dmccombe7

Not just about the destination, it’s the journey that makes it more interesting. I look at rehearsals as part of the journey towards playing Wembley Arena. 😜 Dave 🤩

If you use a direct debit for PayPal so that any transaction automatically comes from your bank account the bank won’t refund you for any purchase. That’s what they told me. It’s only when you transfer money each time to PayPal.

Doesn’t get much better than that. Gig ticked all the right boxes for you and serious compliments. Well done

Happy for you sir. Nice to hear a positive story. Dave

I use PayPal a lot too but just to buy. Is bank transfer a better option ?

Well done with the new direction you’ve taken. Sounds like a good move. Dave

I’ve used JMB also Bandmix although you need to pay for it and Gumtree had some success. Others are Facebook and Musicians In Your Area site altho I personally haven’t used those two yet.

100% spot on. If no enjoyment I don’t see the point unless it’s your livelihood and that changes how you view things.

As long as the band is making progress I enjoy rehearsals. Current band we all get along really well so rehearsing is still enjoyable. With some other bands maybe not so much and in some cases it’s been hard work and more a chore.

We also record but just use a phone to be honest and its been good enough to clearly hear the overall sound and any mistakes. We are all driving to rehearsals so coffee is the mid break aperatif. I'm not a drinker these days and drive to all gigs. Not fussed either way about being the dedicated driver if we use a van. Drummer same as me. Dave

I'm new to wireless but went for the Smooth Hound. Only negative for me is the transmitter. I use a small strap pack and just keep it in there rather than plug direct into bass mainly because its easier if changing bass rather than suction pads that come with it. Also means i can unplug it easily if taking a break during gig or rehearsal. Dave

Yep with you there. Very annoying

Stagecraft

That was nice. Thanks for sharing. enjoyed it a lot.

I'm guessing they can at no cost and want to get to gigging level very very quickly Dave

Our band has reache the stage where we have broken the songs down individually as and where required and adjusted to suit what we want and now its about getting gig tight over the next few rehearsals for our first major gig with this band. Its taken a while as band virtually all play in other bands and all had other commitments so rehearsals have been infrequent sometimes none for a month at a time. Dave

We're a bit lower than gig volume but not by much as you still need to balance the amps against the drums anyway. Dave

Yep i hate that too. What makes it worse is when the guitarist wants to talk to singer everyone should be quiet or they take the huff. Dave

3hr rehearsal is the standard time slot over here. Typically £30-£35 for 3 hrs per band. I'm talking at the stage where a band is starting out to reach gigging quality which for me is a high standard. My thoughts are that if you can't commit to rehearsals then you won't be in the band and we have 2 ex-professionals who have toured extensively and in one case played stadium gigs including Wembley Arena. He is the band font of all knowledge because of his experience and strangely enough also the drummer so there's a contradiction If you want to be good and stand out from the average bands you need to put the work in. If the band is gigging the same or almost the same set every week then that's a different story and rehearsals would be very infrequent mainly for learning new songs. In your case Blue i believe you've been with the band a good few yrs. Did you rehearse when you started with your current main band ? Dave

Everyone attending, know the songs prior to arriving, no wasting time in between songs. In a 3 hr session i expect to run thru a 2hr set and then work on any issues or new song ideas, Have a list of the songs to run thru and start at the top and work thru the list otherwise its whatever song someone can remember is in the set and then songs get missed or forgotten about. As a band we agreed on a 10-15min break in the middle for a coffee and a band discussion. If a 6hr session it could be longer or more often breaks. I am the odd one out in our band as i personally see the rehearsal as work and want to get in, get the job done and make sure we cover all the set. I refer to this as "gigging the set" It can be difficult when others don't see the urgency in getting on with it but that's bands for you. One other thing if using the studio gear is to not spend a lot of time finding your sound as more than likely its not there without your own gear. Just make sure its approx and you play the correct notes when required. Dave