It's unprofessional. I never do it. The only situation I can see this being OK is...no, I can't think of one.
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Do you get drunk before playing??
- Thread starter novo
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No, but for a different reason than most. If I drink and play I am so awesome that nobody gets it. I use scales and timing that no one else can even begin to understand. So, even though I become so awesome I sound bad because the other guys can't keep up.
Yep, that's exactly how I space mine out. Nothing good comes out of having too much before you gig
A band I was in used to play for AA. Talk about hard to get a beer. Me and the guitar player would get a daiquiris and bring it in a plain cup. I was also in a band with an alcoholic on drums so we had to have a no drinking rule. In fact the last 2 bands I was in we had an alcoholic drummer. It sucks that you can't have a beer when you want just because someone don't know when to stop. Some places it seems like a requirement to drink, I once got barked at by a club owner for turning down a drink, he said I don't care if you go and pour it out in the toilet but if someone offers you a drink you take it!!! Never made that mistake again.
Roy Vogt
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- Sep 20, 2000
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Geez! Playing bass is hard enough for me! I'm not going to add to the challenge if I can help it! 
Never. Not even when I practice. If you're getting paid to play, it's flat out unprofessional... and having watched a buddy stumble and drop his bass in his garage after having more than a few cocktails, it's just not worth it.
I might be over the driving limit from time to time, but I'm not driving, except providing a "driving bass line"...Do you guys prefer it playing bass drunk?? Or rather drink afterwards or none at all?
Share your experiences!
I drank almost daily/nightly from the age of 14-40 ... fairly buzzed ... spent a decade playing in lounge duo , you would get buzzed also .. ! much more fun in the traveling band days of the later 70's & 80's ... we played in many altered states of mind ... !! I think .. ?? cut the drinking way way back after hitting 40 , as I was rather surprised I made it that far .. now at 57 , I don't drink at all , for the last 9 months ... ! trying to see if 0% will help bring my triglycerides down ... !!
I've recently stopped drinking (by choice, not necessity) and I can say I definitely have more stamina and make a lot less mistakes when I play sober. When you run around as much as I do on stage, you need that. Caffeine, on the other hand, is a different story!
As long as you are at least SLIGHTLY more sober than your ENTIRE audience no one will care. I've been to a VH concert in the 80s. I know.
Drunk? No. After a beer or two, or maybe a cocktail? Sure.
If I'm recording I probably don't want to do that, but if its a show a small drink helps me get past the butterflies and "get into" the performance more.
If I'm recording I probably don't want to do that, but if its a show a small drink helps me get past the butterflies and "get into" the performance more.
I've found a trick for people who prefer not to drink during a set, but still want that "image". I'll get a water with a lime in it. People generally think it's a vodka tonic or something along those lines.
Recreational drinking doesn't help you play any better, but you do sound more interesting to yourself.
