Does anyone use caffeine pills on gigs?

[jpeck02]

I was addicted to caffeine for decades. A couple of cups a day. After dealing with digestive issues and my physician telling me I should quit, I decided to stop drinking coffee. Suddenly, my companion was gone. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be productive anymore. But a weird thing happened. My nervous system calmed down and after a few weeks, I actually felt more focused, relaxed, organized and effective. Life is better now. I’m 53 and never really struggle getting through 3 sets. Packing up my gear at 2am is a little rough but a couple of Advil helps get me home. Caffeine is bad folks.

 

[mobeme23]

matcha

 

[dalkowski]

Wrigley's Spearmint Gum. I am not kidding.

Also, Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered espresso beans.

 

[fishdreams]

I take the kind of medication that can induce drowsiness pretty easy especially at my late middle-age (56). In combination with drinking tapwater and eating some fruit (apple or banana), I have a small thermos with home-brewed iced coffee (some sort of mix of concentrated cold coffee, ice cubes, latte or flavored milk-type thing) to keep me going. Not to hard oin the stomach and just enough to perk me up enough in combination with the water and fruit.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Lest we forget the lesson learned during this "very special" episode of Saved by the Bell. Poop got real....

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Lol with adhd I u use vyvance and lots and lots of tea and Pepsi

 

[BarfanyShart]

If you are like me and just imbibed 300 mgs of caffeine after lunch to regain a will to live, then caffeine pills aren't that big a deal. If you are not already a HARDCORE, multiple-pot-of-coffee-a-day, caffeine addict, the caffeine pills are just not for you. Stay away.

 

[SemiDriven]

Due to my age I have transitioned to caffeine suppositories but man that aluminum foil is rough.

You related to the guy who wears the tinfoil hat?

 

[SemiDriven]

I LOVE caffeine *sips coffee* but I hate the way caffeine pills and pills like Excedrin work. They seem to just dump it all into your blood stream at once. Not a fan...and there are MANY options at your local 711 / WAWA.

Somewhere along the line I discovered that extra strength Excedrin (with caffeine) made headaches go away fast.

I rarely get headaches any more, but when I do, I reach for that Excedrin extra strength.

 

[seescottrock]

Having some pot with energetic properties would be my choice. You won't O.D. and you might avoid any jittery or nauseating attack while onstage.
I have to stop drinking anything 6 hours before playing anyway, usually.

This is something I tried for the first time (before a show) recently, and yeah it did the trick on multiple levels. Deals with pre-show jitters and helps your brain be active.

 

[Qlanq]

No. Those caffeine tabs are awful.
Taking even 1/2 the advised dose will have you gibbering like some insane chipmunk.
Try some Assam tea. Really nice, doesn't have the kick of the caffeine from the coffee but will keep you alert.

 

[skycruiser]

I don't play any gigs, but I do love United Coffee Candy. I have tried several brands and I think this one is the best. Not a lot of sweetness, great coffee taste, nice texture. I find these in Asian grocery stores - product of Thailand. They do have caffeine, and I often overdo it when I have a bag sitting on my desk.

 

[JW56789]

No.

 

[fhm555]

A cup of coffee is more caffeine than i can tolerate. I can drink it without any internal upset, but you will have to peel me off the ceiling for a few hours after it’s consumed. I use it if I’m away from home and need to drive but getting sleepy, and I’m GTG for several hours.
I couldn’t imagine more caffeine than that at one go.

 

[herrsmith]

Green tea is my favorite energy booster - A gentle, even caffeine effect that doesn't make you crash super abruptly, and lasts practically all day.

Green tea is wonderful. I drink it throughout the day at work and I don't generally have to deal with a crash. If I drink coffee, I'm either wired and then crashing or sipping throughout the day to try and keep it even, but it never is.

Come on, Lemmy took speed with Jack D. in the morning AFTER the gig and you are whining about hand tremor and heart tickling after having a coffee on stage.

I'm not sure Lemmy qualifies as completely human, though. If anybody else did what Lemmy did for any period of time, they'd be dead. Heck, a lot of them are.

 

[Nebadon2000]

I am really not a night owl (often in bed by eight pm even on non-work nights) and wake up early so I often struggle with energy and alertness levels on gigs that start at nine pm.

Same sleep schedule but 9pm.

I use Spike Energy shot 4oz; half just before arriving and half 3rd [final] set

 

[Joe Nerve]

Yes and no.

Pills make me jittery. Coffee messes with my stomach sometimes, and I only like it hot.

I found a solution many years ago that works for me, and though I have a very addictive personality - has never become a problem.

I take one of these capsules here...

I open the capsule, put it into a 20 oz bottle of water (or larger depending on the gig and how thirsty I am), and then drink it throughout the night.

Its way cheaper than coffee, monster drinks, red bull, or just about any other supplement out there.

It tastes horrible, but has become an acquired taste for me now . It's bitter, and I kinda like it.

And its healthier than most supplements as the ingredients are green tea, yerba matte, white willow and other natural stuff.

Other diet/energy pills are pretty much the same - Hydroxycut, and other such things. I stay away from crazy chemical ones though. And I also never have more than 1 throughout an evening.

 

[Sumaru]

We were audtioning a new drummer a few years back. We're all "older" (seasoned?) musicians, working stiffs in our 40's. Drummer was a younger kid, absolute maniac behind the kit. Incredibly talented. Look over at him between songs, and he'd cracked open a pill bottle, dumping a line of white powder along the ridge between his forefinger and thumb, which he quickly hoovered up his snout. We couldn't believe this kid would be so brazen- and that stuff isn't our style- he felt the weight of our stares, and said "it's powdered caffeine". My response? "Oh, diet coke. Ok." True story. He didn't last long.

 

[MJ_Sotti]

Yeah, I think their roasters are in Baton Rouge, but their corporate office is definitely there. They also have a local chain of coffee shops too, CC's Coffee House. Their coffee is good, we buy it pretty regularly.

There are a few roasters in New Orleans too. I would say Community is the largest independent coffee company in the area. There are a few Folgers and Maxwell House processing plants around with some smaller companies too, French Press, Cafe Du Monde, and a few more I can't think of off the top of my head.

just ordered some Du Monde pods...ya got me goin'.

 

[turf3]

Official drink of the over-50 professional musician:

Coffee. You want it black, or with cream?