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Keeping your band running during a work assignment abroad

oZZma

oZZma

Sep 13, 2018
1,770
2,896
Italy
#1
Unfortunately, due to crisis in our area, they send me to work abroad for two, maybe three months. It's an 8 hours trip from home, by car or train (plane is way too expensive, no low cost companies for that airport), but I'm willing to do it to keep reharsing AT LEAST in weekends during this period. My drummer will also undergo a serious surgery in the same period so we would have probably stopped anyways for a while, but I'm still angry and worried about this. Anyone has had similar experience? Any advice on how to deal with this problem and progress in writing (we are and originals band) anyways? I will obviously bring my bass with me... :(
 
#5
richntiff said:
Use the opportunity to have each member develop a massive list of concepts, ideas, and pie in the sky stuff. When your assignment is over - get together and put together something cool and representative of the entire group!
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last time we did not reharse for a while (because our vacation periods didn't match) I came back with a new song 100% written from intro to outro :D
Unluckily my drummer's job is shift work (he is a nurse) so you can't take for granted that he's free on weekends. Luckily we ckecked and this month we will reharse EVERY sunday and a couple of saturdays too
Next month he'lll undergo surgery and he'll stop. If we are lucky enough, I will be back right for the moment when he'll be fully recovered. If we are not lucky, maybe they keep me there for another month (maximum)
It's a s*it, but it will pass faster than we think, hopefully :meh: :atoz:
 
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#6
bearfoot said:
I don't think it is worth the time and energy to drive 16 hours on a weekend to rehearse.

My 2 cents is to make it a writing challenge, facilitated by internet and hopefully voice calls / Garage Band etc.

1 song per week, for 8-12 weeks. You have an album to rehearse and record when you get back.
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this is a great idea and I'll definitely try to involve my drummer in something like that! But my company offers paid trips back to home every 2 weeks, I will pay only the other two, and believe me, aside from the writing we REALLY need to reharse because we are not PROs and we have a lot to work to do on groove, and precision too (basically, playing our stuff without errors and indecision). We MUST play together, the more, the better!
 
#9
AlexBassMP said:
IMO/IME a two or three months hiatus isn't too much if the band is established...
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we have been playing together for 1 and 1/2 year now, but both of us are beginners and we haven't published anything yet, nor gigged, ever. I don't know if we can be considered an "established" band :)
We consider our band a serious matter and we have set the goal to release an Ep/demo within this year.
We already had to stop for a couple of weeks recently (my drummer has had pneumonia! :atoz:), I wrote stuff in the meanwhile but EVERY time we get back together after a while ("weeks") we are rusty! :sorry:
That's why I feel coming back every weekend is the best solution
 
#10
Now I'm so mad about this thing that I have asked a work permit today and I'm going to spend THE WHOLE DAY AND NIGHT at our space, my drummer will join me later, basically "cheating" his wife (he told her he goes to work :roflmao:)
 
#11
Long trips every weekend will make the rehearsals into a chore. Another vote for exchanging ideas over the internet, maybe a rehearsal a month. People working on their own will keep rust to a minimum - one band I am in takes the entire winter off, but i make sure I play through the tunes on my own. We had our tune up rehearsal last weekend, and we are ready to go.
 
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#12
oZZma said:
Also, consider there is a night train I can take, so I will basically travel in my sleep (for the trips paid by me, the others will be by car)
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that could be fun then. I was envisioning driving 8 hours each way, which in my experience, 16 hours drive in one weekend + rehearsing, well - I've done it , I get it....would rather take the train
 
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#13
Great thing about an original band is you can do things largely on your terms. As long as your musical partners are cool with it, taking a few months for a job shouldn't be a huge deal and others have offered ways to stay engaged in the project from a distance.

Would i make a point of traveling back every weekend to rehearse? No, i wouldn't. But i'm not you. To me that is excessive but you seem pretty passionate about the project.
 
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#14
oZZma said:
but it will pass faster than we think, hopefully
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If your busy with work and practicing/writing at night it will seem much shorter. I feel your pain though. I had to postpone about 6-7 weeks due to hand surgurey end of Dec. Fortunately, we had no gigs on the books at the time. It seemed to go by pretty quick. We're back at it now like nothing had ever happened. Hang in there.
 
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#16
I'm already depressed before I even go there. The colleague I have to go with doesn't want to drive in the night and wants to leave on Sunday at 1 pm. I had the last reharsal that afternoon. I HATE everyone.
Now I wonder if this situation will happen every time we have the paid travel back every two weeks.
Sorry for the rant... but today I just wanted a flamethrower and burn alive everyone in the office. Who said that work ennobles men was a fool. Work is misery and humiliation and prostitution and life thrown in the toilet.
 
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#19
oZZma said:
I'm already depressed before I even go there. The colleague I have to go with doesn't want to drive in the night and wants to leave on Sunday at 1 pm. I had the last reharsal that afternoon. I HATE everyone.
Now I wonder if this situation will happen every time we have the paid travel back every two weeks.
Sorry for the rant... but today I just wanted a flamethrower and burn alive everyone in the office. Who said that work ennobles men was a fool. Work is misery and humiliation and prostitution and life thrown in the toilet.
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You sir, sound like a man who needs a new job!
 
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#20
sean_on_bass said:
You sir, sound like a man who needs a new job!
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Maybe it will end that way. This is the first and the last time I accept to go away from my hometown for work. I have to pay my rent but my life is with the band, and no money can buy that.
Anyways I'm going home right now after reharsal and I'm so thilled by the things we did today I will be GLAD to travel 800 km to continue what we started, it's well worth the fatigue. I'm leaving tomorrow and can't wait for next weekend.
 
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