Narcotics and Tone

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 19 Mar 2005 9:54 pm

First, let me tell you the narcotics are legal. I went in for a spinal procedure where they inject a dye into the lumbar disc and surrounding joint ligaments to intentionally irritate the tissues into thinking they are damaged and force the body into a healing cycle. The short term result is PAIN. Lots of PAIN!!

So I've been home all day Friday and Saturday and the only thing I can do is sit on my steel guitar seat. It has lumbar support! That's what I tell my wife. If I had a dishwasher seat with lumbar support I would have done that - but I don't!

And they gave me these little white pills.

If it weren't for the pills I would not even have been able to get out of bed. I was literally paralized with pain.

Now I have heard some players with good tone but let me tell you. I was foolin' around with my Nash1000 knobs and my right hand was real relaxed - really RELAXED - and I got a tone out of my D-10 Fessy that even Bobbe Seymour would envy!

At least I thought it was THE tone.

I don't have any witnesses or anything.

Would you believe I had a really good time!

Now if I can just get this lower back thing fixed.

Time for another pill.

Terry

Don McClellan · Post by **Don McClellan** » 19 Mar 2005 10:55 pm

The more you drink, the better we sound.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 19 Mar 2005 11:00 pm

Record some of it and listen to it later when the pills run out. That might be interesting.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 19 March 2005 at 11:00 PM.]

Henry Nagle · Post by **Henry Nagle** » 19 Mar 2005 11:08 pm

Send me some pills and I'll let you know if "the tone" is real or not.

Henry

Carl Williams · Post by **Carl Williams** » 20 Mar 2005 4:18 am

Henry, quit tryin' to "horn in" on Terry's new tone--It'll wear off sooner or later!

Buck Dilly · Post by **Buck Dilly** » 20 Mar 2005 5:04 am

Don't even get me started. Any state of mind or body facilitated by any drug is illusory. Narcotics and the like can offer temporary relief from inhabitions and sometimes appear to help us tap into the undiscovered lands of our subconscious selves. This may occur, but it does so at a great price. Dependency. I have witnessed this phenomenon professionally and personally. I would be remiss if I didn't say so. Terry- I hope you feel better, try some breathing exercises, they help. [This message was edited by Buck Dilly on 20 March 2005 at 05:05 AM.]

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 20 Mar 2005 5:43 am

Just for the record, I would regard drug-induced tone as "Unacceptable".

But I sure hope ya feel better soon, pal!

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 20 Mar 2005 6:00 am

The only way this will work for a gig is if
you pass out the pills to the audience so you
can all be on the same page.
Not really.
Take care.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Mar 2005 6:23 am

I thought the best tone only came with black pills?

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 20 Mar 2005 6:56 am

If I had a dishwasher seat with lumbar support I would have done that - but I don't!

if you find yourself siting in front of the dishwasher and admire the tone...you must be on some crazy stuff

Db

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"Promat"
~when tone matters~
http://hometown.aol.com/damirzanne2/PROMAT.html

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 20 Mar 2005 8:20 am

Relaxed is the key ! See if you can bring that feeling in your right hand along with you as your back feels better and you drop off the medication. Being in pain really sucks so it would be great if you got a tone breakthrough
out of it.

Feel better soon,

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Bob
intonation help

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 20 Mar 2005 9:24 am

I sure hope that some of you didn't think I was seriously condoning or recommending drugs to improve your tone! I have a serious need for pain meds right now (a herniated disc and instability in the L3/L4 disc). I wasw kinda looped when I wrote this post and I was just trying to add some humor to an otherwise painful and miserable day.

Now as for the tone. It was real and I think it was the relaxed right hand. Tim o'Brien, bluegrass mandolinist, once remarked that he held his pick so loose that it was on the verge of slipping out. An that if you could countrol your right hand in a totally relaxed way your speed, accuracy, and tone would improve.

I think there is something to this right hand relaxed tone connection.

Terry
(PS Don't do drugs!)

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 20 Mar 2005 10:01 am

Terry, I'm sure most of the sane world took your post as both informative and in humor. If not, they're taking a different pill than you.

phred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 20 Mar 2005 12:20 pm

Most of us here don't need a sermon on the dangers of drugs.
have a little faith in us.
Playing relaxed would certainly be a good way to get a better tone.
Yoga or Tai Chi would help you arrive at that state.
(or humongus amounts of chocolate)

Jim Peters · Post by **Jim Peters** » 20 Mar 2005 12:29 pm

Two years ago, my band recorded a CD. At the time, I was doing 7-10 Vicodin a day, the result of a particular bad kidney stone.(lasted 26 days,till I finally had it removed... the hard way!) I did all 10 solos in that semi-wacked state of mind. I ended up going back in and redoing 9 of them! And I was totally relaxed. JimP

Jack Dougherty · Post by **Jack Dougherty** » 20 Mar 2005 12:35 pm

Better playing through chemistry....

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There is no such thing as too many steels!! Zum D10 8/8
Electronics.. constant state of flux

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 20 Mar 2005 1:58 pm

I am not endorsing anything. The search for performance enhancement for both musicians and athletes has flooded the media for several years. Performance anxiety (stage fright) can cripple the professional and amateur athlete and musician. There is a body of scientific literature on the subject. All personal generalizations tend to be false. Is a pill worse than a beer or a shot of whiskey? Do they enhance or take away from performance. Is the addiction bad for all? I don’t know. Check it out.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=10692620

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 20 Mar 2005 2:04 pm

Like other chemicals or dangerous drugs, the worst being alcohol, if used in moderation once in a great while things like crosstops and vikes, not to mention a torpedo™ or two can help give you a different point of view on things.

There's a BIG list of top players that have sworn by slight chemical enhancement, before youse get on your soapboxes..

Problem is that if depended apon, unless you increase the dosage, you lose the effect, and all of a sudden you're drunk, or merely cranking out mistakes at a faster rate. With booze or pot, you start paying more for a bag of weed to get you through a weeks' worth of gigs than you are making. Bar tabs get up to wage amounts pretty fast when you make 20$ a night. I think that's one double Makers Mark, if I got the prices right in Nashville...

I dunno about the latter personally as I've not drank in any of my 26 years of playing steel. Weed, I don't think hurt my playing, it just cost too damn much. Some people get sideways on it though..

I'm wondering how many or the top players used steroids on their major hits.....

How else could some of their fingers get so big?

EJL

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 22 Mar 2005 7:00 am

...es ipsa loquitor...

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 22 Mar 2005 6:56 pm

Yeah, back in the '60s I used to think I had the most brilliant ideas when I was stoned on various recreational concoctions. Then I started writing some of them down. Let's just say that I never found any of that writing worth saving the next day.

rpetersen · Post by **rpetersen** » 23 Mar 2005 4:59 am

Hope the Baseball commisioner doesn't see this post!!

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Ron Petersen &
The Keep'n Tyme Band
Mullen Universal 12 - 1975 Session 400 - Nashville 1000

Dave Horch · Post by **Dave Horch** » 24 Mar 2005 3:15 am

I wasw kinda looped when I wrote this post

'wouldn't be the first time that's happened here. Not to worry.

there is something to this right hand relaxed tone connection.

btw/ it does wonders for your golf swing too. Same reasons. (although my 9-iron just doesn't have the tone of my Mullen - no matter what I do

)

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Mullen D-10 - It's still one smooooth puppy!
Photo page: http://www.davidhorch.com/music