[noodles]

Originally Posted by 7 Strings of Hate

i saw them on the reinventing the steel tour, i'm sure phil wasnt heroining but he was drunk.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, but if you are high 24/7, then you were too high to realize how much they fucking sucked. Go pick up "Live: 101 Proof" and hear just how rotten they became. They went from being a machine to a onstage party, and it was the fans that suffered for it.

and noodles, it probably never worked out for you getting messed up because its not a regular thing for you.

No, it doesn't "work" for me because I play more technical music, and I care about my fans. I can have a bad night sober. I don't need to help the situation. There is a word for people who say they are messed up so much that they can function fine while messed up: addicts. People who kick the habit go on to speak of how they feel clear headed for the first time in years. What is often mistaken for being able to function under the influence, is someone getting used to the feeling and the handicap, to the point that they don't even realize it anymore. I know, because I was in a band that was always high, all the fucking time, and when our weed connection dried up...suddenly we started putting on the best shows of our lives. We played so good that we tripled our fan base in three months as word of mouth spread. From that point on, it was sober at practice, sober on stage. Save the parting until afterwards.

I'm not trying to be a dick, but I've been there, done that. A whole lot of people have before me, and a whole lot of people will after me. It doesn't work, no matter what anyone thinks. Racks of scientific research show what substances do to your thought process, hand/eye coordination, reflexes, reaction times, etc. You are better sober, but an addict will have an adjustment period, learning how to function sober again. We're not born fucked up, you know?

[Drew]

Originally Posted by noodles

Jimi Hendrix, in his later years, was a horrible live guitarist, but no one noticed because they were equally fucked up. It really doesn't have anything do with how influential (very) or inspiring (extremely) he was. Listen to early live stuff, when he was straight, and he'll just level you. When he was fucked up all the time, and he was a ragged, sloppy mess.

Yes and no. what Jimi was in his later years was inconsistant. Some nights he'd be fucking ON, some nights he'd just meander. Dave's right when he says that the audience was just as fucked up, and honestly the more meandering stuff he'd sometimes get into was probably the right soundtrack for that.

I don't know if it has anything to do with whether or not he was high, but my favorite side of the guy's playing has always been his more focused stuff - he was a feral blues player who never gets the credit he deserves, and going out on a limb here, considering his roots were as a blues and R&B guitarist, I have a feeling that the very in-the-pocket, intense, biting blues playing you sometimes heard from the guy was Jimi sober. I mean, compare Woodstock's "Red House" to any of his better blues work - he had a head full of acid for that entire concert, and while the psychedelic stuff still hangs together, it really shows in his blues playing.

[7 Strings of Hate]

dito, i dont get "trashed", but i dont get to the point where a performance would suffer

[7 Strings of Hate]

Originally Posted by noodles

I'm glad you enjoyed it, but if you are high 24/7, then you were too high to realize how much they fucking sucked. Go pick up "Live: 101 Proof" and hear just how rotten they became. They went from being a machine to a onstage party, and it was the fans that suffered for it.



No, it doesn't "work" for me because I play more technical music, and I care about my fans. I can have a bad night sober. I don't need to help the situation. There is a word for people who say they are messed up so much that they can function fine while messed up: addicts. People who kick the habit go on to speak of how they feel clear headed for the first time in years. What is often mistaken for being able to function under the influence, is someone getting used to the feeling and the handicap, to the point that they don't even realize it anymore. I know, because I was in a band that was always high, all the fucking time, and when our weed connection dried up...suddenly we started putting on the best shows of our lives. We played so good that we tripled our fan base in three months as word of mouth spread. From that point on, it was sober at practice, sober on stage. Save the parting until afterwards.

right, a bit more of the high and mighty attitude i was talking about, just because it works for you, that doesnt mean thats true for everyone man, i'm not trying to fight, but someone started this thread asking a question, most everyone before me didnt say they got high or messed up really,i was being honost, but i dont feel its fair to give off this aura of "everyone who does drugs and play music isnt good and their performances suffer". if the world of music didnt have drugs, it wouldnt be where it is now. I'm shy typically, i wouldnt have even met people to play with if i didnt smoke some and get out of my shell. you said that i'm so high i dont get perspective, but i gurentee you that you could have a conversation with me sober or stoned and you WOULD NOT be able to tell the difference.

[Drew]

Do some A/B comparisons of your live show high and straight, then. Really, it may make more of a difference than you realize. I mean, I'm the board lush, and I'm advocating playing straight.

that aforementioned 2-drink magic point? I should mention that my last gig was a weekly bar show with this blues-rock band I'd sit in with whenever I could make it where we were playing as much for ourselves as we were the audience. If I was doing a solo instrumental rock show, I MIGHT have one beer, but I'd think long and hard about it.

Do I jam fucked up? Of course. Why? Because we may sound like shit, but goddamn is it fun. Colin and I have done our share of horrid takes on Floyd's "In the Flesh" so drunk we could barely stand, screaming along over the guitar and drums, which I'm grateful there is no recorded evidence of but were also a fucking blast at the time.

[Edroz]

Originally Posted by 7 Strings of Hate

i saw them on the reinventing the steel tour, i'm sure phil wasnt heroining but he was drunk.

and noodles, it probably never worked out for you getting messed up because its not a regular thing for you.

like i said, i'm high pretty much 24/7, have been for about 10 years, i went to school high, job interviews, ect.. with no problems, and i'm a pretty sucessful person overall. so when i smoke a fatty, i'm not so much trashed, i'm just normal, it makes me feel better and just properly adjusted. i'v gone without stuff before and i dont freak out or anything. its like someone on prozac. it just makes them feel better, i'm a hot head, and if i didnt smoke all the time, i'd probably be in jail for murder. and for the record, i'v never been arrested for drugs, iv never been arrested, never been in a car accident, i have 3 speeding tickets in about 11 years of driving, so just because you dont do drugs, realize that there are people who do, that arnt raving lunitics

i can agree with this for some people.


the guitarist/ singer and drummer in one of my old bands were high 24/7, high was their normal. and i have to say they were two of the tightest players i've played with to date, so i feel it really depends on the individual. i'll admit, it's an extremely rare case.

i've never been a drug or weed guy, and i sure as hell can't perform worth a damn after too many drinks .

there have been exceptions for me though. i remember one show in particular that by chance was booked the same day as my birthday. obviously i was getting fed shots and beers all night, but played surprisingly well! and there was video to prove it .

[7 Strings of Hate]

ya know though, if i wasnt high, i would probably get nervous, and be so focused i would start to blank, i know everyone has the image of spicolli in their head, but i'm absolutly normal when i smoke, its like you coffey drinkers, i'm just not right if i dont have it

[7 Strings of Hate]

once again, not trying to be a dick if i may come off as one

[noodles]

Chris, I'm not trying to be high and mighty, and believe me, I've been there. I was the shy kid. When you're a 5'7" 115lb computer geek, you don't have many friends. You know how I built confidence? About three solid years of gigging. Being on stage makes me feel powerful. It instills me with this conquer the world kind of swagger. It didn't happen until I stopped hiding behind a substance to overcome stage fright, and decided to tackle the stage fright, shy, short, skinny kid head on. No one said it was easy, but nothing worth accomplishing ever is.

Guess what? Now I can go up there, completely straight, with four other completely straight guys. We bowl over the audience like a wrecking ball. We are a well tuned machine, tighter than insert your favorite cliche. Then we go back to the bar and get fucking wrecked. It's an absolute blast to be in a band that is able to accomplish what we do, and playing live is a bigger high than any substance I can think of. Being high falls underneath of playing live and sex.

Like Drew said, I've had a blast getting together with friends, getting ripped, and jamming. However, the whole point of that exercise is to have fun with friends. With my band, we are trying to accomplish something much greater than having fun with friends, and I cannot do that even slightly messed up. Just like I cannot do my job without a straight mind. Caffeine is the only drug I will ever do before playing live. Not even cold medicine for me on stage.

[7 Strings of Hate]

and i can totally respect that,