DUI

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
I'm sure almost everyone can say they've played under the influence. I had a bit of a partying weekend and drank some, smoked some etc with friends and just so happened to jam with a friend for a few hours. I've had these experiences before, but I have never discussed them with other drummers.

I don't think it was the alcohol that gave this affect but I felt a great deal of control over myself and my playing and I believe I executed things a little better than I normally would. So I think. Not just in a "I'm having a great day" kinda way, but I genuinely felt it was some of my best playing to date. I know these things adversely affect your coordination if you do them regularly but I'm speaking about one offs.

Not every experience is the same but this one was a strong reminder of how important it is to be attentive and mindful of what each limb is doing and if you choose a good tempo (i.e slower) you can unleash more of your repertoire because you're comfortable.

The other great thing is the state of relaxation your body is in... sometimes a little tranquilizing does help your technique find it's laurels.

So that was my good experience,

Hope it's cool to talk about this subject,

peace.
 
naw, youre just high/drunk. Playing suffers dramatically...unless you are stoned/drunk normally.
I have yet to find an example or study that claims alcohol or dope helps coordination or timing.


F
 
Record yourself and listen, then decide if it was "better" :)

Being relaxed (and prepared) is a key to performing well though.
 
Sounds like things really clicked for you that night. Did you record it? Sometimes the inner experience doesn't translate to the audience, but from the way you described it, it sounds like you were in the zone. I am forever chasing that feeling.

Disclaimer: In this world where everything has to be so politically correct, no it's not cool to talk about any help getting in the zone lol. You are supposed to be able to do get there, at any time, without any outside catalysts. Otherwise it would be like the athlete on steroids. You are supposed to live your life 100% responsibly, no exceptions, and altering one's consciousness is not responsible. You could get arrested lol.

Now that I stated the disclaimer, I believe you should be able to live your life as you see fit. I do. I own it and will be the first to admit it. I don't really pay attention to any law that infringes on my personal choices. I don't know why the world is so uptight all the time.

To quote the wise words of Sheryl Crow...

If it makes you happy...... it can't be that bad.....

You just can't discuss it here lol.
 
Record yourself and listen, then decide if it was "better" :)

Yeah, I've heard a couple of recordings of show's I played that I thought felt AWESOME at the time, only to cringe at the general sloppiness of the whole band when listening back. Sometimes its fine, but I know that in general (for me) booze amplifies my selfishness and my ego. Some call it "reducing inhibitions" but it makes for poor listening in my case which translates to being a loud obnoxious drummer.

That said, I'm usually drinking beer the entire time I play a gig, hence the lack of offers for proffesional contracts :)
 
Yeah, I've heard a couple of recordings of show's I played that I thought felt AWESOME at the time, only to cringe at the general sloppiness of the whole band when listening back. Sometimes its fine, but I know that in general (for me) booze amplifies my selfishness and my ego. Some call it "reducing inhibitions" but it makes for poor listening in my case which translates to being a loud obnoxious drummer.

That said, I'm usually drinking beer the entire time I play a gig, hence the lack of offers for proffesional contracts :)

At least +1 on that! I have personal experience of thinking I was brilliant and then realising that I was anything but. Drugs of any type, including alcohol alter your perception of the situation. A couple of drinks to loosen up is fine- any more than that you're going to be way too loose IMHO. Self control is better in many, many ways.
 
Okay I better clarify...

I thought involving alcohol (the legal one) would make the thread a little more PC, but to be honest, I was stoned, I had been sipping on beer but I was tipsy at best.

I felt that I played very well, and I think my sense of awareness was heightened on this occasion, sometimes I get very creative when I smoke but today my creativity was kinda average (not bad). Yes I was in the 'Zone' for sure. I didn't record so I guess we'll never know for sure but I swear it happened exactly the way that I tell you that it did!

I don't touch beer at live gigs personally as it makes me very sloppy and dumb. I have experimented with stimulants too but I didn't find that they helped my playing at all... though I can maybe see there is some potential there that I missed.

And weed is a VERY occasional thing for me... too many drawbacks to regular use, but great fun on occasion.
 
Record yourself and listen, then decide if it was "better" :)

Being relaxed (and prepared) is a key to performing well though.

I wouldn't write off that intoxicants, depending on their type and amounts, can help people think creatively and make them more relaxed. The tradeoff of potentially impaired timing and reflexes may be worth it in some cases.

But you're right, the only real way to know is to record and listen.
 
Well I for one love a nice beer (German of course!) before a set. It calms my nerves a bit and I found a tend to play a little faster to begin with. I verified this with my metronome so therefore sure throw one back and lay back in the groove!
 
For an inhibited person, a drink or two could remove that layer of doubt
that cripples the flight path of the stick between straight up and the skin.
If I was studying for a Calculus final and had a headache, an Aspirin could remove discomfort long enough
to concentrate on what happens when the denominator approaches zero.

The best solution in both cases is to remove whatever is blocking
thought process in the first place. That's a real challenge. We can't go medicating forever.

This is more than a physical issue - of course alcohol slurs movement
but the mind is more powerful than the body.
 
Big fan of the herb here. It's the only thing my body can handle. Everything else is way too strong. I wish society would just lighten up about it. I hate feeling like I am 13 years old and sneaking around, but unfortunately, the short sighted laws of my country force that on me. You're not supposed to talk about it, lest you get labeled a pot head. This thread may very well get deleted, but before it does, I would just like to say I support legalization with every fiber of my being. It's only been illegal since 1937. Before that, it was one of the top crops in the entire world, driving the economy. We sure could use that right now.

Outlawing a plant...is insanity. Especially one that can feed, heal, clothe and fuel us. I can't believe I'm still sneaking around. When I was in high school in the 70's, I thought for sure that by the year 2000, it would be legal.

An injust law turned a good man like myself into a criminal. I'm not a criminal, the law itself is the criminal. I can't even legally buy a gun to protect myself. I am being denied my constitutional right to bear arms, while every day, drunk drivers take innocent lives. Where is the responsibility of the people who provide alcohol? I'm referring to our own government who say's it's OK to buy and consume it. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness...those great words have little meaning for me anymore, they have been reduced to lip service. I'm allowed to be alive, but am not allowed to pursue my version of liberty and happiness, without the risk of incarceration. Unless I live in a different state. Pfft. That's discrimination in my mind. I thought these were supposed to inalienable rights. I can feel myself starting to get bitter about it, so I'll just stop here. I have to go to work.
 
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Back in the day, I recorded myself before and after............................

The after felt good..................It also sounded like crap.
 
I regularly drink fizzy water and chew gum. That's pretty much it for me. I'm to old for all of stuff you young whippersnappers take, and I've tried a fair bit of it back in the day and all it did was make me sleepy...
 
I'll have a few beers at practice, nothing serious. It honestly just makes practice a bit more fun, and I am about fun at this point. And maybe one beer at a live show.

My bandmates don't care, but if I were to start screwing up, they would.
If I am really buzzed, my tempo goes to shit. That's when I start getting the "looks," but it's been years since that happened.
 
My experience with this is that it depends on how much i have ingested. I rarely perform truly badly when stoned because of the years of practice but i certainly cant play to 100% of my ability. That said i really dont have a problem with slight indulgence before a gig to calm the ever present nerves. The key, i think is moderation. I try to be sober for all gigs because i want to bring 100% to a performance but i admit to getting truly f***ed up during some rehearsals. I've listened to enough recordings of myself not to kid myself that the intoxicants make me play better but i will say that sometimes they free my mind just enough to come up with something i would never have come up with otherwise. Of course then one has to practice the hell out of the idea so it can be replicated later.
 
Big fan of the herb here. It's the only thing my body can handle. Everything else is way too strong. I wish society would just lighten up about it. I hate feeling like I am 13 years old and sneaking around, but unfortunately, the short sighted laws of my country force that on me. You're not supposed to talk about it, lest you get labeled a pot head. This thread may very well get deleted, but before it does, I would just like to say I support legalization with every fiber of my being. It's only been illegal since 1937. Before that, it was one of the top crops in the entire world, driving the economy. We sure could use that right now.

Outlawing a plant...is insanity. Especially one that can feed, heal, clothe and fuel us. I can't believe I'm still sneaking around. When I was in high school in the 70's, I thought for sure that by the year 2000, it would be legal.

An injust law turned a good man like myself into a criminal. I'm not a criminal, the law itself is the criminal. I can't even legally buy a gun to protect myself. I am being denied my constitutional right to bear arms, while every day, drunk drivers take innocent lives. Where is the responsibility of the people who provide alcohol? I'm referring to our own government who say's it's OK to buy and consume it. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness...those great words have little meaning for me anymore, they have been reduced to lip service. I'm allowed to be alive, but am not allowed to pursue my version of liberty and happiness, without the risk of incarceration. Unless I live in a different state. Pfft. That's discrimination in my mind. I thought these were supposed to inalienable rights. I can feel myself starting to get bitter about it, so I'll just stop here. I have to go to work.

I got your back on this uncle Lar....

and to the OP.....where playing a little high releases some creativity and eases inhibitions it also sometimes leads us to believe we are doing something a bit better than we actually are

record it next time.....the only real way to tell

I personally enjoy playing stoned...it's a great feeling.....but keep it mostly for when I am playing alone or a stress free rehearsal

but I do my best to never jeopardize a performance and choose not to perform high..... rehearsal is a different story :)
 
I second everything everyone has said here. Good much of a good thing can be bad. While it feels good at the time, your playing will suffer when you go to far.

I almost always have beer at gigs and rehearsals, but its kept in very strict moderation just to smooth the nerves. Its about one beer an hour, or between sets. In cases I can moderate my playing doesn't suffer, it helps me keep my mind from judging my snare tone, and focused on the pocket and listening to the other musicians.
 
One of my best performances happened when my in ear monitors died. I had to sit back and focus on the music. Was deep into the groove that night and got a lot of compliments. No beer at that gig; wife was due with our baby soon and I didn't want anything stopping me from going to the hospital.

In moderation sure I think one beer before a set (or even a nice glass or wine) and maybe in between longer sets. One of my last bass players just didnt know when to stop though and it pissed me off to no end when we had to push him through the rest of a set.
 
I find that ONE good stiff drink before a show loosens me up enough to be relaxed and focused. No more then that. Once I start to be "buzzed" then the opposite affect happens. Just enough to relax and I'm good.
 
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