QUESTION FOR ALL
A wise, yet very intoxicated man once said "moderation is the key". Drunk bands can often suck, but most "staight edge" bands suck too. I have to say I have seen certain artists (people who create thier own music) who are completely f#%*ed up, yet are still musically coherent,. Sadly I am not one of those people. Free beer is a plus, but usually just makes the drive home a bit more difficult as one usually tends to pay more attention to the bills disapearing in his wallet rather that how intoxicated he really is. As far as live recordings go, it is all but unnecessary. It is the epitome of a band. I have heard excellent live recordings. If anything, it would provoke me to see a band more than what a "doctored up" studio recording would. You could still have your individual tracks, to some extent, and the mix would, without question, capture the sound of the band more than what it would if they were layering thier tracks rather than playing them simultaneously. Although a freelance recording engineer could, without a doubt, ruin a live recording.