Hey SowingSeason,
First, welcome to SR! There is an amazing amount of support to be found here. I just wanted to take 2 seconds of your time and follow up on your post, as we are both musicians (as well as Steve35 - hi Steven!). I have been sober almost 30 days at this point, and can I say that in the last 30 days have I have been more productive than I have been at any point while I was drinking! January 2010 is the start of a new year, and a new decade, so I am giving my all to staying off the bottle... and what a difference it has made!!
For myself, this has been an AMAZING start to the year. I've put down 7 very quality tracks/ideas thus far... which is a great start (for me) for 2010. In addition to this, I have also filled my formerly drinking-time with drawing, which I have neglected over the last few years (was busy drinking, har har). All I can say, from my personal experience, is that the time I used to spend drinking has totally changed into a positive, creative outlet and my productivity has exploded. It's been an amazing year so far, and January isn't even over!
I also hear you on the 'everyone I know drinks' thing. I just want to point out that it certainly isn't just musicians; I work in computers by trade during the day and it's the same story there: most any excuse, most any day, to head down to the pub (before, during after work) and gripe about open-source vs. this'n'that and yadda yadda yadda... In fact, I am starting to bet it's the same story in every professional setting! Heh. I am sure you know all this.
I have had to change up my routine and my working relationship with other musicians to accommodate my new life. The results? I don't miss playing with wasted, half-there musicians one bit. Not my style! Just my 2 cents.
Welcome to SR, I am glad you are here.
