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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Stamina - HOW > Do You Maintain yours?
Stamina - HOW > Do You Maintain yours?
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Frank
4741 posts
Jun 30, 2014
1:02 PM
Playing music can take a lot of stamina - How do you personally maintain yours so that you can enjoy the activity of music playing better?
Pistolcat
647 posts
Jun 30, 2014
1:04 PM
By drinking beer, of course...
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
KingoBad
1494 posts
Jun 30, 2014
1:13 PM
Don't they have a pill for that now?

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Danny
Pistolcat
648 posts
Jun 30, 2014
1:43 PM
And I eat a healthy handful of oat flakes when the guitarist get his twelve bars of soloing.
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
jbone
1674 posts
Jun 30, 2014
4:15 PM
Used to be, early on, 4 hour gigs. Sometimes 2 or 3 a week and maybe help host a jam on top too. My Sundays were total rest eat rest.
One weekend, between Friday night and Saturday night the band of the era I was with, played a 4, a 3, and a 4 hour gig. Both evenings and a 3 hour set for an open house on Saturday early afternoon. Sunday morning a promoter was calling to ask if we'd play another 3 hour deal and my voice was so gone I could not say a single word on the phone. I think it would have been suicide even if we could have done another one.

When the duo with Jolene began to bear fruit she was working hard to fill up 3 sets and have the stamina to pull it off. But the truth is, I was beginning to lag. Working 40+ a week took its toll not to mention hitting 50 years old and beyond. For a year and a half I worked in another duo and we played a lot of 4 hour gigs. Good money but I just had nothing left for my real deal project, the one I'm doing for the rest of my life with Jo my wife, so that one had to go.

We focus on two good solid sets and that's it. It seems to be the right amount of energy to spend in a given time frame. When we're done we still have energy to do other things over a weekend.
HowEVER.
During that 2 set stretch we both put everything we have out there. Be it an outdoor market, a street corner, coffee house, whatever, it all goes.

I also keep up with good food and vitamins and supplements, and get my rest for the most part. I think if I was 29 instead of 59 I'd do it that way as well.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
Goldbrick
514 posts
Jun 30, 2014
4:25 PM
Mucho Cafe Cubano
Ted Burke
44 posts
Jun 30, 2014
5:38 PM
Stamina got easier when I quit drinking 27 years ago and then quit smoking 15 years ago.
Komuso
326 posts
Jun 30, 2014
6:05 PM
Weider Energy Jelly

These are the bomb.
Drop one 15 minutes before playing and you will power through an hour.
It does have come sugar content (always a -ve) but I generally don't drink fizzy sugar drinks anyway so I'm not overloading on that front.

An alternative is SoyJoy , but the Jelly absorbs better and is more efficient from my experience.

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Paul Cohen aka Komuso Tokugawa
HarpNinja - Your harmonica Mojo Dojo
Bringing the Boogie to the Bitstream

Last Edited by Komuso on Jun 30, 2014 6:11 PM
Martic
82 posts
Jun 30, 2014
10:36 PM
One night a guy came to me after the show and said "man, I live in Santiago (500 miles away), but I broke with my girlfriend and I came here to be with my friends and try to recover from it. Now I heard your music and it really touched me, I feel much better now. Sincerely, thank you very much"

Then I learned the real power music has. Not only for the audience, also for me. All my problems are gone after the show :D
Diggsblues
1406 posts
Jul 01, 2014
2:31 AM
If you can afford it Sunrider herb foods especially if you get something like Big River. That's 8 sometimes 9 shows a week. Other wise a nice salad after the second
set with a cup of tea or coffee and eat a good diet.

Emile
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robbert
333 posts
Jul 01, 2014
2:53 PM
When I have a gig, it's usually in the evening, after a work day. I always try to get an hour of horizontal rest before the gig, watching a movie or reading to relax.

Then, during the gig(usually 3 hrs)we take two 15 min. breaks.

Also, being in a few different musical configurations, I try to make sure the gig dates are spread out over the month(approx. 8 per month). This is not always possible.

In the last year or so, I have been working on remaining relaxed during performance, and using breath control. This can be challenging to shape into a habit.

In terms of other good habits...I walk every day, eat organic food and not food I'm allergic to(almost everyone suffers from chronic allergies to something common in their diet, which keeps your immune system overworked and saps your energy), and I try to stay hydrated.

I don't usually have to travel more than 15 mins. to a gig.

I also often have a good strong coffee before showtime just to make sure I'm alert!

All my gigs have me home no later than 10:00pm, so I stay on a regular schedule.

I'm lucky to have so many restaurants, coffee joints, and wine tasting venues in my area that support live music.


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