Drums and Drugs...

Not to get all analytical, but could it be that some people get high or drink to hide their feelings of inadequacy or low self-esteem, or deal with confidence issues? Years ago when I first started singing karaoke, I had to have a couple drinks to get up the courage to go sing in front of a lot of people. After I got some confidence, I no longer had to drink prior to singing.

I don't drink before or during gigs, but that has nothing to do with confidence or not, it's just that it really messes up my performance and makes me tire out quicker. And I haven't smoked pot since my college days nearly 30 years ago, before I even started playing drums.

I don't know if it is prevalent on the tour scene nowadays, but a lot of the older groups have cleaned their acts up and go drug and alcohol free. Many of them are now very health conscious, work out, and some are even vegetarians. that may be because they can't handle the rigors of touring and partying at the same time, like they did in their 20's.

Are today's big contemporary acts partying like the bands did back in the 60's, 70's and 80's?
 
MattA said:
I'm along the lines of 'horses for courses'. I know people that need to get high just to feel 'normal'. For them, they usually function better that way.
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And that's another aspect of use, being normal. The thing is, Max said "I notice myself being more creative, faster, and on perfect time. I bust out lighting fast double strokes around the toms and sharp off beat snare pattens to perfection" and then, "So does maijuana give all drummers super powers...?"

Smoking for him is not about being normal or maintaining. It's about the altered state, and that's the question: does one actually operate better in an altered state?

Bermuda
 
inneedofgrace said:
I don't know if it is prevalent on the tour scene nowadays, but a lot of the older groups have cleaned their acts up and go drug and alcohol free. Many of them are now very health conscious, work out, and some are even vegetarians. that may be because they can't handle the rigors of touring and partying at the same time, like they did in their 20's.
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Nah, it's because most of them wised-up as they grew up. They (mostly) matured emotionally, and figured out why the excesses weren't beneficial.

I know this discussion isn't about drug or alcohol abuse, but there are some folks here who are more experienced, been there done that, and have a wiser outlook.

Bermuda
 
Max Crespo said:
wow, I really glad there are people on both sides of this and again I love the recording idea and I defiantly plan on going through with it. Keep the comments and ideas coming i'll see if I can post a video of the recording here by the end of the week



thanks for again reading my thread, I was hoping you could clear something up in regards to your post. If me not to be able to take credit would mean that you believe the drug(majiuana) would enhance my playing ability. What I'm getting at is do you believe majiuana is actually providing me with abilities that I don't normally have?

Thanks again
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I guess I didn't explain my point as well as I should have.
IF you believe pot, drink or drugs would make you play better (which I don't believe for a minute) then it would be an artificial enhancement. Who wants to be the musician who admits he's not really that talented by babbling out, "Man, I play my best when I'm stoned or drunk." Yeh, that's not the guy I want in my band. Besides that, it's a lie.
I've been playing since the mid-60s. Been there, done that.
I was really kicking a** on stage one night. Doing it all perfectly. I was hot! The band took an early break and told me I was pretty much double timing every song. Another time on stage I kept looking at my kick pedal because I swore the kick head was stretching to the front every time I hammered the pedal. Don't be an idiot. I was there a long time ago.
Anyone who thinks stoned, high, or half-drunk makes them a better drummer is fooling himself.
 
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I have never smoked pot but have had a few drinks in my time. I have played behind some pretty good tokers and drinkers in the past few years and none of them were as good as they thought they were when they were high.
One guitar player we had was as good as any one playing guitar today....all the great name players included....until he got high from smoking pot.

He would then start adding little guitar riffs and stuff that just didn't belong in the song we were doing. But he thought he was great!

The places we play? If any of us were to get high or drunk....we would lose the gig.

If I take a drink now....it's at home on my back porch.
 
MSPaintClock said:
I really want to see what someone on weed thinks "perfect time" is.
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Me too! That's why I'm anxious to see Max's video!

But I can't help thinking this is a 'work'. Something funny's gonna happen, I know it.

Bermuda
 
I'm high without drugs(according to my friends), so I don't need anything. Sure, a couple of beers before the gigs might sound good, but if I drink too much, I feel my timing getting horrible and I can't concentrate keeping it tight. Therefore I never drink more than 1 beer before playing a concert.
I've tried weed 2 times, but it didn't have any noticeable effect on me, so I haven't got any cravings to try more. Certainly not to make me play better.
 
I don't condone drug use, but there may be a distinction between playing well and being able to creatively write songs when high. I guess that depends on the definition of "creative" and whether you like that kind of music. In the late 60's/early 70's they called it psychadelic music. Many of the bands of that era were heavy drug users, and some relied on drugs to write songs.

There were plenty of songs written in the 60's/70's that made you scratch your head when you read or sing the lyrics. The first thing that came to my mind was "that must have been some good stuff they were on at the time".
 
MSPaintClock said:
I really want to see what someone on weed thinks "perfect time" is.
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All you have to do is pull a few records from your collection. Bob Marley(most reggae for that matter), Beatles, Stones, Zepp, hendrix, Willie fricken Nelson, floyd, crosby-stills; etc. this list could literally go on forever, and would include a likely majority of the most popular stuff of all time. These aren't just folks who got lucky. These are innovators, game changers, people who make music that moved them, us, and the course of music history.

I'm frankly a bit flabbergasted at how people think this is a big deal and it will mess up your music as a matter of course. I'm not an expert on the subject either,(workin for the man) but at least I'm not one who thinks pot is some super mess you up mind-freak drug. It's not even as intoxicating as alcohol. It shouldn't be illegal, and weather people on this board want to come to grips with it or not, it's a huge part of music and the creativity that has gone into music as we know it today, especially "american" music like jazz, "hip hop/rap" and rock.

Altering your mind, categorically will not make you a better musician. Anyone going down that line of thought is wrong. Altering your mind's normal thought paths might, however make you think about things in a different way which can and does make people more creative and open, beyond that, specifically with pot, it can make things just a bit more fun, both listening and performing music.

I mean, sheesh, people. This is just pot we're talking about here. I've lived in CA almost all my life, and I've grown up knowing that some of the most powerful, influential, hardest working people around me start the evening, or even the day with a toke. Not everyone can handle intoxicants, some folks just have the type of addictive personality which gets them into trouble regardless what their vice of choice is, and it's also important to note the huge difference between responsible use, and abuse of any substance.

I think I'm done here. I haven't had a dog in this fight for a while, since I have to be careful about my intoxications on account of work issues; but all that aside, I'm still not dense enough to deny the role pot had, and has in music.
 
Doc, I agree that it's easy to overstate the effects of pot. It really does depend. My worst playing has been done when I've been straight and depressed, or feeling overawed and unconfident - worse than any time I've smoked.

I've smoked before work a number of times and I find that things usually go more smoothly when I'm fresh. It's a bummer to be mildy pie-eyed and have your boss race up to you with wild eyes saying that the executive need X report NOW! It makes it more difficult.

On the other hand, a few years ago I was struggling with a major report and was stressed because I couldn't figure out how to climb the mountain. I got peeved about it and decided to have a smoke before work - which I hadn't done for years. So I wandered in, sat down quietly at my desk, opened the report template, saw a problem and fixed it. Then I saw another problem and fixed it. It was more like playing a game than working. There were thousands of issues but I didn't bother about that - I just chipped away.

Then it turned out that a few small fixes cleaned up hundreds of related problems that I hadn't noticed. By lunchtime I'd broken the back of the report and it was plain sailing from then on.

The problem I have is it's hard to know when it's going to help and when it's going to hinder. If you're jamming with friends or playing a party it's no biggie, but there are times when the sharpness of straightness is more useful than the blurred "aerial view" of being baked.

Thanks to society's nanny taboos hardly anyone seems to understand the best ways to use it (other than pain and nausea relief). We have drug law where we need drug lore. Understanding.

People use substances with no idea how to really use it - it's like taking aspirin for a stomach ache or a laxative for a headache. The info isn't out there - and all society provides is a big NO! ... even though people have always altered consciousness. Typical pandering to the LCD.

My feeling is that if there's high stakes, urgency or rushing involved then straight is better. If your task is to tease out ideas in a relaxed way then a smoke can be helpful or, at least, fun.
 
Britney, Justin Timberlake, and Miley Cyrus's songs were written by writers who were high.


'nuff said.
 
What about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles!!!
 
bermuda said:
Britney, Justin Timberlake, and Miley Cyrus's songs were written by writers who were high.
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You're joshing us, right? A reefer madness kind of threat like ... if you smoke the evil weed you'll write horrible, horrible songs for people with bad hair.

If not, Jon, I have to ask how you found this out :)
 
It seems only the users are in favor of smoking and playing. I don't think the true professionals are showing up to work high. The LA studios cutting all those movie soundtracks, studios producing pop and country hits, and professional orchestral players. None of the people who make a living playing and getting a real paycheck are showing up to work high. They'd be fired quickly. As it is they have to practice daily to keep their job. How'd they'd survive high I have no idea.
 
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