JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Why do musicians use drugs?

Oi - I found JPF a few minutes ago, and thought I'd get the ball rolling.
I think we all like to tell the story behind our stories when playing on stage, and recently, I was approached and implored to elaborate about one in particular after a show.
The song, which I will post, is about an artist. It is about my brother, and it is about heroin.
The concerned young lady wanted to know: (1) Did I use drugs, and (2) Why did my brother use drugs? The answer to both, on a personal level, is neither important, nor appropriate on a forum such as this.
Where am I going? Her question made me curious. Why does it seem like so many artists turn to altering their minds? Are they not creative enough, or is the world too mundane for those who are creative?
If you have any thoughts, share them! If you have any SONGS about the subject at hand, post 'em!
I look forward to hearing your songs and ideas. If you like the music I have to offer and want to subscribe, I'll be sure to subscribe back so we can stay in touch. If you want to know more about me, just ask, I love meeting new people and hearing new tunes. Cheers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lh1...e2e62dUDOEgsToPDskK79WyXECriKbhJ9Bxy4szl

Well,
There are people that are regulars here who have already posted about their use of drugs. I don't, never have, never will use drugs but it is not only music people but many people in all walks of life that use drugs.

Don't know if the song is posted anywhere but you may be able to listen to the song, COACANE BLUES or TRANSFUSION BLUES a song about Cocaine.

I'm sure there's a link between creative people thinking 'outside the box' and experimenting with drugs. Mind you, there are plenty of non-creative people who do exactly the same.

I know people who got into drugs because it was the thing to do, and they had the money to do it. Personally, I can't see the fascination, which often made me look like a party pooper when I was younger, but I'm still here and feeling good!

Andy

Welcome to JPF, Addison:

I've never had a desire to even experiment with drugs of any type... but I believe the answer to your question about why big name artists do it... these poor guys and gals get caught up in going "on tour" which must be a nightmare existence. Having to be at one's best night after night, sleep depravation, adjusting one's body clock to a suitcase and motel lifestyle... who knows how we would react. In the end, it's the "label's" fault for dehumanizing new artists into these miserable schedules.

I suppose that "once hooked"... it's almost impossible to withdraw from. I'm not justifying what they do... just trying to put a little light on the "why" aspect... as I've been told. It's a vicious downward spiral. Whitney is probably a good example.

All the best,

Dave

Ahh cocaine blues! What I love about that tune is that everyone did it their own way. Guthrie did it different than Cash, who did it it different than Townes, and I think the Old Crow Medicine Show even took a shot at it more recently.
It would be great if some of the regulars who've shared their tales could share some original tunes as well! They don't have to be first person tunes, a lot of people write about the beauty or horror that they see in others. Since I'm new here, and that conversation is fresh in mind, thought it would be good to start with. Looking forward to hearing some more input, and hopefully some songs will start to show as well. Cheers!

Welcome to JPF Addison.
Good way to get the ball rolling I reckon but you might want to visit the Music and Lyrics forums as well.

Drugs. Well I am a recovering alkie and I did some drugs "back in the day". But I stayed away from the really hard drugs. They scared me. Been sober since 1985, 27 years.
I didn't open my creative can of worms til 2003. Wrote my first song and started trying to learn guitar. I haven't had the urge to use any mind altering substances yet.

Songs.
Here's one. It is a little personal. Not about me but someone very close to me who is not a musician.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=1047407

Coincidence. I'm writing one about the subject now.
You could also check out JPFer Wendy Dumond's song.

http://tinyurl.com/3c2h3v9
Vic

As I saw it,,,far more fans used drugs. About 15,000 per concert, compared to five band members.

So, the real question is, why do listeners feel they need to hear their favorite artists while severely altered?

Welcome!

Johnny D
Cheers! Check out my English influenced music when time and will permits. Lennon tribute as well.

Probably the same reason many doctors and lawyers and teachers use them!

But I think musicians caught the bug in the 60's and it's been a part of a musicians life ever since.

Being a traveling musician, puts a strain on your leisure time, so you make you own leisure! Plus, im sure it started out like "hey I tried this acid or this strong hashish, and it made me more creative, you should try it too"

But musicians and other celebrities get into more notorius trouble with it because they have all kinds of money and down time on their hands. It's easier to get hooked, harder and faster than the average person.

But that is just my guess.

I've never been drunk, never been high. But I've weighed 400 lbs on a 5'5" frame, am drawn to gambling in the stock market, and have one other issue I don't want to name. In many ways, by the grace of God, each of those is a much smaller part of my life than they once were and sometimes I go for a long time without them causing me any problems at all. Praise God!

Why do stars do it? Because they're human.

why does anybody use drugs?To get high!

Or low!

Or just zone out

They are also surrounded by "yes" men/women and enablers (read DRUG DEALERS) who offer to keep them in discreet supply as long as the money keeps coming. A lot of these prescription drugs are far more addictive than even illegal drugs, though they are more often less violence inducing (meth...crack... those drive extreme violence just like Alchohol does).

Artists who are bearing their souls and putting themselves out there for brutal criticism from people without an ounce of their talent or work ethic often need to get away from all that pressure so they medicate. It's the same for poor unknown people as well who struggle to pay bills or also to avoid working hard (or working at all) or taking responsibility for their own lives. Humans are the same, whether rich or poor, famous or unknown. Sure circumstances vary, but stress is stress. But in all cases they have freedom of choice and freedom of will and they choose the easy way out. For each drug user, there are hundreds of others with the same stressers who choose not to use drugs. So in the end, it's their own fault, but like all humans, we have our faults and some get us in more trouble than others.

Drug use is selfish in the end. You place your own escape over your kids, friends, family, work associates and the world at large. Why are drugs rampant? Our society is more selfish now than it has ever been. People want others to do the work and give them everything on a platter. When faced with putting themselves on the line, fewer and fewer of us will do it.

Brian

Boy ain't that the truth.

When I was young trying to explain my various reasons why I wouldn't do drugs was to complicated and seemed like a waste of time. So I started to give my first answer only from there on..

Why don't I do drugs with you!
Because it would "BREAK MY DEAR MOTHER"S HEART"

"Now go ahead say something about my Mother!"

My spin on the addiction issues is that at its core its an obsessive compulsive behavior disorder, an actual mental health issue. The outward appearence is that of a selfish person, but on the inside is an inablilty to process life with anything close to sound logic. Kodos to Sauasage for figuring out that his issues are the samething.

My own experience with addiction gave me this insight, I willingly did drugs against my own will, when I say willingly I mean no one forced me, I did however have an inter struggle going on that I was unable to deal with. Addiction is a mental health issue that speaks to the addict in his/her own voice and says its not mental health issue, very preplexing.

Unfortunately most in our society still view addiction as a moral issue and over look the mental disoder that is taking place. Like any other mental health issue the behavior is sometimes offensive to others, however with other metal conditions the chemical imbalance is acknowledged and the behavior is attributed accordingly.

Therapy and research have discovered that when an addict/acoholic gets sober there are underlying mental health issue at play, the popular school of thought these days is leaning more toward the belief that the addict in a good number of cases has been self medicating other issue rather than just being a self serving despot. I do know that while I was abusing drugs I had a moral objection to drugs abuse, talk about a conundrum.

I dont think artists are any more prone to obsessive compulsive behavior than anyone else, I think we just hear more about the successful ones more than we hear about the guy that drinks away all he has in obscurity.

I just finished a song about addiction titled More Than Just The Habit, although the guy in the song has a drinking issue, it is a bit of a self portrait. My clean and sober date is 10 28 02, my drug of choice was heroin and cocaine together, I was fortunate to have had a moment of clarity and sought help, most die from the desease.
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11426551

Cheers
Paul

I have several songs about drugs and alcohol,not on the net though.

I believe people do drugs and alcohol abusively because they have no respect for the body that God gave them. Why else would they be trying to destroy the very body that they have to live in till they die.

Well it was seen as pretty cool back in the sixties to experiment with drugs so a lot of the coolest people did that really uncool thing of getting messed up and addicted. It should be said that drug misuse is not restricted to musicians in fact the percentage of folk taking drugs is probably not just high but very similar across all walks of life........musicians do not have a monopoly on that one.
Life nowadays is so full of pressure and hassles that folk have to have a release valve or a crutch to fall back on. With some it is drugs others booze some turn to religion or keep fit or sport or a hobby or whatever. Drugs are just one way to escape reality.
Perhaps the main reason why musical icons and drugs are perceived as going hand in hand is that a star's addiction gets more press exposure so is even more noticed than ordinary folk who take drugs. Every day we are surrounded by junkies who die of overdoses or make a public nuisance or commit crimes and it is just accepted as part of the culture...but when Whitney or Winehouse took drugs and did something outrageous in public it was big headline news.
Apart from cigarettes I have never taken any illegal drugs and that goes for most of my friends....who are mostly musicians. The question should have been why do people take drugs? Artists generally behave just like all other folk....and drugs are part of ordinary every day life.

Mmmm... Drugs are bad. Mmmkay?

After much reflection I have come to the conclusion that I used alcohol and some recreational drugs in my younger years because
I was a dumb ass.

It's more than just musicians, it's artists of all stripes that seem to be attracted to drugs. For some reason drugs have just become more a part of the musician mythos than any other artists.
At any rate, I heard something on NPR a couple of years ago where they were talking about how artists' brains are wired, and that they way that they're wired just makes them naturally more attracted to substances. Something about how artists see the world more clearly, more intensely. And, because of this sensitivity, they are attracted to the numbing and escapist attributes of drugs and alcohol. The world is too intense for them.

Of course, every individual is different, and they (we) all handle things differently, but it was interesting nonetheless.

I think the answer lies in the connection between imagination and altered perception. Artists and musicians spend a great deal of their lives surfing the waves of their imagination, and drugs generally intensify that experience.

Creative people fantasize regularly--even professionally, since the act of fantasizing is actually a mainstay of the job. It's how we write. So it shouldn't surprise us that so many artists are attracted to drugs...they offer a sense of brighter colors, wilder ideas, stronger emotions...even though all those feelings are illusory. Alcohol is no exception...people laugh louder and cry harder when they're drunk.

Is it right or wrong? Well, it certainly didn't do Whitney Houston any favors. And yet the attraction was still strong enough to send her spiraling down a long, slow path of humiliation, pain and ruin. Most drug users are delusional to some extent. They run the gamut from problem-free to tragic. But that wasn't Addison's question.

Fantasy is our business. And because of that, many artists are naturally attracted to the mind-altering effects of drugs.

"Are they not creative enough, or is the world too mundane for those who are creative?"

Because we see. We comprehend what is so scary about the world we are stuck in.

The Ol' Greek Proverb, "Nothing to Excess", thoroughly-applies to Drug Use. It's Interesting that Our Society permits not-so-careful dosage of Nicotine, Alcohol, and Caffeine while forbidding Everything Else, more-or-less.

So, it's only Natural that Folks with Curiosity in their Brains should TRY "Everything Else"...

I enjoyed My Research...(Sans Meth or Heroin) and am now back to The Basic 3, (Plus Sex...which is prolly the biggest Natural High we're permitted/Haven't yet found a drug I'd replace it with.)

It's Human Nature to seek a state of Altered Consciousness. Some do it with Religion...Others, yep, Booze'll Do...

The Trick IS to not be RULED by Your Escape...and to Return to Reality...in One Piece. Good Luck, Kiddies...&..Got Any Questions, PM me.

Been-There, Enjoyed The View..& Hurried-Back,
Stan

One old saying that was popular among users at the time when I was there........ "Do your drugs, don't let your drugs do you." That goes way deep, and it means more and more to the one who has stopped using and begun to see his path more clearly than before. As of this month, I can honestly say that I am a year clean off narcotics. Been there.

I don't accept the premise of the question, "Why do musicians use drugs?". It's like asking "Why do politicians lie?", or "Why don't homeless people work?" All I can say is that popular music hasn't done much to discourage drug use. In fact music and the rest of the media glorifies it. It's all over TV. There are TV shows (so called documenteries) dedicated to making celebrities out of drug dealers, but these are the times.

Certainly some musicians take drugs, but like Ben, I can’t agree with the premise. Saying that all musicians take drugs is perpetuating a stereotype that is false.

I know plenty of “clean” musicians and I know plenty of drug taking non-musicians!

Drugs are prevalent in many circles. I think the stereotype began with the rock era… sex, drugs, and rock and roll, right?

[size:17pt]Let's go get stoned[/size]



**** even starts with the chorus!

Humans across the spectrum use drugs about the same on average. There's little commonality when it comes to sub-groups that vary significantly from the general population of a similar age, location and socio-economic group. Most musicians I know are not drug users. I have noticed a higher incidence in the 15+ years of JPF nor among the 25K artists/writers/industry professionals I have met. Most are not regular drug users and the majority use none at all.

Brian

This poem clearly illustrates where I was at the time when I was using.

SLAVERY

Suckin' the marrow from a rotted bone

How long can you hold your breath

Like chippin' away at that marble stone

Shriveled up as walking death

Addiction is the blackest of aches

It needs cash and you just might die

No one knows how much you can take

Kills a spirit that once could fly

Windows no longer reflect your soul

Liquid pools forsaken their light

Forgotten when you lost all control

Used to keep it all in sight

Satan is only a phone call away

Happy to light your fuse

Your buddy to the very last day

Silently watching, amused

Payin' for your sins if you can

You just might end up dead

What used to be one hell of a man

Has nothing left in his head

Choices, choices, what to do?

How to waste your mind

Same as ever, it's up to you

Livin' life happy or blind

.

By the way, a drug user/dealer robbed my wife a gunpoint in her pharmacy with a gun trained directly at her right next to her after he jumped over the counter. She kept the staff safe by keeping her head and carefully doing exactly what he asked without pause. So anyone here who thinks drugs should be legal or that drug use is just fine, keep in mind the drugs he wanted were sold legally with easy to get prescriptions where the cost per dose is about 1 dollar without insurance, but where the street value of the same pill is 30+ dollars. So much for legalizing drugs. Unless you want kids to be able to get their hands on Oxycotin and other similar drugs which could easily stop their heart with 1 single dose if they had no tolerance built up. It's the second time my wife has had a gun pressed to her head by drug addicts/drug dealers. The more of them we can lock up for life the better. Perhaps then no one you love will have to suffer what my wife did.

Brian

Micheal Anthony, formerly of Van Halen once had the quote"I'm not the way I am because I'm in a rock band... I'm in a rock band because I'm the way I am!" Thats too true.. Artistic people for whatever reason seem to have the genetic link that's prone to addictive behavior. I've been through court-appointed rehab on four different occasions since I was 17. Every time, the minute I got out I made a bee-line for the nearest bar. I'm not happy unless I'm messed up, and that will never change.{In fact, on the occasions I remain sober for any period of time I'm bored SHITLESS!} I'm also the scariest kind of drunk.. I can function at 100 percent no matter what,even though I may not remember it the next day. Auto-pilot is a beautiful thing.

You are right Bob. That is the scariest kind of drunk. I was pretty much the same way most of the time. I could be totally blacked out and not remember a thing I did and other folks didn't even know I was drunk. Other times when I did remember what I did I was amazed I got away with it, LOL.

But I was never happy. I didn't start enjoying life until I got sober and realized how wonderful it was to actually remember the cool things I did and how much fun I had.
The painful part of not using? The guilt about the things I did that I wish I could forget. I haven't figured out how to apologize to life yet.
The only thing I regret is I am not as gregarious as I was when drinking.

I am completely the opposite....I like to stay in control so rarely if ever get drunk.....I hate hangovers and always remember exactly what I did whilst drunk....usually my wife or pals ALSO remind me....much to my embarrassment. I have a habit of doing really silly things whilst sober...so cannot take a chance on being drunk....who knows what might happen.

One thing I have noticed about musicians and other creative people is.....a high percentage seem to develop mental illness or have hang ups...like personality complexes.....an inner shyness....low esteem and other such like.......part of the pressures of our kind of life and possibly a bi-product of creativity?

Well the fact that you are concious of your moods, shows that you
are able to catch yourself.

I consider myself very creative too, and ive never done anything more than smoke a bit, I drank with the best of them, and still will get blitzed on occasion, but im in control of it.

Michael Anthonys example is a personality trait, not a creative person trait.

There are plenty of people in all walks who cop the same attitude, "thats just how I am" "my dad did it so do I"

Alot of it is BS rationalizing.

Ive never heard any success stories of drugs, getting off them, yeah.

Some people just have to be driven to the brink to get it, drugs are bad news.

Well, all I can tell ya is that I use drugs because.......


Just kidding.

I do take an aspirin once in a while, for one reason, "life" is a frickin' headache.

Cheers

It was great hearing some tunes and reading all the posts. I especially enjoyed Vic's tune 'When Jenny left Oklahoma', and I hope you all enjoyed mine as well.
My feelings are similar to a few people who have already commented. Although I didn't mean for the premise to include all musicians, I do think that there tends to be a higher percentage of artists (as a whole) who use drugs, as compared to, say, the entire population. I think that the NPR coverage did a pretty good job.
I look forward to future discussions and sharing tunes with everyone. Cheers.

what do you consider drugs? who knows what chemical cocktails are embedded in our consumer foods and drinks? what do you really think happens when you brush your teeth with the flouride? drink it? what about the designer grains and veggies that monsanto offers us for our daily bread? is it any worse than a "natural" herb that was put here by our creators? we are all victims or consumers of "drugs" each and every day.
those of us who have exercised the mysterious "lobe" in our brain, either for visual or aural expression realize the necessity for further stimulaion, whatever the means... be it alcohol, herbs or some combination thereof. it's like a supercharger on a very well tuned v-8.
rock on.