Members caveman Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/05/24/exclusive-joe-walsh-plays-single-wrecking-ball-says-playing-guitar-sober-was/?intcmp=features When I first started gigging the bars in the late 60s, we got $20 a man and all we could drink. We wouldn't play unless we got our drinks free and pretty much became drunks. Sometime in the early 70s our drummer was on the way home from a gig and plowed through a stoplight killing a man, his wife and child. He went to jail and I quit drinking. I'm sorry that it took such a tragedy but it was a real life changer for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 We start life sober and I remember having a good time as a kid. Every day sober is like a day being a kid to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I remember Howard Stern saying on his old show on E!, that Joe wasn't funny anymore since he got sober. LOL, {censored} Howard Stern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I'm glad Joe made it out. So many did not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdubbs Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Life in the slow lane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larryguitar Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Chevy Chase and Robin Williams haven't been funny since they cleaned up. I wonder if drugs/alcohol provides a spark that some otherwise dull people need to light their genius? Shame, if true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I joined a Band called Adrian Ray about five years ago. I was 42 at the time and it was the first time in my life after thousands of shows that I ever played sober. Now, about 1000 shows later, I have not been intoxicated at a gig since. I'm still trying to figure out if I like it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 That's more about driving sober than playing sober. Playing drunk always has been and always will be super fun. Chevy Chase and Robin Williams haven't been funny since they cleaned up. I wonder if drugs/alcohol provides a spark that some otherwise dull people need to light their genius? Shame, if true. One might attribute that to drugs, but I think it's happiness. Happiness is like the antidote to creativity. If you're truly at ease, with nothing to worry about, what can you possibly have to say that will inspire your art? I mean sure, it can happen, but by and large, the best art comes from people who are struggling in one way or another. When those dudes were in their prime, they weren't mega millionaires like they are now. They still had 99, maybe even 100 problems. I mean think of all the greatest comics, about all of them had really messed up pasts or were going through a lot of pain. Now, this could be potentially caused by drugs, a struggle with addiction (how many songs are about that, 10 million?) but not necessarily. I dunno, just an observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFender Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I joined a Band called Adrian Ray about five years ago. I was 42 at the time and it was the first time in my life after thousands of shows that I ever played sober. Now, about 1000 shows later, I have not been intoxicated at a gig since. I'm still trying to figure out if I like it or not. I say don't rush to judgement. Go another 1000 or so shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I say don't rush to judgement. Go another 1000 or so shows. Not much chance of ever going back to those days. Even if I wanted to experience some of the fun I used to have doing that, my body won't let me. I simply don't like drinking anymore. I wish I did. I really enjoyed it. Now it just makes me more tired than,I already feel, get hangovers easier now, and am almost guaranteed to get a headache if I have more than a few drinks any more, not to mention, I always feel dehydrated anyway, so beer and other alcohol just make it worse, especially considering we do a lot of out door shows in Florida and the southeast. I love the idea of going back to those days. My body just won't let me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kulardenu Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Drinking is way over-rated on the scale of fun... Basically drunks are boring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I've been sober for a bit over 7 years now. Last time I gigged seriously was 10 years ago. I always stayed sober during the gig and got pasted after. But the thought of being in bars gigging still scares me. I'm not so sure I could avoid the alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I quit while I was in chemo and radiation last year. Then kicked a lovely little oxycontin dependency I developed in the meanwhile, prescribed (very little, just a couple days of withdrawal), and went straight back to drinking. Went in for a blood test and chemo doc goes "Are you drinking?" "Yeah, you didn't say I shouldn't." "Well, don't do that." So, there ya go. Since I still down lots of NA, which actually has a tiny bit of alcohol in it, I guess I have the equivalent of a few beers a week. Oh well. Easy come, easy go. Went on a cruise for our 25th Anniversary a few weeks ago, gladly hopped off the wagon, then climbed back when we hit land. There ya have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Drinking is way over-rated on the scale of fun... Basically drunks are boring... A lot of the greatest times I have had in my life have involved alcohol. And alot of it. Alot of the funnest people I have been around and had great times with enjoyed liberal amounts of alcohol. I've had a pretty long happy career with music. Personally, some of the experiences I've had and some of the things I've done and seen, I feel like I have lived a hundred "regular" dude's lifetimes. Your analysis may work for you, but to me, it is a fairy tale based on political correctness that a lifetime of awesome experiences, for me have disproved. I guess, I was lucky though. I always knew when the last beer that would put me over the edge of senselessness was and I could always stop there.I NEVEr got drunk enough to blackout or not remember the next day what I did the night before. I almost never drank enough to get sick, unless you count once a year or,so from someone that drank ALOT at every single gig I ever played, which was five to seven nights a week for years and years and years, and, also, I usually never drank if I wasn't out playing or out on the town. I just didn't feel like drinking if I wasn't in an upbeat fun atmosphere. Maybe you call that an alcoholic, but I always knew I could take it or leave it. Mostly I took it though, because I always associated it with good times and fun. I'm not advocating this for anyone on Earth, other than myself. But for me, it was almost overwhelmingly accompanied by good times and fun people and some of the greatest times of my life. I'd have a drink right now, but I'd probably be asleep twenty minutes later. I don't like sloppy staggering, puking, slurring drunks.. But I certainly look back on most of my lifes experiences,, especially involving live music and alcohol, with excellent times. Best of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Drinking is way over-rated on the scale of fun... Basically drunks are boring... I feel the same way, drinking is over-rated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyNameIsMok... Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 I like ol' Joe. Super nice guy and generous to a fault. I had a good time kicking it with him (sober) last time the Eagles blew through town. Did I mention he was a really nice guy? Cool and super humble "regular guy". I joined a Band called Adrian Ray about five years ago. I was 42 at the time ... Dave, I figured you were young and hip (but not tragically so). I was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dogfish Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Speaking of Joe, and looking at the video, I've heard "never gig without a backup guitar" -- but this is the first time I've seen that taken to its logical extreme -- backup guitarISTs, backup drummer, triply-redundant backup singers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyNameIsMok... Posted May 24, 2012 Members Share Posted May 24, 2012 Speaking of Joe, and looking at the video, I've heard "never gig without a backup guitar" -- but this is the first time I've seen that taken to its logical extreme -- backup guitarISTs, backup drummer, triply-redundant backup singers... You've obviously never had the pleasure of an Allman Bros show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inspector 71 Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 He is brother in law to Starr huh?? They should start a band and call it The Beegles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 You've obviously never had the pleasure of an Allman Bros show. If I didn't know how old I was, and you told me forty seven, I would laugh at you, poke you in the eyes, three stooges style, call you a liar and insist I am twenty six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 I like a drink in the evening.I have not been drunk for many years because I don't like how it feels.I do not drink if I am driving.I don't drink during the day. There is a difference between drinking, being drunk and being sober.. oh btw I never played drunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kulardenu Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 Used to drink like a fish but after a while started realizing that it just was not as fun anymore like when I was young and those days of hungover recovery on a couch sucked way more than any fun I had the night before. For a while I used to rephrase the old "I wish I had all the money back I spent on lotto" to "I wish I had all the days back I spent on Hangover Lane". These days I may have a beer at dinner but find it hard to choke down more than that. I am sure given the right situation I can knock em back like the old days but really avoid that like the plague... All my best days and times were spent under the influence of LSD, alcohol could not touch those keystone days at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 I wish I had all the money I drank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members STRANDMAN Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 I remember the days of playing drunk as well. As a matter of fact that is pretty much the way my playing developed in my younger years. I don't drink any longer but I will say those were some fun times. Having said that what will I never understand is that if we don't want people to drink and drive then why in the hell do bars have parking lots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twofoolsaminute Posted May 25, 2012 Members Share Posted May 25, 2012 I had a lot more friends and was much more well liked when I drank all the time. I had a lot more fun when I drank all the time. I miss it and I know I would be happy to slip back into it. I just stopped drinking when I had kids. Over time I've become more and more miserable and have driven away any friends I still had. But I don't drink and my kids look up to me. I guess that's better. I really hope that right now is the dark before the dawn for me. I don't know if alcohol and drug abuse spark creativity, but it keeps you from overthinking it. A lack of inhibition is sometimes the path to greatness. Sometimes a clear head is the path to greatness. Many many college kids are on prescription medication that has essentially the same effect as cocaine. For all those that are self medicated, it was probably a help sometimes, but eventually it always turns into a problem. I can't think of a single benefit of marijuana except that it makes wit slower, bad jokes funnier, and {censored}ty music sound better. I don't get the weed smoking thing at all. I was always a boozer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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