NancyJohnson Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 As some of my closer friends will know, the last 18 months have seen me leave the band I formed eight or nine years ago then moving onto a more experimental studio based project (Lutz). A couple of months back I was offered an off/on/off live position with a band called Rocket66. I learnt everything only for the band to pull out of commitments, so things parked again. Anyhow, it's back on again...yesterday, up with the lark, I went to work at 7.30am, worked 8.15am to 5.30pm, then drove two hours from Denham, Bucks to Brighton Electric (great place, by the way) for a single rehearsal ahead of a gig on Friday. I got home this morning about 1.00am. I mean, I'm no spring chicken, but while I feel quite happy to have pulled a 20 hour day and added 200-odd miles to the clock, I'm thinking that I really can't be assed with the whole band malarky again, especially with my current workload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 When I joined the band I’m in now they were using a rehearsal space exactly one mile from my house. I was very lucky. When that studio closed we moved to the nearest alternative studio which is 15 miles away. I average 150-200 miles on the road a day in my job, so another 30 mile round trip after work when I’m knackered is often a chore. Driving 200 miles for a rehearsal... well, if you’re not feeling it I can’t blame you at all. In the joy vs hassle stakes joy would not be the winner for me. Good luck, whichever you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 It was moreover the whole day...my commute is backroads from Reading, M4/M25/M40 - these numbers alone should be enough for any normal person to shake with terror. Its about an hour. At the end of the day M40/M25/M23/A23...it just sucked the life out of me a bit. Add to this roadworks on the M25 homebound just added to the ack factor. Anyhow, at least the Friday gig is only about 20 minutes from work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Rehearsal studio we use is 40 miles from me. Suggest you rehearse every for fortnight for 6hrs rather than every week for 3 hrs. Cuts the mileage travelled, saves time on the set up and take down of gear at rehearsals, its more relaxed and you seem to get thru more and of course every Sunday isn't tied up with rehearsals if its a Sunday you rehearse of course. The other thing in Glasgow you need to pay to park on Sundays now so that's an additional cost on rehearsals and at £4 / 3hrs max stay 4 hrs.which will cause an issue for lng rehearsals of 6hrs unless you can get into the small studio car park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 (edited) I thinks it's getting happy with the level of commitment required, whatever that is. I'm more than happy to go out of my way if it helps the band and see things like late nights or early starts as a pretty minor inconvenience. Even having to travel by the rail replacement bus service on occasion - my attitude has always been that I expect to be at all rehearsals unless something very major prevents it, and am always frustrated by the band members who will cancel rehearsal at the drop of a hat for the slightest of reasons. Same with gigs - always do everything to make sure i can play a gig, even if it means cancelling something else that I had arranged (although, there is a sliding scale - easier to skip out on watching a band play or going for a drink, less simple to miss a family occasion that's been months in the planning) The last lot I played with involved two mid week practices a week that finished at 10.00 pm which in reality means 10.30 by the time I left, at least an hour on the train and half hour walk home, so generally I was lucky to be in before midnight. Not what i would have designed from scratch, but OK because I wanted to be playing with the band. It also helped that I have some flexibility around my working hours that let me catch up on sleep... YMMV, and it's not a criticism if that wouldn't work for others. For me playing in bands is my favourite thing to do, and I don't see my late nights and train trips as any different to the people I know who get up at sparrow's fart on a Saturday to go fishing, or drive half way across the country to take their kids to an athletics meeting But if it's not going to work then best to discuss it with the band sooner rather than later. maybe there's a compromise like @dmccombe7 suggests. In one old band of mine the drummer moved from Surrey to the Kent coast, and driving home after practice eventually wore him down. So to keep him in the band he kipped over at my place on practice nights Edited September 5, 2019 by Monkey Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: Rehearsal studio we use is 40 miles from me. Suggest you rehearse every for fortnight for 6hrs rather than every week for 3 hrs. Cuts the mileage travelled, saves time on the set up and take down of gear at rehearsals, its more relaxed and you seem to get thru more and of course every Sunday isn't tied up with rehearsals if its a Sunday you rehearse of course. The other thing in Glasgow you need to pay to park on Sundays now so that's an additional cost on rehearsals and at £4 / 3hrs max stay 4 hrs.which will cause an issue for lng rehearsals of 6hrs unless you can get into the small studio car park If you are talking about Berkeley there is a big car park at the start of the street that you can pay for, it’s much cheaper and there is no time limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 I did the gig last Friday and if nothing it just reaffirmed that the effort just isn't worth the result. Collectively we assembled in leafy High Wycombe from mid-London, Littlehampton, deepest Kent and my commute from Denham. Venue had undergone a bit of a facelift since I last played there, but really not in a good way, it was as if everything that made the venue what it was had been stripped away. It stank of disinfectant too. PA half the size of the old one, no monitors working, nasty house kit, sound guy was useless. They were also charging on the door ("£3.00 or whatever you can afford"). Whereas in the past the place would always have 40-50 people milling around, this time I doubt the place achieved double figures. To be honest, we played fine despite everything and just left by about 9.15pm, tucked up in bed by 11.00pm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.