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weed and you bass playing
- Thread starter ics1974
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I think the phenomenon of state-dependant memory has something to do with this, if you’re stoned when you learn/write/arrange the songs, when you go back to a similar frame of mind you’ll recall them better. In my smoking days I used to find scraps of paper with lines I’d written out in tab, straight I could recreate the notes with no problems but sometimes struggled to re-capture the feel of the piece. “Man, what did I mean there?”
He was tripping-balls on mescaline when he said that. jk!
I like to partake a few hours before a performance so that by show time the stupid has worn off but the mellow remains.
The Beatles created "Help" and Rubber soul" while pretty much continuously stoned. Not to mention all those Jazz cats in the 40s and 50s...
So I guess it can be done.
Back in the 70s, we pretty much did EVERYTHING stoned...
I think...
Nowadays, I'm sorta over it. Makes it hard to keep a job.
So I guess it can be done.
Back in the 70s, we pretty much did EVERYTHING stoned...
I think...
Nowadays, I'm sorta over it. Makes it hard to keep a job.
The Beatles were so f***ing high they let Ringo sing a few tunes.The Beatles created "Help" and Rubber soul" while pretty much continuously stoned. Not to mention all those Jazz cats in the 40s and 50s...
So I guess it can be done.
Back in the 70s, we pretty much did EVERYTHING stoned...
I think...
Nowadays, I'm sorta over it. Makes it hard to keep a job.
-Bill Hicks
No problems if it's the cheap weed from the 70s but the weed of these days especially the medical grade forget about it..
To clarify my earlier post, it can be a great help bonding a band IF you’ve got the time to do both, if you find yourselves smoking instead of playing that’s not a good way forward. It’s probably no coincidence that the bands I’m referring to were when we were kids with not many real responsibilities.
hell, i dont play without it
.......But one thing i notice is i "feel" more creative, and think things out in much more detail than if i didn't ....that could be a farce tho..i can play for hours when i do.
.......But one thing i notice is i "feel" more creative, and think things out in much more detail than if i didn't ....that could be a farce tho..i can play for hours when i do.
It’s not for me. I haven’t touched it in many, many years. Some of my friends partake. I can tell you that they are better players when they don’t.
First off, a disclaimer, in the words of the great Billy Mack:
But seriously, some of us came up playing rock and roll in an era where drug use was rampant, and saw a lot of friends and colleagues dive into the deep end and never fully recover. Don't be that guy.
Some of us stuck to weed and psychedelics (with some moderate booze and occasional forays into harder stuff) and came out none the worse for the wear. In fact I would say in terms of writing, my best music has come out of me with the influence of weed or psychedelics, and same in terms of some very memorable jam sessions, collaborations and gigs.
Many of the greats are great pot heads. I worked pro audio in the 80s and twisted nobs for all the national club touring acts. One of the biggest weed fiends I ever met was (Grammy winner) Clarence Gatemouth Brown. He smoked weed all night long on stage from a tobacco pipe.
The second time he came through town, I took his bass player out to the van on set break and smoked a J with him. It was some pretty good stuff. We were chatting about the previous time they'd been through, and I recalled him doing the whistling solo on Big Chief. He says yeah, we still do that. And also: boy that's some really strong sh*t! I was a little worried about him going back to play the second set.
Welp, he gets back on stage, and guess what they opened the second set with? Big Chief. He nailed it. (The next time they came through town, must have been summer, the town was dry, and so was Gatemouth. When I asked him how the monitor mix was, he just said "you got any effin' pot? Why doesn't anybody have any g.d. pot?" He still put on a good show, but it was definitely a less joyful vibe than when he was smoking.)
Now, as I'm much older, it's a balancing act. If you max out your cannabinoid receptors and keep going, it leads to tolerance and burn out. So I take it easy. Just a little hint to open up the pathways a little, and I'm good to go for practice (repetitive fundamentals, running the book, etc.). Learning new material, I definitely need to be relatively straight, but all practice eventually comes down to repetition, and a little toke can help me get in that groove. I tend to gig straight these days, and same for rehearsals, unless everybody wants to loosen up.
But seriously, some of us came up playing rock and roll in an era where drug use was rampant, and saw a lot of friends and colleagues dive into the deep end and never fully recover. Don't be that guy.
Some of us stuck to weed and psychedelics (with some moderate booze and occasional forays into harder stuff) and came out none the worse for the wear. In fact I would say in terms of writing, my best music has come out of me with the influence of weed or psychedelics, and same in terms of some very memorable jam sessions, collaborations and gigs.
Many of the greats are great pot heads. I worked pro audio in the 80s and twisted nobs for all the national club touring acts. One of the biggest weed fiends I ever met was (Grammy winner) Clarence Gatemouth Brown. He smoked weed all night long on stage from a tobacco pipe.
The second time he came through town, I took his bass player out to the van on set break and smoked a J with him. It was some pretty good stuff. We were chatting about the previous time they'd been through, and I recalled him doing the whistling solo on Big Chief. He says yeah, we still do that. And also: boy that's some really strong sh*t! I was a little worried about him going back to play the second set.
Welp, he gets back on stage, and guess what they opened the second set with? Big Chief. He nailed it. (The next time they came through town, must have been summer, the town was dry, and so was Gatemouth. When I asked him how the monitor mix was, he just said "you got any effin' pot? Why doesn't anybody have any g.d. pot?" He still put on a good show, but it was definitely a less joyful vibe than when he was smoking.)
Now, as I'm much older, it's a balancing act. If you max out your cannabinoid receptors and keep going, it leads to tolerance and burn out. So I take it easy. Just a little hint to open up the pathways a little, and I'm good to go for practice (repetitive fundamentals, running the book, etc.). Learning new material, I definitely need to be relatively straight, but all practice eventually comes down to repetition, and a little toke can help me get in that groove. I tend to gig straight these days, and same for rehearsals, unless everybody wants to loosen up.
I've smoked pot fairly regularly for over 10 years, been playing bass more than 20. I find a little buzz, whether it be pot or a couple beers, seems to keep me loose and comfortable without impeding on my playing ability. However, being proper high or drunk is bad news. For me, moderation is key. Of course, at this point these substances are not so foreign to my brain, and generally we rehearse the crap out of our songs so there's very little actual thinking going on during performance.
I think the key ingredients to playing well are being comfortable, well practiced, and having good muscle memory. But that's just me!
If I played in a professional cover band 5 nights a week I probably would keep quite sober, what with having to constantly be playing unfamiliar tunes.
I think the key ingredients to playing well are being comfortable, well practiced, and having good muscle memory. But that's just me!
If I played in a professional cover band 5 nights a week I probably would keep quite sober, what with having to constantly be playing unfamiliar tunes.
Record yourself playing stoned and record the same thing when you're straight. Decide for yourself.
I like weed. I have a little hit or two nearly every evening. But playing? The first time I got stoned and tried to play was also the last time. Everybody's got a different story, right? Mine was that my time went out the window. It's alarming when you're standing there thinking "Jeez, where's One?"
“ ... or I could get up at noon, and learn to play the sitar.”
Man, I miss Bill.
I saw an interview with genius French comics artist/writer Moebius and one of the questions was about weed and his answer was “no, because then I can’t stop drawing.”
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