I don't do drugs, and I don't drink either.

I decided that from quite a young age actually. They hold no interest for me. And I never wanted something like that to hold leaverage over me.
I've always be a creative person, and I've always listened intently. I'm weird, and unstable enough with out drugs. I don't like the idea of intensifying it much. The idea of having no control of my actions is a terrifying one

I can seperate the tracks, and listen to them all on different levels anyway - So I don't see how doing drugs would help with that. But then I've never taken them so I guess I wouldn't.

But I think what I'm trying to say is, I think I feel his music as much as anyone else does, even without the effect of drugs.
Although drugs like Acid and such, its purpose is to intensify sounds and sights and colours.

Is it really your interpretation of the song at that point though, or the drugs?

Well, I'm not the stablest of people either, but I did drugs for a few years (only recently quit)--pot and psychedelics, mostly. It actually didn't mess with "stability" at all. If anything, it took the "edge" off, and made it easier to go about things normally. That said, it was also a bit numbing in some respects. Quitting was the only part that was ever intense. But, I'm dealing with that.

Anyway, I can't say that I did the drugs just to hear different tracks or anything associated with music. I'm definitely a competent musician and don't need drugs for any part of the music. The drugs I've taken just altered my brain chemistry enough to give me a totally new perspective on all the music I listened to. It was like experiencing the music again for the first time--still fucking awesome. And as far as whether or not it's the interpretation of the song or just the drugs: it really doesn't matter. High or not, it's all just experience--and such is life.

I'm not trying to sell anyone on drugs. They're not for everyone and they certainly have their negative bits (why do you think I quit?), but the risk involved is minimal, and I've had some really awesome times high. What I'm saying, I guess, is that while they may not have been the best decisions that I made, I dont' regret them. Now, I'll be looking forward to experiencing reality as it is again. This should be interesting.

Im not cool enough to take drugs.. Of course I really want to, but I am pretty sure If I took shrooms I would jump off the roof!

Well, but I drink, and when I do I drink alot.. Music can feel kinda funny at this stage.. Also tried cannabis (eaten, smoked) but the effects seems very faint on me..

Also tried some nearlike ecstacy pills.. But bah, only thing was my foot kept moving.. Funny, but uterly useless..

Anyway, Devins music is great no matter what.. Can remeber the first track I ever heard.. Love?.. I didn't understand that metal music could sing clean and sound awesome, and his hair! So ugly (yet stylish )

Oh yea,, Drugs.. Well, people often get psycho violent from drugs from what I have experienced.. So..

Ps. Alcohol should be catagorised as a drug in my oppinion.. Only thing is, Its legal

In my humble opinion, the best way to enjoy Devin's music is being extremely high off endorphins, seratonin, dopamine, whatever else that are released in your brain fluids after a nice, long, power walk.

Corny? Maybe. But incredibly powerful. And it lasts.

Couldn't agree with you more DsD I always listen to my music on my lengthy walk to college. It usually helps take the edge off the fact I'm up eariler than I wish to be.

And Entropy - You do bring up some interesting points. I find the whole psychological effect of drugs and such quite interesting. And probably all for the wrong reasons. I've heard for some people it can take the edge off, but I think for me it wouldn't do me many favours. Being tipsy once freaked me out enough. (A bit weak I know, but honestly, I didn't find it very enjoyable.) So I can't imagine I'd do so well on other drugs. Espically not psychdelics. xD
Mind you though. I guess I wouldn't really know until I tried, but I'm quite happy as I am!

And the Skullet isn't ugly! D: At least not in my opinion. But I'm a sucker for long hair
Don't doubt what Shrooms can do either - I knew someone who jumped off a bridge because he thought a London bus was a giant monster trying to eat him.

As Devin's pointed out, be careful with any drug.

Well, getting high off of any of the drugs I've done is pretty much the same as being high after physical exertion. It's a little different, obviously, based on the balance of the neurochemistry, but the general sentiment is similar. Anyway, just felt like putting my 2 cents in again (whether it's wanted or not ).

I get the feeling some people take drugs as a right/wrong issue, which in some sense is why a lot of harmless things are very illegal. By the way, kekle3 is totally right--alcohol is probably one of the more dangerous drugs and ought to be up with Schedule I substances (sorry, I'm using US law as an example). Pot, on the other hand, ought to be classified nearer to tobacco. But I'm digressing. My point is that however you (general) feel personally about whether or not you want to try drugs, closed or open to them, it's not a moral issue at all.

Here comes a weird analogy: a drug preference is having a taste for a separate reality. I'm not going to talk quantum mechanics or anything, because most of us will drop like flies from boredom, but I mean that being high is not being brain-dead, stupid, crazy, or whatever-else-you've-associated-with-it. It's exactly what you make it, and that's where the fun is: it's control over something totally uncontrollable. It's euphoria and a new perspective and all that jazz. Long story short, I mean to say that no one gains higher ground from abstaining from drug use, just as no one gains higher ground from doing drugs. We're all on the same level, like it or not.

Ah, the beauty of symmetry in nature. Parallels.

Oh, and a devilish little secret: I'm high on caffeine right now!

One last thing: I don't much care for drinking, Amber. I don't blame you for disliking near-drunkenness. The funniest part of the way drugs are viewed is actually that some of those that are considered really scary and awful (like psilocybin or LSD) are actually mild and safe. Not trying to push or anything, but I find the irony amusing.

Haha - No I get the fact that there probably is quite a bit of irony in there. Not really having experimented much in that region, my point is probably not really valid at all, as I don't have much basis to go on. It's more just from what I've seen from other people and trying to piece together from there experiences.

And I gotta say, while it might bore most people, the possiblity of quantum physics here is sounding interesting. Even if my head probably will be hurting fromt he overload of Math that usually is involved with physics. (Really not my strong point.)
I think I just need to sleep to go to a uncontrollable, yet controlable circumstance. My dreams are certainly weird enough, and I can control them to a degree.

I think I agree with achohol though. That is dangerous stuff. I hate walking back through my town later at night when everyones completely off there trolly on the stuff. So unpredictable. It's quite terrifying really. Probably why I hated it to be fair.

Out of curiosity then Entropy - Would you say you still have quite a firm grip of control when under the influence of drugs? I'm guessing obviously it varies drug to drug, and doseage as well... So interpret that question as vaguely as you need.

Out of curiosity then Entropy - Would you say you still have quite a firm grip of control when under the influence of drugs? I'm guessing obviously it varies drug to drug, and doseage as well... So interpret that question as vaguely as you need.

Well, it really depends what you're asking here...I'll do as best I can. A couple assumptions: I'm familiar with the drug the time I'm measuring control, and the dosage is reasonable (not mild or excessive).

To start, I couldn't even list all the things I've done stoned, and for better or for worse, I've never been in trouble for it, done anything that I later regretted, or even put myself in danger. I've performed concerts, longboarded in a city I'd never been to before, played sports, written songs, written poems, debated political and economic issues, gone on dates, performed thought experiments, built a microphone from scratch, talked to cops, and everything else while high. Hell, I've even done physics homework (no worries, I got 100%). Would I drive high? Fuck no. Operating heavy machinery under the influence of anything, NyQuil included, is an incredibly moronic thing to do.

Psychedelics are another story. I like to keep things tamer with them, just on principle. I usually just go take a walk with some friends, listen to music, or watch a movie or something. The walks are the best. Nature is tops while tripping.

I rarely drink, but when I have, it's the only time I've felt out of touch with reality. It's a miserable feeling, really. An unmitigated numbing, stumbling, thought-crushing, sinking, depressed feeling whose only redeeming point is a mild vertigo. And if I liked vertigo all that much, I'd take up smoking cigarettes.

So, control depends on the substance (and on the person), really. High on pot or psychedelics, I've always felt totally confident and relaxed, and the difference in perception is such that I can predict how others around me are seeing things (I'm not a psychic, but I think you know what I mean), but still see things totally differently. Every time I've been drunk, I've been some shade of miserable, so I tend not to drink anymore--not really any control there.

Bottom line: yes, given reasonable circumstances and the right substances, I have a firm grip on reality while high. But I haven't been high in quite some time. I've got a firm grip now, too, I think.

Couldn't agree with you more DsD I always listen to my music on my lengthy walk to college. It usually helps take the edge off the fact I'm up eariler than I wish to be.


And the Skullet isn't ugly! D: At least not in my opinion. But I'm a sucker for long hair
Don't doubt what Shrooms can do either - I knew someone who jumped off a bridge because he thought a London bus was a giant monster trying to eat him.

As Devin's pointed out, be careful with any drug.

Yeah! Walking is awesome - it can be just as strenuous as running or jogging, but you don't ruin your knee joints! Haha I love walking, my mind travels much farther than my actual body does, which is half the fun!

And yes, let's set the record straight: the Skullet is not ugly, it's unique, and pretty wild. We should all be so lucky to have a skullet

Well, getting high off of any of the drugs I've done is pretty much the same as being high after physical exertion. It's a little different, obviously, based on the balance of the neurochemistry, but the general sentiment is similar. Anyway, just felt like putting my 2 cents in again (whether it's wanted or not ).


One last thing: I don't much care for drinking, Amber. I don't blame you for disliking near-drunkenness. The funniest part of the way drugs are viewed is actually that some of those that are considered really scary and awful (like psilocybin or LSD) are actually mild and safe. Not trying to push or anything, but I find the irony amusing.

I don't doubt that being high off your own chemicals isn't wildly different from being high off of some other mild substance. It's weird, because when you are out exercising and you really hit your stride, and everything's in motion... it's as if all your senses are heightened, everything is better, music sounds better, you feel better, you feel like you look better - it's the best feeling in the world. Which is why I'm a self proclaimed exercise-oholic So, I exercise like a nut for the same reason as anyone would take a drug - because you're searching for that all time high.



Anyways, I read this really interesting book not too long ago - I recommend it for anyone interested in psychedelics, psychoactives and brain chemistry, that kind of thing. Very insightful, even if you're not into substances. Now, fair warning, there is a bit of spirituality mumbo-jumbo in the book that I don't really dig, but the strictly scientific elements are captivating. If you are a skeptic like myself, keep that in mind.

http://www.rickstrassman.com/dmt/