The Drug Addled Rock Star

It's 4:30 in the morning and I need to waste some time. So let's blog about something.

As a man who has 'been there and done that' I can honestly say that the drug culture and the music industry are two things that just don't mix well together. Be certain, I'm not talking about people who use drugs as a recreational activity or have dabbled in them. I'm talking about these people who believe that drugs must be a staple in the lifestyle of a Rock and Roll star.

Have you ever thought about getting extremely high and though 'man I'll write some damn good shit if I could just get high'. Yea, I think a lot of people have. So you get high, you write. The next morning you wake up, look at the page and think 'who the hell broke into my house and wrote a completely nonsensical song?' You did. You put into your brain on a regular basis chemicals that flood your brain with things that are supposed to regularly flow like that. Of course there's going to be consequences. Great, well thought out song writing is not one of those consequences.

Some people can do it, they can for some reason. But I surely don't recommend it and it doesn't mean you can. Someone said something that has stuck with me since I heard it, and I don't think that they know exactly how ingrained that one statement got into my brain.

That statement was 'creativity needs to be nurtured' – Glenn Stanway.

You're not going to magically become a creative genius if you snort an 8 ball of blow. Creativity needs to be cared for the way you would care for a precious gem. Constant vigilance and practice will get you there. Not drugs. I've wasted a lot of time thinking that if I could just find the right drug then the creative juices would flow, and I would eventually be able to come up with untold amounts of wisdom. Drugs don't give you wisdom. Getting off of drugs gives you wisdom.

You're not an idiot or a loser for constantly turning to drugs when you are compelled to. But you are compelled to do something about it. Your musical creativity depends on it.

So be smart. Write in a healthy state and be well.