PWI: Performing While Intoxicated

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Do you drink or become otherwise intoxicated during practice? What about before/during a show? Is it part of the routine for you?

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

i stopped drinking entirely over a year ago, but before that id only have one drink, right before a set, to calm my nerves.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not allowed to. After blowing a set which was watched by a Glasto booker (no one TOLD me he was going to be there - it was my birthday and one of my friends gave me a bottle of vodka which we consumed backstage) I was not allowed by my (former) bandmates to go onstage drunk.

I did actually find that it sharpened my performance - so now I'll have a single drink before I go on, but not get hammered until afterwards. Much better.

We do drink loads at Shimuras rehearsals, but I'm trying to get away from it, really. I mean, when we're rehearsing at home, it's fine, it's more of a hangout than a real rehearsal. But when we're in the studio, we don't drink, and find we get so much more done.

― Paranoid Spice (kate), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

Ugh, I can't make out what I'm doing in reverbed out rooms if I am too fucked up :(

― jw (ex machina), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

I like playing while slightly drunk, and I like drinking before, during, and after shows. Usually it doesn't happen during, because I'm the drummer and both hands are constantly busy.

Really, the trick is playing as relaxed as if you have a couple drinks in you when you're sober.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:21 (nineteen years ago)

To be fair, I can think of one show where too many members of the band had too many drinks and it affected our playing (and song choices). Unfortunately it was, like, one of our biggest shows ever.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:27 (nineteen years ago)

back when i smoked pot, i couldnt even think of playing a show stoned. yikes. forget about paranoia and self consciousness, but just me ears wouldnt work right. I would probably be out of tune and time with everyone.

right now I think one or two drinks in me is the best time. It provides just the right amount of everything you need for playing i think.

― AaronK (AaronK), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:53 (nineteen years ago)

We are a pretty straight band: almost no drinking at practice (I think it's happened twice) and almost no drinking before shows. I'll usually not drink at all before we play, but take a drink with me on stage so I can gradually get more drunk as I get more comfortable on stage. Hopefully by the last song I will have a little bit of a buzz and go nuts.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

A drink before a show can be good, but it depends on my mood. There was one notorious show where I was completely skunked, and most of the set sucked, but we did manage a six-minute cover of "Fire And Rain" which became somewhat legendary.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

Couldn't even contemplate drink/smoke when I was in a band that required stupid math rock dexterity, but I played in a band with just three basses doing very porous, droney ambient stuff and played a gig once whilst almost asleep and found that extremely good fun.

― mzui (mzui), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

Three basses!

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

Best line up ever, truthfully :)

― mzui (mzui), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

Did they ever record? That sounds like it might be, uh, challenging to mix well.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:43 (nineteen years ago)

Yea loads of stuff, they are still going albeit with a more complex line-up, actually it sounds better now.

www.rothkomusic.co.uk

― mzui (mzui), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:50 (nineteen years ago)

There's a fine line. It's all about quanity and timing.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 20 October 2005 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

WELCOME TO THE THEME OF SATURDAY NIGHT FOR THE FAKE ACCENTS! IT'S AN EXPERIMENT!

― petesmith (plsmith), Thursday, 20 October 2005 23:50 (nineteen years ago)

that is to say, we really dont drink before shows that much.

― petesmith (plsmith), Thursday, 20 October 2005 23:51 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I'm all for the 1-2 drink but no more thing. Relaxes me, and in certain sense I think I'm actually tighter as a result (I hope this isn't similar to being a "better dancer")

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 21 October 2005 02:14 (nineteen years ago)

I don't drink more than a couple of pints when we play, for the simple fact that I'm usually driving. I play better sober anyway.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:36 (nineteen years ago)

No intoxicants at practice, but I find that an indeterminate quantity of whisky sharpens me up before a gig. Our guitarist likes a bit to smoke, but our drummer will barely touch a drop, which is not entirely representative of his usal habits. Probably why he gets so uptight and miserable.

― Ben Dot (1977), Sunday, 23 October 2005 02:46 (nineteen years ago)

for me it's a few cigarettes and 1 or 2 beers
i made it more beers once and completely missed a number of cues

― nervous (cochere), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 03:49 (nineteen years ago)

since basically its just me and a guitar, i get shitfaced.

― bingo (Chris V), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 09:51 (nineteen years ago)

There's a point at which I'm relaxed enough that my lixx are hot as fuck and I can make anyone in the audience play air guitar, but right after that point I lose the ability to sing in tune. The line is just too thin, so I really avoid anything more than a single drink before I get on stage now.

― martin m. (mushrush), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

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