Alcohol and playing

Here is my two cents: It's kind of like shooting pool for me. I have found there is a point between a couple and a "few" where I seem to be at a peak. But once I hit that one drink, I start sinking fast. I have been doing this for many many years. And I think that if I keep it at about three beers before starting, and one per set... I am ok. But again, if I'm not careful, I hit that point, and I suck. I find mostly in my feet. I hit a point where I just lose my ability to execute the notes.
 
I quit drinking full stop 14 years ago. I was coming home from the gig with 1/2 as much money because of the bar tab. I couldn't make a living otherwise. I still don't touch the stuff, simply because it isn't worth the money/ hangover and emotional cloud. I get so much more done because of it, never worry about driving etc..
 
I'm taking an antidepressant thant intensifies the effect of alcohol. The other night I had a glass of Chardonnay and a nonalcoholic beer. You'd have thought I was dropping Jaeger Bombs all night. On the bright side, I never get hangovers and I'm a really cheap date!!

:) It all makes perfect sense to me. Those nonalcoholic beers are a menace!

I can't remember issues with booze when I was on ADs, but I'm such a cheap drunk I might not have been able to tell the difference. Two drinks and I'm dodgy, so I only have one before playing to loosen up a little. In the old days I was less cautious ...


MisterMixelpix said:
I'm going to reiterate that some people in here are either "two beer queers" or lack the self control necessary to land somewhere between "stone sober" and "fall on your @$$ drunk".

LOL. Now the world is making sense. Musicians - and especially drummers - have a massive rep for hellraising yet the responses so far make me wonder if we are one big Sunday school. Having trouble reconciling things. Are we an especially serious-minded bunch or susceptible to alcohol or are the wild things here staying under the radar?

It should be said that I have known some queer people who can really put it away!


Here is my two cents: It's kind of like shooting pool for me. I have found there is a point between a couple and a "few" where I seem to be at a peak. But once I hit that one drink, I start sinking fast. I have been doing this for many many years. And I think that if I keep it at about three beers before starting, and one per set... I am ok. But again, if I'm not careful, I hit that point, and I suck.

In the old days, the more drunk I was the better I got at pool. I only played occasionally and basically couldn't play for nuts normally but when I was blotto I was deadly.

It never worked for me with drumming, but another intoxicant I indulged in before a gig helped my playing so amazingly I resolved not to do it again. I could see where things would have ended up ...
 
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I quit drinking full stop 14 years ago. I was coming home from the gig with 1/2 as much money because of the bar tab. I couldn't make a living otherwise. I still don't touch the stuff, simply because it isn't worth the money/ hangover and emotional cloud. I get so much more done because of it, never worry about driving etc..

You know what's cool? Having a couple drinks, relaxing, and coming home without being sh!tfaced.

I still don't get why people think the only options are pure sobriety or absolutely insane alcoholism. It's like saying "I don't eat ice cream. I got sick of spending $500 a week on Haagen Daz and weighing 450 pounds."
 
Nothing wrong at all.
Having a couple of beer pints or cups of wine......Hey! who's a got a beer?
 
I drink a beer or 2 , sip lightly,but durring play water bottles....Then after the show i love relaxing with a nice cold one........
 
my personal rule is no more than one beer before the show, and preferably not sooner than an hour before we go on. alcohol does negatively affect my playing as well as my ability to focus on where we are in the songs and what comes next. but sometimes the fans start buying us shots and then everything is out the window and the show becomes a big free for all!

i like to drink my share after the show, but by then i usually have to dismantle everything and get it out of the place. plus the bar is trying to shut down, so it's hard to get much more than a beer or two.

the lack of beer doesn't bother me too much though because the way i figure it i'm being paid to provide entertainment and to get OTHER people to drink. the show is not about me and my drinking.
 
You mean drinking and playing drums don't go hand in hand? Ha. I love to drink while I play, I find it loosens me up a little. I don't however think it's a good idea to get smashed and try to have a productive practice or a good show. But that being said, you can usually catch me playing w/ a cold one. Cheers!
 
You know what's cool? Having a couple drinks, relaxing, and coming home without being sh!tfaced.

I still don't get why people think the only options are pure sobriety or absolutely insane alcoholism. It's like saying "I don't eat ice cream. I got sick of spending $500 a week on Haagen Daz and weighing 450 pounds."
Have you ever heard of such a thing as an "addictive personality"? There's (quite a few) people who, upon consuming a couple of drinks, aren't capable of stopping until they become, as you described it, "sh!tfaced".
 
I just played my first show with my new band, and I had a beer, then I got nervous because the drummer in the band before us was way better than I am, so I had another, and that really calmed me down and my playing was perfect.

My "hey the song is gonna end" alarm however, was broken, and i missed pretty important stops in two of our songs...not a huge deal, nobody in the crowd noticed, I don't even think our guitarist did...

but I did, and I don't think I'll drink before another show.
 
Learned from former Denver drum shop owner (and current Sabian field rep) Bob Rupp, to bypass the beers while on the bandstand. "Drummers need to stay fast", he would say. Makes sense to me, particularly here at higher altitude. Couple that w/an outdoor show in moderate heat, and one is asking for trouble. Water and sometimes a watered down Coca Cola is all I'll drink while gigging. I might have a beer when done playing, and am packing up.
 
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I remember getting all Rock n roll before a late gig one night years ago, and having half a bottle of `jack" before the show... not a good idea... I was rubbish!!! Never again I said, and thats the way its stayed. But i do admire these guys that can drink & play well!! 2 skills at once!!!

I usually have to drive my gear home anyway...
 
Lol i'm not here advertising drugs or anything, but drugs and music have been married for like....ever

This isn't always the case, and a lot of musicians are better for not (at least not becoming addicts). thankfully. if you had to do drugs to be a good musician, i think a lot of people would object to the greatness we call music!
 
I just got the recording of our band playing the other night, and now that I can hear everything, I really played pretty badly, so there will be no more drinking before shows. Before practice/songwriting, maybe.
 
I go through bottles and bottles of water while I practice and perform. When I'm practicing, I like to count out loud a lot and this really dries out the mouth when combined with more intense playing. When I'm performing, the nerves and the energy I like to play with dries me out, so I need my water.

I'm 18 so I can't buy a drink, but I can only imagine the physical and mental affect it would have on me based on other experiences. It's like I never drink... I'm an American high schooler about to go to college. But as far as playing, I'll probably never drink because of the affect it would have on me. Even if I had the option of a Coke or an energy drink... I'll stick to my water.
 
Mmmm delicious frosty beer, I could go for one right now who wants to join me?

Well I usually have one before the show providing I've had plenty to eat that day. But I will also say that I am a participator in drinking water at gigs. It is the sensible thing to do even if it is the only sensible thing we do.
 
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