Drinking at gigs?

Teetotaller here, so I use the Angus Young approved method of lots of cups of tea before a gig.
 
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As much as possible without taking the risk of getting caught and stay in condition of getting back....in fact I don't know...I never count and if I would I'm not sure I'd remember...
 
henryrobinett said:
No drinking for me. I need to be alert. One drink and I feel a little numb. Even slightly is too much for me. I used to have a glass of wine AFTERWARDS. It’d have to be really celebratory now.
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No drinking here except water and tee, don't want the to have the playing suffer, and don't want alcohol on a daily basis.
I feel much better overall that way.
When I was young and just starting out I played with a rock band where we took a shot before going on stage and had a few beers onstage and often (quite) a few after the show.
I got really tired of that quickly, wasn't hungover but felt tired and uncomfortable the next day and in general, scaled back to a few after that show and then to nothing and felt much better doing so. Touring is hard enough without alcohol.
Once in a while on rare occasions if there is a special show or special friends attend we'll have a few afterwards.
 
One of my friends made an experiment in studio with his friends while they were drinking. They found out that drinking one beer equals about 100ms delay in your playing. I don't want that, so I don't drink at gigs.
 
If you need to drink to calm your nerves before a gig, that's like needing a cup of coffee to get going in the morning. You're not actually calming down, or becoming more alert, it's just that your body (or mind) has grown depended on that in order to do what it could have done naturally on its own. If you can accomplish something that you find extremely nerve wrecking without a crutch, like alcohol, you will be off so much for the better.

As for myself, I never drink. Only got drunk once in my life, didn't like it, so I no longer did it. I also don't want to end up like my father who became an alcoholic.
 
aens said:
One of my friends made an experiment in studio with his friends while they were drinking. They found out that drinking one beer equals about 100ms delay in your playing. I don't want that, so I don't drink at gigs.
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I should drink more then, I tend to play too much on the beat...
 
I always treated the band as a business, and gigs were no different, IE, no drinking on the job. We even had the bar tenders and waitresses on our side. When someone would buy us a round, they'd send up watered down soda (or just straight water) so it looked like alcohol. It helped their bar sales, and helped us remain sober for the duration of the gig.

Party after, not before or during. It was a business.
 
Typically a beer a set. Everyone's tolerance is different, so I don't think there's a one size fits solution.
 
Nope, I don’t drink anyway, I’m 48 years sober lol. My band no booze till our set is over. Had a bad incident with my singer a year or so ago.
 
I don't have any rules. Living in an area known for craft beer, we play a lot of breweries. Sometimes I'll enjoy a beer. Sometimes I won't. It's not the playing that suffers. It's the load out. Drinking beer and carrying heavy things don't mix.
 
Not even in my younger days. The strongest thing I'll drink is a mountain dew if it's going to be a late drive home. Other than that it's usually water.
 
Just water for me. I quit drinking when I was 20 (many years ago), and never drank when I played a gig. At a rehearsal when I was 16, I had two beers and had 10 thumbs and my playing sucked! Glad it was a rehearsal, and learned that I couldn't drink and play.
 
I go through a pint of water per set. There’s too much to think about to drink alcohol. It’s not just the playing but lighting cues and changing the set list in response to audience reaction. Usually, by the time we’ve stopped playing, they’ve stopped serving at the bar. So I don’t get a drink afterwards either. When I get home it takes a while to calm down. That’s when I have a beer or a glass of wine.
 
Back in my twenties, I used to drink like a fish, especially before a gig. It didn't work out. I quit drinking 24 years ago.

..Just like anything, I suppose.. all in moderation. If it effects you at all, it will effect the way you play; to which degree depends on how much you quaff down before strapping on a guitar..

In the end, alcohol just effected me too much and I was getting sloppy for it, which was why I had to quit.
 
Well I got through my 1st gig without drinking(sans a fan that bought us all 1 fruity shot that tasted like nothing). Played better and felt great the next day. I've stayed off alcohol for 2 weeks now and literally NEVER felt better. I also stopped my nightly weed toke and that has helped with mental clarity and eating less.

I am a bodybuilder and power lifter and I watch my diet and train hard and heavy. But the weed at night for past 7 years straight was causing me to eat more and while not fat, I have slimmed down drastically and have more visible abs now. Also I believe I had a fatty liver from drinking too much every day and weekends especially. Now my liver feels reduced in size and my insides feel "less full". I feel literally better than I have in a decade or possibly ever. I'm staying off the drink and weed as I feel too fucking awesome to want to mess it up. I literally feel high on life as corny as that sounds. Mental clarity and I have more patience and do more shit. I don't think my drinking or weed consumption was that crazy from a lot of folks....but regardless it was hindering me.

Alcohol hinders your body from metabolizing fat and synthesizing protein....I've been increasing muscle size and fat loss pretty steady now and can see the improvements in the body. I've stopped drinking for 5-6 days before, but never long enough to feel/see the effects. Just relaying my story to anyone whom cares or is in same boat.
 
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If you can handle a few beers then there's nothing wrong with it IMO. Getting drunk for a gig however is impolite to the people who paid to come see you. Then again... many rock stars say that they're musical ability peaked when they were on drugs so who am I to say anything really. :D
 
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