How much do you drink at a gig?

[baba]

Usually one beer before, one during first set, one during second set. Sometimes less.

 

[kevteop]

I used to drink before/during shows until the night I got a full verse into a song before I realised I was playing the wrong tune (the rest of the band had of course realised long before me). Then I stopped going on stage drunk.

 

[nsmar4211]

I drink nothing......coke or two if one of the other two happen to grab me one while getting their beers.
My singer and guitar player drink 1 beer a set......usually less. Definetly less if anyone buys them a shot. Nobody's getting drunk in my group. And if I have any suspicions, they go into the back of my truck and I take em home. Since half the time they have the trailer, and I can't drive a trailer, and they don't want to leave the trailer..... the keep themselves on notice. Works out for everyone .
Fun part is....... I've been pulled over 4 times... for nothing. They were looking for drunks but wouldn't just come out and say that. I could definetly do without the stupid blinding searchlight in my mirror at 2am-I've got sensitive eyes and that really doesn't help! Grrrrrrr..

 

[Warpeg]

I guess I'll take the position of the cliche. I'll have anywhere from 5 to 8 beers before the first set. I'll have 2 for each set and as much as I can drink after that. And, yes, it (for whatever reason) allows me to play better. I don't understand it, but I'm much more accurate, aware of my tone, and more "on my game." Yeah, it sounds ********, but it's the truth. I've listened to my band's live recordings and can verify that alcohol, in high amounts, helps my cause. On the bright side, our roadies are paid to not just unload/load, but also to be the absolutely sober drivers.

 

[Modo74]

Nothing at all before a gig, after the gig depends on whether I'm at my day job the next morning.

So I guess I've always played 100% sober. However, back in the day the odd "suspect cigarette" was known to get passed around, but I've long since outgrown such frivolous behaviour.

 

[Pilgrim]

A limit of one beer per hour. That doesn't hurt my playing and I enjoy it. More than that would be a bad idea.

 

[Rumble Bee]

One Peachtree on the rocks and Dunkin Dognuts coffee the rest of the night. To many cops out at 2:30 in the morning for me to take chances. With my position at work and home I have to much to lose.

 

[eedre]

I drink however many free drinks the club gives me. Usually 0-4

 

[Beavinator]

The club I used to play at back in college gave our band (5 people) $25 worth of booze...considering beers were only $1, it wasn't too shabby...we drank all of that plus the traditional jager shot before we started to play. It was the thursday night college location, so the bar staff/management couldn't care less what we sounded like, as long as we brought in big crowds...which we did. They begged us to play every week! Welp...those were the days...definitely wouldn't fly in a non-college town.

 

[PWRL]

I usually don't drink anything at a gig. I find it easier that way. No temptation to have one more than I should, etc. I'm a minority in this practice, around where I live, but that's okay. Besides, it keeps me focused.

 

[brachal]

Usually one Makers and 2 - 3 beers before we go on ... depends on how long we have to hang around the club. Another 2 beers during a typical set, and that's it. By the time everything's loaded in, we're not tipsy, just sleepy.

 

[ryan(MAIDEN)]

however much i want to drink... i dont drink enough to get hammered or drunk though...

 

[franchelB]

I'm embarrassed to say this, but I've never been a "drinker". One beer at the most at a gig is all I do.

 

[barbarbass]

I *hope* the cops get you, and take away your license, for your sake and for the sake of others on the road. I understand completely that when people are drunk, they are physically, definitively incapable of making sound judgments, but to know in advance that you are going to drink and drive is ridiculous and absurd.

Do you realize that the only reason drinking & driving resulting in someone's death isn't legally considered to be premeditated is that the driver, *because* he is drunk, can not definitively be identified as making the decision, with sound mind, to drive unsafely with extreme recklessness with regard to human life? Revealing on Talkbass that you plan to drink and drive, or even worse, that you do it regularly, and are aware that it's illegal, unsafe, and potentially dangerous, might be enough to charge you with second degree murder instead of vehicular or voluntary manslaughter, or something along those lines, if you ever kill someone doing this. Murder, in the US, means there was "malicious aforethought" - that is, 1) intent to kill, 2) intent to cause grievous bodily harm, 3) a "depraved heart", or 4) felony murder. A depraved-heart, or "abandoned and malignant heart" murder is one in which a person acts with extreme recklessness with regard to human life (e.g. stating in advance of getting drunk that you plan to drive while drunk, knowing that you are disregarding human life by doing this). A felony murder is one in which a death occurs during the commission of a felony (depending on the circumstances, can be satisfied if the driver is drunk and has his license revoked, etc). Any of these 4 conditions being met results in a murder charge, rather than manslaughter. If a murder is deliberate, premeditated, and willfull, it is generally first degree. Otherwise it is second degree.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not attacking you personally, and I don't want you to go to jail or anything like that - I don't even know you, man - but if you know you can't be responsible with a driver's license, you should just turn it over to the cops now, before you kill somebody or yourself. I want you to be safe, just as a fellow TBer, and if you know you're going to drink in excess, at least make other travel arrangements.

Uh, unless you're a licensed attorney, you might want to hold this kind of advice. Also, the phrase (which may or not be the standard where SCBassBoy is from) is not "malicious aforethought" (which is non-grammatical, in any event). A district attorney might charge first-degree murder if the act is "malicious" and "premeditated." DUI-related deaths are not usually charged as murders, simply because the quantum of proof is so difficult.



P.S.: In case anyone was wondering, I'm a licensed attorney in California, and sit for the CT bar in one week.

 

[StreamerDavid]

Allan Holdsworth usually had a few cans of beer sitting on his amps...I don't know if I could play his gig after a few Sierra Nevadas or Sam Adams were in me.

I was taught in the first band I played in that drinking was unacceptable during the gig, period. I have stuck with that. At home, it's a different story. I'll put down a few Chimays, but I'm just not going to drink at a gig.

 

[Johnny Mack]

i usually drink enough (4-5) to get buzzed when i dont drive, two or three tops when i do drive. i hate thinking about the times that i would just get hammered, i played alright, but most likely always made a jackass out of myself.

 

[MegaSwing]

I never get drunk, but I do not ration my intake. One, because I would rather pocket the money than trade it for high-priced booze I can do without. Two, because after a certain level of intake I don't feel in touch with the music anymore, and it stops being fun. I get dull, and my fingers get heavy. If I can stop before that happens, I'm having a good time. In actual numbers, about a beer per hour, from the time I get there. Occasionally none at all.

Edward G.
Baltimore, MD

 

[Alaska Bass]

zero. This is my job.

Drinking on the job is bad now?

 

[GreyBeard]

Sometimes too much, sometimes not enough

 

[Marley's Ghost]

One or two beers before the show, then 1 beer per set. Alternate with water to prevent cramping.