Write drunk/Record sober?

[brummygit]

to me, it seems that it's not alcohol, but tiredness that helps me. i can't write at all with an overly active, restless mind. alcohol can help losen you up a bit, and encourage you to 'play around'. so -whilst not a rule of thumb, this is how it kinda happens for me:

- acoustic guitar+pen+paper+clear head = nice tune, good lyrics
- electric guitar+microphone+recording+tiredness and/or booze = powerful tune, acceptable lyrics

i love writing now by turning up the volume and the reverb on my mic, turning up the gain on my guitar, and just playing/improvising both music and lyrics. and certainly, a few cans of the good ol' devils juice really does help to make it more 'flowing'

 

[up-fiddler]

coffee-write-coffee-write-coffee-write-coffee-write-coffee-write-soda-play-soda-play-soda-play-
soda-play-soda-play-soda-record-soda-record-soda-record-soda-record-soda-record-soda-master-
soda-master-soda-master-soda-master-soda-master--listen!--drink like a carp.

 

[Jack Russell]

I may have thrown some things down on paper while intoxicated, but I always give it a 'reality check' the next day in a sober state. If there is something there, then it takes some work also in a sober state to bring the idea to light, not more booze.

However: There is a certain sound you can get from your voice if you've binged the night before and the first thing you do is lay a vocal track in the morning. Nice and scratchy and raw.

 

[username]

One of the most effective processes I do is free association after smoking a lot. I just flip through TV channels, look through magazines, listen to music and write down any concept, thought, word, image that hits my mind and then immediately write down other words I associate with them. I do pages and pages of this, then wake up the next morning and read through them sober. I can't remember writing half of them, so it's like rediscovering something completely new, yet again. When I read through them sober my mind comes up with yet more associations and this is how I build my songs.

All the songs I write come when my mind is in a different state of some sort, whether that means I'm waking up, going to sleep, exercise (the body is releasing endorphins), had a few beers, smoked, etc. Strange as it sounds, cheese also helps release endorphins; so, sometimes I'll eat cheese, smoke, and then take a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, whether I get a good song out of it or not, I feel damn good--maybe this is just the English in me speaking, though. This is how I get the ideas, but I usually "mix" my lyrics when I'm sober and get them to fit over the rhythm, rearrange lines, etc.

As far as recording goes, I record everything sober except vocals. I think a little more emotion can be put in to them after a few beers (drinking enough to slur and lose focus, on the other, I don't do).

If anyone else has strange ways they get ideas, post them, I'm always looking for new ones.

 

[dawg2k5]

I try to get some good stuff goin' when I am sober...sometimes i will have a beer or 2.

 

[logicaldove]

Good question. I see there are many different answers.

If you are already depressed for instance and then drink alcohol, your songs could be depressing - this has happened to me. A friend once asked me if I ever wrote any happy songs. But everyone is different......

The best songs I ever wrote were done sober - they were, however, highly inspired by deep emotional feelings like when my father died.

Back in "the day" I used to get stoned all the time and wrote every day. I look back at those old lyrics that I once thought were deeply profound - now I just say "yep - I was stoned".

 

[TroyHutson]

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?

I write when I get the feeling. I basically wrote/recorded my last album completely drunk because of some hard times, but as of late, It's all been sober writing. I guess with me it's just a matter of how I feel at the time.

 

[Blight]

I have a friend who is a rather brilliant songwriter, and he is drunk 24/7.

At first, I was convinced that the drinking was helping him, but after a while I noticed that it was just loading him down (it was his talent that was shining through). He kind of has a magic when he plays by himself, but the drink makes him impossible to play with and sometimes hurts his recordings in the ‘listenable-department’.

As for myself, I’ve only written two songs dead-drunk (recorded drunken improv), and while they turned out to be excellent songs, they weren’t anything I couldn’t have written sober. They also benefited greatly from a sober re-record thanks to the drunken performance.

When I first started singing, I had to have a few drinks because I was so nervous about singing in front of people. However, once I got more confidence and experience under my belt, I found that I wanted the control alcohol took from me. Alcohol makes me tone deaf. I’d listen to some drunken singing I did on a recording and be all “Good lord, is that what I sound like drunk!?”

There is a threshold where you go from getting just loosened up a bit to looking (and sounding) like a jackass. I myself don’t drink anymore; and musically it is less frustrating. But for some people it works.

I also think there is a bit of a myth behind the whole 'drugs = awesome songs' thing. It seems like fame and too much money is what leads to the drug use. Yeah, there were lots of creative, awesome song writers who used drugs, but there are also thousands of really, really crappy ones who use the same drugs. If you have talent, it will show. I also think the reason some bands suck after they get off drugs is because they they spent all their time writing on drugs and never learned how to get along without them.

Just my opinion.

 

[Cyanide-Depende]

true most of the time writing when your drnk sucks, (but soujnds good to you while your drunk)

but look at iron butterlfly, their only hit was written and recorded while the singer was so f***ing wasted he couldnt spit out a single syllable.... One in a million

 

[mjr]

true most of the time writing when your drnk sucks, (but soujnds good to you while your drunk)

but look at iron butterlfly, their only hit was written and recorded while the singer was so f***ing wasted he couldnt spit out a single syllable.... One in a million

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble regarding Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida, but from what I understand, the guy wasn't drunk.

What I understand is that there was trouble with the wiring in his headphones, and he asked the drummer the name of the song, and when the drummer told him, it sounded like "Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida" instead of "In The Garden of Eden".

Anyway, just thought I'd let everyone know that the drug thing is an urban legend, and nobody's really sure how the title and the famous line came to be.

 

[pointfive]

Every once in a while, being drunk or really really tired will help me to be less cerebral about my approach to writing music (an ongoing struggle for me). It'll free me up a bit, help me not to be overly controlling or critical of my ideas before they even have a chance to escape my head.

But I don't like to rely on being in an altered state, so I never approach it like that. Sometimes I'll be drunk and pick up my guitar and write something good, but I don't ever think, "I want to write a song tonight... where's the vodka?"

 

[rayc]

Being a boring old fart I don't drink alcohol, (sadly, & this came on rapidly once I passed 30, I'm actually allergic to internally ingested booze - instant migraine), and not having been a smoker in any real sense, (maybe 8 cigarettes, 12 pipes & 2 cigars in my lifetime), I don't partake of anything else.
I have to rely on music to create a sense of euphoria, & when I get a few chords & a rhythm together or put on a excellent LP or CD it does happen - cheap drunk?
In terms of lyrics it used to help to drink a few when I was still young enough to survive the reaction & able to write ideas down ( I recall a dorm wall came in very handy back in 1976)
For recording - well engineering & playing means being a little bit together - something I can almost manage on a good day so intoxicants would REALLY get in the way for this Man from UNCO.
I envy anyone who can consume something to help them relax. Enjoy!
Cheers
ray

 

[HumanBean16]

"Have Another Drink"

I don't drink anymore and I only really miss it when performing live - you really do need a buzz at that time. But ho-hum...

As a piano entertainer, I've seen a few glasses during my years ivory-bashing in the corner! My song "Have Another Drink" says a lot of what there is to say on this subject: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=209236&songID=3528213

There's even a make-believe 'live' version which you may enjoy...

HB16.

 

[core]

i dont drink when i am on stage or writing in the studio but one or two while jamming is cool. chemical influence can be alright i guess but everyone reacts so differently when drinking or smoking that you cant really say if it is a positive thing or not. whatever is the most productive i say.

 

[cellardweller]

Back in "the day" I used to get stoned all the time and wrote every day. I look back at those old lyrics that I once thought were deeply profound - now I just say "yep - I was stoned".

So true, so very very true!

Drinking cold beer and doing vocals (for me) is absolutely a waste of time.

I'm not much for warm beer, unfortunately.

 

[true-eurt]

I have written some pretty cool lyrics stoned and also written some pretty crappy ones too! I don't think it matters so much if I am straight or not...but the creative place my bwain is at the time>><<

 

[viva_zapata74]

just common sense, I guess...

well, in my - short - experience I could say that if I am out for a gig which the punters have paid for - like weddings or Xmas parties - it's best practice to be sober and sharp, since it's better to be able to get the upper hand fast should any difficulty arise with the crowd. Try to convince a bride to renounce her favourite song in favour of another (because the manager never told you she wanted THAT particular song...) while the signs of drunkenness are stamped on your face, and you're up for 15 minutes of hell (a job, anyway, that we always left to the director of the band, since personally I lack the diplomatic skills to do so ); moreover, would you trust a plumber or an electrician who show up at your house to do a job completely drunk? I don't think so. Same thing on stage, I suppose, when it's time to pull a gig and deliver, forgive me for saying, a product.

Different story when it comes to getting out the feelings for writing a piece or jamming with friends. I think some drink -or else - helps loosen up the stiffness of the soul.

That said, pizza and love every1

 

[Fusco]

When I was a bit younger, I used to drink quite often, and used to drink a lot, but I've stopped since then.

When I've been looking back at songs, and lyrics I wrote when I was drunk, they were all quite... Bitter, to be honest. Like "You hurt me, fuck you" etc. Since then, I've stopped with the alcohol, and wrote less bitter songs, and songs which actually make sense, so I think that alcohol is ok, but only if you want to write some bitter, or depressing songs.

 

[lateforwork]

Write drunk/ Edit Sober/ Practice Sober/ Record Buzzed.... oh yeah.

 

[xraidedariez]

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?

fucking funny...ME TOO! right oooon ! yeeee