May I buy you a drink, and then be offended when you say no?
This summer, I cut out alcohol from my diet. I’ve experienced a side effect to gigging that is disturbing: patrons who won’t accept “No thanks!”
I gave up alcohol–at least for now–because my body seems allergic to it, especially beer.
I rarely drank at performances before this year, anyway. My vocal cords require maintenance to be able to sing 3-4 hour hour bar gigs; but that’s only part of the story.
The other part of the story is my stomach hurts within an hour of having a beer. At my residency at mash (Blue Tractor Brewery’s basement bar) in Ann Arbor, I would enjoy my favorite porter, sip on one during the three hour gig. By the end of the gig, I felt sick.
It took me years to realize my body didn’t process beer like normal stomachs. In college, I’d watch my roommates drink many, many beers; I’d be violently ill after consuming two or three.
“Vial, you’re such a lightweight!”
I wish I could go back at tell myself that it has nothing to do with tolerance.
Anyways, this year, my stomach has been hurting me a lot. In the spring, I cut out beer. As of this fall, I omitted alcohol.
And I feel normal again! (Ok, minus the broken foot and back issues.)
However, I’ve also discovered something that makes me really uncomfortable at gigs: Some patron won’t accept “no thanks” as an answer when they ask to buy me a drink.
I’m polite and thank them, but explain I don’t drink when I play.
The patron says, “Awe come on!” Then they insist. Then they get shocked. Then they get mad. Sometimes they make fun of me.
This is becoming a regular problem now. Once a patron got so angry, I thought he was going to hit me.
For musicians who have given up drinking because of alcoholism, I respect you so much for getting through it. Peer pressure is a real problem.
So I’d like to offer everyone a reminder that when anyone says, “No thanks!” to a drink offer, just say “OK!”
The second you feel compelled to pressure them, stop it.
If it’s a musician, maybe leave a buck in their tip jar, instead? Or just say, “I like that song.”
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