Pints/drugs before a gig

As there is a lot of musicians here, I'd like to know, how do you feel about it? I'm personally against it, due to the fact I was in a band in 96 (years ago yes!) and we were doing really well. We had management interest, and it was basically betwwn ourselves and another band to open Dublin Castle for the Dublin Castle gigs. My drummer said he needed a joint to steady his nerves, and he played the worst gig of his life! Needless to say, I went mad, and the band broke up and it took me 2 years to speak to the drummer again.

So what do you do/how do youguys feel about it?

bombidol

Personally im not not into drinkin before a gig usually but i have been known to have a pint or two, but im able to have a few beers and still perform. it depends on the person

NeMiSiS

I'l have 2 or 3 before I go on and 2 or 3 while playing. Then I will get ****faced.
Tom

dregin

A pint or two is fine I reckon. Gettin stoned is just a no. Like practise is a fairly non-event if half the band is stoned

juno75

I can have a smoke and/or a pint or two with no problems.
I once, years ago and I dont condone it, came up on acid while playing a support gig. All of a sudden 'everyones looking at me....'

If my drummer has a smoke he will go green and curl up into a ball.
To each his own.
I dont do into for this 'wont eat meat befor they go on stage' thing
Its rock n roll innt?

Zombienosh

Like someone said above it depends on the person, I wouldn't have anything that would effect or take from a performance myself. If im not gonna give 100% I might as well not play at all IMO.

Thats cool alcoholica, But what if there was someone in your band that did it and it made them play worse?

open_book

A drink or two can be good to settle the nerves a little but I prefer the natural adrenaline rush you get from the fear etc. If you wanna get every last ounce of performance from your vocal cords the drink will do you no favours, it tends to **** around with the ear aswell, might be singing slightly off tone sometimes. Most of the time at an amateur level people have never heard ur stuff before so its important to get it sounding as tight and near perfect as possible. Plus if you have just ****ed the **** out of your vocals from a set the last thing you wanna do is bury them with a nights hard intoxication. Sure youll probably recover but how long will it take?

Zombienosh

Papa Smut wrote:

Thats cool alcoholica, But what if there was someone in your band that did it and it made them play worse?

To be honest, I wouldn't let them drink so much that it caused them to play ****, If they did - they can **** off.

Mr. CooL ICE

I dont drink or smoke beforehand, usually cos im the one driving the gear around! But even if im not driving, i dont drink much cos im sorta a lightweight, and afterwards im just too tired to drink. Our old singer usually has 2 or 3 pints of guinness to help his voice, but hes a big guy so the pints dont affect his concentration. One of the guitarists always gets as nervous as hell and usually has cans and pints beforehand, but it doesnt affect his playing, thank fcuk. And our drummer doesnt drink, full stop.

jcoote

nothing wrong with it as long as it doesn't effect the preformance.. if your doing chilled out stuf then maybe a joint would help relax and enjoy your music more

Waltons

I wouldn't have anything against it as long as it doesn't affect performance. I don't do it myself, but I haven't played in front of that many people before.
In the situation that you mentioned though there's no point in having someone ELSE in the band doing something that's going to affect their, and ultimately your, performance as a result of them taking it.
You'd tell a band member if they were screwing up a song and it shouldn't be any different if they're doing something that could make them screw up.

polarbelly

have to have a few lines before i go onstage

haha messing...

i'd have a pint or 3 before hand depending on the gig. if i'm tired already i'd never drink before because usally drink knackers me even more, i think everyone knows their own limits that way. have played a few ****e gigs because of a few too many pints

dead air

I prefer to wait until our set is finished tbh, I like to wind down with a pint after a gig. I generally don't drink much anyway and I know myself that my playing will be that bit more sloppy.

No one in the band really minds if anyone drinks beforehand, as long as it isn't too much.

Turd Ferguson

Well I'm a whiskey drinker, which is good for your voice apparantly, but I usually play better after a few drinks, maybe 2 or 3 glasses. I've never played a gig shi*-faced but I have jammed pretty drunk and when I heard it back it wasnt as bad as I thought. Its an individual thing, bottom line. One mans trash is another mans treasure and all that.

As for drugs I dont like to get very stoned before playin cause it does have a relaxing effect so it just makes me tired. Mushrooms were fun though, playin like 30 minute jam songs and breakin into spontanious dance and solos. I highly reccomend