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Does anyone use caffeine pills on gigs?

#101
Slight derail ahead:

I did not read the entire thread yet, but I am sure someone has claimed that 'caffeine isn't a drug'.

Well let me tell you, as a Night Auditor for a hotel, the behavior I witness every single morning as people line up for their fix, (most have their own ritual; ie have to tap every sugar pack 6 times.... tap..tap..tap...) is identical to the behavior one would witness by observing a crack house.

I personally feel that caffeine, nicotine, sugar and alcohol are the absolute worst of 'acceptable' drugs.

Hey, I'm not judging anyone ... I am a habitualized user of a certain substance myself, but it is none of those 4, I promise you that.
 
#102
First suggestion if you are considering pills, red bull, 5 hr shots, etc is to try it out on a non-gig night. Pick a random weekend at home and substitute your coffee with one of those and see how your body feels. You might need to fine tune your intake amount over many trial weekends.

Me personally, I do a redbull daily instead of coffee in the morning - but it’s a bad habit. If I have a second redbull even 12 hours later, my body isn’t happy about it. Also, if I try to substitute a redbull for sleep when I’m really tired, I’ll fall fast asleep right after drinking the can - ie, it doesn’t work in substitute of sleep.

The really best thing to substitute sleep with is: a nap! Yes, a 30 minute power-nap can leave your body feeling refreshed and give you the energy to keep going for many hours. Case in point, it’s now 3am. I fell asleep at 9pm (super early!) but woke at midnight. Now my body is good to go till morning! (and it doesn’t want to go back to bed, er, until morning… doh!)

So yeah, mess with your circadian rhythm carefully.

Btw, while a second caffeine drink in a day leaves me feeling terrible, I’ve found a few sips of 5 hr energy can help bump me from being too tired to make it through a work day. Just space it out, and literally a tiny sip here and there. It helps without hitting you with a whole serving of caffeine. Fewer side effects. Still, nothing beats sleep for recharging the body and mind!
 
#103
Stick with coffee if you can. I found 5 Hour Energy shots to be too much of a good thing. Jitter city!

Try to rest the day of the gig. If I'm playing Saturday night I'll take it easy on Saturday, even take a power nap. Then on Sunday after getting 4-5 hours of sleep I go balls to the wall and catch up on my yard work, etc. but that's ok since I have no gig Sunday night.
 
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#106
Whenever possible, I take a nap the afternoon before a gig. I've never relied on any stimulant--just playing gets my adrenalin going all I need. I can always tell the great gigs, too--they're the ones when, at the end, I fell like I could keep going.

Back in the Hamburg days, the Beatles relied on "prellies," a 'diet aid' you could get at pharmacies--basically an amphetamine. Of course, the lads were playing 6 - 8 hour gigs, six days a week...
 
#107
Nope to caffeine pills. I remember the college days of cramming all night on those things. The jitters were insane. Red Bull is somewhat similar — and I tend to start crashing 30-min. after downing one.

A Friday night gig is the worst for me. After a 10+ hour-work-day, I’ll grab a cup of coffee (or down a can of cold-brewed coffee that I take with me) at some point to help me make it through the gig. Afterwards, I may have a beer to activate “crash” mode for later on so I can get to sleep.

For Saturday gigs, if I have a restful day (maybe with a nap), I may not need the caffeine.

I’ve also found BodyArmor (or Gatorade) drinks effective — especially in summer heat!

Also, drink water! Water can really perk you up especially if you're dehydrated and don't realize it.

Edit: oh yeah -- those chocolate covered coffee beans are the bomb! I had to stop eating those years ago 'cuz I started to get addicted to those things. They work!
 
#114
Love coffee. But I only like mine, I get it from a small company in Baton Rouge (it has chicory in it) though Dunkin' ain't bad in a pinch. It doesn't effect me. I can have a cup and go to sleep.

Usually places don't have coffee but I guess I'd have one of it was around. I'm retired, divorced, my kids are 22 & 23, haven't drank in over 30yrs and I rent. My life is at my own pace. It's pretty great.

I drive out, set up whatever cabinet I bring, sit back and watch these whacked out screwballs run around like mentalcases (the bandleader and the goofs he orders around) connect the goofy lights and their pedals...when the sound guy says "ok, bass" I play the intro to Whipping Post and he says..."OK that's good". The way people run around it's hard to think they're not on something. I'm glad that's not me.

Get changed, get a pitcher of ice water and go up and try to play my best.

I saw that Adderall was mentioned earlier...I sometimes wonder how much of that is being used.
 
#115
It has been a long time since I've done the research on this, but these are the rules I generally operate under. Full effects of caffeine take about 45 minutes to enter into your blood stream, but caffeine has a half-life of five to six hours.

So if I've got a gig from 9 p.m. to 1 p.m. but know I'll need to be sharp to make home. I count back from 2 a.m. That would mean consuming caffeine at 8 p.m., feeling the effects around 8:45 and then around the time I get home the effects are starting to wear off.

In short, just drink a Red Bull, or whatever your choice is, on the way to the gig and you should be good. Caffeine during the gig will just keep you up after the gig.

Also, drink water. Make sure you are hydrated. As they said in the Army, by the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. Dehydration can lead to feelings of fatigue as well, so keep that in mind too.
 
#118
matty1039 said:
What coffee are you drinking from Baton Rouge, I'll see if they have it at the local grocery store and try it.
Click to expand...

Community Coffee. But I cheat, I have a Kureg. I order it on Amazon and it's reasonably cheap...$20 for 36 pods.

I'm pretty sure they're from BR, I think I read that on their website...I do know they're a Louisiana company.
 
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#119
mongo2 said:
Never for me.

I had to stop using caffeine about 25 years ago. I really missed it for about a month.
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Same here. I gave up caffeine almost 40 years ago due to arrhythmia and MVP. Now I’m very sensitive to caffeine and can tell within minutes if the waitress has given me regular coffee or soda by mistake. If I had a regular coffee after dinner I’d be up all night. People give me a hard time about it, they can’t understand why I’d drink decaf. Truth is I like the flavor of coffee.
 

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