Alcohol and playing

stonevibe

Or just more cocaine, more beer etc etc

soma1975

Perhaps one should practice more while drunk. 

NelsonP

This fella certainly used to enjoy a drink while playing. He's stopped now though.

Although I'm very suspicious of how the cans are all lined up perfectly so you can see the logo - early placement marketing perhaps?

fields5069

I play pool better when drunk, to a certain extent. I’m slightly more relaxed and my elbow doesn’t move around so much. 

EricTheWeary

NelsonP said:

This fella certainly used to enjoy a drink while playing. He's stopped now though.

Although I'm very suspicious of how the cans are all lined up perfectly so you can see the logo - early placement marketing perhaps?

IIRC there was a lot of relief when Stevie Ray Vaughan switched from alcohol to coke onstage, well until they realised it contained cocaine he had dissolved into it. If I also RC it then recrystallizes in your stomach and rips your stomach lining.   

Anyway...just as per some of the above comments I'm struggling to think of many other complex tasks where it's seen as acceptable to have alcohol whilst carrying them out. Being the next Eric Clapton from your sofa is fine, trying to do it in front of a crowd less so. I know that people on here do drink and play but I'd suggest their playing is fine despite the alcohol because they are sufficiently skilled/ rehearsed and it's not improved by it. I could probably drive home safely tonight from work after a couple of pints because I've done it many, many times before but it wouldn't make me a safer or better driver - I'd make it home despite the alcohol in my system. 
I got crippled by stage nerves but at no point did I think that would be improved by a developing headache and the need for a piss.   

kaypeejay

Sassafras said:

I just have to look at a bottle of booze and my timing goes to hell. Even though I suffered from almost crippling stage fright I'd still play better stone cold sober.
Plus, I had an unfortunate incident when I was pissed in a club in Guildford, I made an absolute idiot of myself. I shall have to live with the guilt and shame for the rest of my life.

Sharing the incident on an internet forum is often the only way to get over things. I find anyway!

Sassafras

kaypeejay said:

Sassafras said:

I just have to look at a bottle of booze and my timing goes to hell. Even though I suffered from almost crippling stage fright I'd still play better stone cold sober.
Plus, I had an unfortunate incident when I was pissed in a club in Guildford, I made an absolute idiot of myself. I shall have to live with the guilt and shame for the rest of my life.

Sharing the incident on an internet forum is often the only way to get over things. I find anyway!

Maybe I didn't make myself clear, it's a secret guilt and shame I shall carry to my grave - apart from the dozens of people who witnessed my disgraceful behaviour.

midlifecrisis

 I dont touch a drop when gigging, i dont suffer stage nerves so if i did have any i would be even more relaxed and play sloppier. Have gigged with singers that drank, a couple of them it didnt sem to make any difference but others were obvious, to me anyway, were pissed and not good.

mudslide73

One pint max. We did a birthday party once where I had about 6 pints - a recording exists but I won't ever listen to it. I remember thinking I was clever trying to reference other songs during the tunes and adding extra lead bits. Loads of extra confidence isn't always a good thing

roberty

I don't enjoy myself if I've had more than one or two. If I'm sober I can move around and show off but after a few drinks I have to stand still and concentrate

John_P

I just sacked a singer last week for getting drunk at a gig.     He thought he was fine.    He wasn’t.  

A couple of pints of ok but more than that is a fine line and every drink beyond that is more unprofessional regardless of how cool you think it is.  

professorben

https://youtu.be/TfLxqZ-GD0o

professorben

John_P said:

I just sacked a singer last week for getting drunk at a gig.     He thought he was fine.    He wasn’t.  

A couple of pints of ok but more than that is a fine line and every drink beyond that is more unprofessional regardless of how cool you think it is.  

Sacked from your band or just one you were watching at the time? 

ESBlonde

I learned the hard way that I can't play when I've had a drink. That was back when I was a teenager, like @Sassafras I was asshamed of myself and I've not drunk and worked since. Don't misunderstand me, I can sink a few pints etc. but I tend to do that midweek and stay sober to drive and gig at weekends.

scrumhalf

If I drank a pint before going onstage the problem wouldn't be getting pissed, it would be the mad dashes for the khazi in mid-song. Oh, the joys of getting old.

thegummy

scrumhalf said:

If I drank a pint before going onstage the problem wouldn't be getting pissed, it would be the mad dashes for the khazi in mid-song. Oh, the joys of getting old.

Get that new distortion pedal that runs on liquid (Ranger FX Minibar) and hook it up to a colostomy pipe. Then your tone will change as the gig goes on!

NelsonP

Sassafras said:

kaypeejay said:

Sassafras said:

I just have to look at a bottle of booze and my timing goes to hell. Even though I suffered from almost crippling stage fright I'd still play better stone cold sober.
Plus, I had an unfortunate incident when I was pissed in a club in Guildford, I made an absolute idiot of myself. I shall have to live with the guilt and shame for the rest of my life.

Sharing the incident on an internet forum is often the only way to get over things. I find anyway!

Maybe I didn't make myself clear, it's a secret guilt and shame I shall carry to my grave - apart from the dozens of people who witnessed my disgraceful behaviour.

Hmm. Now let's see. Guildford. Guilt and shame.....

Did you start a fight with Lee Anderton and lose?

pintspiller

I've done a few gigs were I've drank too much. I had a two pint rule after that. Nowadays I don't bother.

CarpeDiem

octatonic said:

Sassafras said:

I just have to look at a bottle of booze and my timing goes to hell. Even though I suffered from almost crippling stage fright I'd still play better stone cold sober.
Plus, I had an unfortunate incident when I was pissed in a club in Guildford, I made an absolute idiot of myself. I shall have to live with the guilt and shame for the rest of my life.

I used to get crippling stage fright- I don't now.
There are 5 things I would suggest.

1. Level up your playing.
If you are playing at 90% of your ability when performing then you will fuck up.
If you are only using 20% of your ability then you have bandwidth to get out of trouble if you fuck up.

2. Read some books on the topic.
Two I would suggest are 'Effortless Mastery' and 'The Inner Game of Music'.

3. Play another instrument.
I chose drums- there is nowhere to hide on a drum kit and the gross muscle movements seem to suit moving more freely.
Practicing on another instrument and then performing it gave me a lot of confidence that I could take back to guitar.

4. Practice escape routes. What I mean here is get yourself into an uncomfortable part of the neck and then practice how you get back to a place where you know what to do.
I also found it difficult when out of position in flat keys- but I practiced doing this and now it is less of an issue.

5. Perform a lot in front of others.
A lot of the time it is just inexperience.
You can practice all you want at home but playing in front of others is how you get good at playing in front of others.

Wis awarded. I'm playing at most of my capability live, and alcohol would mess up my timing and dexterity.

As well as a player's ability, it may also be affected by their capacity to drink. Prior to his health scare, I've seen Zakk Wylde drinking throughout gigs with no discernible affect on his playing, whereas I've seen a player in another well known metal band gradually deteriorating in timing and fluidity as the gig progressed.

Sassafras

And it's not just drink that messes with my timing, it's more or less every other psychotropic drug.