Have drugs ever enhanced your creativity as a songwriter or player ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter grimtraveller
  • Start date Start date
I've had some of my best ideas happen under the influence of various substances, However I was unable to craft them into proper songs until I had a clear head. I hate to sound like I'm endorsing drugs, but sometimes you need to be in your happy place.
 
David O'Donnell said:
I've had some of my best ideas happen under the influence of various substances, However I was unable to craft them into proper songs until I had a clear head. I hate to sound like I'm endorsing drugs, but sometimes you need to be in your happy place.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way. I do better at organizing the song and/or at least the partial phrases of the song the day after or a even few days after the fact.
 
miroslav said:
I find it odd how some people say they play great straight....and then sound like shit after a drink or a toke.

Apart from getting totally "wasted" (which isn't good for anything), and those crazy band party days in our youth...I think anyone that could play well straight, will play just as well with a little mood enhancement.
If you never played with a buzz, then yeah, the first time could make your playing feel awkward...otherwise it's not really much of an impediment to playing or to playing well, and for many folks it can even benefit the playing....loosens up the tension and anxiety one might have.

Not saying you need to get a buzz to play better....but it certainly doesn't cause any real problems for a lot of players...just keep everything in moderation.

To quote Dirty Harry....."A man's got to know his limitations." :cool:
Click to expand...

Totally agree.

Well said!

+1
 
citizen77 said:
I constantly find that those who do drugs really don't excel at music, it doesn't help their creative process or help them become better musicians. It only inhibits their abilities. And to be blunt, they become lazy.
Click to expand...

This is funny to me. Almost every musician I think of as a God among men was either a fan of drugs, a full blown addict, or died from them. I guess you think Hendrix, Dylan, Lennon, Clapton, Marley don't excel at music. That's just the older group. Bradley Nowell, Kurt Cobain, John Frusciante, just to name the guys off the top of my head.

You don't have to agree with people doing drugs, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that anyone who uses drugs doesn't excel at music. At least in my opinion.
 
When I was a teenager (a long time ago), I played in a college band writing our own material in a prog style (think Yes, Barclay James Harvest etc). We had a 'manager' who was a lot older than us and who was convinced that if we tried 'something' we would get some great ideas. We succumbed and passed around a joint. I am not convinced it had any effect at all but at least we can say we tried. :guitar:
 
jigfresh said:
This is funny to me. Almost every musician I think of as a God among men was either a fan of drugs, a full blown addict, or died from them.

You don't have to agree with people doing drugs, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that anyone who uses drugs doesn't excel at music.
Click to expand...
I think he was talking about people he knows personally.
It's a matter of fascinating debate, the relationship between drug use and creativity. That many go mad or die adds spice to matters.
 
It's funny but I just remembered a story from when I was in College for Music.
I was having trouble "grasping" Music Theory at the time and had just started taking a semester of Jazz Guitar Lessons from a Berkley Guitar Grad who was teaching there.
I went to the On-Campus Pub one evening and drank a goodly amount of Beer, went back to my dorm room and went to bed.
While I was drifting off to sleep, my mind meshed the concept of Guitar "Voice-Leading" with Music Theory and amazingly, Music Theory finally made sense! :laughings:
 
jigfresh said:
This is funny to me. Almost every musician I think of as a God among men was either a fan of drugs, a full blown addict, or died from them. I guess you think Hendrix, Dylan, Lennon, Clapton, Marley don't excel at music. That's just the older group. Bradley Nowell, Kurt Cobain, John Frusciante, just to name the guys off the top of my head.

You don't have to agree with people doing drugs, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that anyone who uses drugs doesn't excel at music. At least in my opinion.
Click to expand...

You can't just grab a handful of legendary names and assume that anyone can do the same with drugs. They can't. Some of you must not spend any time around actual junkies and heavy drug users. I'm not talking about you halfassed fucking hippies and frat pussies doing little bits of legal medicinal pot or getting drunk. I'm talking about regular people strung out on smack, meth, coke, etc. Real drugs. Real hard drugs. Drugs that consume your life. Not chickenshit amateur party drugs. They don't make anyone "better" at anything. If you think they do, go befriend a junkie, start a band with him, and see how that works out for you. Better yet, start shooting up yourself. See how do you. I bet it's real bad. Sure, Lou Reed did a lot of heroin and did awesome in life. Slash shot up every day and is a guitar legend. You're not them. You're that guy lying in a pool of his own piss, shit, and mystery mouth foam under an overpass.
 
jigfresh said:
This is funny to me. Almost every musician I think of as a God among men was either a fan of drugs, a full blown addict, or died from them. I guess you think Hendrix, Dylan, Lennon, Clapton, Marley don't excel at music. That's just the older group. Bradley Nowell, Kurt Cobain, John Frusciante, just to name the guys off the top of my head.

You don't have to agree with people doing drugs, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that anyone who uses drugs doesn't excel at music. At least in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Many creative people have mental illness, they use drugs to self-medicate their illness so they can cope with life. Does insulin enhance a diabetics ability to play music? Most of these mental illness's are lethal, so untreated they result in death. The ones that survive usually continue to make great music after a period of the correct treatment.
 
PDP said:
Most of these mental illness's are lethal, so untreated they result in death.
Click to expand...

Name one lethal mental illness...

(Unless you're talking about potential suicides)
 
dainbramage said:
Meth doesn't make you play better? Don't be ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Lol. Nothing makes me play better. I play the way I play sober or fucked up. I'm not a good player, but I'm good at what I do and I don't need help from a bottle, vial, or plant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top