How far do you travel for gigs?

[elom]

In my band we've been debating how far we would be prepared to travel for gigs. I guess that if you are promoting original material you would be prepared to travel further but for a covers gig, how far would you go? I'm just curious really. Each way, measured in time.

[wateroftyne]

Technically, we do covers.. even though they're not. But they are.

It's complex.

Anyway... I'll go anywhere, if the gig is worth doing.

[Wil]

We've travelled over 7 hours each way before. Needs to be done if you want to build a following, just try to make sure the promotor knows their arse from their elbow and gets punters in the door!

[funkysimon]

We are based in Cambridge and did a gig in Evesham this year, after which I have a personal ruling that I won't drive more than 90 mins to the gig, and for preference less than one hour's drive. It's not that I don't enjoy playing, but schlepping around the country for wedding gigs isn't my idea of fun.

[john_the_bass]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='94444' date='Nov 26 2007, 11:21 AM']Technically, we do covers.. even though they're not. But they are.

It's complex.

Anyway... I'll go anywhere, if the gig is worth doing.[/quote]

i'll go anywhere if the money's right
In fact, I'd rather drive 3 hours for good money and play to an appreciative audience than play some empty, local sh*tehole for zip

[Wil]

Half the time we've played a long way from home they've only payed us petrol. Mind you, we can't get a break.

[Bilbo]

I guess the answer is ' as far as is economical'. If someone will pay me to play in Australia and will fully fund the trip, I'll do it. If it costs more to travel there than I get paid, it would have to be a REALLY special gig (I have done good gigs for nothing if the music works but I wouldn't do a commercial gig that left me out of pocket). I did a jazz ferstival in Vienne (nr Lyon) once - all expenses paid but no profit margin. Great experience.

[warwickhunt]

I'm getting old and lazy so I pick and choose my covers gigs so they're rarely more than 30 minutes away. Obviously there will always be exceptions but they are just that... exceptions. In the past I've done 3 hour commutes (6 hour return) and one offs to London from Newcastle for showcases.

[chris_b]

This is topical for me.... I live in Surrey and just played in Liverpool on Saturday. Drove there, played and drove back, home by 6.30 am! I got petrol money and was paid a lot more than the usual local gig so it was worth it. I don't do this as a hobby so my criteria are probably different.
Years ago I was in a band which was based in Brussels. We did a gig at the MIDEM festival in Nice. Now that was a long drive!

[Kiwi]

We generally don't travel more than 2 hours although we will travel further if the client is prepared to pay for B&B style accommodation.

[spike]

Normally not more than 2 hours but in December we are playing at a big party in Leeds which is about 3 hours away. We are getting well paid for this gig, but whatever the distance the money I get has at least got to cover my travel costs. It might be different if I was in an originals band and playing for the exposure.

[synaesthesia]

Am based in Notts, depped with a band that played Carlisle. It was OK, have played the Isle of Wight myself on a day return trip from Notts before.... that band that did the Carlisle gig, DROVE to Hamburg, Germany for a one off gig from Notts the week before for the same money as the Carlisle gig. They got a weeks' worth of confirmed bookings in Hamburg this coming December though out of that one off gig.

We will be playing Reading for decent money on New Year's Eve. My pianist lives in Rotherham.

Edited November 26, 2007 by synaesthesia

[Phaedrus]

Hi,

I voted 1 hour 30 mins, though currently it's just 30 mins.

I'm assuming that you're asking from the point of view of "what time getting to bed after a gig is too late for it all to be worth it?"

My covers band are just getting started on securing more gigs further afield than we have been doing, and agreed that as long as we could drive home after the gig within an hour or hour and a half, that'd be fine. We play pubs & clubs, usually getting €150 each a gig.

If we were a wedding band, with no day jobs, with our calender regularly booked out with between 2-6 gigs a week (average of say, 2-3 a week over a year?) for a year or two out, and were getting €500 - €750 each per gig (like the top wedding bands in Ireland are), then we'd travel the length & breadth of the country.

Admittedly Ireland is a smallish country, and we live in Dublin, so 3-4 hours would be the longest we'd probably have to drive, but if that was our situation, we'd probably be B&B-ing it sometimes.

But back in the real world, we'd have to break some current habits and treat the whole thing as "time = money".

Sure, we want to have fun, but getting to bed at 4:30 and having to get up with your kids the next morning is tough going.

And the actual drive time is only part of it - the drive home can only begin after getting paid/talking with folk and taking down & packing away the gear.

Let's say you finish the last song at 1am . . .

Talk to bar manager, punters, wives/husbands/girlfriends/boyfriends/groupies/whatever over a wind-down drink: 30 minutes.

Take down the gear and pack it all into the van/trailer: 1 hour (or more . . .)

Drive to the rehearsal room: 30 minutes/1 hour/1 hour 30 minutes.

Unload the gear: 30 minutes.

Drive home: 15 minutes.

That'd get me home at between 3:45am and 4:45am.

Hard enough for a young single man with no real responsibilities but I, like many others in this game, have kids and chores at the weekends.

Does the pay compensate? Does the fun compensate? Hopefully one or the other does most of the time, or at least some of the time.

In our case, we've been looking at streamlining the whole thing - reducing the amount, weight and complexity of the gear we're using (both PA & lights as well as our personal gear):

Switching to a more efficient active PA with only two subs and two tops (instead of our current 4 passive subs and 2 passive tops)

Using a rack with the mixer/EQs/peripherals permanently interconnected, (instead of our current heavy amp rack for the passive speakers)

Switching to a single multi-coloured light unit (instead of our current two T-bars with 4 PAR56 each)

Using smaller bass & guitar amp rigs, improved cable-management, colour-coding as much connections as possible, etc.

In the meantime, I have to try to get the other guys to get stuck into taking the gear down as soon as possible after the gig - you can always yap as your're coiling cables. That's how I do it.

If it was up to just me, I'd eliminate the chat after the gig altogether, but that's a big part of it all for the guys - for my drummer in particular, and given that the rehearsal room is his, I'm reluctant to be too pushy about it.

Our current van is our singer's work van, but I do all the post-gig driving - I prefer to play sober for the gig and give my kids just a tired dad the next day, rather than a tired & hungover dad.


Mark

[beerdragon]

We only work in a thirtyfive to forty mile radius. so voted half an hour. i did all the travelling bit years ago. now it would seem like work and i'm only doing it because i enjoy it. stick my stuff in my car get to a gig in twenty minutes and back home again without facing a long journey. i even take the equipment there go back home, leave the car and get a taxi or a band member to take me back so can have drink afterwards.

[hogman]

Been over the pond for a gig then come back all in one go maddness and never again....

[wateroftyne]

We've done a couple of Newcastle > south coast > Newcastle one-off stints before, including one where we did Portsmouth and travelled back straight afterwards. After a while, I just get immune to these although I can't say I miss them when we don't have any lined up.

Just recently, we did a Sunday night in Norfolk. I got home at 4am, and still made it to work for 8am on the Monday morning. I try and avoid those if at all possible, though!

I was offered a single St. Patrick's night gig in Lima, Peru a few years back. I thought about it and said no, 'cos it would have been hard work. I regret it now.

Edited November 26, 2007 by wateroftyne

[richy316]

I've done London, thats probably the furthest i've gone to do a gig. I live in the West Midlands, then Worcester is the next farthest i've had to go.

[Breakfast]

I've played Liverpool, Derby, Bath and Cambridge from here in Surrey with my last band.

It was cool to have played the Cavern, but aside from that the amount of work involved in travelling for a 45 minute set was maybe a little much. I also don't think playing up and down the country to relatively apathetic audiences is great if you're an originals band either. Better to work up a buzz in one area and build things out from there, I'd say...

Obviously, none of that really applies to covers bands, but if I was in it for the money I would be surprised if people would pay me to go ever so far, not with fuel prices the way they are now.

[Machines]

So far no further than 10 miles for me..

[niceguyhomer]

We have a wedding in Amersham in December - probably about 4 hours each way, furthest I've ever been.

[Jase]

The covers band I play with will travel anywhere, providing we don't end up paying to play, the transport is covered and everyone gets paid

I think it's important musicians get paid for what they do whether they're a covers or an original band. I can't stomach these venues/promoters who expect bands to fork out to play

[jakenewmanbass]

If i don't need a passport then I consider it to be local. furthest singe journey so far for a one off gig Taiwan.
but then there was the time we got stranded in Africa and the company flew us home via New York! the worst bit was we had to stay there all day and night!!! What a beatch.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Jase' post='94971' date='Nov 27 2007, 11:09 AM']I think it's important musicians get paid for what they do whether they're a covers or an original band. I can't stomach these venues/promoters who expect bands to fork out to play [/quote]
Including the lazy promoters who expect you to bring your own audience and sell your own tickets!!!

[tauzero]

I've said two hours but it would be very dependent on factors like how much we got paid and how much we got paid. As the guitarist is Scotschish [1], he's been trying to line us up a couple of gigs north of the border which would include some accomodation and enough money to cover the travelling, and maybe a little on top - but that would be a self-financing weekend break rather than a big earner.

We would have to take into consideration how much we'd get paid, of course.

[1] I feel that's a good compromise between "Scots", "Scotch" and "Scottish"

[wateroftyne]

We sometimes treat to long-distance stuff as a bit of a holiday. If the money isn't great, but the gig is decent and it's a nice area, we don't neccessarily dismiss it out-of-hand. Sometimes adventures are fun...