Smoking Venues

[mstillman]

Wouldn't that kind of be poetic (in)justice?

...with a lot of long-lasting smoke!

 

[SAlcott]

Years ago, a trumpet player colleague went for his annual physical. The doctor told him after the chest X ray that he should quit smoking. His reply-"I don't smoke-I play 6 nights a week at Jimmy Ryan's". He died too young from COPD. I smoked a pack a day for 40 years and quit 13 years ago, and my annual lung cancer screening CT is clear so far. I intend to keep it that way. I get called once in a while to play at a cigar bar; the money's good, but not good enough for me to take the gig.

 

[Stranger Danger]

I'm sure this topic has been covered before - I just started a new weekly gig last night, easy 3 hour gig, other players are easy to get along with, venue personnel are cool, all very supportive.

The kicker is it's a smoking venue, and aside from having to strip down and throw my cloths in the wash when I got home, I'm still dealing with a ripping sinus headache since early this morning.

Smoking venues may still be a thing in your areas, though here in both Dallas/Fort Worth and mid-cities, they're against city ordinances.

Different story with the suburbs: Addison and Richardson, just north of Dallas, do not have indoor smoking bans, though most the venues I've played there have their own bans, with outdoor smoking encouraged.

Not the case last night, and unfortunately, I'll be giving two weeks notice to the BL as a result.

I was a smoker, and for many years after quitting, I just accepted playing in smoky bars as part of the package, playing in clubs.

Now it'll have been 20 years this coming Spring since the city of Dallas enacted it's indoor smoking ban, and 8 years since my last weekly residency in a smoking (suburban) bar, and I just no longer have the physical tolerance to be around it on a regular basis. I'll accept a smoking venue gig for one-offs, but as of last night, will no longer accept weeklies.

So what's the smoking situation like in your area? How does that affect you? Do you factor it in when accepting or not accepting gigs?

I’m also in DFW and had gigs like that in the suburbs. My band now only really plays in Dallas and Fort Worth so it’s not an issue anymore but it is definitely a bizarre thing nowadays

 

[Geogio]

Around my neck-o-the-woods various lodges and Society houses who will remain nameless, permit smoking in there bars... anyway I played one venue in the last 15 years that had smoking and it was a lodge. I was filling in for a buddy on that gig and it was nasty, especially with the lights on.

 

[gregbackstrom]

Hilarious

Yep! I’m good with that.

 

[Hambone70]

My father died of lung cancer, as did his father. I decided to break the chain.

‘A cigarette is a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other.’
-George Bernard Shaw

 

[2112]

Freedom. What was that?
I dearly miss the choice to frequent and/or play smoking or non rooms and restaurants etc. where I live.
Those choices were stripped from us quite a few years ago now. I miss the aroma a lot even just when out and about. Very rarely catch the lovely whiff of someone smoking anything anymore unless it's pot which smells disgusting. Somehow that seems to be "ok" with people???

STRONG username-to-thread-topic correlation.

 

[andare]

I play my local dive bar. It's an underground brick vault with an extensive smoking section which is just open to the rest of the dungeon. Most bars are like this in Krakow. The smoking section is often the best part of the bar.

The kicker is that the tiny stage (about 10 m2) has stairs that go up to the beer garden so while we set up and do "soundcheck", people walk through the stage between us with beer mugs clinking our headstocks, all while smoke wafts toward the stage from both the garden and the rest of the bar.
In fact, we can't even set up until they close the garden. Of course my amp has to then sit on the stairs and last Sat it fell down twice.

I have zero respect for smokers since they seem to have zero concern for other people. They wait all year to be able to sit outside and smoke while drinking. Why smoking in outside areas of bars and restaurants is still permitted is beyond me when it's illegal to smoke at bus stations.

I just woke up and I'm already angry now

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[petermwright]

So what's the smoking situation like in your area? How does that affect you? Do you factor it in when accepting or not accepting gigs?

Thankfully in this country smoking has been illegal in public venues since 2007, so I don’t have to worry about this. I feel your pain, I wouldn’t tolerate playing in a smoking venue now.

 

[Thankful birds]

In Pennsylvania there is a ban, except for private clubs, casinos and bars that can demonstrate they derive less than 20% of their sales from food. The bar has to apply for an exemption. That said, some just allow smoking regardless of whether they’ve made the application.

Personally, I hate it. Nothing is more annoying than going to a new place and walking in to find it’s a smoking bar. I don’t want to smell like it, I don’t want the sinus infection, and I think it’s terrible to the workers. I’d be all for an outright ban.

 

[LBS-bass]

In Pennsylvania there is a ban, except for private clubs, casinos and bars that can demonstrate they derive less than 20% of their sales from food. The bar has to apply for an exemption. That said, some just allow smoking regardless of whether they’ve made the application.

Personally, I hate it. Nothing is more annoying than going to a new place and walking in to find it’s a smoking bar. I don’t want to smell like it, I don’t want the sinus infection, and I think it’s terrible to the workers. I’d be all for an outright ban.

Until I did the Nevada gigs, the last smoky bar I was ever in was in Pennsylvania. It was the mid nineties and a friend I was dating took me to a jazz club in Philadelphia. I had not even quit smoking yet at this point but there was so much smoke in that bar that I could barely stand to be in there. It was a crazy scene all around but the music was great.

 

[FritzM]

Weird, when I was gigging in Dallas (early 2000's) smoking was banned. I also gigged 7 days a week in China for nearly 5 years, with obviously no rules on smoking, and I feel it gave me severe health problems. So, I made a choice. But, that's up to you. I do hope things get better for you!

 

[mcnach]

I'm sure this topic has been covered before - I just started a new weekly gig last night, easy 3 hour gig, other players are easy to get along with, venue personnel are cool, all very supportive.

The kicker is it's a smoking venue, and aside from having to strip down and throw my cloths in the wash when I got home, I'm still dealing with a ripping sinus headache since early this morning.

Smoking venues may still be a thing in your areas, though here in both Dallas/Fort Worth and mid-cities, they're against city ordinances.

Different story with the suburbs: Addison and Richardson, just north of Dallas, do not have indoor smoking bans, though most the venues I've played there have their own bans, with outdoor smoking encouraged.

Not the case last night, and unfortunately, I'll be giving two weeks notice to the BL as a result.

I was a smoker, and for many years after quitting, I just accepted playing in smoky bars as part of the package, playing in clubs.

Now it'll have been 20 years this coming Spring since the city of Dallas enacted it's indoor smoking ban, and 8 years since my last weekly residency in a smoking (suburban) bar, and I just no longer have the physical tolerance to be around it on a regular basis. I'll accept a smoking venue gig for one-offs, but as of last night, will no longer accept weeklies.

So what's the smoking situation like in your area? How does that affect you? Do you factor it in when accepting or not accepting gigs?

I haven't seen a venue that allows smoking in many years.

I would not play in one. Not even a one-off, there are always other places.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Not around NJ/Philadelphia area.
Done that for years and I can’t stand it nowadays. No I Wouldn’t accept a smoking now.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Two things you could try:

1. Use a sinus rinse/flush when you get home. That might help with the sinus problem.
2. Wear a smoking face mask as shown below.

Ah, the good ole days... when every venue was a smoking venue. Don't know how we all survived it. Good luck.

 

[buldog5151bass]

No smoking in bars or restaurants in CT.

Back in the 80s, I had one jacket and pair of clothes that I wore for gigs.

Unless it was a well paying private gig, and I did not think there would be much smoking (oroutdoors), I would not play a smoking gig today. I value my lungs.

 

[InhumanResource]

I'm sure this topic has been covered before - I just started a new weekly gig last night, easy 3 hour gig, other players are easy to get along with, venue personnel are cool, all very supportive.

The kicker is it's a smoking venue, and aside from having to strip down and throw my cloths in the wash when I got home, I'm still dealing with a ripping sinus headache since early this morning.

Smoking venues may still be a thing in your areas, though here in both Dallas/Fort Worth and mid-cities, they're against city ordinances.

Different story with the suburbs: Addison and Richardson, just north of Dallas, do not have indoor smoking bans, though most the venues I've played there have their own bans, with outdoor smoking encouraged.

Not the case last night, and unfortunately, I'll be giving two weeks notice to the BL as a result.

I was a smoker, and for many years after quitting, I just accepted playing in smoky bars as part of the package, playing in clubs.

Now it'll have been 20 years this coming Spring since the city of Dallas enacted it's indoor smoking ban, and 8 years since my last weekly residency in a smoking (suburban) bar, and I just no longer have the physical tolerance to be around it on a regular basis. I'll accept a smoking venue gig for one-offs, but as of last night, will no longer accept weeklies.

So what's the smoking situation like in your area? How does that affect you? Do you factor it in when accepting or not accepting gigs?

Interesting! I do not factor it in as I’ll play just about anywhere as long as it isn’t dangerous. Smoke never bothers me but I myself was never an actual tobacco smoker.

 

[2thAche]

The smoking bars seem to be the fun ones as far as people go, but I agree with OP at this point. My head is f'd up in the morning, I hate my gear all smelling like crap, and I have to shower when I get home and throw my stuff in the laundry before I go to bed.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

Smoking was made illegal to placate a small percentage of the population.

you might want to check your numbers.