Yes, this is going to be about being under the influence of substances, from alcohol to heroin and worse, and its effect upon the creativity of the artist.

Because this is a very important topic, it will be in two parts. This is Part One.

This is probably the most difficult section to write for me. Why? Because it is so personal.

Look, here it is in a nutshell: all those substances are going to destroy you. You may not believe me, thinking that you somehow are not one of "those people" who end up in an alley passed out and beyond help, or those loser people who clearly can't keep it together.

But here's the truth: you may be one of those people because the simple fact is that so few people who use drugs become part of the "famous" rock star pantheon. In excess of 99.999% of musicians who use drugs fail to succeed, period. They fail to get beyond the local hero status, if they even get that far. They fail to get the album contract because they blew the audition, in part because they were high. Even then, we have plenty examples of famous musicians who have died from substance abuse.

The short list: Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Michael Bloomfield, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain (self inflicted gunshot wound, but as a result of his drug addled and impared condition).

Oh, right... Some will say, "That won't happen to me. I'm different."

We all know those people. They have their dream, and their "band". They play every weekend, rehearsing feverishly for something they'll never attain. Before you think I'm running these folks down, believe me, I'm not. As a teacher, this is my typical student - what has come to be known as the "weekend warrior". For the most part these people know they're just recreational players. So I'm talking about those few who truly "believe" their big "break is coming... someday... no, really!"

And, to be even more clear, I am specifically talking about people with the talent and ability to succeed, who actually could make it to the Show. They have the chops, the songs, everything. I know a good number of guitar players who are amazing, yet they either don't want the success or can't divorce themselves from the things that keep them down... most of the time that "thing" is substance abuse. The stories I could tell...

They tenaciously cling to their dream of stardom - at whatever level they dream - but who it is clear will never see the light of day. Yes, they get a gig here and there... sometimes. And in virtually all cases, drugs come out during rehearsals - and between sets at the gig. I know these people, I know them well. And I left them behind a long, long time ago, not because they were bad people, but because they never made the connection that you can't "drink and drive", so to speak, and expect that you will succeed. It is a small sacrifice to make. The rewards are many and often give long returns.

I recently auditioned for a band as a hired gun, something I do between my own gigs, because I love to play. I showed up at the audition, prepared and ready to go. We played for about a half hour, then took a break. I was going to take the opportunity to talk business, but they went out back and fired up a joint. The rest of the rehearsal/audition went well enough, but only because they had been playing the same songs, many I would never include in a set for club play, for a very long time and knew them cold. What made it clear this was not working was when we had to make a decision about how certain changes would happen in songs or how we would end a song with a "fade out" ending on record. They couldn't make a clear, concise decision. It was, "Well, our old guitar player did this..." or "Just follow my lead..." which was different every time, of course.

They were stoned and didn't want to deal with important elements necessary for a professional presentation of the music we were going to be playing for paying crowds. Needless to say, for me that gig wasn't going to happen. I walked away. They called me a couple months later and I begged off. They knew why.

A truly professional outfit will never behave like this, and drugs will be - should be - forbidden for the duration, from first rehearsal to last note played on the tour. That's my opinion and also the formula of every successfull gig I've ever played.

I can't tell you what to do on your own time, but when that starts to spill over into my time, particularly my professionalism and reputation, then we will have words or I will walk away. Harsh? No, not in the least. All it will take for you is one time and you'll "get it".

True story, related to me by a former lead singer I worked with:

He was in a band before we met. It was a great band and they had material and a show. They were playing regularly and getting booked solid and climbing the ladder of success, on their way to the big Show.

A guy, a former industry A&R guy, comes into the club they were playing one night, hears the band and comes up to the singer and starts to talk with him about his industry friend who is coming up for the weekend. He is going to bring him out to hear the band.

Saturday night, the club is packed and the band is beginning to warm up.

The bass player has a drinking problem. It happens that he chooses this night to get hammered.

The guy and his friend come into the club a couple hours into the night. The bass player is weaving and playing irratically. The industry guy spends five minutes looking at that; they both shake their heads and then turn around and walk out of the club.

The singer sees it all go down and is powerless to do one single thing about it. The band has lost their one opportunity to get signed to a major label deal. While the bass player is specifically to blame, it is the drugs that he was addicted to that brought about the disaster. And it didn't just affect him, it affected the future of every other player in the band. Needless to say, that band fell apart shortly afterward and none of the players ever got into another band that had any chance of making it.

True story number two, related to me by another singer I used to work with:

She had a band in LA. They were playing all the good clubs, the Troubador, the Roxy, and touring the greater Southwest. It was an all girl hard rock band and they had the material, a good look and were on their way. They even had label interest.

It then turns out that one label wanted to sign them and asked them to perform a showcase. A showcase, for those of you who do not know, is a kind of private concert. The band sets up on a stage with full PA and lights. Basically, they perform a literal concert for the label execs. They performed the showcase and thought everything was going their way. It seemed they were going to get the deal.

But there was a problem: the guitar player was an alcoholic, looked terrible and was unreliable. The label wanted the band to replace her. Replace the guitar player and you have a deal; that was the offer. But there was another problem. The guitar player had written a good portion of the music. No guitar player, no music, no act.

The band decided to replace the guitar player anyway, hoping to improve their chances with new material, a more reliable guitar player and so a stronger band. A short while later, I was talking with my friend and asked her, "How is the new guitar player working out?" She responded, "She's Satan."

What she meant was that the new guitar player had an even worse problem than substance abuse: overinflated ego (another topic altogether).

Needless to say, that band fell apart within a few months, in part because the new guitar player split the band up by trying to steal the bass player into another situation. And, again, no one in that band ever went on to bigger and better things. No band any of them formed or joined ever got label attention.

These two scenarios alone show the damage substance abuse causes. And I didn't even get into the heated disagreements and fights that went on in these bands, in part because of alcoholism. But it is the way things are. The addict is up one minute, and everything is great, then down the next, and the world and everyone in it is mean and hateful and out to get them.

Trying to simply have a successful music career - let alone the recording career side of things - is difficult enough without dragging drugs and alcohol into the mix. You may not like hearing this, but in my own experiences, and those of so many others I have known, both living and now deceased, speaks to the truth: no career is going to be genuinely successful for the majority of people seeking to be professionals, regardless of whether it is in music, law, politics, sports, or any field, if they insist on making drug use part of their life.

The recreational user may enjoy greater success, but the facts still remain. If you are using, particularly illegal substances, your chances of success diminish. And for the illegal substances, you could be facing arrest and conviction and jail time. And for a band, that means your abuse has cost them potential work, and even their shot at the Show.

Now, I said this subject was very personal, and I mean it. I was a substance abuser. My substance abuse eventually took over my life. It became my refuge, my sanctuary from the world.

You would think that with everything going right, a good band, good music, great gigs, that I would have no need for all that stupidity. You would think...

But I was fighting my personal demons. Without going into detail, let's just say I had very low self esteem and an even worse self image. To the public I was an up and coming guitar player, destined for some degree of fame. Yet, even with the support of the people who came to hear the bands I was in, as well as people who were just fans of the band as a whole, having their favourite members, I began to slide down the slippery slope.

I left the nine to five world and began playing music for a living. We all have that cross-over point where we decide to go for it 100%. After one band I was in fell apart, I decided to become a hired gun and go on the road to gain more experience and hopefully broaden my personal following. Touring offered more consistent income options as well and seemed a good choice. And it was, for the most part.

However, I brought my substance abuse with me.

My business decisions became impared and I made one good decision and then five bad decisions. And because I was now dependent upon music as my source of income, I became a bit desperate when out of work and went with what was available, oftentimes a very bad decision. Sometimes the band was good, but had no clue about how to run their business. And being the new guy, I couldn't "take over", so I suffered until need or better opportunity demanded I leave.

Instead of helping my career, my substance abuse actually hurt my career because my decision making ability was seriously impared by my substance abuse. And this is the case for many, many a musician.

Think about it. If you are running a "going concern", a working band, who are you going to go with? Will you pick the player who has the chops and stage presence, but who also brings with them a major substance problem... or a guy who is earnest, hard working, maybe with little stage presence, but can cover everything and is really working to improve? You'd be surprised how often the wrong choice gets made. Substance abusers are very good at covering up their habit. They have to be, otherwise they'd never get work.

Okay, one last true story: Neal Schon, the guitar player in Journey, early on was a rising star in the San Francisco music scene. He had an audition with two bands. One was Santana as a rhythm guitar player. This band, as you know, in 1969 was fresh off Woodstock and hotter than hot. The other band was with this obscure guitar player putting together a little band called Derek And The Dominoes; Eric Clapton. As Neal related it later in an interview, he said he looked at the two opportunities and made his choice based on one criteria: drugs. Clapton was strung out on heroin and Neal thought this would be a terrible decision. Hot as Clapton was, coming out of his time with Cream and the recent collaboration with Steve Winwood in Blind Faith, he saw that it was a poor choice to make because Clapton was unreliable (and it took Clapton another four years to finally clean up). So Neal chose to go with Santana. And, as they say, you know the rest of the story. After a stint with Santana, Neal Schon and Greg Rollie left Santana and formed Journey.

A wee bit of advice: Always ask for references. Talk with former bands or band members and find out what you can. Filter this information a little because sometimes a former band can be quite pissed at the person for leaving; or the former member can be quite angry for being kicked out. Multiple references are even better; it gives you a more realistic picture of the person you're considering. Know the right questions to ask: Were they on time for rehearsals and gigs? Were they prepared? Do they use drugs or alcohol while playing? Yes, you really do need to ask these questions.

Ask to look at the books, and the upcoming bookings. Are they consistently working, will they be consitently booked? What is the payscale? What can you expect? What is going to be expected of you, your responsibilities? All that stuff. Find out. If they are dodgy about providing you in an open and transparent fashion, maybe you need to pass and keep looking until you find a band that works in such a fashion. Or put that kind of band together yourself.

I have found it necessary to cover these examples as a preamble to the second part of this subject: How substance abuse affects creativity. This will be covererd in Part Two, to follow.