Do you play in a bar where a lot of folks don't drink?

[Stuart Legg]

stupid new laws? I wonder how his family feels about DUI?

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_n ... 101115-akd

What I was talking about had less to do with driving while drunk a more about drunks in general.
Don't Drive while intoxicate has been a law as long as I can remember and I think it is a good law and never said it was a stupid or new law.
My point was a comparison of seriousness of old laws compared the frivolous politically correct laws which are more about protecting your civil rights than protecting your life.
In other words I can no longer punch (the obnoxious jerk who keeps falling thru band equipment, slobbering on the guitars and worst of all breathing on you) in the face.
So some of us have just decided to exorcise our right to just stay home and be silent (not sing or play there). I still liked the good old days when you could just punch the $#@%^&*&sobs and you would get cheered instead of sued and thrown in jail. But that's just me.

[Robert Harper]

Arround here thaere aren't that many bars. The ones I have been to are so filled with smoke I can' take it. DWI has also inhiited my desire to drink. Age may have something to do with that too. The world changed. I used to enjoy going to places and listening to live music. I do miss that, but not the hangover and cigarrete smoke

[Steve Spitz]

Wow! I honestly never thought about it, but I`ve never seen a bar where they don`t drink,let alone play in one. Obviously they must exist, but not here. Must be a cultural thing. Here they drink alot.
I`ve said it before, "You don`t have to drink to enjoy my playing, but you got to wash the pills down with something."

[Arvind Jairam]

I realize this thread was apparently a dozen years ago but Cal if you’re still around here I just wanted to say your book Steel Guitar Insanity is great.

I don't want to offend someone if they offer to buy me a drink, and I turn them down, and they say,"Yeah but you let joe Blow Buy you one...What's the matter, I'm not good enough?"

Part of a band's job is to help sell drinks, which keeps the club in business and helps you keep the gig. You don't have to actually drink everything they buy you. That's why cubs give away salted snacks, to make people buy more drinks.

[Dave Hopping]

I'm told there are non-alcohol bars where folks who have had serious John Barleycorn issues can go for the (now smoke-free) atmosphere and conviviality, but I've never seen one.

I've been playing some with a band that does the "critter-club" circuit, and alcohol is served, but not very much, and no smoking. The clientele is all Medicare-eligible, so they're the folks who were looking for love in all the wrong places, and for whom the girls always got prettier at closing time.
The crowd and the band are as good as they once were.

Once

[Dennis Detweiler]

13 year old post still applies. Years ago, drunks were everywhere. We announced, "this is the last slow song, last chance or you're going home alone." The bars had to turn on the lights at 1:45 to chase them all out by 2AM legal curfew. We referred to it as the "zit lights." You got to see who you were taking home. Some making a last minute quick trip to the restroom and sliding out of the back door. Fun to watch as we were packing up.
Now it's geezers, walkers, sweaters and wheelchairs. It's a $10.00 cover charge because they come to dance, not drink. If no cover charge, its the bars that have a kitchen and serve meals or short orders and can make up the difference. My rowdy generation is concentrating on liver recovery.

[GaryL]

I have a weekly job at a local club where alcohol is served, but most people drink in limited quantities, and have designated drivers. It's totally unlike jobs in the '70's and '80's, with obnoxious drunks, fights, and brawls. I miss the music from those days, but not the drunks. (Even the women got into combat mode!) Recently played a local club to over 780 patrons + beaucoup alcohol. But everyone was well-behaved, no fighting, etc. Lots of line dancers. Most venues have to serve food so that lawyers cannot prove that they are engaged in a practice of simply getting people drunk. Some venues offer free rides home, which is cheaper than paying for lawsuits. Spending the weekend in the county jail is not a positive experience.

[Bruce Zumsteg]

I played many a gig for this crowd back in the 60's and 70's

[Jim Fogarty]

I don't play the country circuit anymore, but I used to do 5 nights a week during the country line dance craze. But eventually, all those bars and dance halls closed up because everyone came and drank water........but got PO'd if the place charged much a cover.

As to taking drink from patrons, yes it's a tough one. You don't want to offend anyone. So, I generally take a sip (or pretend to), then put it down BEHIND a speaker or amp, where no one can see it.