I play mostly guitar, and enjoy playing more when I'm stoned, and play better; more likely to explore a bit and try new things. Sometimes real inspirations hit, who knows where they come from. On stage I always seemed to need to hit a certain "escape velocity" to really open up, and smoking a reefer with the band between sets always helped. I also do back up tracks and whole compositions on a sequencer/synth, and during the composition and mix stages, a good buzz really helps me zero in on the sounds I was looking for. Listening to it when not under the influence has reasserted the worth of the work.

In one band I was in, too long ago to mention, one of the guys would set up a reel to reel, to catch everything we played while we were jamming out of our skulls; it was too free form to stop and write down or even try to remember. During breaks we'd play it back, and make notes where the good parts were, in order to save them and work them out later.

I'd say that playing while you're stoned or tripping is a way to open up your style, you just have to remember to save the good stuff and dump the lame bits.

42