Band advice needed

[TemplesOfSyrinx]

I don't get it. I've been a musician for 40+ years. Took off many years when we had children. My current band rehearsed once, just to get a feel for each other. We're all adults. Woodshed the songs at home and we bring them out at our weekly gig at the local watering hole. If after 2 or 3 gigs the song isn't working the way we hope, we drop it. But usually it gets added to the hundreds of songs list, lol.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Seasoned pros should do 90% of their rehearsal on their own. My band rehearses maybe 6 times per year.
We gig approximately 70 times per year. At dead gigs with no patrons we work out new material (that we've learned our parts on our own time).

 

[DRBassist]

I'd say to consider two things.

1) how often ARE rehearsals? Without getting into all the chest-thumping about REAL bands versus music clubs, that is a consideration. Some bands (no judgement) rehearse every week; others once a month; some go for years without a rehearsal.

2) Where are the gigs? If everyone but you is located near that rehearsal location, and if all the gigs are way over there, then that might be the thing that scotches it.

They rehearse about 3 times a month. I thought that if they rehearse 2x a month, I might go for it. Unlike some musicians, I love rehearsals so I actually WANT to rehearse. But you brought up a good point about gigs. They have a few gigs planned and they are also in the same area as the rehearsals. So, that might be the deal breaker.

 

[DRBassist]

Thank you all for your input. There were a lot of things brought up that I didn't think about so, you have all been very helpful. Much appeciated!

 

[retslock]

I recently relocated to a new state and had to leave my band back home. I spent a few months looking for a new band. It's very challenging as you can imagine.

I finally found a band that is a PERFECT fit for me. Everyone and everything about it met all my requirements. I had an amazing jam with them. We hit it off and everything was great. And they really want me to join the band. Very happy and excited!

Here's the caveat... rehearsals are about 1 1/2 hours away. Don't suggest rehearsing in a different place because rehearsals are at the drummer’s house, and he has an incredible studio set up. I would never ask them to drive somewhere else to PAY for a rehearsal space that won't be half as nice.

I think I'm willing to do it, but I don't want to have 3 months go by and I can't take the drive anymore and bail. It wouldn't be fair to them.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions? I seriously don't know what to do.

I currently play in two bands but neither are working a lot so we only rehearse as gigs approach. We do all the spade work at home and come together to polish and tidy up. Two members live more than an hour from me and in opposite directions but we still manage. There's no substitute for doing your homework. Unfortunately we have to use a rented studio for one but the other is in the drummers basement.

 

[ebo]

Everyone has to be aligned on amount of gigs vs rehearsals. My band gigs 2-4 times a month. Rehearse maybe once a month to add new songs. If we have a sub drummer we’ll rehearse tougher songs or run through a bunch. Rehearsals for me is 1 hour away, 45 minutes back. Most gigs are 30-45 minutes away. Works for me but I REALLY like the band I’m in.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

I fooled around with rehearsal spaces all over town for years.
Nothing like the drive time the OP described.
But just driving across town 2 or 3 times a week, plus gigs, was a royal pain in the butt, and my wallet.
So I finally built a rehearsal studio at my house.
Actually, at 2 different houses.
My wife called it the win/lose situation.
I didnt get up and leave 2 or 3 times a week. But a bunch of hairy legged boys hung out 2 or 3 times a week. We even recorded a record on a portable 8 track in there. And the control room was in her kitchen!
Wives ..... be careful what you wish for.

 

[Hasty]

Seasoned pros should do 90% of their rehearsal on their own. My band rehearses maybe 6 times per year.
We gig approximately 70 times per year. At dead gigs with no patrons we work out new material (that we've learned our parts on our own time).

In my current trio we’ve had three rehearsals in three years. We sound great but sometimes I wish our stage presence was a little more polished. Probably part of our charm.

in my earlier example where my big band rehearsed once a week, it was made up of pros and we all played in other big bands in the area… and there are a lot of big bands around here. All the bands sound great, but the one that rehearsed always felt nice and tight on the gig. Mainly because we had run the chart at least once and knew everyone was on the same page with solos and transitions. We probably didn’t need three rehearsals, one would have been enough to cover all that.

 

[GodPlayedBass]

Bite the bullet, take the drive

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I recently relocated to a new state and had to leave my band back home. I spent a few months looking for a new band. It's very challenging as you can imagine.

I finally found a band that is a PERFECT fit for me. Everyone and everything about it met all my requirements. I had an amazing jam with them. We hit it off and everything was great. And they really want me to join the band. Very happy and excited!

Here's the caveat... rehearsals are about 1 1/2 hours away. Don't suggest rehearsing in a different place because rehearsals are at the drummer’s house, and he has an incredible studio set up. I would never ask them to drive somewhere else to PAY for a rehearsal space that won't be half as nice.

I think I'm willing to do it, but I don't want to have 3 months go by and I can't take the drive anymore and bail. It wouldn't be fair to them.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions? I seriously don't know what to do.

Agree to 1 or two rehearsals a month. That's twice as much than any cover bands needs anyway.

Learn the songs. Play with the other instruments.

 

[DWBass]

Nope. Can't do it. Depending on traffic my drive is 40-50 minutes. An hour is my limit and we don't rehearse every week, thank goodness.

 

[bassicmike]

I wouldn't have even taken the audition.

Doing the drive once would be enough. No thanks.

I don't even consider bands on the North Shore that rehearse on a weeknight. The 10 mile drive would take an hour+. I know I'd be so aggravated from sitting in unmoving traffic that I would quit after the first rehearsal.

But that's me.

 

[Five or Six]

You want to play around here, you travel. Rehearsal or gig, again, you travel. If that isn't your thing, stay home. Simple.

 

[salmon256]

Having lived in South Jersey, and Jersey just being one of those states where you have to take the Garden state to get anywhere, I wouldn't do it. Are you in South Jersey? Because sadly in that area, to get anywhere interesting (Ignoring Philly of course which is cool!) you have to do hours long drives and North is where a lot of the cool stuff is.

And if not and the band is just far, I feel sad saying that I agree with others on here I wouldn't do it. It sucks I been in those shoes where you wanna do something but it is a long commute away, I mean some hobbies yes I seen people commute that long, but it would suck for you have an added stress of driving for something you are looking forward to. If you are taking the Garden State all that way, while that road is hated isn't the worse, (Beats most main roads in NY let me tell you that imo!)

I always tried to say, when we lose an opportunity a better one will always pop up... but if you do go through with it, stay safe and look on the positives!

Also wanna add follow your heart and do what you feel. Everyone is just giving an opinion and view. Sometimes doing the crazy is rewarding and other times finding a new adventure is just as rewarding... best of luck again!

 

[MegaSwing]

Where are the gigs, and when do they end? That’s a long way to drive after a gig that ends at 1:00am, even if there aren’t regular rehearsals.

 

[pepj]

Assume gigs in Perth too so as long as the gigs are closer to you, it might work.
If the rehearsals are north and gigs are further north, for example, then it loses appeal.
If rehearsals were sensible, I'd consider it for 3 months to see how it turned out.
Wouldn't worry about leaving if you couldn't hack the travel..cross that bridge when it comes.
Or tell them, you'll give them until a certain date to help them out and see if it works.
That is assuming gigs take over from rehearsals though.
I think this venture needs a decent gig diary.

 

[IanStephenson]

I have a 50minute drive each way to rehearsals. It's on the limit of what I'd do, but it's worked out well.

The thing that swung it was (as in your case) that the rehearsal space was good, and at a band members house. I'd previously had a 20minute drive to a paid rehearsal space. I was saving $ on rehearsal space which balanced out the cost for the extra petrol.

Once gigs started happening rehearsals became less frequent, and its worked out fine. Through note that gigs could be even further as the they book gigs that are an hour drive for them. We allocate gas money based on mileage before splitting payments. Particularly as the drummer is doing extra driving moving the kit and PA in his van, but it works for me too (and the singer who's 40mins the other direction).

As others have noted, you need the band to know that you're attending rehersals to get stuff done, and that if you're driving 1.5hrs they need to be productive.

If

 

[pcake]

will they let you have a trial period so you can try out the drive? a few people i know wouldn't mind the drive, but three hours is a lot of travel for a rehearsal. are you one of those people who will happily hop in the car and drive 2 hours each way to get to a particular store or event? if the answer is "no", chances are this drive to and from rehearsal is going to get very old very fast.

i had an opportunity to join a band as a singer where the bass player was a good friend of mine, i loved the music and i knew and liked the drummer. music was all originals, and i would write the lyrics. they rehearsed at the guitar player's place, which was theoretically 50 to 60 minutes each way. i thought i could handle it, but their rehearsals often happened during rush hour, and in los angeles, that ups the driving time to an hour and a half or more on the way to rehearsal. after 3 months, i found i couldn't handle the drive for rehearsals, and shows were generally even further away.

 

[JonathanPDX]

How frequently are rehearsals and how often are they playing out?
For me, it's that ratio that's important...
A band that 'rehearses' once a week but plays out once a year [ BTDT ] is not a band, it's a club... [ IMO ]. Boy's night out.
OTOH -- if a band is playing out every weekend, why are they rehearsing ?

Yes, this is the key! I'm just baffled by how many people rehearse weekly or even monthly. Go home, do your homework, and it's not that hard to run a song at a gig, or give it a test drive at sound check or at the end of the night.

The last full-time gig I had lasted 5+ years, we had a set list of over 300 songs, we averaged about one rehearsal per year, usually to bring in guests for special gigs.

If you are gigging why in the world do you need to run songs at rehearsal? And if you aren't gigging then what's the point of all the rehearsal?

 

[Eilif]

They rehearse about 3 times a month. I thought that if they rehearse 2x a month, I might go for it. Unlike some musicians, I love rehearsals so I actually WANT to rehearse. But you brought up a good point about gigs. They have a few gigs planned and they are also in the same area as the rehearsals. So, that might be the deal breaker.

This would be the deal breaker for me. I didn't mind driving an hour plus for a gig, but not 3 times a month for rehearsals.

For you personally, if you like to rehearse and you're still having reservations then you may have answered your own question. Best of luck, whatever you decide.