As ye practice....so shall ye play!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Band substance abuse
- Thread starter BassAndReeds
- Start date
As ye practice....so shall ye play!
When it's your nam on the paychecks you can do as you like. It never prevented him from performing his best. I don't think the band member in question was smokin weed. Look ... I smoke weed, nearly every day, but never before or during a gig. I won't tolerate band members who can't muster the self control to abstain when it's appropriate. Aren't you glad we don't play in the same band?
No. I like mature adult performers who have a grip on themselves. I don't care what the do after the gig, but show up cooked and it's the last I'll play with you. Again you don't have to deal with me, but some of the best players round are happy to.
I'm a let it be kind of person, for the most part. Except with drugs.
OK just stop using Hendrix, or any other famous musician as a "good" example of drug use. Where's Jimi, now? Oh yeah. Dead. Along with a ton of other famous musicians that died prematurely due to drug or alcohol abuse in some form or other. And it didn't stop in the 60s/70s. It's still happening. Like, every month, it seems.
And BTW, Jimi Hendrix was Jimi Hendrix. Don't think for a moment his drug use made him what he was. He was a truly gifted musician, first and foremost. The vast majority of us, stoned or not, are not Jimi Hendrix. Or Michael. Or Elvis. Or Layne. Or Bonzo. Or Chris. Or Prince. Or Tom. Or Scott(s)....
OK just stop using Hendrix, or any other famous musician as a "good" example of drug use. Where's Jimi, now? Oh yeah. Dead. Along with a ton of other famous musicians that died prematurely due to drug or alcohol abuse in some form or other. And it didn't stop in the 60s/70s. It's still happening. Like, every month, it seems.
And BTW, Jimi Hendrix was Jimi Hendrix. Don't think for a moment his drug use made him what he was. He was a truly gifted musician, first and foremost. The vast majority of us, stoned or not, are not Jimi Hendrix. Or Michael. Or Elvis. Or Layne. Or Bonzo. Or Chris. Or Prince. Or Tom. Or Scott(s)....
Reminds me of my favorite Frank Zappa quote "Would you like an aisle seat or window seat?" If you were doing the job, great, but if you let substances get in the way, you were sent packing, because it was Frank's name on the bill and he had a rep to maintain.
As to the OP, bail. I have been in way too many bands where getting drunk/stoned was the order of the day, not playing songs well. One band was bad because it was the drummer who would just get annihilated and keeping the tempo/groove took a backseat to showboating. If I want to party, I will party. If I want to play, I'm there to play.
Back when I used to play out, it seemed impossible to find a group of musicians where substance abuse wasn't the main theme. I just considered it part of the territory, but I was always an outcast because I didn't participate.
Been working in engineering for over 20 years, and maybe to a lesser degree, but it's still impossible to avoid the smoking and drinking, right in the office, and the drug users in the shop. Michigan has laws that are meaningless. Such is life I suppose.
That's what I finally did. I don't like religion and the way the pastor would single me out and try and to ram it down my throat. But on the outside I was friends with quite a few of the members, so we started a band that played Christian songs at various other churches, teen hangouts, etc. Was always clean and was a lot of fun.
Incredible loss.
Mitch Hedberg - Wikipedia
On October 12, 2004, a few months before his death, Hedberg sat in on the news with Invalid Link Removed on Invalid Link Removed. He appeared on the show again on March 17, 2005, just 12 days before his death, and briefly discussed his drug use, saying, "Well, you know, I got the drugs under control now." Stern asked, "Do you? You know how to take them responsibly?" Hedberg replied, "Yeah, you know, just for the creative side of it."
My brother's ex is a psychiatrist. She often referred to a phenomenon called "state-dependent memory", which, put basically, posits that one's internal state can affect their learning, such that, retrieval of that memory can be improved by being in the same state as when it was learned.
I am not suggesting that your statement be changed to, "As ye practice....so should ye play!"
What I am saying is that, if you learn it when high, it may be more difficult to retrieve it when you're not high; but your execution of what you learned is likely to suffer from being high. So it's really a no-win situation.
Your best bet is to learn it and play it while sober.
As the OP, I will also confirm that when a few of the Bandmembers go out back for a smoke break, is also about the same exact time when rehearsal becomes unproductive.
Yup. While correlation does not equal causation, it often points you in the right direction.
Your ex-in-law is more qualified in that area, but I remember reading of a study of UK undergraduates from the 90s. Revise sober, take exam sober = expected good results. Revise drunk, take exam sober (and vice versa) = expected bad results. Revise drunk, take exam drunk = unexpected good results. I don't know if state-dependent memory was well known before the 90s and this was simply some researchers using grant money as an excuse to get splattered (believe it or not, that sometimes happens in academe; my applications just weren't savvy enough), but it seems to be the case.
I also apply your bold caveats; I wouldn't try it myself, and certainly not for my driving test. BTW, one of my bands had a phenomenon we called "bad final rehearsal = good gig" and vice-versa. It became a sort of prophecy. Anyone else experience that? Even for a limited time?
"State dependent memory" -- interesting concept, and one which would perhaps explain why I can reportedly speak passing German, but only when dead drunk.
Now I know!
. Depends on how many Germans passed you while you were drunk. I like the idea; those "Learn a new language in six days" ads and, if I sign up, it involves being blottoed abroad for a week, after which I am as one of the natives - albeit only in bars.
Yeah, I didn't intend to make any claims -- I am frankly dubious about said drunken skill, but I heard it a couple times. It is notable at least for the fact that I studied Spanish diligently and lived in Mexico City for a year to achieve immersion and at best could still only manage to present myself as a bumbling, apologetic foreigner. Jerzy Kosinski wrote in his books about finding himself, as a non-English speaking Polish immigrant, to play the role of a fool. It is an annoying position to be in for sure., and makes you more empathetic.
Our current drummer is moving to Colorado for personal reasons. Our band leader placed this CL ad. I'm okay with it. Note uppercase words in center:
Wanted Drummer for 60's rock oldies Band. Must be 40 years old or older. Must be committed to one band. have drum kit, own transportation, Be willing to practice once a week. NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. We play for Money and for fundraisers. We like to play out and we do play free gigs too which have led to paying ones. Please leave name and telephone number and I will get back to you. SERIOUS ONLY. DON"T WASTE MY TIME OR YOURS.
posted: 4 days ago
updated: about 22 hours ago
austin > musicians
Wanted Drummer for 60's rock oldies Band. Must be 40 years old or older. Must be committed to one band. have drum kit, own transportation, Be willing to practice once a week. NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. We play for Money and for fundraisers. We like to play out and we do play free gigs too which have led to paying ones. Please leave name and telephone number and I will get back to you. SERIOUS ONLY. DON"T WASTE MY TIME OR YOURS.
- do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers
posted: 4 days ago
updated: about 22 hours ago
I'm in full empathy there, Wobble. Just returned from a Spanish class (bizarrely) conjugating chuchichiar in the past imperfect. My teeth nearly fell out "chuchichiaba, chuchichiabas," so I resorted to doing the cockroach cha-cha while everyone else repeated it.
The Beatles broke up once the real drug use started
Brian Jones is dead, Mick Taylor left because of the drugs.
My favourite story of “drugs are bad” is the Aerosmith Auto-Biography “Walk this Way”. Check it out, but make sure to read it all. Not just the “we’re a rich rock-band having great fun doing heaps of drugs” part.
I just want to point out that it's total BS that we have to tell drummers they need to own a kit. I've never seen an ad that said "bassist needed, must own bass", but until I started putting ads out for drummers, I never knew how many people will contact you asking if they need to have a kit.
