So the story is the band I am in is playing Bend Oregon soon. The plan was we all load into the van and go. House gear allows us to use one van but are taking a car in addition to the van for comfort. We are leaving a day before the show and getting a motel because three of us work nights and if we left day of the show I as the driver of the van would be running on a few hours of sleep so I booked the motel as a safety concern. The Problem is the main guitar player is not able to get off that day and being a night worker for him to make the show he has to work the evening shift then drive to Bend in a 6 hour drive at night. What could go wrong? I suggested to the drummer we cancel the show but he brushed it off saying he's seen our band mate pull off the impossible before. The gig is a fest and we go on early on the second day around 4PM. NO idea how many people will be there but my guess is few. Promised some expenses money. All in all I did not see it very worthwhile to begin with but us all leaving on the same day was one thing but now I learn the Guitar player has to pull an all nighter to get there. Once he does he'll have at best 5 hours to sleep before we are kicked out of the room at check out. Then he also has to drive out. Am I being overly worried?
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.
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.
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.