Relocating to AZ possibly looking for AZ advice

[CTbass613]

Hey all you talkbassers from AZ, i am thinking about relocating to Pheonix shortly all the way from CT...realized i can do alot more with my savings out there than I can in CT.

Just doing some research about the music scene...is it mostly cover bands, or are original bands still present in the scene, how are the clubs, what is average pay for a cover band...or a known original band...Do the colleges book local bands. Any advice would be appreciated, not that the music scene is my main reason for the relocation but it would make it even more enjoyable if i went from a pretty poor scene to one that has a little more life.

[ourworldisgrey]

As a guy who is moving to Phoenix on Thursday. I am interested in this thread.

[CTbass613]

yeah man...i just found out that the position i work in in CT just opened in Pheonix...so i would really love some advice on this one...especially considering i will now be pushing to get out their ASAP. Let me know!

[BassBrass]

It may seem a good idea today when it's the dead of winter, but in my experience not many enjoy moving from the gentle woods and ponds of CT to the road melting desert heat of AZ. Places like Phoenix won't be there soon. There is just not enough water to justify a city. Summer indoor life...row after row of sterile condos each with a pool and AC is as Important as food...I find the place disgusting

[ERIC31]

Opinions vary but I've been down here 2 years and I'll say this......I wouldn't trade the 3-4 months of blast furnace heat and then enjoy 8-9 months of pleasant weather for that freezing cold, snow pounding weather you East Coast/Midwest people get for 5-6 months. Then you get heat AND humidity during the summer. No thanks.

Lots of cover bands around down here. Original ones too but the covers make the money. Plus if you are into drunk ASU girls at the gigs, there's plenty! Come on down!

Plus we have THE BASS PLACE www.thebassplace.com over in Peoria when you need gear and to talk to people that actually know bass. Unlike GC.

[CTbass613]

yeah i was looking at a condo that overlooked a lake...looked amazing...$50,000, i think i would take the heat in stride with the cost of living...plus there is a pool there haha. Would miss boston and NY gig life however...that store alone may be a reason to move to AZ looks awesome.

[dwm74]

Originally Posted by BassBrass

It may seem a good idea today when it's the dead of winter, but in my experience not many enjoy moving from the gentle woods and ponds of CT to the road melting desert heat of AZ. Places like Phoenix won't be there soon. There is just not enough water to justify a city. Summer indoor life...row after row of sterile condos each with a pool and AC is as Important as food...I find the place disgusting

Too many ignorant statements to ignore.

There's not a water shortage, and never has been. There are many facilities and infrastructure in place that provide plenty of water, hence all the pools you lament about.

Yes, we love our AC out here. Just as you depend on your Heating from October thru April.

If you find the place disgusting, then stay the hell away. We won't miss your whining.

[FunkMetalBass]

Plenty of Cover Bands. Plenty of Original Bands. Most of them suck, but that's like any music scene these days.

Promoters are constantly out to **** you over, so you'll want to look for internally-booked venues (and there are plenty of them, I discuss it more in the AZ Bassist Club Thread in the Misc Forum).

120 degrees in the summer is terrible, but it's a dry heat, and staying in doors works fine. Usually you can keep electricity costs down by using a swamp cooler for the earlier and latter parts of the summer, but AC is a necessity in June and July.

Almost no humidity, so your basses will probably never need adjusting, which is always a bonus.

We probably get bigger bands coming through more regularly than CT does, but I can't verify, and for some reason, the good ones always skip right over AZ (Phoenix is the 5th largest city, dumb move) or if they do come to AZ, they always hit up Tucson.

97.9 FM (KUPD) is the best radio station we have for rock. Jonathan L is a true DJ that picks all of his own music - most of it is obscure metal bands from overseas - and Holmberg's Morning Sickness (5:30am - 10:00am) is one of the funniest radio shows on earth if you're awake that early.

[LaklandBass]

This is all very interesting to know as I have always wanted to move to the mesa area. Ive visited many times and hopefully someday will make the move. Im in the southwest burbs of chicago so I enjoy a wonderfully high cost of living and dont get much in return. I currently have a 2 bedroom/1 bath townhouse and pay about $2000 a year in property tax. so between that and the chicago winters getting in the way of my cycling hobby I should probably just move

[nortonrider]

Originally Posted by BassBrass

It may seem a good idea today when it's the dead of winter, but in my experience not many enjoy moving from the gentle woods and ponds of CT to the road melting desert heat of AZ. Places like Phoenix won't be there soon. There is just not enough water to justify a city. Summer indoor life...row after row of sterile condos each with a pool and AC is as Important as food...I find the place disgusting

BIG + 1 !

[standupright]

i've been living in Phoenix for 16 years now. here are my views / opinions.

the summer is a KILLER. hate it. it's horrible. the rest of the year makes up for it. and by hot i don't mean that crap that happens on the east coast. i mean blinding, heat stroke, don't leave anything in your car, can't touch anything with bare hands, your AC runs nonstop hot. but, like i said, the rest of the year makes up for it. i'm currently on the patio in my back yard in shorts and a t-shirt enoying a beer.

if you are into food culture, you'll find none of that here. not even our mexican food has cultural variations. it's good. but it's all the same.

depending on what you do for a living, phoenix has a terrible job market right now. although before this, our market was EXTREMELY strong.

housing. right now is a good time to buy (as i'm sure that's the case in a lot of other places). if you are looking for a house, and you want one built after 1975 most of your opportunities will be in master planned communities where every third house looks the same but a different shade of brown. if you do get a house, please don't plant grass. this is the desert. all of the wonderful golf courses we have here have screwed up enough of the pristine desert with grass.

golf courses. if you play golf, you'll be in heaven.

music scene. i am mostly in blues and jazz. there are a lot of extremely talented blues / jazz guys here. regular circuit pay per group depends widely on the establishment. i won't play for free unless it's a friends party, or a non profit benefit. lots of places will expect you to play for free and charge at the door, or just play for free to get your name out. one of our last weekly gigs we had we were paid 350 per gig (total for the group for 3 hours). a good friend of mine makes his living playing several nights a week plus has 20 some odd students. i can't speak for other genres. there are lots of really good open blues jams across the valley with a lot of really good players attending them.

your car will never rust.

you'll actually get excited when you see clouds and experience rain the 5 times or so it may happen each year. we have more dust storms than rain storms. if you miss the snow, it's only about 2 hours north.

Originally Posted by dwm74

There's not a water shortage, and never has been. There are many facilities and infrastructure in place that provide plenty of water, hence all the pools you lament about.

we have been in a severe drought condition for about 14 years give or take.

[pasta4lnch]

some of this is making me nervous as my wife and I are planning to move to vegas this year

[dwm74]

Originally Posted by standupright

we have been in a severe drought condition for about 14 years give or take.

Yes, the entire western US has been in a drought for the last decade and a half. But by wisely using the water we have access to, and using water-conserving devices and practices (in both industrial and non-commercial uses), it's never resulted in rationing nor shortages for anyone's personal use. Every time I turn on the spigot, it delivers. When they start rationing water usage, and make people keep their pools empty, then we'll talk. The water situation is no different here than it is in LA, SD, LV, or any other city in the SW.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by dwm74

Yes, the entire western US has been in a drought for the last decade and a half. But by wisely using the water we have access to, and using water-conserving devices and practices (in both industrial and non-commercial uses), it's never resulted in rationing nor shortages for anyone's personal use. Every time I turn on the spigot, it delivers. When they start rationing water usage, and make people keep their pools empty, then we'll talk. The water situation is no different here than it is in LA, SD, LV, or any other city in the SW.

you sound like you have quite an attitude. i was just pointing out that we have been in a severe drought. not there isn't a shortage or that AZ hasn't been doing a good job managing water usage. no need to be a keyboard warrior.

[dwm74]

No, no attitude at all. It's just that your comment and an earlier post infer that we are in danger of running out of water. My profession is directly associated with water usage and management, and when I read statements like Phoenix won't be around much longer, it makes me want to set the record straight, and not scare folks off.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by dwm74

No, no attitude at all. It's just that your comment and an earlier post infer that we are in danger of running out of water. My profession is directly associated with water usage and management, and when I read statements like Phoenix won't be around much longer, it makes me want to set the record straight, and not scare folks off.

well....realizing that AZ does have a developed plan for managing water, the possibility of our supply diminishing to the point of mandatory water restrictions is also very real.

[Ivarrr]

I've been living in central Phoenix for 15 years (I'm 19 now) and man I hate it here. I take every chance I get to leave this pit, hopefully it won't be too long till I'm out in the bay area.

You better get a nice car, you're going to be spending ALOT of time in it. Forget about walking anywhere. Despite the new light rail, our public transportation is still terrible.

Half of the year you're stuck inside...it was in the 100's till the second week of November or so.

[dwm74]

well....realizing that AZ does have a developed plan for managing water, the possibility of our supply diminishing to the point of mandatory water restrictions is also very real.

Agreed. Managing a non-infinite supply of any resource is simply common sense.

And now back to the original topic...

In my experience, cover bands are by far the majority, although there are a few originals-only bands making a name for themselves. Seems to be no shortage of tribute bands here, too. Not that that's a bad thing, I wouldn't mind a gig like that myself!

[ourworldisgrey]

Originally Posted by Ivarrr

Half of the year you're stuck inside...it was in the 100's till the second week of November or so.

Not true. I was in Phoenix the second week of November and it was actually like mid-70's and perfect.