Write drunk/Record sober?

[KonradG]

Okay, i have found that i can write better lyrics and match chords far easier when im trashed (not out of my mind, but just enough to where i can still play guitar ok). I found it easier to pull the words out and flow them with the music, i cant stop writing. when im sober, i find myself repeating the same ideas for the most part, although alot of my songs were written sober. What do you guys think?

[andyhix]

yep. A cold beer, pencil and paper completes the holy trinity of song writing.

[GoldFalcon]

I found that I thought I was writing good songs under the influence. But, after months or years of distance, all of the two dozen or so songs that I play live were written stone cold sober. I may be able to write good or OK songs while drinking, but the quality of my songs that I write sober so outpace those that I wouldn't even try to write in that condition.

[KonradG]

Originally Posted by GoldFalcon

I found that I thought I was writing good songs under the influence. But, after months or years of distance, all of the two dozen or so songs that I play live were written stone cold sober. I may be able to write good or OK songs while drinking, but the quality of my songs that I write sober so outpace those that I wouldn't even try to write in that condition.

Yea i agree. maybe "wasted" was an over statement. i should have worded the poll something like:
How many do you have before you get a good song:
-0 Sober is the way to go
-1 Relaxed
-2 Still just relaxed
-3 Can still play guitar as if i was sober
-4 The perfect Median!
-5 Any more after this and i just want to get in the pool and listed to marley
-6 Six pack does the trick
-7 and up

[cliff richard]

i'm a million times more creative when sober, i use to think i was a better writer when drunk, but that was just the beer talking. there's only so must stuff you can write about when drinking and if you are a heavy drinker it usually just becomes self loathing sh*t after time anyway. dont be fooled into thinking that you can't write without alcohol or you will just become trapped. believe in yourself and believe that you can write great songs, why should alcohol take the credit for your talent.

oh and i would never ever dream of recording whilst drinking, i have a hard enough time doing that part whilst sober!!!!

[KonradG]

Originally Posted by cliff richard

i'm a million times more creative when sober, i use to think i was a better writer when drunk, but that was just the beer talking. there's only so must stuff you can write about when drinking and if you are a heavy drinker it usually just becomes self loathing sh*t after time anyway. dont be fooled into thinking that you can't write without alcohol or you will just become trapped. believe in yourself and believe that you can write great songs, why should alcohol take the credit for your talent.

oh and i would never ever dream of recording whilst drinking, i have a hard enough time doing that part whilst sober!!!!

i 100% agree with everything you said. i dont think ill ever RELY on alcohol to write a great song.

[Johnathon]

I spent several months working away from home, with my guitar and a guy I was working with....He and I wrote a pretty good country song, drinking a lot of crown royal.

Early Sunday morning is my major writing time, sort of quiet time and usually a pot of coffee on: no al-key-hol.

I played at a party on the beach. I don't play much in front of people, but after a few beers I was relaxed and enjoyed it. There were probably 15 or 20 people there and several people were just really into what I was doing.

j

[Fieva]

Since I tend to write most of my songs at work, alkeyhol is not an option. And I have a rule of no drinking, eating, or smoking in my studio room (which includes myself, even though I don't smoke). I used to be able to battle rap while tipsy but I wouldn't dare do that on a studio recording. That's just asking for more takes on my part, I do enough takes by my damn self.

[GoldFalcon]

I played at a party on the beach. I don't play much in front of people, but after a few beers I was relaxed and enjoyed it. There were probably 15 or 20 people there and several people were just really into what I was doing.

I used to do the same thing. A few beers to loosen me up and then I would get out there and really wow 'em because I was so loose I would take risks that I wouldn't take sober. The problems come when you get scared to get up on stage without it. What used to be 3 or 4 beers to loosen up turned into 6 or 8 beers and a few embarrassing performances.

Now I feed off of the nervousness and jitters. I actually wish I could get nervous in the studio because it adds an extra edge to my performance and a quality to my voice that is rarely present when I'm sitting by myself singing into a mic.

[Garry Sharp]

Excellent post (as usual) from Gold F. The danger of 3 becoming 8 is very real, but at my age I have found the balance between alcohol being a good servant and a bad master. I do professional services training as part of my living, which if you are good is a performance, you have to engage a senior and critical audience and that has to be stone cold sober, but when it comes to music a loosener or two helps both with confidence and just enjoying it more.

The answer lies in moderation.

[KonradG]

Live performances is also a good category to poll as well
I personally enjoy drinking at my shows, not to get drunk but to relax a little bit and get through the first song. I play 80 percent of my shows sober but being in college, as soon as im done, im drinkin. The shows that i do drink at i find that i enjoy it a little more easily.

Originally Posted by Johnathon

I spent several months working away from home, with my guitar and a guy I was working with....He and I wrote a pretty good country song, drinking a lot of crown royal.

Early Sunday morning is my major writing time, sort of quiet time and usually a pot of coffee on: no al-key-hol.

I played at a party on the beach. I don't play much in front of people, but after a few beers I was relaxed and enjoyed it. There were probably 15 or 20 people there and several people were just really into what I was doing.

j

[Dani Pace]

If I write drunk, my songs are all about getting/being drunk, must be a drinking thing.
Anyway; some time back the guys i was playing with (at the time we were pretty tight) decided to conduct an experiment. We got a video recorder to capture the ordeal. We turned on the recorder and started to play sober, after a couple of songs we took a beer break. After one beer each we played a couple of more songs, these two were the best of the evening. Then we had another beer. Played a couple more, still not bad. Third beer, hmm, got a baseline buzz, the music started sounding better (or so we thought.) Beer four, damn we sound good. After five, timming went to hell but who cared, we were having fun. Six pac down, turn off that damn camera, this experiment is over, lets party! Next day when sober, we analize the video, have a laugh at ourselves and realize we need to play more and drink less. This was a fun thing to do and I highly recomend it to anyone who thinks that drinking dosent affect their playing. It definately helped me to realize that if I'm too drunk to drive a car, then I'm definately too drunk to drive a guitar.

[mikeh]

I've come to the personal realization that writing, perfoming. recording or simply being while sober is far better than while under the influence of any substance.

I spent about 25 years of my life without a single day going by that I didn't smoke dope and more drunken days and nights than I can remember (literally). I thought I played "better" when I had a buzz - and while I now realize that was not true, I was a good enough player that even while buzzed I could play better than most.

Once I realized how much of my life I pissed away and started to enjoy life in real time (vs. that distorted chemical time) I realized that while when buzzed I could play better than many other players, when sober, I could actually play better than myself.

[peopleperson]

I think too much of either can get stale sometimes. I do like a little bit of chemicals sometimes cause it keeps me from overthinking which I'm very guilty of.

[The First Don]

stoned; it makes rhythm sound different

[skiff99]

I just make up idea after idea untill I have about 20 or so and then go back and pick the one with the most heat. Don't waste time on a C or D idea just work on the A an B ones. You can have the best gear in the world but it all means nothin with out a good song. bla bla bla you guys know all this already anyway.

[dgatwood]

Write half asleep, record in the afternoon.

[erosconpollo]

35 years of gigging have proven to me that I cannot play worth a darn if I ingest even a tiny bit of alcohol. Not even one beer. Stone sober in the studio for me.

However, writing is another matter...I do think I can come up with song ideas when I've had a drink or three. The next day, I can come back and revise them into something useable. Or throw them out! Creativity might benefit from a bit of relaxation but editing is a job that requires unimpaired judgement.

[demensia]

This thread is rediculous.

[Garry Sharp]

Originally Posted by demensia

This thread is rediculous.

Assuming you mean ridiculous, i don't think so. One of the best (IMHO) books ever written about contemporary music is Simon Napier Bell's "Black Vinyl, White Powder", in which he traces a fascinating connection between different drugs and music genres. The fact is that intoxicants of some sort have been an integral part of creative art since time immemorial.

So it's a legitimate question. And has produced some excellent posts.

[GoldFalcon]

G# is right; the link between musical creativity and substance abuse is undeniable. For whatever reason, the same personality trait that allows that spark of creativity often seems to fuel it by chemicals. Another good book to read that touches on the subject is "The Land Where The Blues Began" by Allan Lomax.

[mikeh]

While there is no denial that drugs & alcohol (in particualr drugs) have indeed been part of the artistic process and I suspect have inspired and/or contributed to music which went on to inspire future generations of musicians - is the price to be paid worth it?

The list of fine musicians who have died or who have significant portions of thier creative years compromised as a result of substance abuse is very long.

People like Hendrix, Cobain, etc. etc gave us great music which no doubt was in part inspired by drugs - but they died very young, perhaps before their best music found it's way to the surface (I would suggest that had they achieved sobriety they could have/would have created far better music than they did while "impaired").

The problem with chemicals is the very real potential that a little leads to a lot and once you are at the point of a lot, it is very hard to come back.

I know I thought for years that the negatives of drug & alcohol abuse were a fair trade off for the "creative artistic vision" these substances provided. Turns out that was just the chemicals talking

[Garry Sharp]

Completely agree with you mikeh - just because it happens, doesn't mean it's good or something to emulate. And not all the great artists were stoned all the time - just some of them - well, enough of them for the previous points to be valid.

[KonradG]

Originally Posted by demensia

This thread is rediculous.

what garry said.... BITCH.
haha

[KonradG]

anyway, what i meant to originally post was that i put this theory to the test.

ive been on the road for a few days and i was in tallahassee, FL playin, where i have lots a friends in college.... i over did it a lil bit before the show... terrible. well, not terrible but i knew i could have played so much better.

By the time we got to alabama, i decided to not drink till after im done. I ran my hands under some hot water, sang some scales, drank a water, best show i ever played. i celebrated heavily afterwards though lol.