band expenses...

[diechris]

I dont even know what kind of advise im looking for... but all i know is i dont know what i can do. Here's the story..

I originally moved up to nevada to play in a band that i was asked to play in. Things were rocky going in to it because of the situation behind them looking for another bassist.

a year after it was obvious that the end was near.

band ended... i have already become situated here and was finally doing better job wise.. not to mention my gf moved up and has a very good job.

we're looking at buying a house and have been in the process of looking and saving for a down payment.

playing music has been a big part of my life so i went looking for another band... found one that was great. you know... people that love the music... a place to practice(singer's garage) and everyone seems like they arent planning on leaving anytime soon.


coming in to the band... ive commited to practice twice a week. things have been good but the last practice night ...cops showed up at 7:30pm... they said turn it down.. because of complaints... we know we can legally play until 10pm and even have the tools to measure the db rating from outside..

the rest of the guys went out and found a practice space.... the dont want to piss off the people living next door... now we have to pay $100 EACH a month... i really dont have the money to do so... only reason i can buy gear is making sure my old gear sells first...


now i really like this band... its hard finding good people in vegas... now im debating leaving..

[SoLongJake]

Find another band to share the practice space with? This way your band can reap the benifits and not have to front all of the cost.

[cheapbasslovin]

I know this may feel like really crummy advice, but could you convince the band to (gasp) play quietly?

Been down this road before, and it works.

The only guy that really has to adjust his chops is the drummer, and you without a doubt will hear each other better. Your mistakes will be clearer (doh!!) but when you're tight there won't be any question about it.

It feels hollow at first, but it really does help a band get tighter.

That's what I think anyway.

[diechris]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

I know this may feel like really crummy advice, but could you convince the band to (gasp) play quietly?

Been down this road before, and it works.

The only guy that really has to adjust his chops is the drummer, and you without a doubt will hear each other better. Your mistakes will be clearer (doh!!) but when you're tight there won't be any question about it.

It feels hollow at first, but it really does help a band get tighter.

That's what I think anyway.

i can give it a shot.. but ts hard when you're in a metal band and you got two guitar players that dont think their 100watt tube heads are enough..

i myself would LOVE to practice at lower volumes... i HATE using ear plugs at practice.. half the time i have to kneel down in front of my cab to hear myself.

[diechris]

Originally Posted by SoLongJake

Find another band to share the practice space with? This way your band can reap the benifits and not have to front all of the cost.

I'll ask around... we got until next month until we can move in.

[fenderbass757]

my band is having the same problem

we have had the cops called 8 times but they have only showed up twice.

we don't have the money for a storage unit to practice in so the guitars use smaller amps now and i as the bass player turn the low end down a lot. we are also looking to get some cheep foam insulation to put on the garage doors.


i would try just insulating the garage

[Dave Muscato]

For a couple hundred bucks a month, you could buy a very nice electronic drum, headphone amp, couple of sets of headphones, and a little mixer. Run everything through headphones and practice in your garage. If your practice situation ever changes, instead of all that money just going into thin air for rent, you'll have all this equipment you can sell to recoup your $. That's what my band did. We all live together in an apartment and practice in 1/3 of our living room, 24 hours a day, anytime we feel like it, through headphones, and without bothering anybody. Total cost for everything was under $2,200, ~$200/month even with 10.24% interest on a credit card - that's total cost, not per member. When our lease is over, we can sell everything for about $1,800 (we got a great deal by buying the electronic drumset online for an "email for price" below MAP deal from http://www.bpmmusic.com ).

[cheapbasslovin]

When it happened to me (cops and everything, showing up long before sunset) we were playing hard rock and the only option we had was to play quieter (4 members, no cash). The brutal part will be right at the beginning when you realize how many mistakes you are making. Everyone will say that it feels like crap and blame the volume, but it really is (or was in our case) due to not playing tightly. Eventually it will get tighter and you will realize how effective or ineffective everyone elses nuances are. But in the end (if everyone has patience to get there) it will be alot better.

That is how it went for my first band, and also my second (without cops)

Good luck.

P.S. Watch for creeping volumes, they'll get you.

[jmac]

My advice is to talk to the other members. Let them know your situation and that 100 per month is more than you can spare. I wouldn't just quit. Not everyone is on the same playing field financially. I hope they understand.

[diechris]

Originally Posted by fenderbass757

my band is having the same problem

we have had the cops called 8 times but they have only showed up twice.

we don't have the money for a storage unit to practice in so the guitars use smaller amps now and i as the bass player turn the low end down a lot. we are also looking to get some cheep foam insulation to put on the garage doors.


i would try just insulating the garage

the singer is renting the house so im not sure what would be a cheap/temporary route for insulating the garage. i'll look in to it though

[diechris]

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

For a couple hundred bucks a month, you could buy a very nice electronic drum, headphone amp, couple of sets of headphones, and a little mixer. Run everything through headphones and practice in your garage. If your practice situation ever changes, instead of all that money just going into thin air for rent, you'll have all this equipment you can sell to recoup your $. That's what my band did. We all live together in an apartment and practice in 1/3 of our living room, 24 hours a day, anytime we feel like it, through headphones, and without bothering anybody. Total cost for everything was under $2,200, ~$200/month even with 10.24% interest on a credit card - that's total cost, not per member. When our lease is over, we can sell everything for about $1,800 (we got a great deal by buying the electronic drumset online for an "email for price" below MAP deal from http://www.bpmmusic.com ).

i would go that route... but we move around a lot so its a little difficult. I spent a last year practicing along to recordings when i moved here for my last band. i had no practice amp and being in an apartment i couldnt play my rig even at the lowest vol.

[diechris]

Originally Posted by jmac

My advice is to talk to the other members. Let them know your situation and that 100 per month is more than you can spare. I wouldn't just quit. Not everyone is on the same playing field financially. I hope they understand.

im going to need to talk to them. I'll make the offer to see if we can share the room with a band... i can do 50$ a month... and thats a pretty big sacrifice.. If this were 5 months ago or 5months from now i might be a different story. I REALLY dont like holding my own in a band but theres not much i can do.

[cutthroatmolloy]

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

For a couple hundred bucks a month, you could buy a very nice electronic drum, headphone amp, couple of sets of headphones, and a little mixer. Run everything through headphones and practice in your garage. If your practice situation ever changes, instead of all that money just going into thin air for rent, you'll have all this equipment you can sell to recoup your $. That's what my band did. We all live together in an apartment and practice in 1/3 of our living room, 24 hours a day, anytime we feel like it, through headphones, and without bothering anybody. Total cost for everything was under $2,200, ~$200/month even with 10.24% interest on a credit card - that's total cost, not per member. When our lease is over, we can sell everything for about $1,800 (we got a great deal by buying the electronic drumset online for an "email for price" below MAP deal from http://www.bpmmusic.com ).

This is what we do sometimes. we also use a computer to record it, it really helps see where you need to tighten things up. you can still move around if you get headphones with a long enough lead.

do they have rehearsal studios there that you can hire for blocks of 4 hours or so?
thats what we do, it costs us $10 each time we practice there. much cheaper than a permanent room.

[ric1312]

I can tell you something we did quite a while ago. We are a rock/metal act and pulled off practice on the second floor of a condo for about two years.

We turned down, and put towels on the drums. You can also buy foam pads that will fit right over acoustic drum heads.

It worked for a while for us but the stupid drummer kept accidently on purpose letting the pads fall off. People thought it was a stereo going most of the time.

Playing at low volume gets you real tight too, you hear every little mistake and play with more concentration.

[AlembicPlayer]

how much income per month is the band making?
run the band like a business and consider the rehearsal studio part of the business expense.

[diechris]

Originally Posted by AlembicPlayer

how much income per month is the band making?
run the band like a business and consider the rehearsal studio part of the business expense.

ZERO... even when we start playing shows it'll be a while before we even get merch to sell let alone a fan base or people to buy them

[fettbass]

I would think the main problem with practicing at lower volumes would be the singer not being able to sing a certain way at certain volumes.....

[diechris]

Originally Posted by fettbass

I would think the main problem with practicing at lower volumes would be the singer not being able to sing a certain way at certain volumes.....

IMO ideally for metal... at least screams and growls type thing... it's best sounding when you try to "scream in a whisper"... if that makes sense? kinda like pretending to whisper. just using the mic and PA to amplify it. Last thing you want to do is blow your voice by screaming your guts outs wirh no technique ya know? but... im new in this band and havent actually studied most of he people's style.. so far i know it just sounds good.

[MoD_Scotty]

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

For a couple hundred bucks a month, you could buy a very nice electronic drum, headphone amp, couple of sets of headphones, and a little mixer. Run everything through headphones and practice in your garage. If your practice situation ever changes, instead of all that money just going into thin air for rent, you'll have all this equipment you can sell to recoup your $. That's what my band did. We all live together in an apartment and practice in 1/3 of our living room, 24 hours a day, anytime we feel like it, through headphones, and without bothering anybody. Total cost for everything was under $2,200, ~$200/month even with 10.24% interest on a credit card - that's total cost, not per member. When our lease is over, we can sell everything for about $1,800 (we got a great deal by buying the electronic drumset online for an "email for price" below MAP deal from http://www.bpmmusic.com ).

^^^^x100000.

$100/ea....5 piece band? That's $500/mo. You can get an electronic drum kit the first month. The second month, a PA. The third month anything else you need. Chances are you guys have half the crap you need anyway.

I've been down the road of the $600/mo practice space. It worked for about a month, then somebody can't pay that month, then someone loses their job, then there are all kinds of $$$ issues, then there's no band.

Practicing with an electronic kit is very easy to do (yes, even for a metal band). It just requires a little discipline on the part of the guitarists to keep their volumes down.

[cutthroatmolloy]

you cna even do it with no guitard amps, then you wont have to worry about them keeping their volume down.
we do it running their distortion boxes right into the mixer. doesnt sound quite as good as their amps, but it works.