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I suspect that shrinking budgets might be a factor on the studio side as hardly anyone can afford to book out months of studio time to get an album done any more so having to say waste a morning oif a session to cope with substance related drama becomes much more serious.
People want to work with reliable people and have an easy life- doing music is hard enough without extra hassle.
People largely don't care what others do in their private lives though.
I've noticed the younger generation tend to be a bit cleaner living that us Gen X'ers.
It is a generalisation of course.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
But the "zero tolerance" idea isn't the reality. Just like you wouldn't know if someone's been using caffeine that day, you wouldn't know if someone who's used to smoking weed has smoked a little before a gig or session. It's not like in a sitcom or when someone tries it for the first time and can't stop laughing till they're sick.
So I have to wonder if the reason your experience tells you what you say is that you've never played with anyone who was noticeably intoxicated so assumed they hadn't taken anything but that doesn't mean they hadn't.
Won't mention any current day names but I know and know of great players, names and non-names, who do it, I'm not just guessing that they do or theorizing they'd still be able to play well.
I would just say the same thing to that though, if someone shows up over-indulged in anything to the point it's noticeable then of course it's not going to make the boss happy. An extreme example maybe, but if someone had so many coffees that they were all jittery it wouldn't be ideal lol.
But again, the musicians they're happy with who show up and just get on with it aren't necessarily stone cold sober, they just haven't taken something (or an amount of something) that stops them functioning well or is noticeable to anyone.
As a random comment, back in the days when I did used to smoke, I'd tend to mix my songs sober even if I'd smoked plenty while actually coming up with them. If I smoked before a mix I'd be tempted to experiment more with effects and changing things rather than just get on with the necessities of the mix lol. That's not to say that, if I had a boss telling me not to experiment that I couldn't have just got it done as it was, it was just better to get the mix done and save the weed for making another song where I wanted to experiment.
Their pupils were like saucers, couldn't wait to get onstage. 20 minutes later they were off stage and proclaiming it to be the best they've ever played and an amazing gig blah blah.
Highlight was them playing There She Goes out of time, a semitone up from where it should be, and with the B and E strings out of tune. I can still hear it now 15 years later.
The singer sort of switched between singing where he thought the key should be, and what the guitarist was actually playing.
The bassist looking at his fingers and back at the amp as if he was thinking "I practiced this for ages and I can't remember the key!"
Then we move on to Smells Like Teen Spirit. B and E still out of tune. That got interesting in the verse.
When we got through to him he was at home, only just woken up. He didn't even remember agreeing to the gig, so we told him not to worry about it.
An hour later he turned up. He'd slept in the park after we'd been out the night before, had all red wine down his shirt and his pupils were massive. Insisted on playing the gig, and it was absolute perfection. Never played with him again after that though.
Im not having a pop at you personally, it’s a subject I feel very strongly about, believe it or not I used to be VERY anti weed and drugs in general (typical for the child of hippy parents I guess) I have mellowed in my old age and now I can see the benefits of cannabis regarding pain relief and recreation ( I’ve seen the pain relieving effects personally on my partner) but not when it comes to music.
I think of the hours of my life I’ve lost rehearsing the same songs over and over because some people can’t remember what they did last week, even when you play them the recording you made at the time, having to be the guy in the band that books the gigs, writes the songs, picks up the drummer, organizes the rehearsals, collects the money etc etc etc.
Not to mention the impact it had on my childhood when my dad forgot to meet my baby sister and I for our visitation days, watching him descend into a hazy shadow of his former self.
You are not allowed to drive under the influence of cannabis because it impairs your ability to react, your coordination and your awareness, this is directly comparable to a technical activity such as playing an instrument, people are simply not as capable under the influence as they are without.
But just like some people get drunk and start hugging everyone and telling them they love them while others have a few beers and start arguing, shouting and fighting with everyone, drugs affect people differently so you can't really draw any conclusions from one person.
If that guy you refer to isn't obnoxious like that sober then he definitely should stop while working with you.
I sincerely hope there aren't any open minded people read this thread and wonder if their lack of weed is hindering their creativity - there's also a plethora of evidence that many great albums have been written by people who weren't on weed at the time.
It's fairly common for people who want to give it up to worry that it'll stop their creativity but I still have creativity without it as do countless others.
Probably actually made him easier to work with
Bound to leave anyone thinking "at least he was an amazing drummer" lol
Buying expensive guitars is dangerous and addictive, too...
My band, Red For Dissent