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The following is
an article written by Giti Khalsa,
drummer for 7 Mary 3. He addresses the pitfalls associated with life on
the road. Most specifically, the dangers of substance abuse. The introductory
paragraph of this article might lead you to believe that Giti is condoning the
use of controlled substances. However, if you read on you will see that
he is in no way advocating the use of drugs or alcohol.
 Giti
Khalsa
Beware of the Party
Fitness
and nutrition are two elements often overlooked by many musicians. After
a few years of touring, I've concluded that v: you either party like mad, never
really aware of all the horrible things you're doing to your body, or you adopt
a lifestyle of relatively clean living. The middle road, in the case of
playing in a rock-n-roll band, stinks. Keep in mind, my definition of "middle-ground"
is slightly skewed. After college, most people seem to think having a few
beers or smokes is middle of the road. I'm calling
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there
are only two ways to survive the rigors of touring
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middle of the road
enough alcohol consumption that you're on the verge of passing out, but not quite.
In other words, you're going to wake up with a serious hangover, and rather than
continuing the downward spiral of reckless behavior, you make the mistake of sobering
up. Big mistake. The worst thing you can do is actually listen to
your body when it tells you to slow down. The whole problem with sobering
up is just that... it means at least a few hours of being miserable, until the
Advil has kicked in. Real rockstars just keep on partying. When they
wake up, they pick up where they left off the night before. This is because
when you wake up at four o'clock in the afternoon, it's easy enough to stumble
through soundcheck, get a bit of food in the system, and then continue the consumption
of various toxic substances.
Unfortunately I have chosen the latter route - the boring one of relatively clean
living. I know absolutely nothing about the "real rockstar" version
I mentioned above, but all you have to do is take a look at the face of Keith
Richards and you'll see what I'm talking about. Occasionally I have made
the mistake of choosing the middle path... so I'm speaking from wisdom when I
say that route stinks. So all you youngsters (and more importantly, parents
who are passing judgment on me for even mentioning the consumption of toxic substances),
I AM NOT ADVOCATING THE USE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.
Eating well and getting exercise while on the road is not easy. In fact,
eating and well and getting exercise off the road is not easy. I'm also
not one to push my methods on others... to each his own I always say (actually
I never say that). I do believe however, that being healthy physically correlates
to being healthy mentally. Overindulgence in any regard, whether you're
talking about alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine, whatever... inevitably means
being unbalanced. For me, balance is pretty key. Drumming is a physical
activity. Especially if you're playing every night, your body is enduring
a fair amount of stress. If your posture stinks, it will catch up with you.
After our first year of touring, I developed lower back problems. Now, I
stretch regularly, making sure to sit up straight when I'm playing. It definitely
makes a difference. On one level, I look at drumming as a sport. I'm
sure part of it is just mental, but at least for me, stretching out a bit and
going through a decent warm-up always seems to result in a better performance.
My playing may not really be different, but my confidence level certainly is.
Whether we're on the road or not, I try to exercise regularly. The last
thing I want to do is huff and puff my way through a performance (not to mention,
when was the last time you saw a picture of some hot supermodel hugging a big
fat guy?).
Eating well also ties into this. While on the road, it's pretty easy to
wolf down greasy burgers and Taco Bell. Many a night, we've pulled into
a truck stop to test the local fare. Not being able to do "#2"
on the tour bus, one quickly learns the disadvantages of a late-night steak and
eggs dinner at Joe's Truck Stop. The repercussions can be pretty intense.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you need to stick to the seeds and weeds
diet... just be careful of what you eat. Again, moderation is key.
Right now we're in Memphis, making a new record, and I must tell you, I'm not
afraid to put away a plate of Barbecue... but, do it three or four days in a row
and you'll be fighting your band mates for the last bottle of Rolaids.
So... with all this said and done... I think I'll go grab a burger and chocolate
shake, and plop down in front of the TV! |
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