Practicing/performing while being high

[DawgBone]

Smoking reefer will make your throat tight and your vocals shit. As for paranoia it helps to remember no one gives a shit so quit sweating it. Nothing better than killing it at a gig cold sober and driving home with a pocket full of dough not having to watch for cherries behind you. Peace of mind is invaluable plus then I can be verbally combative with unreasonable cops if I do get stopped. I know, you're not surprised....

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Smoking reefer will make your throat tight and your vocals shit. As for paranoia it helps to remember no one gives a shit so quit sweating it. Nothing better than killing it at a gig cold sober and driving home with a pocket full of dough not having to watch for cherries behind you. Peace of mind is invaluable plus then I can be verbally combative with unreasonable cops if I do get stopped. I know, you're not surprised....

I never owned a licence (possible in a city like Munich with its good public transport) but the Bavarian police is really a big pile of BS. In the moment there is a big discussion about legalization in Germany which gets difficult because of European Union laws. Despite its no good for me or anyone with certain psychiatric dispositions I am fully for legalization of cannabis and also other drugs because the whole thing needs to be de-criminalized. There needs to be good education about the risks of drugs including alcohol. Thousands of people come to Munich every year in September to get FCKed up at the Oktoberfest which leads to brutality including rape but it is illegal to smoke a spliff ...

Regarding my voice my experience was the contrary. It made my throat wide and my breathing natural. I could (and still can but now I have to take care not to overdo things) sing Queen and Led Zeppelin songs. Maybe because of the micro-dosing, maybe because I preferred hash to grass. Maybe because I always took care to have enough water with me because it makes your mouth dry. And it was not something I just imagined because of the drug but got confirmed by people listening to me who were not stoned.

[DawgBone]

I never owned a licence (possible in a city like Munich with its good public transport) but the Bavarian police is really a big pile of BS. In the moment there is a big discussion about legalization in Germany which gets difficult because of European Union laws. Despite its no good for me or anyone with certain psychiatric dispositions I am fully for legalization of cannabis and also other drugs because the whole thing needs to be de-criminalized. There needs to be good education about the risks of drugs including alcohol. Thousands of people come to Munich every year in September to get FCKed up at the Oktoberfest which leads to brutality including rape but it is illegal to smoke a spliff ...

Regarding my voice my experience was the contrary. It made my throat wide and my breathing natural. I could (and still can but now I have to take care not to overdo things) sing Queen and Led Zeppelin songs. Maybe because of the micro-dosing, maybe because I preferred hash to grass. Maybe because I always took care to have enough water with me because it makes your mouth dry. And it was not something I just imagined because of the drug but got confirmed by people listening to me who were not stoned.

As a musician people make wrong assumptions about me and assume I support legalization. I don't. Why would I wanna put all my buddies outta work AND pay more?

LOL

[Litterick]

They can be

Friends don't let friends quote Wikipedia.

Cambridge: 'a person who regularly takes and is dependent on illegal drugs, esp. heroin.'

Collins: 'a narcotics addict, esp. one addicted to heroin.'

Merriam-Webster: 'a person who is addicted to narcotics and especially to heroin.'

[RJVB]

Friends don't let friends quote Wikipedia.

Cambridge: 'a person who regularly takes and is dependent on illegal drugs, esp. heroin.'

Collins: 'a narcotics addict, esp. one addicted to heroin.'

Merriam-Webster: 'a person who is addicted to narcotics and especially to heroin.'

Good thing we're not friends then - and did you elect to ignore the three esps or was that the "shit" trying to ease your mind?

Interestingly Amsterdam has just banned the public smoking of pot on the Wallen, a measure to make life a little easier for the people living there (and as I understand, majoritarily approved by them).

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Good thing we're not friends then - and did you elect to ignore the three esps or was that the "shit" trying to ease your mind?

Interestingly Amsterdam has just banned the public smoking of pot on the Wallen, a measure to make life a little easier for the people living there (and as I understand, majoritarily approved by them).

AFAIK the problem in the Netherlands is (a) that they did not manage to take the ganja biz out of the hands of Hell's Angels, Bandidos, etc. and (b) that the "coffee shops" attract thousands of tourists from neighbour countries like Germany. I am happy that I do not live in one of the quarters of Munich that directly adjoin the "Theresienwiese" (Oktoberfest compound) so I won't step into the remains of those who have relieved themselves or vomited on the doorsteps at night during those two weeks in autumn.

BTW In Portugal where all drugs where fully legalized the crime rate has sunken significantly AFAIK.

[Christian Miller]

Apparently when I’m mashed I rush even worse than normal. Which is not what I’d expect….

[RJVB]

AFAIK the problem in the Netherlands is (a) that they did not manage to take the ganja biz out of the hands of Hell's Angels, Bandidos, etc. and (b) that the "coffee shops" attract thousands of tourists from neighbour countries like Germany.

a) both organisation have been outlawed for some time now (everyone can check since when) but it's true that the source of that legally sold pot was always a bit vague. That's been changing AFAIK.
b) "coffee shops" were always intended to be for the Dutch only. The problem here too is that the application of that was left to the shop owners (but AFAIK the only legal reason for which they can ask for ID is to filter out minors).

Anyway, the produce sold was for local consumption, or to be taken home (I suppose). I'm fine with people blowing their brains out behind closed doors and windows; I just do not want to be subjected to the stench of that shit (or be burglarised/robbed but it's not only the junkies who do that).

BTW In Portugal where all drugs where fully legalized the crime rate has sunken significantly AFAIK.

No shit (pun intended). Easy enough to push that rate to zero: just legalise everything

[ccroft]

Bob Marley and Willie Nelson : two of the shittiest vocalists ever :-)

[DawgBone]

Bob Marley and Willie Nelson : two of the shittiest vocalists ever :-)

You definitely got me. Willie has great phrasing but a lot of people hate his nasally voice. I enjoy it. Bob is pretty much a gold standard. His voice and lyricism were his great natural gifts. Don't forget Louis Armstrong. I didn't have a natural gift like that so I can't be smoking rope in the engine room before gigs or I get tightness in my throat. I need to be relaxed, not high.....

[starship9]

I feel like it really has points for and against it. I generally only smoke socially but when I’m stoned alone and play guitar I find I get hyper focused. This can help with really perfecting certain passages. Really nailing a part.

When I smoke up before a jam session though I find I feel creatively limited, unable to think critically and quickly and react to other peoples playing. When we all smoke we seem to end up repeating the same parts for what feels like hours.


If it’s helpful to you, carry on. But I don’t think it’s the be all, end all, solution for everyone.

[rpjazzguitar]

There is a very interesting bit in the following interview with Gary Bartz (@ 5:00) which may explain why so many greats got addicted on H (apart from the fact that H obviously makes you feel like you are in your mother's womb; junkies and a friend who tried it once told me so).

I never (and never would have) tried H but I had similar effects of slowing things down with smoking cannabis but I totally quit it (and smoking in general) because I have what they call bipolar disorder (I prefer to call it bipolar disposition) and it was doing me no good. Smoking too much during the lockdown of 2020 (although micro-dosing) drove me into mania and psychosis and I had to spend three month in psychiatry.

I don't know all that many people, but I know a couple with similar stories. I have the impression (and there's data) that mj is a lot stronger than it used to be and that it can destabilze mood and maybe trigger psychosis, in some people.

I haven't looked into it deeply, but I have the impression that you find out you're vulnerable until it's too late.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

You definitely got me. Willie has great phrasing but a lot of people hate his nasally voice. I enjoy it. Bob is pretty much a gold standard. His voice and lyricism were his great natural gifts. Don't forget Louis Armstrong. I didn't have a natural gift like that so I can't be smoking rope in the engine room before gigs or I get tightness in my throat. I need to be relaxed, not high.....

You remind me that when busking at that time I could even get that deep throaty Louis Armstrong voice which requires your vocal chords to be as relaxed as they can be (I did "Mack The Knife" with the original German lyrics with the rolling "theatre R" LOL -- "ja, derrrrrr Haifisch, derrrrrrr hat Zähne"; think Hitler speeches or Rammstein -- which originally served to make unamplified speeches or theatre acts more discernible). I rather go without that ability now, my mental health is more important. I might train to do that in future and may voice box might remember how to do it but never again with anything with the help of substances.

I don't know all that many people, but I know a couple with similar stories. I have the impression (and there's data) that mj is a lot stronger than it used to be and that it can destabilze mood and maybe trigger psychosis, in some people.

I haven't looked into it deeply, but I have the impression that you find out you're vulnerable until it's too late.

Everyone who was a hippie in the 60ies and 70ies will tell you that today's cannabis is so much stronger then the one they used then. Regarding vulnerability I think that those who are more sensitive and reflective than others (especially in these tough times of detoriated exaggerated turbo-capitalism) are more endangered than others to search relief in drugs.

[Litterick]

Good thing we're not friends then - and did you elect to ignore the three esps or was that the "shit" trying to ease your mind?

Indeed, a good thing. I would not take instruction from you about my native language, just as I would not instruct you about yours. And I would not tolerate your manner of speaking.

[mr. beaumont]

I've really taken to edibles. 5mg is enough to relax, 10 will get me a bit high but not "stoned." 5mg is pretty much perfect, calms anxiety (i never had anxiety about playing in front of an audience, I have the fun "keep you awake at night" anxiety) and it also is a miracle pain reliever.

But still not when playing.

[TF]

Drinking too much caffeine before a show means that I have to rush off the stage twenty minutes after I start, to relieve a pressing problem. If you know what I mean. So I avoid this chemical for at least two hours before I play.

[RJVB]

I know all too well; tea has the same effect on me. Maybe even worse, possibly because I usually prepare coffee in a way that doesn't maximise the caffeine content.

(The effect of which, btw, is largely placebo anyway initially as it can take long hours before the caffeine passes the blood/brain barrier!)

EDIT: actually, I'm not so certain caffeine or theine even have much to do with the diuretic effect, or if that effect is a placebo itself. I said tea, above, but I meant rooibos or other herb teas (tisanes in French) because I need to keep my Xeine intake in check for certain reasons. Effect is the same, for all (im)practical purposes.

[ruger9]

Drinking too much caffeine before a show means that I have to rush off the stage twenty minutes after I start, to relieve a pressing problem. If you know what I mean. So I avoid this chemical for at least two hours before I play.

that "other reason"

This is one of 2 reasons I always drink morning coffee!! I also love the taste and "ritual" of it, but if I had to drink decaf for some reason, I might not bother at all... that "other reason" is awfully important, especially as you get older! LOL