Smoking pot while being in a band

[Ben Noblit]

Everything in moderation.

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

Look, I really don't care what people personally do, but my opinion is based both on experience and living with those who have gone down the slope, band mates and musicians.

Drugs and alcohol do not make you any more aware or conscious. They just make you feel, in most cases, "better."

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead. Both were much better before getting high all the time. I can't find much good material around the time both of them checked out.

Bill Wyman has written and spoken about how crappy everything was during the recording of Exile on Mainstreet and a few other albums, because the boys were too into the drugs. And honestly, I don't find that album all that great, no matter what the critics think.

Brian Wilson nearly self destructed with drug use, and his music during the drug years is spotty at best.

Either way, to each his own.

Wow. What a snide remark. Pretty pathetic really. Also, you are lumping marijuana (which has no scientifically proven chemically addictive properties) in with lots of other physically addictive and abusive substances.

Nice name dropping though. We're all incredibly impressed! Obviously your generalized experiences trump any type of scientific evidence. You could have at least quoted someone who had a more opinionated, matter-of-fact post before mounting your high horse.

 

[MatticusMania]

Everything in moderation.

Or not

 

[MatticusMania]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

Look, I really don't care what people personally do, but my opinion is based both on experience and living with those who have gone down the slope, band mates and musicians.

Drugs and alcohol do not make you any more aware or conscious. They just make you feel, in most cases, "better."

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead. Both were much better before getting high all the time. I can't find much good material around the time both of them checked out.

Bill Wyman has written and spoken about how crappy everything was during the recording of Exile on Mainstreet and a few other albums, because the boys were too into the drugs. And honestly, I don't find that album all that great, no matter what the critics think.

Brian Wilson nearly self destructed with drug use, and his music during the drug years is spotty at best.

Either way, to each his own.

I dont see how my quoted post has anything to do with what you posted here. Are you denying that any great music has been written under the influence?

 

[Hawkbone]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

Look, I really don't care what people personally do, but my opinion is based both on experience and living with those who have gone down the slope, band mates and musicians.

Drugs and alcohol do not make you any more aware or conscious. They just make you feel, in most cases, "better."

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead. Both were much better before getting high all the time. I can't find much good material around the time both of them checked out.

Bill Wyman has written and spoken about how crappy everything was during the recording of Exile on Mainstreet and a few other albums, because the boys were too into the drugs. And honestly, I don't find that album all that great, no matter what the critics think.

Brian Wilson nearly self destructed with drug use, and his music during the drug years is spotty at best.

Either way, to each his own.

First of all, it doesn't have to be a hit to be great, and just because it's a hit certainly does not make it great.

Secondly, drugs encompass a huge array of substances, from caffeine to heroin. You can't group them all together as if they were all equally good or bad. That mentality gets kids into trouble - you tell them all drugs are evil. They try a joint and it's not near as bad as they were told. Then they start to wonder if heroin, coke, meth etc. haven't had their ill effects overstated too. A rational society would rank drugs based on the degree of harm/good they do for society. I think the UK has made steps down that path. I would caution anyone to stay well clear of heavy drugs, treat alcohol with respect and treat weed with considerably less respect, because it is considerably less harmful. You can't make intelligent decisions based on misinformation.

Third, you seem to be taking the worst recorded cases of drug abuse amongst famous musicians and holding it up as evidence that drugs are all bad, and will wreck your creativity. One can't look at a shell of a person near death due to heroin or some such heavy drug and judge their creative output at that point in time. Chances are they had a creative spurt and then burnt out. And maybe not - as discussed already in this thread, some people just shut down with any drug use at all. I know people who are the best kind, but give them two beers and they're complete jackasses. The same person can smoke dope all day long with no perceptible change in personality.


Anyway, you have your experiences and opinions and I have mine. Doubt we will change each others mind with a few e-paragraphs.

 

[baalroo]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

What relevance does that have exactly?

Look, I really don't care what people personally do, but my opinion is based both on experience and living with those who have gone down the slope, band mates and musicians.

Drugs and alcohol do not make you any more aware or conscious. They just make you feel, in most cases, "better."

I think "different" would be more appropriate. I mean, we're all pumped full of chemical ALL THE TIME, that's how our bodies function. Change the amount of oxygen you take in and you start thinking differently... I guess oxygen is bad for you too eh?

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead. Both were much better before getting high all the time. I can't find much good material around the time both of them checked out.

Well clearly anecdotal stories about two "people [you've] known" is the end all be all of the matter. Thanks for putting the debate to rest for us.

Bill Wyman has written and spoken about how crappy everything was during the recording of Exile on Mainstreet and a few other albums, because the boys were too into the drugs. And honestly, I don't find that album all that great, no matter what the critics think.

Right, and the Rolling Stone's cocaine and alcohol abuse is super relevant to a discussion about marijuana.

Brian Wilson nearly self destructed with drug use, and his music during the drug years is spotty at best.

LSD and alcohol

Either way, to each his own.

agreed

 

[djero44]

Anyway, you have your experiences and opinions and I have mine. Doubt we will change each others mind with a few e-paragraphs.

Oh, but it is so much fun, isn't it?

=)

 

[tekhedd]

Make it about the band, not the weed.

Because, in the end, it really is about the band. If it hurts the music, it's a bad thing...outside of that it's completely unimportant.

 

[tangentmusic]

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead.

I don't think these guys died from smoking marijuana alone.
I think they had quite a bit of help from some other substances.

 

[godofthunder59]

Habit or no habit he is not committed leaves his guitar at the rehearsal space ? Sheeeesh. Give him the boot.

I play in four piece band as bass player/singer/writer. 2 guitarists + drummer, all good friends. We've been rehearsing two times a week for the past 1.5 year and the creative process is flowing. But our 2nd guitar player is calling off to jam session more and more often. Yesterday he texted us he was only coming for 1 once a week anymore. I can understand life can sometimes get to you and you need your time to yourself, but he's always been like this, you just cannot count on him. Thing is he smokes pot all day, has a fairly simple day job, no kids and no rent or downpayment on his house. He owns a cabin, quite big and located in the most beautiful peace of forest. His parents bought it for him. At rehearsals we always have to spoon feed him the notes and rythms because he's so stoned he's just not able to be where the rest of us are, and every time again we have explain and re-explain even the simplest stuff. We play a mix of styles and go from soft to loud and vice versa. When we go loud he just keeps up his regular volume, playing with one finger on the neck and one (no pick) on the strings. He'll continue to play the simplest riff untill we switch into a different rythm or melody, which is when he'll just quit playing and just stand around looking stoned and not comprehending what we are doing.

I'm just tired of having to repeat even stuff we created a year ago again and again to him. He leaves his guitar at the practice room and doens't even 'think' about the songs or even how to expand his own riffs. This used to be one of the most creative people I knew, my best friend, he drew like a madman, wrote and wrote and wrote, could talk just about anything and hold his own against pretty much anyone. But now he's just a shadow of what he once was, always stoned, always with a beer in hand. He's even very touchy. I just know telling him to his face that he's gotta make a change, he'll just be all personal about it and leave. The guy is 37....

Yesterday the three of us talked it over and we felt entirely the same + we jammed like mad!

Any advice or simillar stories?

 

[Hawkbone]

Seems to me the 'pro' group here are making the logical arguments based on 1st hand experience and scientific fact, while the 'anti' group mostly argue from feelings and opinions provided to them by others. 'Don't do drugs. Drugs are bad mmmkay.'

Here's the UK study I mentioned earlier. Surprised to see cannabis rated worse than some others, but I think that may be due to the fact that it's most commonly smoked, which is inarguably unhealthy. Scientists Say UK Drug Classification System Is Flawed

 

[Hawkbone]

Matticus, they may not be hits, but I dig those two tunes on reverbnation.

 

[MrLenny1]

If your serious about music get another guitar player. Don't let a friend influence
who you feel like keeping in the band. I've been there many times with pot heads, boozers, coke heads & what a huge waste of my life.

 

[mcglyph]

I've seen many people waste a bunch of time in this type of scenario. It takes so much to get anywhere, luck, focus, etc, it's really hard to do it with such a weak link. If he is a weak link, really and he seems so to me, then really decide how much time you want to waste.

 

[TRichardsbass]

My shot at Matty was probably wrong, but it was relevant, at least to me, because he clearly talked about his greatest stuff being written under the influence. One definite judge of that is if you wrote or performed on a hit song. Otherwise, everysong I ever wrote must be great. NOT.

That is the problem with most of the pot argument. First comes the "scientific evidence, followed by all the uses of it as a sustainable resource, like paper, rope and textiles. Problem is, the people who bring that up don't want to make shirts, rope or books, they want to smoke it.

Most of the "scientific" evidence everyone quotes they probably haven't actually read. Find a few medical journals and peer reviewed publications. Read some. A lot of the "medical fact" is small pieces excerpted from larger studies. Just like all pharmaceuticals, there are side effects and negative effects in this "scientific evidence" all the people who immediately get on the pro-pot bandwagon forget to even quote that.

Yes, I name drop. Why? Because these are prolific musicians, and their talent cannot be disputed, unlike mine or yours. By the way, everyone of them started with pot. Pot is a gateway drug. The interesting thing is I'm not pro or con for pot. I don't care if someone else wants to smoke it in their home. Its a free world. However, I would absolutely argue that great music was made under the influence.

The Beatles didn't really get into smoking pot until after Sgt Pepper. (I saw a documentary the other night where George Martin talked about it and he mentioned those sessions.) Most of the musicians we know of who are great wrote their best stuff sober. There have been a ton of documentary pieces this past week on John Lennon. In the one where he and Yoko had their sleep in for peace, Timothy Leary is on the floor with them. He is obviously high. John Lennon and Yoko, not so much.

I would and do reject the argument about anyone who is anti-pot made previously. Pot is as addictive as any other, like alcohol. If you are prone to be addicted to something, it could be pot or Johnny Walker. Both have no real long term physical addictive properties. Both make you slow and after imbibing in enough both make you temporarily stupid.

If you need drugs to take off "the edge", then you need to seek a counselor, because nothing in this world is really that hard. Turning to pot, like turning to booze, to mellow you out or make you feel better is just an excuse.

I drink. I like a glass of wine with dinner, or a nice two fingers of a great single malt after a good meal. I don't need it, I don't drink it to feel better. I just like the taste. Nothing better then a good single malt at the end of a hard day. Not to take the edge off, but to enjoy the different bouquet and smoky, mossy taste and know that I earned my way.

Truth is, if you are smoking weed at the age of the OP's guitar player that regularly, you really need to get a life. Like one person posted, for a young'un its sort of a rite of passage, but by the time you are older you mature and should be able to handle life and see how ridiculous it looks and is to waste your time with weed.

Like it or not, pot is illegal. Whether it is good or bad for you, doesn't matter. If you must do things that are illegal, if you don't have enough self discipline to stay away from it, then live with the consequences. If I drink I don't drive. Because that is illegal and I know plenty of people who did 30 days in county for it. I used to be stupid in my youth and drink and drive, and thank the universe I never had an accident and made it home safely then. I was in a car after a gig with a young lady who had something too much to drink, and she got pulled over. Nothing like seeing her in cuffs. Just wish it had been me doing it.....



My q

 

[rythman6969]

Beatles

 

[Akami]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

My shot at Matty was probably wrong, but it was relevant, at least to me, because he clearly talked about his greatest stuff being written under the influence.

I fail to see anything but an attitude of superiority, and just because you think of your opinion as the finest thing since sliced bread it's impossible to hide the contempt you have for anyone on the opposite side of an issue from you.
If your first response to someone is a personal diss then your point, no matter how well reasoned, loses pertinence to the topic at hand.
You seem pretty smart; too smart to need to use cheap shots.

 

[Hawkbone]

Tom - what makes enjoying a nice scotch more correct than enjoying a nice spliff? Just because the goverment says one is legal and the other is not? What do they base that on? It's not logic, or science - Western society has huge alcohol and tobacco industry that feels threatened by other indulgences, and they have powerful lobbyists. The cotton industry played a large role in banning the superior hemp fiber as well.

You say pot is a gateway drug - wrong. Alcohol and tobacco are the real gateway drugs. Both are physically addictive, pot isn't. I've done my homework on it, you do yours. I know I'm right, you just think you are. Did you even bother to look at the link I posted earlier? The study done in the UK? Yes? No? Afraid it may shake your comfy zone? Disturb the nice, familiar pre-conceived notions you have surrounded yourself with?

Next time you reach for that bottle of scotch, that smoky liquid drug you enjoy, I hope it reminds you how hypocritical you are.

As for me, I'll finish sipping this cognac and head out for a little spliff, then practice a bit.

 

[bolophonic]

I forget, which great hit did you write or play on?

Look, I really don't care what people personally do, but my opinion is based both on experience and living with those who have gone down the slope, band mates and musicians.

Drugs and alcohol do not make you any more aware or conscious. They just make you feel, in most cases, "better."

Two of the most blessed musicians and songwriter's I've known were Pete Farndon and James Honeymoon Scott. Both dead. Both were much better before getting high all the time. I can't find much good material around the time both of them checked out.

Bill Wyman has written and spoken about how crappy everything was during the recording of Exile on Mainstreet and a few other albums, because the boys were too into the drugs. And honestly, I don't find that album all that great, no matter what the critics think.

Brian Wilson nearly self destructed with drug use, and his music during the drug years is spotty at best.

Either way, to each his own.

What a bunch of self-important crap. There is a huge difference between rampant heroin addiction and a musician smoking a joint once in a while. Obviously.

 

[eyeballkid]

Do you prefer Tubed or Sober State?