Out of town Show and things not according to plan.

Yes.

Play the show.

 

5 hours of sleep? Sounds like a normal night. Also nothing saying he can't cat nap during the leading up to the show time. Just tell him not to be a hero and drive if he's falling asleep. Stop at a rest area or truck stop before crashing.

 

I once put in a full day at work in Albuquerque, drove to Santa Fe for a gig, played until midnight, drove back to Albuquerque to get two hours of couch nap then to the air port for a week long trip to Disney world. Unless gigs are plentiful play the gig.

 

No I would not say you are being overly worried. You sound like the one guy in the band who is able to make an accurate assessment of the situation and determine honestly what is worthwhile to you and what is not. Unfortunately I know exactly what this is like, and in order to make sure that the show goes on you end up having to go against your gut and do things you're not comfortable with and that don't really make sense.

 

I once played a gig 5 hours after returning from a 25 hour flight(s) from Guam back to Kentucky. Had a big negative affect on my attention span and timing. Not a fun gig.

 

Two things.

He could make the ride after sleeping at home.

You could ask the motel to give a late checkout.

 

He'd be better off sleeping after his shift and driving up in the morning. 4PM is more than enough time to make a 6 hour drive.

It's totally doable though; I've done 6 hours both ways same day on tour before, although that was signficantly better paid than just expenses and I generally had to stop on regularly for double espressos so I didn't just drop dead. You just catnap whenever you aren't moving and stop whenever the central lines start to go blurry.

Edit: doable, if not particularly sensible...

 

not sure. but doing the gig is obviously important to your bandmates. charlie monroe 's advice seems constructive in this situation. good luck with the gig!

 

Why don't you or one of your band mates volunteer to ride and/or drive with him on the trip there, and on the return trip as well? Just my two cents.

 

Sounds like fun and im 52 years old. Walk in the park for some youth

 

Meh. That's why they call this rock n roll.

He'll be fine.

 

Wow, a 6 hour drive each way for some promised expense money. What musicians will do for the love of music.

If the will is there the logistics can be worked it. Have a great show!!

 

My first thought.
Also, some other good alternatives posted here, including late checkout and driving on the day after a night's sleep...but that does depend on how comfortable he'd be driving that long a distance.
That said, I normally operate on 5 hours sleep anyway and it's been a long time since I did a six-hour drive in one go, so don't listen to me!

 

This. He can simply sleep the night and drive in the next day to get there well before 4 pm.

Also this is not the detail that would make me want to cancel the gig, but i won't get into it.

 

It'll be a hell of a story if it all falls apart. If it goes well youll feel good. Win/win.

 

You've already committed to play the gig. Backing out now will do no favors to your reputation. Sometimes, being a musician is hard. This will be one of those times. Suck it up, buttercup.

For what it's worth, in my 32 years of playing, I can't recall many out of town gigs that did go as planned, for whatever reasons. Sometimes it's little things, sometimes it's huge. Over time, you'll learn to shrug and just deal with it. Once you're on stage playing the festival, all the garbage details surrounding it will melt away. Enjoy your show.

 

I recently had to get a hotel room on short notice (car problems). It was after 2am on a Saturday morning. When I checked in, the desk clerk said that since I checked in after 2am, I was OK for Saturday night, as well.

tl;dr - Your guitar player may not have to check out at 10-11am. Check with the prospective hotel.

 

Im a nutshell but i could pull that off without issue.
Gig on!

 

...says the guy from TX, where you need to pack a lunch to go get groceries.