Yada yada yada!

Chugga chugga chugga...burp!

Ian

I rarely drink... I only do at social situations where someone offers me a drink and it would be too awkward to decline- like if someone just poured me a glass of their prized vintage wine. I don't really enjoy the taste and I always find a way to just take a sip and discreetly discard of the drink.

As far as drinking at a gig, I don't have time for that! I have to set up and tear down all my gear and of course I want to perform to the best of my abilities. Further more, I don't have the luxury to sleep in all day to ward off any adverse effects that a night of drinking can do to ones body. And who needs all those extra calories?

At a performance? Haven't for 30+ years...I'm not that good that I can cover up the screw-ups.

Thing is: a performance is different than playing a gig where everyone at the party is a few sheets to the wind.

There's an old saying..."The more you drink, the better I sound".

But I don't drink at gigs either.

I drank bar brandy...one old fashion glass a set, with a little ice and up to 4 ounces of brandy. I did that every night, 6 nights a week for 30 years. Never bought one...they magically
appeared on my piano. Sometimes, with the drinks the customers bought, there were lots more than 4.

I did that until 1988...over 30 years. Never drank at lunch, home, after work...just on the job.

As I got older, it got harder. I always worked 7:30m AM to 4:15; then taught at college; then played a 9 to 1 job.

Finally, my bartender Irma, who I took to all my jobs, if possible (commission-she had a following), said", let's see how much you drink a night". 5 glasses, drained from the ice was almost 1/2 quart.

That scared me to death. Got a complete physical. Found out that I was not chemically addicted, but socially addicted.

Quitting took no willpower at all. Replaced brandy with decaf coffee.

The hardest part of quitting was listening to myself stone sober at 1:00 AM. Damn, I thought I just got better every hour.

NOT!

For years, I was afraid to play in bars. Every one had "regulars:, who had wrecked their lives...lost families and jobs...house, drinking.

I try not to think that I am hired to keep people around to buy drinks....even when I'm in a dining room, not a bar.

I'm pretty lucky to have survived, relatively healthy.

WATCH THE BOOZE.

Russ

The stuff that's in decaf coffee will kill you a lot faster than booze! Some nasty stuff in decaf, mainly because of the decaffeinating process and the chemicals used.

Cheers,

Gary

I thought I once had a license to drink. After all I worked in sales for one of the major liquor wholesalers and most liquor sales guy drank to promote the brands they sell.

Then, one day this guy Bill and his buddy Bob said to me, "kid if you keep that up one of 3 things are going to happen; 1. You'll do jail time 2. Wind up in the in an asylum or 3. You'll die!...................... I thought about that and accepted the fact they were probably right. Now and for the last 30 years ice cream and Starbucks coffee, bold, black with no sugar, never decaf those are about the strongest things I take part in today..........but I sure did have some fun with booze before it turned on me.