i'm too tired to rock

[andrewstadium]

The good news is that I found a new job that I like.
It is my hope that my time will be more structured and budgeted effectively. The challege is finding the energy to work, excercise and then go to my studio and record.

At the end of every day I want to go home and veg. I don't like this.
How do you guys get the energy to work all day and then the rock?

I am going to do a google search on "energy diet" and such. I will no doubt stumble on much nonsense. Before I did though I thought I would poll my music friends.

My brother suggested I cut out coffee, meat and starches. Stuff that might give you energy but ultimately gets you tired.
Today I had a salad for lunch followed with a power bar and a coffee with no suger. It is 8PM now and I do feel more awake then I did yesteday.
What about vitamins? Suggestions?

[sonikbliss]

One A Day multivitamins can definately help. There are a bunch of different formulas to choose from to fit different needs. They actually do make a pretty noticeable difference in your energy level.

Combined with a good diet, excercise, and enough sleep you should be good to go. Oh yeah, and I hear good things about the effects of crack and speed on your energy levels too.

[theBlubberRanch]

if you are too tired to rock you can always switch to mid-life crisis jazz, worked for me.

[YOUR KONG]

When I'm mixing, I listen to the mix while at work and make notes to on what I want to do (make them as specific as possible). Then I come home and enact them despite overwhelming exhaustion. Then I burn a CD and bring it to to work the next day. Rinse, lather, repeat.

As for the creative stuff, that's harder - sometimes I feel inspired half an hour before bedtime, sometimes I just putter around. I find I always work better in the afternoons. You might want to veg for just half an hour after work - I read somewhere a half-hour catnap is the perfect amount of rest to reenergize yourself.

Regarding diet, don't underestimate the power of fruit smoothies and yogurt parfaits. Fruits have 'good' sugar which can really refresh you. I always feel like a million bucks after a smoothie.

[dgochenour]

man, I can feel your pain.

I've got a full-time job and a 14 week old daughter. I never get shit recorded anymore. I'm considering having scheduled time in the studio each day.... at 6:00AM after I feed the kid! How un-rock-and-roll is that?

Whatever works, I guess.

[sonikbliss]

if you are too tired to rock you can always switch to mid-life crisis jazz, worked for me.

Smooth jazz and power naps, if that doesn't say rock n roll i don't know what does

[dustdude]

...The challenge is finding the energy to work, exercise and then go to my studio and record.

At the end of every day I want to go home and veg. I don't like this.
How do you guys get the energy to work all day and then the rock?

Consider exercise in the morning, before work.

Getting enough sleep (at least 6 hours) and a healthy diet is crucial to maintaining energy levels.

Television is probably the biggest contributor to the "veg out" syndrome, so eat organic fruits and veggies instead. Coffee tends to give me that second wind later in the day, but can cause insomnia if I drink it too late.

[andrewstadium]

if you are too tired to rock you can always switch to mid-life crisis jazz, worked for me.

Let's not go crazy.

[dustdude]

if you are too tired to rock you can always switch to mid-life crisis jazz, worked for me.

Let's not go crazy.

Hah! As the years get on, I play less jazz than I did in my 20's.

[wayne kerr]

Is that anything like being Too Drunk to Fuck?

Sis

[madpie]

At the end of every day I want to go home and veg. I don't like this.
How do you guys get the energy to work all day and then the rock?

All I know is that I quit my job last Thursday and I've recorded three songs so far this week, just staying at home and working for about 5 or 6 hours a day. It's been great! ... And before that, at a job pretty much 10 to 6:30 every day, I hadn't recorded a fucking thing in months. Somehow I learned things about music and about recording during all that non-productive time, but I sure didn't have the time to roll tape (so to speak) until now.

[Tim Casey]

(double-post)

[Tim Casey]

Cool - but who's feeding and clothing you now?

Which reminds me of a joke:

Q: What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend?

A: Homeless!

[MoreSpaceEcho]

hey andrew,

pharmaceutical cocaine.

and lots of it.

PM me.



no....but really...i think you're on the right track. stay away from starchy carbo shit, it just makes you tired. i've been eating salads for lunch most days and i notice a difference when i get home. i can't in good conscience recommend anyone give up coffee, but try and avoid the 'drinking it all day' syndrome, as that makes you more tired too. i've been getting by with just a big cup in the morning most days...if i'm really tired and have a session at night i'll have another after work. king kongs suggestion of a nap after work is good too. i'd much rather just crash for an hour than spend that time watching tv. just keep the naps brief, half hour or so.

the other thing i've found is that often the only hard part about 'rocking' after work is just actually sitting down and getting started. some times it's just like "ugh i just don't feel like working" but usually once i sit down and start something i get into it and the hours sail by...

[coniferouspine]

When I found a day job I really liked, I used the Loverboy approach, working for the weekend: lowkey weeknights spent on minor twiddling, vocals, plinky one-note piano overdubs and tweaking mixes, and then rock like an insane tracking maniac on the weekends. I've had some Friday-to-Sunday recording marathons that were very productive. Not to mention exhausting and not very good for my social life.

Another thing: if I'm in a period that calls for extensive rockage while also maintaining a modicum of cool at the day job, I sorta do like a "night on, night off" strategy. I kind of save up the rock, so when I'm not rocking I'm looking forward to it, and so that when I do get into it I'm fresh and energetic and it rocks. I suspect that's basically what you see the aging stadium rockers doing when you look at their tour schedules and you see it's like they're only playing every other night or even every three nights.