Alcohol and The Stage: Dancing with the Devil and Trying Not To Get Burned (My Story)

I think introverts are especially vulnerable to alcohol addiction. it basically fixes you, turns you into an extrovert for a night. i used to hate, absolutely despise playing live because of stage fright. so had to get extremely drunk beforehand. i never screwed up a gig, but it started happening at practises too. used to pass out hugging my bass. I think once a drinker discovers that they can drink more to make the hangover go away, that's when it really goes downhill, fast. I'm so glad that this generation have chosen not to indulge nearly as much as those that came before. Anyway. i'm 2 years sober now. thanks for sharing your experience

I played in a country band (tobogan)for almost a decade. Every bar paid our tab as part of the pay agreement. That's about all I can remember.

Unfortunately for me, I turned into a raging alcoholic/addict, so my dreams died fairly quick. I've now been 3 years clean after 40 years old f boozing and drugging, and finally got me a couple of new guitars and gear. I'm actually surpassing my talent now.

Thanks for another great video, Mike. I had to face my alcohol use that definitely ramped up from all the weekends playing shows at bars and band practice. I'm 41 and now more than 3 years since my last drink of alcohol. I found I couldn't just "cut back"- it had to be completely cut off or I just took it too far almost every time. It's harder to be comfortable on stage and talking to people for sure without it. But the constant hangovers, forgetting songs while performing, driving home half drunk after shows, fighting with my wife, not being there for my kids... I'm done with that. I do live looping now I could never pull off drunk - I'd fall on my ass trying to hit the pedals!

"Did he really wanna kick the guys ass? No. Was the guy even Canadian? I don't think so." My favorite quote!🤣

Man, the more you tell stories, the more I realize just how similar our music journey has been.

This is the most informative and concise analysis of most drinker’s’ experience with alcohol. Your account of your first time drinking experience was spot on. You come to associate drinking with having fun and you want to do it again asap. I drank throughout most of my adult life whether during jam sessions or on my off days back when I was in the military. I thought I had earned it and saw it as a way to relax and enjoy your downtime. I haven’t drank in five years but I never did quit. I just kept saying “I’ll have a beer tomorrow.” However since retiring from the army I no longer have gainful employment and thus haven’t felt compelled to drink anymore. Maybe I think that if I drink when I don’t have a career anymore I’ll be a bum? Maybe it’s because money has been tight for so long and frankly there just isn’t anything to celebrate? Either way, I’m sober now and even if my luck changes I won’t go back to drinking. At this point it’s kind of like Eli Manning —I don’t want to break my streak. Whatever the reason my story has got to be the most pathetic “I’m sober now” story!

The thing I always dislike about headlining.... it takes forever to get on stage...sometimes midnight. And you really have to nurse a beer beforehand. Those gigs I'll show up around nine. But still, that's several hours.

For the longest time I had to have a drink to get on stage or even be around crowds at gigs. Moved onto to smoking bud to get rid of the hangover. Ended up on MD. Last year I couldn’t stand watching myself in 3rd person not living up to my potential. Went full clean and my playing never felt better or more confident. I can still have a drink, but never do it before I play.

Telling your story took courage and honesty. Wish you all the best.

I played in a band called Astradica in Norway, I am a drummer. We played our first gig in a pretty big bar, with literally 5 people watching us. The singer just disappeared 5 minutes before we were going on stage. He had to take a shit, lol. He was very anxious. A few months later we played a place named John Dee, and again the singer went missing shortly before going on stage. Turns out he was drinking himself some courage in his hotel room!

I think like a lot of people, for me, hanging out and jamming was nearly always linked with drinking or sparking up. Starting from teenage years onward. Even when that jamming turned into a band, band practices, gigs, it was always a “good time”. And it was, but it was a tough connection to break apart.

Incredible you played with The Replacements . Your a legend

What a refreshingly honest take. Well done sir. Good luck to all on thier journey and god bless.

This was a great video, man. I’ve been following you for a couple months now, and enjoying your approach to all the various aspects of being a pro musician, but this video was different. I really appreciate you speaking honestly about your experiences, and I hope that your story will influence your young viewers and the choices that they make. I’ve been performing professionally for some 40+ years now, and I’ve gone up and down with the alcohol onstage many times over the years, including embarrassing myself with over-indulgence on more than one occasion! But I learned from a few tough experiences that to get too f**ked up on the gig is to let my band mates down, not to mention myself. So I’ve gotten my act together and know my own limits. Like yourself, nowadays I mostly use it to take the edge off my performance anxiety (which, even after decades of performing, I still have). The key is to know your own limits, and to not exceed them! For me, it's about 2 shots of whiskey, and then maybe a beer later in the set--any more than that and I get into diminishing returns. Keep up the great work, good sir!

I played weddings for 25 years and it was always 2-3 drinks per gig. One after setting up, hangign with band mates in the cocktail hour. Second drink would accompany me on stage for the first set. Third drink- I would play the first break alone (solo guitar) and a bandmate would bring it to me. Three drinks in the first 2.5 hours, with another 3 hours before I'm in the car driving home. I was fine, rarely did I ever feel drunk. Most open bars making them a little weak. Sometimes a bar tender would pour my Tequila on the rocks like it was glass of soda. Those were the times I drank a little too much. Oh, forgot to mention. The 25 years of gigs all included plenty of pot smoking behind the venue or in the parking lot. Good times!

This has quickly become my favorite guitar channel! Thank you for sharing your story. I was one who, also playing in a country band, would limit myself to a drink before, a drink between sets, and one after end of night, and of course the drink between sets turned into shots when we had a regular group who followed us would buy them for us, and them giving us drinks during the set, which I normally declined or passed off to the keyboard player. But I always kept it sober, while other members would drink all through the set, ok usually…I had a few buzzed sets, and it affected my playing so that toned back. It was when we had to let our bass player go, because his drinking and toking got to affect his performance and attendance to practices. He was lifelong buddies with the other guitar player (we were around 40 at the time), and he had to fire him.. not only lost a band member, but saw a lifelong friendship strained at the same time. It was at that moment, I immediately went to the practice of NEVER drinking when performing, and started treating it more professionally. Ps. And yes, Easyriders magazine also helped me through my adolescent years lol

Thank you for sharing. I'm old and have seen way too many cautionary tales from family and friends. To anyone who doesn't drink, keep avoiding it. You'll get occasional weird looks, but staying sober will save you heartache and pain.

I just thought I’d add my own experience to your great video. I drank heavily for 20 years during and after working on full-time band even when music became a hobby. My energy and motivation for playing increased so much when I quit drinking last year. Also, I had to humble up to the fact that am getting older and cannot handle the same amount as when so was 20. The guitar looks better on my body playing live because I have no beer gut lol. Also, alcohol causes inflammation which is very bad for your hands synchronization and playing fast. Not only for sloppiness but the amount of stress you are putting on your left or right hands during heavy intense playing during inebriation. Love your channel keep up the great work.

This has quickly become my favorite guitar channel! Thank you for sharing your story. I was one who, also playing in a country band, would limit myself to a drink before, a drink between sets, and one after end of night, and of course the drink between sets turned into shots when we had a regular group who followed us would buy them for us. But I always kept it sober, while other members would drink all through the set. It was when we had to let our bass player go, because his drinking and toking got to affect his performance and attendance to practices. He was lifelong buddies with the other guitar player (we were around 40 at the time), and he had to fire him.. not only lost a band member, but saw a lifelong friendship strained at the same time. It was at that moment, I immediately went to the practice of NEVER drinking when performing, and started treating it more professionally.