Mick in Classic Rock Mag

[jbrownsjr]

https://www.loudersound.com/features...eDkWgpA5DlIptA

[Villavic]

Cocaine eventually is bad, but we were still young kids. It didn’t hamper us, it just meant we stayed up for three or four days and did some good music.

Something that always intrigued me is that back then in the 70s, many people thought coke wasn't bad, or so I read. Stevie said, "No one told me it would give me a hole in my nose the size of Arizona." That's just one example, but I've seen plenty of biopics and documentaries (rock bands, Studio 54) where the excuse was that everyone was doing it and didn't know it was bad. God, if it was already illegal, they had to assume there was something wrong with it. And if it allowed you to stay up for two nights in a row, or more, don't tell me you didn't realize there was a toll to pay.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Cocaine eventually is bad, but we were still young kids. It didn’t hamper us, it just meant we stayed up for three or four days and did some good music.

Something that always intrigued me is that back then in the 70s, many people thought coke wasn't bad, or so I read. Stevie said, "No one told me it would give me a hole in my nose the size of Arizona." That's just one example, but I've seen plenty of biopics and documentaries (rock bands, Studio 54) where the excuse was that everyone was doing it and didn't know it was bad. God, if it was already illegal, they had to assume there was something wrong with it. And if it allowed you to stay up for two nights in a row, or more, don't tell me you didn't realize there was a toll to pay.

Cocaine is a stimulant that releases dopamine in the brain producing euphoria. Because it is a natural stimulant studies have shown it can make people do tasks better since they are more alert. The problem is that cocaine is a never satisfying drug. Lab monkeys will take cocaine over food after they experience it. When you are a creative person like the members of the Mac were it can make you more creative. Christine credits cocaine for her Songbird score. Most if not all of Rumours was recorded with primo Peruvian blow. It did make them work harder and exhaust their creativity.
But that is short lived. Doing cocaine just makes you want to do more cocaine and more cocaine. Soon you are a slave to the drug. You dont control it, it controls you. Because of that it would naturally zap your creativity and any other cares you have in the world. During Stevie's peak addiction. It controlled her. She did not care about the music. She only cared about getting high. After 2 years of partying in the studio they eventually had to scrap an album and bring her songs to sing. I think Don Henley summed up cocaine the best. He credits cocaine for making the Eagles more creative but that was short lived. It soon becomes the opposite and a destructive force for the band and one's self. Being that it was illegal had no bearing on them. Pot was illegal too. In the United States when a huge college basketball star died of a cocaine overdose in the mid 80s was when the United States started to wake up that cocaine was a very dangerous and destructive drug. In 1984 the United States started its "war on drugs."
Long story short, Mick was right. It was harmless in the beginning but eventually it definitely is bad. Remember when Chris said several years ago that on the Tusk tour she would drink a bottle of champagne every night on stage and do cocaine and it made her play better. She made a joke out of it saying "maybe someone else can tell me different." There is a tiny bit of truth to that but most of that is rubbish. Cocaine gives extreme confidence and feeling that you are playing better. Not always the case. Doing lots of cocaine and looking in the mirror makes you look better too

[Penguin Emeritus]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Long story short, Mick was right. It was harmless in the beginning but eventually it definitely is bad. Remember when Chris said several years ago that on the Tusk tour she would drink a bottle of champagne every night on stage and do cocaine and it made her play better. She made a joke out of it saying "maybe someone else can tell me different." There is a tiny bit of truth to that but most of that is rubbish. Cocaine gives extreme confidence and feeling that you are playing better. Not always the case. Doing lots of cocaine and looking in the mirror makes you look better too

The coke really helped a more introverted person like chris to feel more confident, and i heard that even after her rehabs, it was really tough for her to get back onstage without that combination of champagne and coke, because she did indeed hold that belief that it "made her better". That's just what they did before a show, that was the routine, and i guess it was kind of terrifying to not have that boost.

Before the rehab, i wouldn't be shocked if she and the other brits were even maybe using a bit of coke on the Dance tour, to be honest with you. John even mentioned in an interview something along the lines of how 'back in the day we could stand here behind the speakers between songs and do a little blow' and then added that they didn't do that anymore. i'm not so sure that wasn't BS. it's not like that stuff is hard to get a hold of on a big rock and roll tour. And chris definitely still drank at least a little before shows even later on...i don't think she could ever do it stone cold sober.

--Lis

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Cocaine eventually is bad, but we were still young kids. It didn’t hamper us, it just meant we stayed up for three or four days and did some good music.

Something that always intrigued me is that back then in the 70s, many people thought coke wasn't bad, or so I read. Stevie said, "No one told me it would give me a hole in my nose the size of Arizona." That's just one example, but I've seen plenty of biopics and documentaries (rock bands, Studio 54) where the excuse was that everyone was doing it and didn't know it was bad. God, if it was already illegal, they had to assume there was something wrong with it. And if it allowed you to stay up for two nights in a row, or more, don't tell me you didn't realize there was a toll to pay.

Maybe what they were able to get in those days was so pure that the deleterious effects were less evident. But, my God, if you do even ONE all-nighter, the way your body feels the next day would be enough to tell you it's bad. So, I don't buy that line of "no one told us it was bad for us." People knew smoking was dangerous long before the Surgeon General said so, right? Just the act of rolling up leaves, setting them on fire, and inhaling them...common sense would dictate that this is not a healthy choice. Some people recognized that, and others chose to smoke. Same with cocaine, IMO. Common sense should have been enough.

But, hey! What's a party without coke and cigs?

[HomerMcvie]

I played in a band for decades, and my drummer would always say, "dammit David, you're the only person I've ever met that plays better when you're sh1t faced than sober!"

So it's not a detriment to... everyone.