Well then... I stand corrected.
I will also say, though, that long line of defenders and apologists in this thread should be illustrative to the OP that there will never be a shortage of excuses for abusive and compulsive behavior.
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Band substance abuse
- Thread starter BassAndReeds
- Start date
Well then... I stand corrected.
I will also say, though, that long line of defenders and apologists in this thread should be illustrative to the OP that there will never be a shortage of excuses for abusive and compulsive behavior.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Agreed, but the shading of the truth goes in both directions. And it's no coincidence that most drugs, be it alcohol, pot, hard drugs, tobacco, or anything else, are marketed primarily at the young and the poor - people without the money, time, and equal ability to make an informed decision.
I'l grant you that drug use did have a somewhat negative impact on the careers of Tom Petty, Prince, Scott Weiland, Whitney Houston, Mike Starr, Amy Winehouse, Rick James, Kevin DuBrow, Bobby Hatfield, John Entwistle, Howie Epstein, Dee Dee Ramone, Allen Woody....
Yes! I don't care if you stab puppies with forks as long as you deliver, but if stabbing puppies is your thing maybe try the Norwegian countries, seems they're into that kind of thing over there.
Always remember this: Drugs and booze don’t ever make you play better, but they do sometimes make you sound more interesting to yourself.
And therein lies the problem.
And therein lies the problem.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I agree with #3). This would be a great first step. Especially if the video was presented innocently for the whole band to review together. Then, size up each member as to whether they recognize the same issue you do. It may take some time before things change depending on the personality of each person.
Many years ago, I was in a four-piece with two guitarists who were absolute lushes and stoners. It was pathetic, but I hung around for awhile because I really wanted to be in a band, I'd put a fair amount of time and effort in getting this one off the ground, and sometimes (when they weren't wasted) it was fun and the music was good.
Ultimately, the drummer and I quit and formed the band I'm still in today. That was 19 years ago, and our existing band plays the best venues in our town and has a great reputation. We also have a lot of fun without being wrecked.
The stoners quit playing out shortly after the old band broke up.
The bottom line: Don't let unprofessional people drag you down, harm your reputation and/or waste your time. There are other opportunities out there, even if you have to make them for yourself.
Ultimately, the drummer and I quit and formed the band I'm still in today. That was 19 years ago, and our existing band plays the best venues in our town and has a great reputation. We also have a lot of fun without being wrecked.
The stoners quit playing out shortly after the old band broke up.
The bottom line: Don't let unprofessional people drag you down, harm your reputation and/or waste your time. There are other opportunities out there, even if you have to make them for yourself.
You're playing with crappy musicians. You may think they're OK musicians, because you've heard them play well at renearsal, but....if they voluntarily do things to themselves that impair their ability to play when it counts, they're crappy musicians.
Go find good musicians. Play with them.
Go find good musicians. Play with them.
I was once in a very nice blues band with two alcoholic guitarists who were exceptional players.
One would drink all day everyday, walked around with a 12-pack wherever he went. He was spectacularly unmotivated about the band’s prospects, reasoning that we were ‘too old for Madison Square Garden’. He played with incendiary emotion that you could feel—when he could get over his indifference.
The other one couldn’t handle any amount of drinking and knew it, yet sometimes insisted, and would become an idiot zombie after a beer-and-a-half, forgetting his parts and staggering around. He might have been the best pure player I ever played with. He could master ANYTHING—except a drop of alcohol.
If one didn’t get you, the other one did. Sometimes, they both got you. It was enough to make you crazy.
After experiencing one-too-many wrecked gigs with these guys, I found another band. In the end it was just more junk on the pile of broken dreams, but often I catch myself saying, ‘Man, what if....?’
One would drink all day everyday, walked around with a 12-pack wherever he went. He was spectacularly unmotivated about the band’s prospects, reasoning that we were ‘too old for Madison Square Garden’. He played with incendiary emotion that you could feel—when he could get over his indifference.
The other one couldn’t handle any amount of drinking and knew it, yet sometimes insisted, and would become an idiot zombie after a beer-and-a-half, forgetting his parts and staggering around. He might have been the best pure player I ever played with. He could master ANYTHING—except a drop of alcohol.
If one didn’t get you, the other one did. Sometimes, they both got you. It was enough to make you crazy.
After experiencing one-too-many wrecked gigs with these guys, I found another band. In the end it was just more junk on the pile of broken dreams, but often I catch myself saying, ‘Man, what if....?’
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Sorry to say, if they don't have the well power to stay clean during your shows, you are not going to fix it. Walk away not worth your effort. Stay and you'll get nowhere fast.
Drugs have been related to hip music for as long as hip music has first been tickling our eardrums.
So - back to discussions about Bass!
So - back to discussions about Bass!
- Jun 6, 2012
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- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Haberdashery is a reference to small time peddlers. I believe this is the context in which the OP was using the word.
I, for one, can never understand the desire to get sloppy drunk when playing a gig. I would never go into my day job and get bombed, so why would I do so at a gig? I mean, to me it is a job since someone is paying me to perform a service, just like my day job. It is more fun than my day job, but it is still a job! Dont get me wrong. I like to have fun and might have a beer when I play, but beyond that, I think it is inconsiderate of the person hiring you.
I didnt always adhere to this policy however. I can (barely) remember gigs from my past where I had been at the sauce pretty hard. I can remember one drummer of ours drinking from a pitcher of beer behind the kit during the set.
Drugs have never been an issue in any of the bands I had played in, not in the band situations. I've played with folks who used, but never seemed to when the time to play came. At least not to the extent that it affected their performance that I could tell.
BnB
I didnt always adhere to this policy however. I can (barely) remember gigs from my past where I had been at the sauce pretty hard. I can remember one drummer of ours drinking from a pitcher of beer behind the kit during the set.
Drugs have never been an issue in any of the bands I had played in, not in the band situations. I've played with folks who used, but never seemed to when the time to play came. At least not to the extent that it affected their performance that I could tell.
BnB
