes I'd bail, fast. There's no way this can work out well. It's not the '80's anymore.
 
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#106
basted said:
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.
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Not that kind of drug, but mine was in the summer of '76. My gfs best friend ran off to Fla. with the bassist for one of the region's top bands. They needed a bass player. I needed a band. ........What????
 
#107
ZenG said:
You are not playing with musicians.

You are playing with stoners who noodle.
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To be fair, there are many stoners who do far more the noodle. Look at the music that came from the 60s! Hendrix did a little more than noodle! There are loads of example...Mozart?

I'm not saying that being high on stage is a good thing, but the two certainly aren't mutually exclusive if musical history shows anything.
 
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#108
Afterburner.jpg
 
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#109
BassAndReeds said:
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.
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In some music circles booze pot and other substances are just a fact of life. Not condoning it, but you aren't going to change them. Either deal with the fact that they will get intoxicated while playing and deal with the sloppiness that ensues or move on.
 
#110
Sadly so many musician types romanticize the idea of how great drugs, alcohol, and playing music go together. So many of them think they are emulating their heroes. They've seen too many "Behind the Music" episodes. Most of the time they are just high and playing like sh!t.

You'll never convince guys in this situation, and if you do - it will only be temporary. I've played with tons of guys that did the same thing, and no matter how hard you lean on them, in the end it's always about their good time before the functionality of a group.

In my bands I've always told guys that I don't care what you put in your body as long as you can get the job done. Some guys can get blasted and play fine, others trainwreck by beer 3. Chances are if you have to have the conversation with them about it in the first place, they don't respect the idea enough to change anyway.

Good luck.
 
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#111
For me, it’s very simple. Booze and weed are for AFTER the rehearsal/gig, not before or during. I know I cannot play unless I’m stone cold sober, and I expect the same from my band mates (and I’m not even the band leader). You want these magic fingers/vocal cords, you stay clean. First offense, I’m gone.
 
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#114
Droopy_TX said:
They had also stopped touring by then.
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Lennon was on speed since the early 60's.
The Beatles all used uppers on tour 64-66.
They also smoked pot from '65 on.
John took acid for the first time in '65 and did not take a break until Primal Scream therapy in 1970.
In between, he was addicted to heroin late '68 - mid '69.

John Lennon did not do drugs for a short time, he did them for a long time, including all the touring years.

Oh, and he was off his rocker on speed in Hamburg.

Just being factual !
 
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#116
alaskaleftybass said:
If you're getting paid for it, it's a JOB and a BUSINESS. No matter what the audience does, imagine going to an office job in the morning and breaktime drinking a beer instead of coffee. Come to think of it, that's what the Germans did in Baumholder, Germany, when I was in the army. They actually had beer wagons next to construction sites! :laugh:
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Almost the same thing going on in Detroit with the auto workers!
 
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#117
@Son of Wobble What - YOU again? :D

John Lennon in 1970 with Rolling Stones is not exactly where I would be going for cold hard facts.

The Beatles weren't taking uppers because it was fun. They were working impossible hours without taking care of themselves. Their years on hard drugs, they weren't touring. They were in the studio, with people working for them at whatever hours they wanted.

I don't find it a surprise that most older rockers still playing are clean. I remember an interview with Joe Walsh, where he was saying that he looked around, and almost all the people with whom he used to party were dead.

Nevertheless, if anything someone is doing is impacting the performance (as per OP) then it's an issue.
 

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