Let's talk substance

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vvv
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Let's talk substance

Post by vvv » Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:47 pm

Been reading the liner notes to the Cure's Join the Dots box ...

Smith, et al., apparently like(d) their mushroom tea and booze.

Myself, I like coffee, booze, wine, beer, (in that order) and sometimes (not always!) don't mind 420 around as I write and record ...

Bad experiences around 'shroomage, horse, trips, etc., when it comes to performing. Bad experiences - that could be another thread.

Me and the current band might have a beer and a shot, or three, by the time we've jammed for 4-6 hours.

I like a martoonie or a glass of plonk whilst mixing, mebbe a manhattan.

Do I always? Well, pretty much, after the yardarm, yeah.

Yooze?
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floid
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by floid » Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:19 pm

There's a parasitic fungus that infects male cicadas right as they emerge from their 17 years underground, eating away at their internal organs until their entire ass falls off. It causes them to become hypersexualized and prone to female mimicry. Researchers have recently discovered that it produces psilocybin and cathinone.
So yeah. Been on the lookout for a good cicada hookup of late. Know anyone?
Village Idiot.

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losthighway
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by losthighway » Thu Aug 09, 2018 7:44 pm

I like a beer (or three), or a coffee (or three) when I'm writing, rehearsing etc.

If I'm engineering for someone I can pretty much only do coffee, unless I have a beer in the last hour of the session.

Side note: I've been meaning to ask you guys. I've noticed after sessions where I'm working for people I feel like I've had too much coffee, like that weird tired/wound up feeling. The only thing I can compare it to is when I used to work in the restaurant industry and I'd be exhausted, close the place, and then be unable to sleep for like 3 hours.

Do you guys find a day's work in front of the speakers makes you all wound up? Something about listening carefully, evaluating constantly, staring at a computer screen, and communicating with clients. It's a weird buzz that kind of carves me out after a while.

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A.David.MacKinnon
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Thu Aug 09, 2018 7:50 pm

I get that way after a long day of mixing with not enough breaks. Jittery, wound up, unable to focus. It's a result of too much brain work.

Magnetic Services
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by Magnetic Services » Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:18 pm

floid wrote:
Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:19 pm
There's a parasitic fungus that infects male cicadas right as they emerge from their 17 years underground, eating away at their internal organs until their entire ass falls off. It causes them to become hypersexualized and prone to female mimicry. Researchers have recently discovered that it produces psilocybin and cathinone.
So yeah. Been on the lookout for a good cicada hookup of late. Know anyone?
Man, you just missed it. My guy came through with some *fresh* cicada butts. I straight up blacked out, but my friends told me I started chirping for several hours straight and then shed all my clothes while screaming "FREE ME FROM THIS HUSSSSSSK."

Guess you gotta wait another 17 years though.

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by Magnetic Services » Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:24 pm

Um, but seriously though... I will get down with most substances (nothing too psychedelic), but It's gotta be the right one for the situation. Like choosing a microphone.

Engineering for others: coffee, then a beer if someone brings them (they always do). Occasional pot or shot toward the end.
Mixing/editing alone: coffee, beer, wine, liquor. Maybe pot in the early stages of the mix.
Mastering: strictly coffee
Creative stuff/low-stakes messing around: anything goes

And yeah, I think we all get that burnt-out-yet-strangely-wired feeling after a long session. I feel like it's a sign of a good day's work when I come home from recording absolutely beat but so excited about the music that I start working on the rough mixes right away and then all of a sudden its 2 am :shock:

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:53 am

mastering: just coffee. because i'm a goddamn professional.

working on my own stuff late night: weed and more weed.

i can't drink and do anything music-related. at all. ever. not even a little bit. i don't like the slipperyness and it makes time move too fast. so no booze in the studio for me.

but just the other day, clients of mine (and garges as well, he tracked and mixed and did an amazing job as he always does) sent me a bottle of Booker's bourbon. 123 proof. sweet jesus it's delicious. i drink it neat, the way god intended.

definitely get the wired/tired thing too. melatonin can help put you out at the end of the day.

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losthighway
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by losthighway » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:12 am

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:53 am
definitely get the wired/tired thing too. melatonin can help put you out at the end of the day.
Sounds like it's pretty common from all the responses.

It's funny, usually the first hour or so of a session I get only the fun, excited, romantic "we're making art" vibe. Similar to when I watch a really good documentary about creative people. That slowly turns into a working focus more like edge work painting a room. By the end I'm a robot.

But then looking back I can romanticize the whole thing and get all nostalgic, like "Yeah that record. We were really going for it on that one. Am I even living as fully as I was then?"

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by drumsound » Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:51 pm

I'm a pretty substance free person. I drink a handful of times a year, and NEVER when making music in any capacity.

As to the after session thing, I call it studio haze. After the focus I try to have during session, I leave and I'm kind of floating in the either, in a way. If I meet people for dinner or something after a session, there's a good amount of me staring off, or not knowing what question I was just asked.

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:26 am

^^^^ same.
losthighway wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:12 am
edge work painting a room.
that and taping: super unfun and takes forever. hate it!

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by Nick Sevilla » Sat Aug 11, 2018 3:29 pm

Coffee in the morning, up to two (large) cups.

After that, I'm sober AF while engineering.
I just can't get stuff done while on anything.

While mixing, SUGAR is needed to feed the brain. It consumes up to 30% of your calories.
So, I tend to eat a little more, and have snacks laying around the studio.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by Recycled_Brains » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:10 am

Weed can sometimes help me focus when I mix. I don't default to it (anymore), but if I can't get in the zone and stay there, I'll take a hit. Small amounts though, otherwise I get buried in the minutia a little too much. I definitely roll one up when I'm done for the day for a final spin through whatever I've accomplished. It's a nice way to unwind and reminds me of when I would just actually sit and listen to entire records when I was younger and had more time to do that outside the studio.

I don't smoke when I'm recording unless I'm very confident that I have everything dialed in and can just relax and listen, and not early in the day. Always read the room though. If I can tell that anyone in the band would lose confidence in me for taking a puff, I definitely don't. Just depends on the overall vibe of the session. Sometimes it happens, often it doesn't. Couple beers later in the day is not uncommon.

If I'm recording my own stuff, all bets are off. haha. I don't mess with anything harder than weed or booze though. Woodford Reserve and Miller Lite.

Coffee is essential, always and forever. Lots of it.
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http://maggotbrainny.bandcamp.com

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by Magnetic Services » Wed Aug 15, 2018 12:19 pm

Recycled_Brains wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:10 am
I don't smoke when I'm recording unless I'm very confident that I have everything dialed in and can just relax and listen, and not early in the day. Always read the room though. If I can tell that anyone in the band would lose confidence in me for taking a puff, I definitely don't. Just depends on the overall vibe of the session. Sometimes it happens, often it doesn't. Couple beers later in the day is not uncommon.
Exactly. I always offer coffee and tea to everyone, but anything beyond that always comes from the band. Totally unprofessional to crack open a beer or whip out a pipe mid-session, plus you never know who's trying to stay sober.

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markjazzbassist
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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by markjazzbassist » Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:03 pm

i'm surprised how many of you are slugging coffee all day long, caffeine is a stimulant, do you just progressively get faster and faster tempo tunes as the day goes on? as a member of the rhythm section i'm very sensitive to tempo changes and being tight with my rhythm family. anything other than the 1 cup of coffee i have to wake up would have me all wired and rushing tempos and anxious. y'all must just be drinking so much the caffeine doesn't effect you

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Re: Let's talk substance

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:11 pm

i need 10 cups just to feel alive.

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