LSD was something that I was always over, 20 mins after it started. I always wanted it to wear off so the reefer would work again, instead. Mushrooms grew in all the pastures down here in the south too, but again, it did not fit with what I was into, more than half a dozen times, and that was the end of that. By then, I got what was to be gotten from it and lost interest. But then, we grew up imaginative, creative and crafty, so tripping too much would have been competition to what was already there. Is also how I was naturally able to fill in all the missing info that lo-fi couldn't muster. It's how we could get enjoyment from a portable suitcase Victrola sitting on the floor with stacks of 45s, in mono, no less, or even the AM radio in the car with the lone & blown, dashboard speaker, just as sober as the day we were born.
Same with drinking. Once I found out I was gonna be a dad, I lost interest in that too. What time I had for my other interests was severely limited thru the child rearing era, so what time I had, needed/wanted all my faculties. Now I drink a beer or two with dinner. . .but it's cooler out now and I'm not that kind of thirsty until it gets warm again, or on warm days, perhaps. I'm into coffee now. Not much. Maybe two cups/day, and whatever other organic supplement that might counter that pleasantly.
I don't discover music by working at, or altering my state of mind too much for it. That would be trying too hard for me personally. I am always either hooked by it initially, or not. Not to say that I won't find it some other time down the road, but there is just too much profoundly good music available at our fingertips, especially now.
What it comes down to from there is. . .subjectivity. Something we all get to really differ on now that there is so many choices and not being so herded into the mainstream like we once were. Other than that, there is no shortage of mind blowing content with what these modern speakers and subs are providing. So much so, that I am not inclined to add more channels, even after having been subjected to more 'effectual' systems. Again, also a byproduct of a hyper-imaginative existence, from having to get the mental pictures out of nothing more than text on page, images I can still see in my head, just recollecting books I have read throughout life. Comparatively, music is easy, and films easier yet, if not a bit too easy, if the modern seeming lack of creativity is any indication. How many fookin remakes of the old ideas can possibly keep amusing these dimwits?
Still, I get what others do to make it work for them. Me personally, something has kept me hooked on this hobby pretty faithfully nearing 50 years now and I still get my mind blown nearly every day and I listen that often leading up to marathons starting by Thursday - Sunday. The rest of the week I have to make myself quit before the next song gets me.
Yup yup to all of that...the mono suitcase player made me wince a l'il for sure, 'cause I grew into quite the stimulus junkie...always wanting to go bigger, better, more more more, heh heh
I guess I'm just a natural born prankster. Aand ya, drinking got old for me, by the time I was 18, 'cause my folks allowed my sis & I to serve ourselves at home within reason, around the same age I started getting into herb & psychs
The thing about gratuitously engaging with psychedelics is, it tends to make us hyper sensitive to all the things we do that aren't great for us. Soo often high frequency trippers quit tobacco, alcohol, meat & other energy stifling & health diminishing substances
But I hear you with that too, sometimes we can't have it all our way, & hafta make the best of what we've got in hand, aand I agree about the psychs only being able to get us so far before it's up to us to see what comes after, once they've done their job, pick up the ball, & keep runnin' with it
Starting off at 14, a simple mountain bike ride around town on a lonely night at chrismas time to be dazzled by all the lights was a treat
...even without a walkman for tunes, but everything's usually better with a soundtrack
Or just hangin' with 1 friend listening ta tunes at home, or while cruising around...even just meandering around town, we could turn into a blast of a time, dive bombing leaf piles, snowbanks...or hitting the lake for night swims
I was mostly a suburb/country/farm/lake area kid back then, so there were lots of simple things to do, that were more than enough
Driving age, a bunch of us, a car with a full tank, a rotation of 2 tape/cd albums of dead, live orb, future sound of london each...aand an Allman brothers, with a l'il local grown herb to puff, and late night, spun out, group therapy/philosophy sessions around a campfire kept us perpetually entertained, with souls cleansed & inner lights shining
Then I got dragged to my 1st dead show at 18 in '93, aand the specifically psychedelic focused live music experience was surely the missing ingredient. Having tapes, cd's was great, but the live show environment truly made a complete package
I dunno if you ever went to any live shows and partook...but it's a match made in heaven, especially when it's a band whose entire purpose is to cater to the psychedelicized mind, like dead/santana/orb, etc
That's not just enhanced music, done right...it should be on par with a profound religious experience every time...no matter how many times/often you do it. Course getting spun, taken by the music
...aand boogie'ing yer ass off all night completes it
And that's what it turned into for me. I only saw the 1 show in 93, but when the next spring rolled around, friends and I committed to catching as many shows as possible, aand we did fairly well, ...at least I did
People rotated in and out, but being the youngin' that I was, with nothing better to do
...I pretty much made a career out of being at big shows once I learned there were others who made them their home
...in the short period 'til the end in '95, I made it to around 100 of 'em
The thing about that life is, at times, ya need an artificial energy source, aand since psych heads aren't usually into coke, speed, etc...L becomes yer go to.
After all, ya don't wanna sleep through the greatest show on earth every night, 'cause yer too tired from the day's work
Then it was written that when dead came to an end, phish would take over...at least temporarily, so I kept it goin' with those
They weren't an instant favorite, and it was different, but we were there together & made it work...then the boys got their act back together to do Further & The Other Ones...& I did a few more years worth of that
There's a quote..."there comes a time when our minds and our bodies will no longer respond to moderate stimulation"
To engage in experiences like that occasionally & balance it out with a reasonable amount of "normal living" is one thing
...but to live a literal entire full & robust lifestyle of such gradiosity puts us in an unusual position & mindset/state. I'd say ya kinda hafta ween off of it
My touring days did eventually grind to a halt after a solid 6 or 7 yrs of it...but I don't regret a second if it
That did, however, create the immediate need for the ability to as closely replicate that experience in my living room
...which began my journey into the world of personal/home sound production in '98, aand I didn't do too shabby (haven't set any records either) but that's another story
