Not me, I just mess around with making music a LOT... but it helps when I stop thinking too much and just play. Jamming is a great way to find new cool things musically, but it sometimes requires a lot of time messing around before you stumble across something interesting.

At times I just have songs in my head that want to break out, sometimes they get out, sometimes only a quarter of it comes out. It's pretty difficult transforming ideas into real music, but it's far from a science. It's emotion controlled, so yeah, no wonder people that smoke weed are able to make some cool music. Less thinking, more emotion and you'll be able to. (Off course given that there's a certain amount of talent, but still...)

im gonna try the meditating thing. i've always been into shit like that anyway. i guess getting in the mood for music is so easy to do when you're smoking. and then you get to rely on it too much.

i know some people get uber-stoned and then the next day the music they've made is kind of sloppy, but i honestly think i make my best music when im stoned. im kind of hyper-active and have a touch of OCD and ADD so i get frustrated soooooooooooo easily and it drives me fucking crazy. i can spend a whole day tweaking the sounds for a bassline then i will just through some notes together because my mind has melted.

drinking coffee works. but music and smoking will always go together.

man i LOVE yerba! good to hear you you guys drink the brew too
my friend bought me a 'yerba straw' back from South America: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... w_mate.jpg
so now I just plonk a few teaspoons in a cup of boiling water and sip away, it's a great kickstart which doesn't have the crash of coffee

i also enjoy sipping kava-kava: http://www.erowid.org/plants/kava/
drinking kava at night is very relaxing and floaty, creates good vibes which can encourage creativity

of course like weed these are all tools which you can use or abuse

Yo don't boil mate, try using water that is just below boiling... a temperature that is just hot enough that you can drink it right away without waiting for it to cool. I've heard boiling water doesn't brew it correctly, but I also think it tastes worse when you boil it.

Yeah, weed is by far not the only herb or medicinal plant that I know about, I'm all about growing my own food and medicine since it's very beneficial for to living a healthy life and also cost effective at the same time, hmm no wonder all local and home farmers were eliminated and replaced by corporate farms that make peopel sick which feeds the overpriced privatized healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.

yeah man i usually add some cool water to make it drinkable....but i feel you on not boiling it. next batch i'll let the kettle chill for a bit before pouring

That goes for brewing all white and green teas, and while yerba mate is not actually camelia sinensis it does benefit from brewing it jst below boiling in both taste and also by not making it too powerful. If you brew it boiling which I believe is traditional in South America than it will be much more potent and in my opinion almost narcotic but without any negative side effects other than not feeling tired for the whole day practically.

I'd love to have a crack, but I'm snowed under with work (got a big Year 12 load this year - more work for the teacher than the bloody kids!!!).

Yeah, I know - that sounds like an excuse.... haha. I will DEFINITELY have a crack; prolly not in time for the battle though..soz

all good...often when you're having a crack inspiration can strike : )

never heard of those drinks you guys were talking about but one day I would like to give em a try. Where do you get that stuff from?

honestly when I would smoke I wasn't able to make music at all.. there was a period of time when I was smoking over half a ounce a day with my boy and I would never get anything done because I just couldn't focus at all... I mean now if I smoke a blunt or two I may be able to get working on something, but I don't know.... I create with a clear mind

yeah...creativity stems from emotions and imagination, etc... for some people certain substances help them access those zones, for others they don't work as well

Juxt - i buy my yerba mate from a local spanish store, and order the kava online. maybe try a health shop, see if they can source it for you. only buy the raw plant matter though, those pills and supplements and stuff can be a bit dodgy

You can buy yerba mate in almost any grocery store or health food store in America it's in the tea section. You can buy it in bags or loose and then filter out the solids or use a bombila which is a apecial cup and straw so when you brew it loose the special straw filters it. I buy loose and it's much cheaper, some stores sell it in bulk too.

used to smoke heaps, take lots of psychedelics... then after that alot of depressants.

these days I'm drug free, but I still think the experience of perceiving the world from a different point of view; and from being addicted to painkillers for over a year, has influenced me permanently....
...not necessarily for better, or worse.. perhaps a little of both