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Smoking pot while being in a band

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#301
TRichardsbass said:
First, alcohol is legal. That automatically makes it a much more "mature" thing. And you won't find me out there drinking to get any "feeling". I have yet to hear one, just one, pot smoking defender say they smoke pot for the taste, or just for the hell of it. Truth is, you smoke pot for the effect it has on you. Period.

I kow many people who enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. Not because they want to feel mellow, or better, but because the taste of a good red with a nice NY strip just are good tastes. I don't know too many people who get much if any effect from one glass of wine, especially with a meal.

I have a scotch, and suck on it for a long time. I really do appreciate the smoky, mossy taste of the single malts I have. A bottle of single malt lasts me often a year or more.

Like all things in moderation, alcohol has no side effects either. In moderation, as we have all read the studies, a glass of wine or its equivalent in a cocktail can actually be healthy for you. I don't spend my time reading all the studies, because, its legal and i don't have to try to justify my usage of it.

I personally have never met someone who can really play at their best after smoking a joint. They may play good, or acceptable, but not at their best. Its physically and mentally impossible. Once the pot has taken effect it does in fact, shown medically, impair your functioning. Maybe not to a stupor or spasm, but you are slower. Alcohol can do the same. I don't drink before gigs, and I'm not a beer guy, so you rarely find me slamming them back.

As for alcohol being the gateway drug, unless I missed it I don't think there are too many studies or reports, if any, on the frequency of people going from drinking beer regularly to putting a needle in their arm or smoking crack because of it. Just about every story I read or have seen reported always talks about the movement to pot then harder stuff.

I didn't mean Matty to take a personal shot, but I let the devil get the best of me.

Just so you all know, I, like many here, was alive and kickin' in the '70's and '80s. There were ample opportunities to sample many things. So, unlike that Clinton guy I did inhale. I did a lot of very stupid things, but fortunately always knew that putting a needle in your arm was just wrong, and that anytime someone told me how much better a high was or how much more potent a thing was I should walk away.

I don't care, like I said, who uses or doesn't. I don't allow it in my bands, and there are more then enough quality musicians out there to fill the slots.

I am sure, when pot is finally legalized, that there will be a huge docket of lawsuits about how no one put a warning label on the roach and because of that they went, crazy, blind, got cancer, whatever. Funny thing is, based on the decades of knowledgeable pot smokers, I would assume that there will never be any lawsuits because it seems to be harmless. However, I know different...
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Let me get this straight... You like to drink a little, and it is legal, therefore alcohol is a completely benign substance with no potential to lead to problems by itself or with other drugs unless weed is involved? Why did I even bother to read this?
 
#304
Ok, so you guys have strong opinions pro and con, but this thread is not about pro or con drugs, and neither am I - so give it a rest or start a new thread.
This thread is about the use of weed for all the wrong reasons and the effect it has not only on oneself but upon your environment as well.

Yesterday he came in half an hour later than the rest, nothing upsetting about that. But he didn't, not even a word, touch the subject of the way he's disrespecting the band. As I have gotten enough inspiration from all you guys on here and what you posted I decided that the three of us would talk it through one final time before we lay it down to him. So yesterday we were doing a song called Jupiter (lyrics are on Talkbass somewhere), which he witnessed being born from day 1. We did this song countless times, but still he manages to play sloppy and with no feel for rythm or tightness. We play the song several times 'cause I wanna get the singing right and experiment with altered bassriffs, nothing spectacular, but neccessary for the song to evolve. So we finished playing the song several times, recorded it once. We then play a riff we'd been jamming on before and we try to get on with it, but he just stands there plucking one string at a time, barely audible as if he were some god that don't need to do more than that to be good enough. He then quickly lays down his guitar and , YES, rolls yet another joint, maybe his third that evening among our time with the band. I had just broken my A string and asked him if I could play his guitar for a while, he agrees. I start jamming with the rest of the band and play the few chords I can on guitar. Immediately his Twinverb sounds a fair bit louder and more full. He was smoking away and nodding at me in admiration. Seriously, I can't play guitar, just a few chords, nothing more! He felt I was doing justice to the Twinverb in a way he never did...... At that point I was ready to smack him in the freaking face..... How low can you go???
I present him back his guitar, but he silently refuses, packs up his weed and stuff, leaves guitar behind and heads home smoking a joint.

All three of us were stupified... He's out of the band. Period.
 
#305
This sucks but I don't think the pot is the problem. Every once in a while we light one up before practice and it puts me in the F'ing zone. I'm so loose and everything I play comes out smoother once I've smoked a little...but I still practice twice a week with the band, take my bass home to work on stuff in between, and don't have a drinking problem. The drinking may be effecting him more. It could also be a lack of motivation. If you guys have been doing the same thing for over a year, he may be getting discouraged thinking this band isn't going anywhere. What it sounds like he needs is for everyone in the band to sit down with him and find out whats going on. Was he a better guitar player before his one finger plucking became his technique of choice? To me, based on this thread alone, he is going through some personal demons. Maybe he's lonely- being 37 living in a house his parents gave him with a mediocre job, maybe he expected he'd amount to more. Just have a heart to heart, ask him how dedicated he is and give him the ultimatum that he either gets his sh*t together or you find a new guitarist. Let him know he has people in his corner that want to help, but he has to show interest in wanting to better himself first.
 
#306
TRichardsbass said:
First, alcohol is legal. That automatically makes it a much more "mature" thing. And you won't find me out there drinking to get any "feeling". I have yet to hear one, just one, pot smoking defender say they smoke pot for the taste, or just for the hell of it. Truth is, you smoke pot for the effect it has on you. Period.
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This just sounds so ridiculous:rollno: I love the taste of weed and sometimes smoke "just for the hell of it". Truth is your full of crap!
 
#307
Sublab said:
Ok, so you guys have strong opinions pro and con, but this thread is not about pro or con drugs, and neither am I - so give it a rest or start a new thread.
This thread is about the use of weed for all the wrong reasons and the effect it has not only on oneself but upon your environment as well.

Yesterday he came in half an hour later than the rest, nothing upsetting about that. But he didn't, not even a word, touch the subject of the way he's disrespecting the band. As I have gotten enough inspiration from all you guys on here and what you posted I decided that the three of us would talk it through one final time before we lay it down to him. So yesterday we were doing a song called Jupiter (lyrics are on Talkbass somewhere), which he witnessed being born from day 1. We did this song countless times, but still he manages to play sloppy and with no feel for rythm or tightness. We play the song several times 'cause I wanna get the singing right and experiment with altered bassriffs, nothing spectacular, but neccessary for the song to evolve. So we finished playing the song several times, recorded it once. We then play a riff we'd been jamming on before and we try to get on with it, but he just stands there plucking one string at a time, barely audible as if he were some god that don't need to do more than that to be good enough. He then quickly lays down his guitar and , YES, rolls yet another joint, maybe his third that evening among our time with the band. I had just broken my A string and asked him if I could play his guitar for a while, he agrees. I start jamming with the rest of the band and play the few chords I can on guitar. Immediately his Twinverb sounds a fair bit louder and more full. He was smoking away and nodding at me in admiration. Seriously, I can't play guitar, just a few chords, nothing more! He felt I was doing justice to the Twinverb in a way he never did...... At that point I was ready to smack him in the freaking face..... How low can you go???
I present him back his guitar, but he silently refuses, packs up his weed and stuff, leaves guitar behind and heads home smoking a joint.

All three of us were stupified... He's out of the band. Period.
Click to expand...

Sounds like he's living in some remote corner of his own brain. Actually, your description of his behaviour reminds me of Bob Geldof's character in the Wall. Weed may not have caused this, but I doubt it's helping him any right now. I know someone like that - as life's problems mounted he increasingly hid from it behind a wall of smoke. IMO, the weed is a problem for him now - he's using it for all the wrong reasons.

Good luck man. Hopefully your buddy will be himself again someday.
 
#309
Sublab said:
Ok, so you guys have strong opinions pro and con, but this thread is not about pro or con drugs, and neither am I - so give it a rest or start a new thread.
This thread is about the use of weed for all the wrong reasons and the effect it has not only on oneself but upon your environment as well.

Yesterday he came in half an hour later than the rest, nothing upsetting about that. But he didn't, not even a word, touch the subject of the way he's disrespecting the band. As I have gotten enough inspiration from all you guys on here and what you posted I decided that the three of us would talk it through one final time before we lay it down to him. So yesterday we were doing a song called Jupiter (lyrics are on Talkbass somewhere), which he witnessed being born from day 1. We did this song countless times, but still he manages to play sloppy and with no feel for rythm or tightness. We play the song several times 'cause I wanna get the singing right and experiment with altered bassriffs, nothing spectacular, but neccessary for the song to evolve. So we finished playing the song several times, recorded it once. We then play a riff we'd been jamming on before and we try to get on with it, but he just stands there plucking one string at a time, barely audible as if he were some god that don't need to do more than that to be good enough. He then quickly lays down his guitar and , YES, rolls yet another joint, maybe his third that evening among our time with the band. I had just broken my A string and asked him if I could play his guitar for a while, he agrees. I start jamming with the rest of the band and play the few chords I can on guitar. Immediately his Twinverb sounds a fair bit louder and more full. He was smoking away and nodding at me in admiration. Seriously, I can't play guitar, just a few chords, nothing more! He felt I was doing justice to the Twinverb in a way he never did...... At that point I was ready to smack him in the freaking face..... How low can you go???
I present him back his guitar, but he silently refuses, packs up his weed and stuff, leaves guitar behind and heads home smoking a joint.

All three of us were stupified... He's out of the band. Period.
Click to expand...

Wow. Good call. Clearly he doesn't care anymore, and if he's reached that level, the only thing that's going to help him IMO is looking in the mirror one day and realizing what he's become (and what he's lost). Hopefully he takes an honest look at himself and decides to change.

If I were you I'd say a prayer for him, hope for the best and cut all musical ties with him. And no, I'm not religious at all, just have learned over the years that prayer can be a very powerful tool... :)
 
#311
TRichardsbass said:
As for alcohol being the gateway drug, unless I missed it I don't think there are too many studies or reports, if any, on the frequency of people going from drinking beer regularly to putting a needle in their arm or smoking crack because of it. Just about every story I read or have seen reported always talks about the movement to pot then harder stuff.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what's wrong with the "gateway drug" argument. Where does the line of "gateway" start?

I don't remember the first time I stealthily nabbed one of dad's beers and drank it. Let's say I was 13. And I probably nicked a cigarette from him around the same time. I do remember the first time I smoked a joint, behind the bowling alley with some older kids in the Drama Club, I was 15. I think this is a pretty typical experience, I wasn't some crazy dirtbag kid or anything, an honors student from a middle-class suburban home.

As of now, over 20 years since then, while I enjoy weed form time to time, I've never had even the slightest desire to try any other "illegal drugs". But for this example, let's imagine that when I was 18, I got into heroin.

How could you define weed as the "gateway drug"? It was the third in the list of mind-altering drugs. I have never met a pot smoker who hadn't tried alcohol first, and usually nicotine too.

One could try to argue that weed was the first link in that chain classified as "illegal" drugs, but beer and cigarettes are illegal for teenagers. You could try and argue that beer and cigarettes are weak enough that people can use them for purposes other than getting a buzz, but again, not the case with teenagers.

I can respect "straightedge" people who speak out against drugs. But if you actively smoke cigarettes or drink caffeinated coffee or enjoy an alcoholic beverage - regardless of if you're taking it to extremes or staying moderate - you're using "drugs" that alter your mental state. To criticize someone else's choice of intoxicant is sheer hypocrisy, especially if you attempt the "gateway drug" argument.
 
#312
BAMonBASS said:
This just sounds so ridiculous:rollno: I love the taste of weed and sometimes smoke "just for the hell of it". Truth is your full of crap!
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Of all the people I know who smoke weed you are the first who I have heard that smoke for taste and just to do it :p Thats a new one there. I smoke a pipe and cigars for taste and just to do it and they can taste good...weed? please. I also drink good scotch,bourbon for taste not to get a buzz.
I know allot of people who do this...where are all these weed enthusiasts?
 
#313
Godfather said:
Mmmmm.....let's see....pot is a great motivator ?....did it motivate you when you were learning to spell, for example, words like DROOLING ?
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If you're going to be snarky and petty in a pathetic attempt at humor, at least use proper grammar in your own post. You look foolish pointing out a spelling mistake (by someone who's native language is not English, by the way) while using all those ellipses, spacing problems, and improper capitalization.
 
#315
"I don't smoke weed but i don't care if anyone does" . You say that in one post then call people immature or losers for smoking after your 20s. You just sound so close minded and as most have you stated your old and your way of thinking shows that. Go drink your scotch that you "don't get any buzz off of" :rolleyes:
 
#316
bassbully said:
Of all the people I know who smoke weed you are the first who I have heard that smoke for taste and just to do it :p Thats a new one there. I smoke a pipe and cigars for taste and just to do it and they can taste good...weed? please. I also drink good scotch,bourbon for taste not to get a buzz.
I know allot of people who do this...where are all these weed enthusiasts?
Click to expand...

You probably have never smoked weed that does taste good. I have, it does exist. Just because some people smoke dirt weed that tastes like poop doesn't mean the rest of us do.:D They are all asleep by the way! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!
 
#317
"I present him back his guitar, but he silently refuses, packs up his weed and stuff, leaves guitar behind and heads home smoking a joint.

All three of us were stupified... He's out of the band. Period."

sad to hear it... I guess the 'intervention' idea is just not gonna happen then. You should at least give it a try once. Then you can at least say you tried to help your friend.
 
#320
IMHO:

Weed can have a wonderful taste.....but that's not the issue.
Scotch can be tasty if you like that flavor (I do).....but that's not the issue.
Altered consciousness can both assist and impair musicality, depending on many variables....but that's not the issue.
What leads some, but not others, to addiction is not completely understood...but that's not the issue.
Helping friends turn their lives around is a wonderful thing...but that's not the issue.

His behavior, as it impacts the band....is the issue.

The causes of that behavior.....is a separate issue.

"He's out.....period."
The correct move given the behavior you have described and the way the other members of the band function as a unit.
It might even help him.
You can (should) still try to help him in other ways, too.

YMMV
 
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