I hardly know any musicians that don't drink or have never drank at all. I know plenty who had problems with it and are going to coffee meetings to help them stay clear of the stuff. I myself play in a band which is on par with the pogues in terms of drinking. I can't remember a gig with the four of us sober on stage at the one time.
We drink for different reason of course, I don't tend to play at sessions ontil I have about 5 pints in me. Alot more if its a plugged gig, I reach my best at playing around 7 pints and it goes down hill at about 9 (fiddle)or 10 pints (banjo).
What are ye folks drinking at session and the likes, maybe I should be going to coffee meetings! I sometimes go to crap (sorry Zenia) sessions just to have a few pints more rather than to play.
What would be considered an average amount?
Average for whom? *grin* I'm a total lightweight, at least when I'm at home, over a mile over sea level -- two drinks of any sort and I'm tipsy, opposed to Pete, who could drink 8 pints and be barely buzzed. In Ireland, though, at sea level, I was drinking five hot whiskeys down one after the other and not even noticing.
What's dangerous is when people start buying me drinks, because then I lose track. When I was last in Chicago (yes, you, Brendan, she said accusingly), people kept buying me the gin and tonics and I was way over count way too early.
Awile back we had a thread on smoking and the harm it does. My Christmas message would be that drinking is probably as bad.
I'm not an abstainer - I have a few drinks a week (!) - but I've slowly grown into the belief that drunkeness is best enjoyed on rare special occasions. It's nice to be "merry" a bit oftener than that, and that will do me nicely. So 2 or 3 pints/whiskys suits me when I go out playing.
Barney Mckenna Played at a session in a community hall in Saggart Last month without a drink in sight.He commented it was one of the only times he seen so many musicians playing in cold blood.
My fingers get p*ssed after 5 pints
I know why Zina can't drink a lot. Quite a long time ago, one single DNA base out of 3,2 billion was mutated somewhere in China, and the mutation caused the genetic defect in alcohol dehydrogenase. I also should be susceptible to alcohol but love drinking "water of life": a great Irish invention along with diddly diddly music.
In my younger days, I was a much heavier drinker than now. I was never in danger of becoming an alcoholic. I think that's something that's predestined, anyway. It can get a grip on people who drank far less than me. However, although it could be fun, it did cause (and would do for anyone else now) problems and a few regrets eg time wasted when I could have been practising music or studying, hangovers, failing to maximise opportunities with my career and the opposite sex etc.
Anyway, I'm not preaching but I still enjoy a drink in more reasonable quantities. The five pints that John mentions would probably be my maximum these days unless it was a really special event when I might have one or two "shorts" or an extra couple of pints at an all day session(music wise). Mostly, it would even less than this--about three or four drinks--and 3 to 4 days a week at the most. I know some of you might think that's still a lot but what the hell? I'm doing my best and I'm a non smoker.
Re sessions, I find that two or three drinks help to relax me while I'm playing but I start to deteriorate if I drink much more than this. There are exceptions, of course, at a good "all day sesion" but the drinks tend to get more evenly spaced. I also find it better to *start* sober, even though I might be nervous. Certainly, I couldn't start playing after five pints, though I can often still play after this amount providing I've "warmed up"
already.
Too much turkey and brussel sprouts can affect also your performance so I'll probably not be doing to much today. Cheers. Hic.
If I'm playing a gig I only drink coffe or tea or water, usually because I have to drive myself there and back. On the rare occasions when I'm fortunate enough to get a lift then I might have two pints. I don't session as much as I used to, but when I do, and I'm being driven, then four or five pints of Guinness is about enough for me before my fingers go all dhysl....dislec....to b*ggery
but the point of session playing (ie, it's not a performance) is that you are playing for yourself. so if "you think you are playing great" what's the problem??
I adore alcohol, but alas! it doesn't like me anymore (since two years now I tend to get horrible hangovers after two-three pints of beer and vodka is a no-no, what a shame). On one side, it's bad, on another - I know I will never have an alcohol problem. Still, I do like to have a drink, but - never ever before performing. Evokes my guilty conscience It's an old and boring story, so I will spare you from reading it on a Christmas day.
On the other hand, I love when the audience is drinking while I'm playing - they tend to be more liberal towards the quality of music.
I can play fine after two, three, mabe 4 drinks, depending on my state of tiredness. Then I start to lose my coordination, not in a serious way, but I need to concentrate much more if I'm tipsy and that leads to tension and then the mistakes come hot and heavy.
There's also an age issue here, because I often see young guys (20somethings) drink barrels of Guinness (sometimes mixed with contraband chemicals of various types) and have no problems at all. In fact they can loose the ability to speak coherently and still be able to play well. I think Zina has a point as well, there is probably no such thing as an average person when it comes to drink.
One of our good friends was the sgt of patrol for our town police dept (at least, he was -- last night was his last night before they move to Texas *sob*). We had a bunch of friends over for a party last week, and had the bright spot of Sgt. Tom showing us exactly what it is the cops are looking for and at when they're doing roadsides. Helluva crack to be having roadsides conducted in your kitchen! ;)
I am a moderate drinker myself but I definitely like to put back a few (between 1 and 5, usually 2 or 3) pints at a session (not to mention the occasional whiskey)...
sessions in my current neck of the woods are notoriously cheap... There is only one pub that offers a single free HALF pint to the players; that's about it (though there are RARE drinks passed around to "preferred" participants by the owner of another local)...
Not like my experiences elsewhere where, usually, one is given at least a few if not unlimited drinks and sometimes supper too. In Ireland I was invariably offered more drinks than I could handle when I played in at a session or gig....
Since July I seem to have increased my consumption of the Dhrink. I'm quite conscious of it and I'm not getting any younger, so I think I have to start being more careful - these thoughts haven't become actions yet though. I'm fortunate that I'm quite fit and can run off a hangover, but it shouldn't have to be like that. I used to drive to pub sessions and drink no alcohol, but since my main session is now at the bottom of my road and there's free drinks for players...say no more...
I suppose my flute playing deteriorates after 5-6 pints but my box playing (very limited anyway) starts to go after 3-4 pints. (No doubt others will tell you much earlier for both yokes!)
I don't drink anything alcoholic...never have...(yes...11 years of college and nothing alcholic...I have a will of steel! )...I drink diet coke at sessions.
In a bar, at my brother's college graduation party, I was sipping beer, trying to learn to like it, since it seemed the right thing to be drinking. I never did like the taste of it, but the mixed drinks that I liked were too expensive. At some point during that night I said to myself, "This is stupid," and I have not touched another drop of alcohol since. I wasn't old enough, yet, even to start drinking. That was some thirty years ago. Since then I have become somewhat philosophical about my decision to avoid all alcohol and tobacco products, as I can think of nothing else that has caused so many people so much grief and pain.
Cheers, all, and have a happy and safe New Year. Kate
I' m the same as John J, if I start playing sober I can probably have 6 or 7 (start to lose track after awhile) pints before I start losing it (I think, prob to tipsy to tell). If I have 3 pints and then start to play I'm lost and my fingers dont work and I have to just give it up.
I love a pint, its true - I admit it. But as fate would have it, all of a sudden the hangovers I get are like death. I feel really awful and recently had a hangover last two days!! sigh, it just isnt fair. Having said that, I still drink at sessions (not as much by a long shot), But free pints! I mean really, how can somebody turn down free pints!
Also, if somebody really irritating turns up at sessions, I can deal with them much better after a few pints (its much easier to block out the sounds screechy squaky of out of tune instruments if you are drunk) So its probably much more healthy for everybody that I continue to drink.
Nothing annoys me more now than hanging out with people who can drink and dont get hangovers.
I go to pubs to drink beer. I also like to play tunes with friends there. The two activities go very nicely together in my opinion. I can consume about six to eight pints before I notice that I'm becoming a bit too sloppy with my tunes. If I allow myself to drink that much I make sure I'm within walking distance of the pub, or getting a ride, taxi etc. Some of my friends don't drink any kind of alcoholic beverage at the pub and only go there to play tunes. That's cool too, but I personally like the drink. If your drinking becomes a chronic problem for you -- coffee and tea clubs might be a better option. If you're Zina – you’ll get drunk way easy, but you're still fun to be around... unless she knocks you over... or your drink, or something like that. *smirk* I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday doing whatever floats their boat and doesn’t rock anyone else’s too much.
Ah, ye shower of alco's, Nescafé would go out of business only for ye.. Na, I spent 8 years me self going to coffee meetings and sure may go again. I hate that question, whats ur name? Quite tispy at the moment but doing well, been one of those guys that scew up sessions tonight, I hosted the bloody thing! ah tomorrow! best of luck to ye
Generally drink coffee or coke since I have to drive there and back, but I'll take a couple of pints the odd time I won't be driving. The days of five pints or more are long gone now.
Two pints of cider, one B&B on the rocks, or one rusty nail likewise, are my max. But I am, in the mongrel mix, part Irish and part Native American, which is a lethal combination for alcohol, and alcoholism runs in my family. I also have a damaged liver which I needs must treat kindly. Therefore I drink the hard stuff at most twice a week, and no more than five or six pints of cider a week total. Although I did put away two mimosas at Christmas brunch this morning, a once a year occasion!
As to playing under the influence, at one house session I drank three glasses of wine over five hours (I seldom drink wine at all) and by the end of it I was playing better than when I started. !! Go figure. I think it had to do with melted inhibitions more than anything else.
"Oh me god!" St Stephen's day, just after waking and must say I am in bits... Perhaps my days of 5 - 10 pints are drawing to a close. Im shaking like a leaf and feel like sH8t. Maybe I should have called this thread "hang over cures" I have a gig tonight in a yuppy style hotel and amreally dreading it. The kind of place you have to watch your p's and q's. Oh well, I'll uncork the wine after awhile to get me to were I think I should be and then start praying for tomorrow.
Thanks for the comments "Celtic Hippy"...but I've learned quite a lot...11 years of college were not spent in one degree...almost done with my 3rd (a doctorate). As for alcohol...I don't feel the need to drink it like some do. *shrugs* But thanks for your comments anyway.
Everything between 3 springswaters and 15 pints, depending on the length of the session, where my car is parked, what is happening the next morning, &c.
Jack -- why, that you don't want to be knocked over, of course. *snort* John -- lots and lots of water, not wine! Water. And you *are* drinking down a pint of water and some ibuprofen before you sleep after drinking, right? Right?
Dehydration is one of the biggest pain causers after a binge. (Well, most people are dehydrated most of the time, including me, I don't drink nearly enough of the stuff.)
I drank occasionally, until about the age of 21, when I decided that I didn't like the way I felt or behaved when I drank, so I just stopped. I never did like the taste of any alcohlic beverage anyway, and they are way overpriced.....add un-healthy lbs.....usually results in trouble......nah, no thanks. Maybe it's not that way for others, but that's the sum of both my experience and observation. Couldn't play music for beans either.
Bloody 'ell, compaqjohn, 10 pints? Jeezus, bet you ain't got a compaq stomach, man! Me, 1 pint of ale at sessions, coz I'm usually driving, but can comfortably drink another 3 in the space of a few hours. All that zen conditioning, you see.....so, Zina, was that 2 whiskies or 2 bottles? Come on, girlie, tell the truth!
In my early twenties I could drink a hell of a lot more and didn't really suffer all that much with hangovers. Now I am in early 30's and the body is letting me know. I don't get headaches only shakes, and I really have to get rid of these before I play. More drink is the best way of doing this to date that I have found. I tend to cure myself with red wine as I hear this is good for me and I only need a few glasses, where as with pints it would take to long and to much in terms of quantiy. I once played with a box player from limerick who had to have about 5 brandies and ports just for him to open the box. He is quite old now, from the old school. The younger ones seem to play without and that can only be a good thing.
Ha bloody ha to the two of you. ;) DEFINITELY only two whiskeys. If it was two bottles of whiskey, I'd probably be dead of alcohol poisoning half way through the second. And whiskey is almost never the last drink of the night for me, I have to have something else last or I wake up with a terrible dehydration headache.
For some reason, I get terribly tipsy on hard apple ciders, even though I love the stuff. Usually I drink one pint of cider, then a gin and tonic, then it's diet coke for the rest of the night.
Pbbbbbbbhhhtthhhht to you, Jack. *snort* Sara, I live on diet coke when I'm on deadlines. Shameful but true. When I die, my insides will probably be pickled brown. Heh. What a lovely image. Sorry, John, that probably didn't help you at *all*...
Can't find "Pbbbbbbbhhhtthhht" in my Irish Gaelic Dictionary, but I assume you don't pronounce the "h's." I suppose it is a matter of which or..... well I won't go there. A footnote to the discussion. I started getting sore joints, it interfered with the music and a friend told me about the link between drinking, dehydration and joint stiffness. I took some joint vitamins and I gave up hard liquor. It worked. If I can manage it, I restrict myself to 24-32 oz of good stout or ale for public sessions. The trouble with private sessions is the more you drink, the better you sound to yourself.
Zina, dear... I don't "live on" alcohol on deadlines or any other time. Besides, doctors say alcohol is good for you in moderation. I've never heard a doctor say you can live on diet coke, or that it's good for you. Diet coke is a chemical cocktail that even taken in moderation is probably very questionable. I'm not attacking you for your drinking choice -- I'm attacking the drink. Maybe tea or something like that would be a better choice for those "deadline" occasions... just a thought.
I gave up drinking when I was 18. Although I drank not infrequently from age 16, I never really got past the stage where a few drinks would make me ill - so I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. No doubt, if I had been prepared to push the boundaries a bit harder, I would probably have been able to keep up with the best of them. But, given the amount of time I now spend in pubs, it is probably a good thing I gave up when I did. Nowadays, I don't drink because I don't drink - it's easy, much as I don't eat meat or fish, or steal or deliberately break peoples instruments.
So, because I like a few pints, enjoy a good steak, and a nice piece of pan grilled halibut I'm on the same level as those who steal or deliberately smash up other people's instruments?
I hope not.
Tea! D'you know what's in that stuff! It'll tar your insides far faster than a diet coke! (You *do* realize that now I'm just poking at you to keep you going, right? Right? Go ahead, just keep it on up, now... ;)
You can all come back and talk to me when you've graduated to Diet Kick (for all you guys across the pond, it's an energy drink similar to sugar-free Red Bull). Whisky and diet ginger beer to sozzle you out, and diet Kick to perk you up & make you rip the heavy punch bag off its mountings!
Oh god, Red Bull, that stuff is *heinous*! When Pete still owned a club, there was a very popular drink of a flavored vodka (orange or lemon or sometimes cranberry) and Red Bull. A downer and a lifter all at once -- yipes! ;)
No no... you don't understand. This is a perfect thread to merge with the religeous one. This thread's about drink, and the other one's about Jews and Christians etc... so we can now talk about "Juice for Jesus."
In my early days competing in bagpipe bands I drank quite a bit. Then a lot of competitions went to a two-day format. Have you ever tried listening to or performing in a bagpipe band with a nasty hangover? Maniacal, hellish, tortures. I gave up the drink.
John J: "So, because I like a few pints, enjoy a good steak, and a nice piece of pan grilled halibut I'm on the same level as those who steal or deliberately smash up other people's instruments?"
Not necessarily (although I've never met you in person). But, if you were to accept the view that it is, 'a priori', perfectly justifiable to steal, then you could do so with as clear a conscience as that with which you drink your pint or eat your steak.
Drink!
Drink!
I hardly know any musicians that don't drink or have never drank at all. I know plenty who had problems with it and are going to coffee meetings to help them stay clear of the stuff. I myself play in a band which is on par with the pogues in terms of drinking. I can't remember a gig with the four of us sober on stage at the one time.
We drink for different reason of course, I don't tend to play at sessions ontil I have about 5 pints in me. Alot more if its a plugged gig, I reach my best at playing around 7 pints and it goes down hill at about 9 (fiddle)or 10 pints (banjo).
What are ye folks drinking at session and the likes, maybe I should be going to coffee meetings! I sometimes go to crap (sorry Zenia) sessions just to have a few pints more rather than to play.
What would be considered an average amount?
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
I have never drank, nor do I plan to.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by sifudave54
Re: Drink!
Average for whom? *grin* I'm a total lightweight, at least when I'm at home, over a mile over sea level -- two drinks of any sort and I'm tipsy, opposed to Pete, who could drink 8 pints and be barely buzzed. In Ireland, though, at sea level, I was drinking five hot whiskeys down one after the other and not even noticing.
What's dangerous is when people start buying me drinks, because then I lose track. When I was last in Chicago (yes, you, Brendan, she said accusingly), people kept buying me the gin and tonics and I was way over count way too early.
Anyway, two is my limit for a night.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Awile back we had a thread on smoking and the harm it does. My Christmas message would be that drinking is probably as bad.
I'm not an abstainer - I have a few drinks a week (!) - but I've slowly grown into the belief that drunkeness is best enjoyed on rare special occasions. It's nice to be "merry" a bit oftener than that, and that will do me nicely. So 2 or 3 pints/whiskys suits me when I go out playing.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by kris
Re: Drink!
Barney Mckenna Played at a session in a community hall in Saggart Last month without a drink in sight.He commented it was one of the only times he seen so many musicians playing in cold blood.
My fingers get p*ssed after 5 pints
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Dphil
Re: Drink!
I know why Zina can't drink a lot. Quite a long time ago, one single DNA base out of 3,2 billion was mutated somewhere in China, and the mutation caused the genetic defect in alcohol dehydrogenase. I also should be susceptible to alcohol but love drinking "water of life": a great Irish invention along with diddly diddly music.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by slainte
Re: Drink!
In my younger days, I was a much heavier drinker than now. I was never in danger of becoming an alcoholic. I think that's something that's predestined, anyway. It can get a grip on people who drank far less than me. However, although it could be fun, it did cause (and would do for anyone else now) problems and a few regrets eg time wasted when I could have been practising music or studying, hangovers, failing to maximise opportunities with my career and the opposite sex etc.
Anyway, I'm not preaching but I still enjoy a drink in more reasonable quantities. The five pints that John mentions would probably be my maximum these days unless it was a really special event when I might have one or two "shorts" or an extra couple of pints at an all day session(music wise). Mostly, it would even less than this--about three or four drinks--and 3 to 4 days a week at the most. I know some of you might think that's still a lot but what the hell? I'm doing my best and I'm a non smoker.
Re sessions, I find that two or three drinks help to relax me while I'm playing but I start to deteriorate if I drink much more than this. There are exceptions, of course, at a good "all day sesion" but the drinks tend to get more evenly spaced. I also find it better to *start* sober, even though I might be nervous. Certainly, I couldn't start playing after five pints, though I can often still play after this amount providing I've "warmed up"
already.
Too much turkey and brussel sprouts can affect also your performance so I'll probably not be doing to much today.
Cheers. Hic.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Back for a while
Re: Drink!
If I'm playing a gig I only drink coffe or tea or water, usually because I have to drive myself there and back. On the rare occasions when I'm fortunate enough to get a lift then I might have two pints. I don't session as much as I used to, but when I do, and I'm being driven, then four or five pints of Guinness is about enough for me before my fingers go all dhysl....dislec....to b*ggery
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by curlew
Re: Drink!
Me I just abuse my body and can't stop drinking once I reach a certain point. I'm sure to die early. Happy New Yea
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Dow
Re: Drink!
r!
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Dow
Re: Drink!
I mean Christmas.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Dow
Re: Drink!
but the point of session playing (ie, it's not a performance) is that you are playing for yourself. so if "you think you are playing great" what's the problem??
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by llig leahcim
Re: Drink!
I adore alcohol, but alas! it doesn't like me anymore (since two years now I tend to get horrible hangovers after two-three pints of beer and vodka is a no-no, what a shame). On one side, it's bad, on another - I know I will never have an alcohol problem. Still, I do like to have a drink, but - never ever before performing. Evokes my guilty conscience It's an old and boring story, so I will spare you from reading it on a Christmas day.
On the other hand, I love when the audience is drinking while I'm playing - they tend to be more liberal towards the quality of music.
Merry Christmas everyone.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by EastPole
Re: Drink!
I can play fine after two, three, mabe 4 drinks, depending on my state of tiredness. Then I start to lose my coordination, not in a serious way, but I need to concentrate much more if I'm tipsy and that leads to tension and then the mistakes come hot and heavy.
There's also an age issue here, because I often see young guys (20somethings) drink barrels of Guinness (sometimes mixed with contraband chemicals of various types) and have no problems at all. In fact they can loose the ability to speak coherently and still be able to play well. I think Zina has a point as well, there is probably no such thing as an average person when it comes to drink.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Backer
Btw
One of our good friends was the sgt of patrol for our town police dept (at least, he was -- last night was his last night before they move to Texas *sob*). We had a bunch of friends over for a party last week, and had the bright spot of Sgt. Tom showing us exactly what it is the cops are looking for and at when they're doing roadsides. Helluva crack to be having roadsides conducted in your kitchen! ;)
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
I am a moderate drinker myself but I definitely like to put back a few (between 1 and 5, usually 2 or 3) pints at a session (not to mention the occasional whiskey)...
sessions in my current neck of the woods are notoriously cheap... There is only one pub that offers a single free HALF pint to the players; that's about it (though there are RARE drinks passed around to "preferred" participants by the owner of another local)...
Not like my experiences elsewhere where, usually, one is given at least a few if not unlimited drinks and sometimes supper too. In Ireland I was invariably offered more drinks than I could handle when I played in at a session or gig....
As it should be!
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by bestcraic
Re: Drink!
"Maybe I should be going to coffee meetings".
I find myself in agreement. Take your advice and go.
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by brianc
Re: Drink!
Since July I seem to have increased my consumption of the Dhrink. I'm quite conscious of it and I'm not getting any younger, so I think I have to start being more careful - these thoughts haven't become actions yet though. I'm fortunate that I'm quite fit and can run off a hangover, but it shouldn't have to be like that. I used to drive to pub sessions and drink no alcohol, but since my main session is now at the bottom of my road and there's free drinks for players...say no more...
I suppose my flute playing deteriorates after 5-6 pints but my box playing (very limited anyway) starts to go after 3-4 pints. (No doubt others will tell you much earlier for both yokes!)
# Posted on December 25th 2004 by Nick Splease
Re: Drink!
I don't drink anything alcoholic...never have...(yes...11 years of college and nothing alcholic...I have a will of steel!
)...I drink diet coke at sessions.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Crysania
Re: Drink!
Drink some alcholic, learn something and get out of college.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Celtic Hippy
Re: Drink!
In a bar, at my brother's college graduation party, I was sipping beer, trying to learn to like it, since it seemed the right thing to be drinking. I never did like the taste of it, but the mixed drinks that I liked were too expensive. At some point during that night I said to myself, "This is stupid," and I have not touched another drop of alcohol since. I wasn't old enough, yet, even to start drinking. That was some thirty years ago. Since then I have become somewhat philosophical about my decision to avoid all alcohol and tobacco products, as I can think of nothing else that has caused so many people so much grief and pain.
Cheers, all, and have a happy and safe New Year. Kate
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by rocking bow
Re: Drink!
I' m the same as John J, if I start playing sober I can probably have 6 or 7 (start to lose track after awhile) pints before I start losing it (I think, prob to tipsy to tell). If I have 3 pints and then start to play I'm lost and my fingers dont work and I have to just give it up.
I love a pint, its true - I admit it. But as fate would have it, all of a sudden the hangovers I get are like death. I feel really awful and recently had a hangover last two days!! sigh, it just isnt fair. Having said that, I still drink at sessions (not as much by a long shot), But free pints! I mean really, how can somebody turn down free pints!
Also, if somebody really irritating turns up at sessions, I can deal with them much better after a few pints (its much easier to block out the sounds screechy squaky of out of tune instruments if you are drunk) So its probably much more healthy for everybody that I continue to drink.
Nothing annoys me more now than hanging out with people who can drink and dont get hangovers.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by shoddy fiddle player
Re: Drink!
I go to pubs to drink beer. I also like to play tunes with friends there. The two activities go very nicely together in my opinion. I can consume about six to eight pints before I notice that I'm becoming a bit too sloppy with my tunes. If I allow myself to drink that much I make sure I'm within walking distance of the pub, or getting a ride, taxi etc. Some of my friends don't drink any kind of alcoholic beverage at the pub and only go there to play tunes. That's cool too, but I personally like the drink. If your drinking becomes a chronic problem for you -- coffee and tea clubs might be a better option. If you're Zina – you’ll get drunk way easy, but you're still fun to be around... unless she knocks you over... or your drink, or something like that. *smirk* I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday doing whatever floats their boat and doesn’t rock anyone else’s too much.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
After reading what bb said -- I guess I'd be very annoying to hang out with for her.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
Ah, ye shower of alco's, Nescafé would go out of business only for ye.. Na, I spent 8 years me self going to coffee meetings and sure may go again. I hate that question, whats ur name? Quite tispy at the moment but doing well, been one of those guys that scew up sessions tonight, I hosted the bloody thing! ah tomorrow! best of luck to ye
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
I've never knocked you over, Jack! Besides, it occurs to me that there's probably a reason you always play with your back to the wall. ;)
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Generally drink coffee or coke since I have to drive there and back, but I'll take a couple of pints the odd time I won't be driving. The days of five pints or more are long gone now.
Merry and/or Happy Christmas to all!
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by grego
Re: Drink!
Two pints of cider, one B&B on the rocks, or one rusty nail likewise, are my max. But I am, in the mongrel mix, part Irish and part Native American, which is a lethal combination for alcohol, and alcoholism runs in my family. I also have a damaged liver which I needs must treat kindly. Therefore I drink the hard stuff at most twice a week, and no more than five or six pints of cider a week total. Although I did put away two mimosas at Christmas brunch this morning, a once a year occasion!
As to playing under the influence, at one house session I drank three glasses of wine over five hours (I seldom drink wine at all) and by the end of it I was playing better than when I started. !! Go figure. I think it had to do with melted inhibitions more than anything else.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by sara g
Re: Drink!
And what might that be, Zina?
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
"Oh me god!" St Stephen's day, just after waking and must say I am in bits... Perhaps my days of 5 - 10 pints are drawing to a close. Im shaking like a leaf and feel like sH8t. Maybe I should have called this thread "hang over cures" I have a gig tonight in a yuppy style hotel and amreally dreading it. The kind of place you have to watch your p's and q's. Oh well, I'll uncork the wine after awhile to get me to were I think I should be and then start praying for tomorrow.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
Thanks for the comments "Celtic Hippy"...but I've learned quite a lot...11 years of college were not spent in one degree...almost done with my 3rd (a doctorate). As for alcohol...I don't feel the need to drink it like some do. *shrugs* But thanks for your comments anyway.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Crysania
Re: Drink!
Everything between 3 springswaters and 15 pints, depending on the length of the session, where my car is parked, what is happening the next morning, &c.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by snorre
Re: Drink!
Jack -- why, that you don't want to be knocked over, of course. *snort* John -- lots and lots of water, not wine! Water. And you *are* drinking down a pint of water and some ibuprofen before you sleep after drinking, right? Right?
Dehydration is one of the biggest pain causers after a binge. (Well, most people are dehydrated most of the time, including me, I don't drink nearly enough of the stuff.)
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
I drank occasionally, until about the age of 21, when I decided that I didn't like the way I felt or behaved when I drank, so I just stopped. I never did like the taste of any alcohlic beverage anyway, and they are way overpriced.....add un-healthy lbs.....usually results in trouble......nah, no thanks. Maybe it's not that way for others, but that's the sum of both my experience and observation. Couldn't play music for beans either.
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by ceciltguitar
Re: Drink!
Bloody 'ell, compaqjohn, 10 pints? Jeezus, bet you ain't got a compaq stomach, man!
Me, 1 pint of ale at sessions, coz I'm usually driving, but can comfortably drink another 3 in the space of a few hours. All that zen conditioning, you see.....so, Zina, was that 2 whiskies or 2 bottles? Come on, girlie, tell the truth! 
Jim
# Posted on December 26th 2004 by Worldfiddler
Re: Drink!
2 pints and Zina's locked. She'll still down a whiskey if you put it infront of her -- but watch out.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
In my early twenties I could drink a hell of a lot more and didn't really suffer all that much with hangovers. Now I am in early 30's and the body is letting me know. I don't get headaches only shakes, and I really have to get rid of these before I play. More drink is the best way of doing this to date that I have found. I tend to cure myself with red wine as I hear this is good for me and I only need a few glasses, where as with pints it would take to long and to much in terms of quantiy. I once played with a box player from limerick who had to have about 5 brandies and ports just for him to open the box. He is quite old now, from the old school. The younger ones seem to play without and that can only be a good thing.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
Ha bloody ha to the two of you. ;) DEFINITELY only two whiskeys. If it was two bottles of whiskey, I'd probably be dead of alcohol poisoning half way through the second. And whiskey is almost never the last drink of the night for me, I have to have something else last or I wake up with a terrible dehydration headache.
For some reason, I get terribly tipsy on hard apple ciders, even though I love the stuff. Usually I drink one pint of cider, then a gin and tonic, then it's diet coke for the rest of the night.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Diet Coke?? :p Zina, that stuff will kill you! Take your water plain, fergawdsake, not brown and fizzy. ;)w
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by sara g
Re: Drink!
And she left out the fact that after the cider and G&T she needs a straw to keep from pouring the coke all over herself.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
Pbbbbbbbhhhtthhhht to you, Jack. *snort* Sara, I live on diet coke when I'm on deadlines. Shameful but true. When I die, my insides will probably be pickled brown. Heh. What a lovely image. Sorry, John, that probably didn't help you at *all*...
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Have you ever read the ingredience list on a diet coke can, Zina? Wouldn't water be better? (seriously)
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
Can't find "Pbbbbbbbhhhtthhht" in my Irish Gaelic Dictionary, but I assume you don't pronounce the "h's." I suppose it is a matter of which or..... well I won't go there. A footnote to the discussion. I started getting sore joints, it interfered with the music and a friend told me about the link between drinking, dehydration and joint stiffness. I took some joint vitamins and I gave up hard liquor. It worked. If I can manage it, I restrict myself to 24-32 oz of good stout or ale for public sessions. The trouble with private sessions is the more you drink, the better you sound to yourself.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by CeolCairdeas
Re: Drink!
I can really relate to the stiff joints, never thought drink could be causing this. Must investigate.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
Of course water would be better, Jack. Do you know what drinking alcohol does to you? Wouldn't water be better? *snort* To each of us our own. ;)
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Zina, dear... I don't "live on" alcohol on deadlines or any other time. Besides, doctors say alcohol is good for you in moderation. I've never heard a doctor say you can live on diet coke, or that it's good for you. Diet coke is a chemical cocktail that even taken in moderation is probably very questionable. I'm not attacking you for your drinking choice -- I'm attacking the drink. Maybe tea or something like that would be a better choice for those "deadline" occasions... just a thought.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
I gave up drinking when I was 18. Although I drank not infrequently from age 16, I never really got past the stage where a few drinks would make me ill - so I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. No doubt, if I had been prepared to push the boundaries a bit harder, I would probably have been able to keep up with the best of them. But, given the amount of time I now spend in pubs, it is probably a good thing I gave up when I did. Nowadays, I don't drink because I don't drink - it's easy, much as I don't eat meat or fish, or steal or deliberately break peoples instruments.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by OrganicPeatCreature
Re: Drink!
So, because I like a few pints, enjoy a good steak, and a nice piece of pan grilled halibut I'm on the same level as those who steal or deliberately smash up other people's instruments?
I hope not.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Back for a while
Re: Drink!
Tea! D'you know what's in that stuff! It'll tar your insides far faster than a diet coke! (You *do* realize that now I'm just poking at you to keep you going, right? Right? Go ahead, just keep it on up, now... ;)
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
You can all come back and talk to me when you've graduated to Diet Kick (for all you guys across the pond, it's an energy drink similar to sugar-free Red Bull). Whisky and diet ginger beer to sozzle you out, and diet Kick to perk you up & make you rip the heavy punch bag off its mountings!
Jim
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Worldfiddler
Re: Drink!
Oh god, Red Bull, that stuff is *heinous*! When Pete still owned a club, there was a very popular drink of a flavored vodka (orange or lemon or sometimes cranberry) and Red Bull. A downer and a lifter all at once -- yipes! ;)
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
Alcohol addiction is real and must be dealt with.
12 Step groups are religious cults to be avoided at all cost.
My 2c.
Me? I have 2 pints, that's it.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by saltcast
Re: Drink!
Maybe it's just about time this thread merges with the religeous one.
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
Jesus no way, leave god out if this!
# Posted on December 27th 2004 by compaqjohn
Re: Drink!
No no... you don't understand. This is a perfect thread to merge with the religeous one. This thread's about drink, and the other one's about Jews and Christians etc... so we can now talk about "Juice for Jesus."
# Posted on December 28th 2004 by Phantom Button
Re: Drink!
Big Dutch has spoken! Allelujah!
Jim
# Posted on December 28th 2004 by Worldfiddler
Re: Drink!
Hey, Big Dutch, how dare you cross-post with me!
....oh...and do you do a lot of cabaret?
# Posted on December 28th 2004 by Worldfiddler
Re: Drink!
Okay, Dorans, you are SO cut off.
# Posted on December 28th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Drink!
In my early days competing in bagpipe bands I drank quite a bit. Then a lot of competitions went to a two-day format. Have you ever tried listening to or performing in a bagpipe band with a nasty hangover? Maniacal, hellish, tortures. I gave up the drink.
# Posted on December 28th 2004 by baxdrum
Re: Drink!
John J: "So, because I like a few pints, enjoy a good steak, and a nice piece of pan grilled halibut I'm on the same level as those who steal or deliberately smash up other people's instruments?"
Not necessarily (although I've never met you in person). But, if you were to accept the view that it is, 'a priori', perfectly justifiable to steal, then you could do so with as clear a conscience as that with which you drink your pint or eat your steak.
# Posted on December 29th 2004 by OrganicPeatCreature
Re: Drink!
...or even 'a posteriori', come to that - I think I just stuck in the 'a priori' to sound clever.
# Posted on December 29th 2004 by OrganicPeatCreature
Re: Drink!
You been reading philosophical analysis then, MG?
Jim
# Posted on December 29th 2004 by Worldfiddler