[zimbloth]

Administering metal in front of a crowd at a show is enough of a natural high for me, anything else would be pointless IMO.

If people out there can do it, that's cool. All I know is the guys in this band performance suffers when we're under the influence.

[spinecast213]

ok i guess i can respond to my own post.

i never get "trashed" guess i shoulda picked a different word.

we kill a 6 pack (between the 3 of us that drink) every practice. i dont think it affects us at all, its just habit i guess.

live, i usually will be on beer 2 or 3, and high. every show i can remember, ive gotten high before.

let me name some tight bands that are known for being potheads.

deeds of flesh

suffocation (pure 100% stoners there)

behemoth (weed and coke fiends)

SUPPOSEDLY derek roddy stays coked out on tour.

several other notable DM drummers that are known for snorting. pete sandoval for one.

and im not judging anybody, derek roddy can wipe his ass with 99% of drummers to ever walk the earth.

[Sindwulf]

I could understand coke being 'ok' as in, not fucking up your performance the least. Cafffeine and stimulants might help. I feel like I play guitar the best after I drink a shit load of coffee. I don't know about coke and I don't plan on trying the stuff.

[deguello666]

I can't even have a reefer when I'm rehearsing or playing, it goes to shit...

The female singer is stoned all the time, so we don't really notice much difference, but I just can't play when I've had a smoke.....(I don't get drunk either....or do any other drugs)

I like a pint or two before I go on stage, but it's not enough to get me plastered, just a nice "not too nervous" feeling

[Kronpox]

My bands.. like to party. We all drink a lot (if we kill 12 beers each, we wonder where the next 6 are coming from) and smoke dope. We also usually practice on our days off, and what better way to celebrate freedom than to bring two 24s and a sack to practice?!

We don't drink it all while we're trying to be productive, but we definitely get a really hefty buzz on. And I won't say that we're all completely capable while drunk, but it IS a lot more fun (which is the point of everything) and the way it's seemed to have gone, if you practice drunk every time, then you get better drunk, then you can play shows drunk and it's a lot easier than if playing drunk is unusual for you. Also being drunk helps my vocals a lot - we refer to beer as 'growl juice'. We've seen videos from all of our shows and we are not disappointed, though we do try to tone it down a little for shows. Until after.

We're not morons and we regularly have practices where we don't drink heavily so we can concentrate on chops and being creative. But it's not as fun. I also find that when I'm stoned, I completely tune everything out except the drums, and focus entirely on nailing each note and my technique becomes much better. I can't remember anything I come up with and can only play riffs that I have memorized (if I'm improvising and come up with a riff that I think is sick, I basically forget every note as the next note is played. Terrible) but playing my bands' songs is no problem and can be quite exhilarating.

All this said, I've certainly had a few shows where I've been way too drunk and my playing and stage presence suffers. Everyone has their boundaries.

[thadood]

I typically have 3-6 beers before I hit the stage. It takes a lot for me to feel like I've had alcohol, but there's a point where I know it starts effecting my performance.

Afterwards, it's all in if I feel like it.

I can play completely smashed, though, so it makes no real difference or not as to how much I've had.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by chavhunter

Metal band: total opposite, usually dosed up on lots of caffiene so I can keep up with the ridiculous speed we play at. Then Jack n Coke after the gig!!

I forgot about this, I loves me some coffee before a show, butn ot too much, otherwise I have to take a break in the middle of a set or just hold it, which is detrimental to my playing, as you may have guessed.

In my above post I was talking beer/weed/other.

[jacksonplayer]

I've gone on stage after a beer or two (in a blues context) and didn't have any problems. But I only went on stage once totally drunk. It was a disaster! It felt like it took about a LONG second for commands from my brain to reach my fingers. At one point, I looked down at my hands and I was a fret off--and I couldn't even tell!!

That was actually kind of a strange night, because it happened at a local blues jam in college, and I had no intention of getting drunk. But the set I played in started pretty late, and I passed the time at this table with a chick I was hitting on. She and her friends kept pouring me glasses of beer, saying "you're fine, don't worry about it." Uh, not exactly.

I don't play live anymore, but if I did I would never play drunk again. It's basically just disrespect to the music and to the audience.

[7 Strings of Hate]

to be honost, i dont drink before playing and expect to be good unless its only 2 or 3 beers, mind you i'm 250lbs, so it takes a little more to hit me, i just smoke
i'v watched my friend get blitzed while playing bass in a band and make and ass of himself cuz he was so fucking drunk. it was embarssing really, luckly the other guys in the band were HORRIBLE and thought they were awesome when they were sober even, so it wasnt a big deal, but i made sure to tell myself to never let that happen. but i realized that i had never done that because i care about the music i write and want it to be played as good as i can, he was more into the atmosphere and popularity that can come with jammin. i'm just a pot head that loves to rock

[B36arin]

First of all I don't do drugs. Not because I think smoking weed is evil or anything like that, it just isn't for me.

I wouldn't dream of drinking before a show. Sure, I 'd be getting hammered afterwards, but I consider drinking before a show a disrespect to myself, the people I'm playing with and the audience. That's just my personal opinion, based on the effect alcohol has on me, it's probably different for other people.