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First “I’m not drinking” practice...

RedWire75

RedWire75

May 4, 2017
385
696
St. Louis, Missourah
#1
...in quite some time.

Decided last week I needed to stop drinking. Probably not a permanent situation but I need to break my routine/habit of 2-3 beers a day.

So yesterday was the first practice with water only. It was weird. Didn’t like my bass sound all afternoon and felt everything was low energy.

Drummer said it was the best I’ve played though so it’s all in my head.

Also, in discussing that I think I like the Lakland 44-64 P/J more than the 44-60 the guitar player said he didn’t know I had another bass. I had brought it last week.
 
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#4
I've had the same experience before. I usually have a few (yes, really only three or four) beers during practices and on the occasions when I didn't I thought I was playing like crap (even by my own crappy standard of crap playing) but that wasn't what my mates were hearing. Happened just yesterday, in fact. I had half a beer and then decided I just wasn't in the mood and never felt right-on or tight playing anything but they said I was sounding great.

I think it may have something to with state-dependent memory which would affect both your playing and your perception of your playing.

Habits are good to get away from once in a while.
 
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#5
When I was in my 20s there were a few bands I was in where practice didn't start until I got a 40 of something. It was a difficult transition to stop that because, let's face it, booze makes things more fun. Practice wasn't quite the same stone cold sober. But I made a lot fewer mistakes too.
These days I will practice sober or maybe with a beer over 2 hours. At shows I'll have a beer or a cocktail to loosen up.
I've never subscribed to the theory of having to stop something "cold turkey." I may not feel like drinking for a while, and I gave up the whacky tobbacky a while ago just because it wasn't working for me. There are other street pharmaceuticals that I wouldn't necessarily say I would never do again either. It is more of a matter of "is it worth it."
 
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#7
I quit drinking altogether about 10 years ago. I can say my bass playing absolutely suffered when I was drinking, especially continuously turning up my amp as the gig, and my drinking, wore on. Practice? More like shot-fest. Now any band I'm in has a hard and fast rule - no drinking (or whatever) for an hour before practice. Gives everyone time to unwind after work, with enough time to get clear-headed for rehearsal. Here's an interesting link about bass and drinking:

Alcohol and the Loud Bassist: A Cautionary Tale
 
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#9
While I haven't personally kicked the habit as we've aged most of my band has (we've been together over 10 years now - lots of time for change); or they are driving and so abstain from drinking, so by association for the most part I just don't drink at band practice anymore.

At first it was kind of odd, but as time went on it just became normal and now I don't really give it a second thought. We've replaced alcohol in the jam room with interesting non-alcoholic drinks, or cool expensive coffee blends, etc. It feels like the creative juices still flow through, and we don't have day-after hangovers anymore, so there's that!

Congrats on trying to cut back, it's a tough to habit to break.
 
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#13
I know that feeling. I have no drinking routines or problems whatsoever, but I recently decided to stop drinking alcoholic beverages entirely for an unspecified period of time. In our practice room, there is a crate of beer as the only source of hydration, so I started bringing water. Felt weird not having a few cold ones with the guys during practice (even though we all had to drive home and could not drink much). They joked about it. They got tired. The weird feeling passed. Now it's normal routine to have my bass, amp head and water ready to go when it's rehearsal time.
 
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#15
We drink coffee at rehearsal. People will maybe have a beer (or highly publicized drink special) or two on stage. I love to party like a rockstar after the show, but time and place. I have no tolerance for musicians getting wasted and #%%*ing up the performance. First time is a band meeting, second time is a band meeting with your replacement. We're very clear about this to auditioning prospects. We fired a guitarist this spring over it.
 
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#17
Been straight edge for over 9 years (best decision I've ever made) and playing better than I ever have and I'm also a lot more motivated, in general. Like others said, I thought I sounded great when I was on the sauce but after hearing recordings, I realized I was tragically mistaken.
 
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#18
I shake my head at what passes for rehearsal in many bands. There's a lot more socializing and individual practicing than rehearsing. But then, I never have understood the notion of having to have a drink [or ...] to "unwind" after work or going into the rehearsal studio unprepared or impeded by substance, so maybe I should just shut up.
 
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#19
For me... when I'm tempted to have a drink to take the edge off my anxiety over either complicated riffs or solo parts I've found to address & face the anxiety as a motivator to practice more works better. After the performance the sense of accomplishment is rewarding which reinforces the next time anxiety comes. Again, this is the method that works for me.
 
#20
Medicine Man said:
We drink coffee at rehearsal. People will maybe have a beer (or highly publicized drink special) or two on stage. I love to party like a rockstar after the show, but time and place. I have no tolerance for musicians getting wasted and #%%*ing up the performance. First time is a band meeting, second time is a band meeting with your replacement. We're very clear about this to auditioning prospects. We fired a guitarist this spring over it.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t ever say I was getting wasted but even 2-3 beers over the course of a rehearsal can loosen things a bit too much without noticing.

micguy said:
If you "have to have a drink" in order to play well, you have a problem - which may or may not be a major one. Let's hope in your case, it's a minor issue.

Either way, alcohol isn't the solution.
Click to expand...

Have to? No. Want to? Yes.

Maybe it was just a bad day and had nothing to do with alcohol. I’d had a pesky headache all weekend. Who knows.

But I know it was impacting my health anyway without getting into the “DUI, destroying relationships, drinking at work” level of alcoholism. But yes, I’d say I had a minor problem with alcohol.
 
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