Drugs and Music

Frank with dope? nope- I don't think he ever did it, and I know he was against it- he had strict rules for the musicians he toured with, they used to have to sneak away to get high...he was way too naturally weird to mess with chemicals :)

Under the influence of a fantastic amount of TRENDY CHEMICAL AMUSEMENT AID, they proceed to perform lewd acts, rip each other off for small personal possessions, and dance with depraved abandon in the vicinity of a six-foot pile of transistor radios (each one tuned to a different station).

Are you not satisfied with my answer?

5 minute solo wrote: Look its a black and white photo on a white background and it's very difficult to tell and I was mearly (is that spelt right) voicing my thoughts!

No offense was taken.

Frank smoked cigarettes.

Could his death from prostate cancer have been related to this evil habit?

I totally respect your stance on drugs, but the thrust of this thread is to find out who has conducted any experiements with drugs and music, and whether the latter is enhanced by the former.

Unfortunately, since I am not particularly keen on drugs, I have found that for me, as well as a great number of other artists, drugs not only give a different spin on how one enjoys music (note: different, not better), they also give what feels like an enhancement to both the composing and performance of music.

Again, I have to be ambiguous. I have found that I have had some of my best and most coherent musical ideas after smoking cannabis - although I have always gone on to develop these ideas in a "clean" state of mind, as I work better that way. What happens is that smoking the weed appears to unlock a creative center that produces ideas naturally without involving conscious thought.

To work on these ideas, however, requires conscious thought, and for this process, cannabis is next to useless.

In terms of performance, I have noted that, following MANY concerted hours of "clean" rehearsal, during which the major mistakes are ironed out and the band gets the entire "groove" of the piece, if the entire band partakes of a small chillum before a gig, then the gig will flow naturally, with the band able to almost instinctively anticpate mistakes, improvisations or the need for a member to solo.

It MUST be noted that this almost magical state comes not through abuse and over-indulgence of the drug, but through hard work and abstinence and USING the drug as a tool, not as a crutch.

It's like having two pints of beer turns me into a superb pool player - any less and I'm next to useless, any more and I have trouble holding the cue...

Hallucinogens are next to useless for music creation or performance, although the odd thing is that if you can later remember the ideas you have when taking hallucinogens, they can translate into some incredibly inventive music. There's no doubt in my mind that hallucinogens enhance music written under the direct or indirect influence of them, e.g. Pink Floyd - Ummagumma becomes a new animal!

My opinion is that these are tools that can be used to enhance our lives - one takes an aspirin to make a headache go away, one has a drink with friends to be sociable, one has a coffee in the morning to assist in the awakening process - but I do recognise that there are many who do not see this and seem to think that drugs are somehow a way of life or death, depending on whether they take them or not. I do not see them as a way of life to choose any more than being an alcoholic is a way of life to choose.

It is the whole "culture" that is to blame - and I feel that if people on the whole were mentally strong enough to stay away from such ludicrous cultures, then the world might not have the drug problems it has. The problems lie with the two cultures; Those who take drugs and those who vehemently oppose taking them. The latter, who are largely in an authoritative position force the former into an antisocial counter-culture which is self-sustaining and self-enforcing.

Erm... I ramble too much! Must lay off the caffiene...

 

Often my best drumming came when Iwas tottally drunk out of my mind.

Vibrationbaby wrote: Drugs and alcohol have ALWAYS  been related to the arts.

Sounds like an interesting thesis for a college student. What about the master; Bach, Beethoven...... any link between drugs and composition? Very fascinating topic.

Edited by danbo

danbo wrote: Vibrationbaby wrote: Drugs and alcohol have ALWAYS  been related to the arts. Sounds like an interesting thesis for a college student. What about the master; Bach, Beethoven...... any link between drugs and composition? Very fascinating topic.

Bach was a mathematician and used mathematical principles in his music. Schoenberg and Webern also used mathematical principles more recently - and you'd swear they must have been on something to have produced such unearthly music! However, I can find no evidence.

Beethoven was a habitual drunk - so there's a link there. Berlioz was a smack head - that is to say he took a lot of opium - hence "Symphonie Fantastique", which is all about an opiated nightmare.

It's true that art/drugs can go hand in hand - but Zappa was known to be against drugs - and look at his incredible output!

Certif1ed wrote: To work on these ideas, however, requires conscious thought, and for this process, cannabis is next to useless.

That's totally different from my experience- I find that while high I can concentrate on composition and production more dilligently, and pay attention to small details in the music that otherwise I'd pass over (finding perfect frequencies to EQ in or out, fixing timing, setting levels and automation, etc). I suppose it would be different if I was live or under a deadline, though. 

 

Mariah is a heavy Yage user- no, wishful thinking...

I doubt very much that most of the drug fatalities among the musicians were avoidable; Morrison and Janis would have definitely drank themselves to death pretty soon anyway. Pigpen never touched drugs, and he was one of the first to go- Brian Jones, Keith Moon, John Bonham, et al didn't need any other drug than the one you can find advertised during football games. Did drugs speed things up? Undoubtedly.

Seems to me that creativity and self-destruction- whatever the method- go hand in hand.

Then again, there are plenty of survivors whose talent seems to have died young. We can be grateful that we never have to see Janis doing a "Divas Live", or listen to Jimi do a duet with Puff Daddy.