OldRocker

Hey guys. I think I made a similar thread a long while ago, but hey.

I'm a professional drummer and songwriter and, like the video below will agree, thought drinking and drugs was good for show nerves and especially for creativity. Ozzy Osbourne has been an idol of mine since the 70s, and especially now since getting sober (even though he relapsed last year, he was sober for 8 years before that and has been sober again since that relapse)

Here is some advice from him, and keep in mind the amount of crap he ingested during the 70s and 80s, (and then prescription abuse in the 90s and 00s) probably dwarfs any of our intake on here. So if he can do it, you all can











and a video from Nikki Sixx:

least

The truth was, drinking made me dull and unproductive.

ClearLight

I'm always personally offended when any body even implies that any of my creative work was enhanced in any way by any drug at any time.

I've done work high and drunk and never found it to be better quality in any way. Usually the quality dropped. Not always but usually.

I was painting for a while and I would often work on a painting over a month or so. Sometimes I would be under the influence and sometimes not while working on the same painting.

I had someone ask me if I could tell where, in the finished painting, I had been under the influence as opposed to the sections done when I was straight. It seemed like a really stupid and offensive question. I would never release any work of any kind that had any "section" that was different because I was under the influence or not. It's all got to be up to the same standard.

malcolmsloan

I've been in bands since I was 19 (I'm 42 now), and remember trying to write songs hammered. Thought ideas sounded great. Record them before we stumble out of the room. Listen to what we did the next day:incoherent trash.

I always had a rule: drink after the show. But that was just me. I played with many guys who could not be on stage without booze. And I could never drink on tour: I was always in charge of something, driving, settling, loading in/out, sound, press. . . But I made up for it when I got home.

Imabuleva

Drinking made me a dumbass. It also made me sick. And probably really annoying.

Joe Nerv

I had no success as a musician when I was drinking. And I couldn't finish a single thing. I've written tons of songs since I've gotten sober, and lived some of my biggest dreams. Didn't listen to the ozzy links yet, but will tomorrow. He was also one of my idols and influences. Till that dang TV show ....

justinJustQuit

I'm not in a band, but my profession (programmer) requires me to think outside the box. When I was drunk, I'd never touch a line of code. If I was hungover, I'd be thinking about that instead of solving critical problems.

I am a faster learner, better listener, and a better person without alcohol.

caboblanco

I heard people claim that dope made them more creative but never alcohol...either way its bs..and there are other ways to alter your mind such as meditation or exercise

Inca

I thought drinking made me more creative for a long time and then I realized the truth was that I was stifling it by drinking.

The day after, complete with hangovers, made me so paranoid that there was no creativity to be found in my head much less expressed to others. Ick!

Marcher13

I'm reading a fascinating book by Twyla Tharp called The Creative Habit Ms Tharp is the epitome of creativity and her recommendations for being creative include a lot of ritual and discipline which speaks to me pretty clearly -- that's how the greats in all arts achieved.

I used to tell myself I could write well when drunk, when sober I disagreed with myself because all I found written was drivel.