New Band, Sounds Great One and a Half Problems!

What is wrong with him smoking? You don't like the smell so you refuse to play with them? Get off your high horse. Do I quit a band because somebody stinks like onions or farts all the time? Nope, people have quirks, deal with it.

If your concerned about your health, do some reading. Second hand smoke doesn't actually kill people just so you know.

 

Ha, do you work for Philip Morris?

To OP, regardless of the reasons...if it's an uncomfortable environment for you then you shouldn't place yourself in that environment.

 

I ask people to smoke outside, even if it isn't my house. I don't care if people think I'm a dick. The smell gives me a headache.

 

No, I just don't care for fascism...

Smoking in somewhere you shouldn't is the dick move, I am not saying smoke in somebody else front room and blow it in their kids face....

I am a smoker and I never light a smoke in front of a non-smoker without asking if they don't mind, unless we are outside or in a well ventilated area.

 

Just ask people nicely before they light up. If they give you crap about it, ask them if their fish would mind you pissing in the fish tank.

 

Well, don't view it as a problem, view it as the price of admission. I hate it too -- nothing like going to rehearsal and then having to go home and wash everything, including my coat, having to leave my shoes out on the porch, to get rid of that stench. The things we endure for rock.

You can also ask if guys will take their breaks outside of the rehearsal space. Don't make it a pissing contest/ultimatum. They might value the band chemistry enough to work with you. In the alternate, you can also ask them not to smoke during songs, so YOU can leave during breaks while they smoke...the room will still stink, but it gives you a chance to get out of breathing the fumes...which sucks.

Your opinion is contrary to all of the cancer organizations I've read, so you might need to freshen up the reading you've done.

Secondhand Smoke

 

If you don't like second-hand smoke, for whatever reason (smell, health concerns, whatever), you better make up your mind right now whether or not this is something you can handle on a regular basis before you commit any more time or energy into this project. Four or five other guys lighting up in a small space creates quite a haze. It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Maybe others think you should eat dog turds because it's really not that bad. The queston is, what do YOU think?

And buzzed bandmates is obviously another cause for a pause.

No matter what side of the fence you fall on these issues, they are definitely controversial, and for good reasons. Laws get passed over this stuff. Don't let anyone try to minimize it; your concern is justified. The fact you brought it up here shows you think it's important.

Think it over, go with your gut.

 

Dude, "fascism," seriously? If cig smoke didn't float all over the place, it'd be a different story. If I spray someone with mace, it's a crime (battery). Blow a carcinogen in someone's face and it's freedom.

I respect that you're considerate of others when you smoke -- I've had decades of far less considerate smoking friends...

 

Ultimately, its a personal decision. I won't practice in a confined space with people smoking, because I like my lungs, and I hate the way that anything (read: my bass and amp) exposed to heavy cigarette smoke starts stinking.

Deal-breaker for me.

 

Smokers are second-class citizens. Everybody knows that. Its okay to look down your nose at them. Its a nasty, stinky habit and should be banned in all public places!

( i smoke also...this is what my wife tells me ^ ^ )

 

The getting buzzed by the end of the rehearsal would be a red flag for me. Smoking? Smoking in doors would be annoying, but finding a band in which nobody smokes is like finding a fish without scales.

 

The drummer and guitar player I play with smoke, but they do it outside (we practice in a garage) so it's easier to deal with. I still get a headache sometimes, but it's not all that often.

I get headaches from cigarette smoke, so I just try and stand down wind. If they smoked in the practice space I think I'd have to quit because I couldn't deal with the headaches and I don't like smelling like a nasty ash tray.


joe

 

Thats a tough one, I played with a bunch of guys in a great little rehearsal space one time 3 years ago with all the other players smoking the whole time. I had just quit smoking at the time & found the constant smoke annoying & tempting at the same time. If I hadnt just quit smoking at the time I would have stuck it out possibly. In the end the drummer was not the best & I didn't want to ask them to stop smoking during rehearsal as I never want to become one of those typical ahole ex smokers who treat smokers like doo doo.

 

I am a non-smoker. Never once, I have not even tried it. Every person in my band smokes in one form or another. Most are pretty understanding towards me, the others, I make it a point to stay away from. I think it is a give and take and if you really feel that strongly about it, bail. If you are just getting started and are all ready flustered by their behavior, what is going to happen once you really get to know them??

 

I would put up with it. A large portion of posts in this forum are from people who have unskilled or otherwise poor musicians in their band. You should try talking to them of course, but the chances of finding a band like the one you've just described that doesn't drink while playing and has no smokers is not very likely.

 

I wouldn't put up with the smoke. No more than a bunch of guys would put up with me crapping in the floor.