4 ms·

I think money, fame, celebrity status, etc. often creates pressures on the relationship. Kind of like how it sometimes pushes people into drug addictions. Tha

I think money, fame, celebrity status, etc. often creates pressures on the relationship. Kind of like how it sometimes pushes people into drug addictions. That's a stereotype that we've all heard about since kids, but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release. I think that part of it clicked to me when I heard a musician being interviewed about it, I forget which. Maybe it was a Beatle talking about their early amphetamine days.

jimt1234 2mo ago
I had a friend in the mid-90s that was in a mildly successful band. They did a few national tours as opener for bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I met up with him once while he was out on tour. I was thinking he was living his best life, like he was gonna brag about the lifestyle. Just the opposite. He hated touring, said it was very stressful, and that he just wanted to eat a home-cooked meal and sleep in the same bed more than two nights in a row. And yes, he said industry folks were constantly pushing free drugs.
duderific 2mo ago
Re the drug addictions - another thing to note about touring musicians is that there's a lot of downtime. New cities every day, not much to do until your show in the evening. Pretty easy to slip into unhealthy habits.
- artisinal 2mo ago
  I tend to visit the local museums, drink coffee at a cute coffee place and hit up the town square instead of doing hardcore drugs.
  - duderific 2mo ago
    Yeah clearly there are alternatives, and plenty of musicians are able to find them. If you're already an addict though, there's not much stopping you from continuing that lifestyle, other than the ability to secure the next fix.
alexpotato 2mo ago
> but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release The 2017 documentary about Avicii [0] does a great job of showing this specific case. He was an introvert so he started drinking to be more comfortable on stage. As he got more famous, the pressure to create more hit records grew and grew. David Guetta explains it better than I could and he's world famous in his own right. Highly recommend watching it and consider it MUCH better than the 2024 documentary. 0 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7357302/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7357302/

jimt1234 2mo ago

I had a friend in the mid-90s that was in a mildly successful band. They did a few national tours as opener for bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I met up with him once while he was out on tour. I was thinking he was living his best life, like he was gonna brag about the lifestyle. Just the opposite. He hated touring, said it was very stressful, and that he just wanted to eat a home-cooked meal and sleep in the same bed more than two nights in a row. And yes, he said industry folks were constantly pushing free drugs.

duderific 2mo ago

Re the drug addictions - another thing to note about touring musicians is that there's a lot of downtime. New cities every day, not much to do until your show in the evening. Pretty easy to slip into unhealthy habits.

artisinal 2mo ago
I tend to visit the local museums, drink coffee at a cute coffee place and hit up the town square instead of doing hardcore drugs.
- duderific 2mo ago
  Yeah clearly there are alternatives, and plenty of musicians are able to find them. If you're already an addict though, there's not much stopping you from continuing that lifestyle, other than the ability to secure the next fix.

alexpotato 2mo ago

> but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release The 2017 documentary about Avicii [0] does a great job of showing this specific case. He was an introvert so he started drinking to be more comfortable on stage. As he got more famous, the pressure to create more hit records grew and grew. David Guetta explains it better than I could and he's world famous in his own right. Highly recommend watching it and consider it MUCH better than the 2024 documentary. 0 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7357302/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7357302/