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People with no vehicle?

#102
Kragnorak said:
This is another of my pet peeves. Everything has to be huge in the U.S. If you're living in a rural area, or the mountains, or have equipment to haul, by all means enjoy that Dodge Ram! But people that get giant trucks and Escalades just to sit in traffic on Route 1 drive me batguano. I grew up in upstate New York, and anyone living there should have all-wheel drive and traction. Single-passenger commuters in Joisey, not so much.
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I live in SF and I don't own a car. A while back the building next door was renovated and they started selling it as condos. As part of this they included a garage because, well, street parking here is a nightmare (there's a reason I don't own a car anymore). I remember the day when one of the new owners showed up and were desperately trying to get their Escalade to fit in that garage. Because the garage was built under the house the driveway going down to it is pretty steep and the Escalade was far too large to fit through the door. I still see it on the street occasionally. It is truly a ludicrous vehicle to own in the city.
 
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#103
Hey

I live in Switzerland where we have a good public transport network.

I do get rides from bandmates when it's not taking them out of their way, especially the singer since he lives close by and we're about 35km from our studio.
However I have absolutely no problem getting there by train or bicycle (obviously leaving some gear on spot). I also make sure I can get by with just a preamp/DI that fits in my gigbag in case we can't have my full rig, though we usually meet at the studio for load-in before heading to a gig.

Though I don't drive I have other skills to compensate. I'm more experienced than most members and play several instruments, so I can usually get someone up to speed outside the regular practice schedule when they need help with something.
I also handle most of the technical aspect (gear maintenance/repair/operating), merch shipping, accounting which is my day job, cooking if needed. I show up on time or early and don't complain when things aren't ideal.

While I think transportation should be discussed beforehands - it does take a bit more care planning logistics - I don't see how it could be a deal breaker in my area or a similar one.
 
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#105
I've always lived in suburban or rural areas so personal transportation is pretty much a necessity. I started driving when I was 16 and bought my first car when I was 17. By the time I was 19 , I had pretty much had my fill of people sponging rides from me. I'm (cough) a little older now and if you don't have a car , I don't even want to know you much less have you in my band.
 
#106
I expct every member of the bands I am in to have a car. I don't care how talented they are... I can always find someone equally talented who is responsible enough to have transportation. A bandmate not having a car just leads to problems every single time in my experience.

Bear in mind that I'm in Austin. I don't know how I would feel about it if I lived somewhere like New York where walking is a viable option.
 
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#107
Joedog said:
Did you ask him HOW he plans to get to rehearsals/gigs???????????????

If he has it covered, what's the problem?
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I agree. I'd ask and depending on his answer, take it from there and only deal with it if it becomes a problem. Unless he's not showing up or he tells you first off that "Well sometimes you guys might have to pick me up..." then don't worry about it for the time being.
 
#108
Been thinking of working with a drummer without a car. Public transportation is fine here. The drummer is a brilliant player who's spot on even on unfamiliar songs. We lock in together within seconds. But transporting the drums...? For every gig? Ugh. I'm no longer coaching baseball so I thought I was done with hauling around other people and their gear. Less hassle unfortunately might win over brilliant playing.
 
#112
When I was in grad school, I did not own a vehicle while I was in a band - in fact our drummer was the only one with a vehicle so he schlepped all of our gear. That got old for him after a while.

When I was in the folk band we were based near Lewiston, Maine and we brought on a college guy who lived in Boston. When we could pick him up for out of state gigs, that was fine. When he needed to get to us, we had major problems and had to eventually fire him for missing too many gigs.
 
#113
Burt35 said:
I recently scheduled an audition with a horn player. Later (and before the audition), it came to light that he doesn't own a car. I'm not really sure how he expects to get himself to where he needs to be on a regular basis.

Have any of you folks had this happen? How common is it for people to take an audition and not have their own transportation? If I don't exlpicitly say "you must have your own transportation", do people actually take that to mean they can get rides from other band members? How much of a deal breaker is this for people trying to hire musicians?
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Horn players don't have rigs. So it's probably more common for them not to have cars. Especially with a smaller one like trumpet, it would be quite easy to get around without a car.

Honestly, if I didn't play bass, I probably wouldn't own a car.
 
#114
In my case I don't own a car.. but I can got almost everywhere by public transports system.... Usually if my band has a gig, in order to cut travel expenses we meet at our rehersal place and then we go from there to the gig in one or two cars depending the gear we need for that gig. The only exception is our singer who lives 85 miles from us and most of the times seh goes straight to the gig.
 
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#116
Moley13 said:
Going back to the OP, the guy is a horn player. They're pretty much the most portable musicians there are! I play bass a lot, but my degree was in trumpet, and I play that too. Assuming you want to be independent: Bass without car = nigh impossible. Horn without car = couldn't be easier (public transport, bicycle, heck, you might even grab a motorised pushbike or even a motorbike!)

Have you considered as well (as far as giving lifts) - horn players take 1 minute to set up at a gig. Horn out of case... done. If you pick them up, what will they do for the rest of the time.... Help you load all your heavy a$$ gear in!
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And then there's JPJ, who took up bass because hauling a Hammond around London in taxis was too hard.
 
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#118
sean_on_bass said:
I think that with the advent of Uber, owning a car gets closer to optional in more areas, but personal circumstances matter quite a bit.
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No doubt, but will your average Uber/Lyft driver be willing or even able to accommodate an acoustic bass or even a combo amp plus a bass or two? I don't know - just asking. And I know for a fact that said drivers may be far and few between at 1am or 2 am.... :help:

Yup, where you are/where you play are the deciding factors in all of this, as well as one's personal income. Weekend warriors have different needs/options as opposed to those whose sole income is gigging. If all your gigs are in the "city," public could be the answer, natch! ;) If you must stray further than public, well, better have SOME form of *reliable* transport, or don't even take the gig. IMHO, of course.

For some, owning a certain type of vehicle is a status/social comment, just like a boutique bass might be... :thumbsup: , whereas others own basic but reliable transport as a means of getting from point A to point B. But, we all know this, right? LOL. And as previously mentioned, there are those lazy folks who have to drive >100yds. to check the mail. :rollno:

My own situation? Just for comparison: I live in the boonies. No excuse, no rationalization, it's where I *choose* to be, a quality of life thing. No knocks on those who like urban life - BTDT - it's just not me. (Love to visit, not to live.) I own a very reliable but aging 4WD vehicle BECAUSE my clients don't want to hear excuses why I might be running late due to snow/rain/weather, whatever, so if it looks like I might be having an extended drive time, I leave early. It is my responsibility to be on time, or better yet, early, so as an adult, I deal with it. Same as getting to rehearsal or a gig.

Thus, YMMV. :hyper::hyper:

:bassist::bassist:
 
#119
"Unprofessional, that's what you are...

Unprofessional, no tux, no car..."

For the 98% of Americans who don't live on Manhattan Island, having a profession that requires you to work in all kinds of places and finish up work in the wee small hours of the morning, usually hauling equipment, simply requires the ownership of a car or some kind of extremely reliable car service that will never let you down (like, being legally blind and married to someone who drives and doesn't have a conflicting work schedule).

Don't like it? Live in Dallas or Atlanta or Salt Lake City or LA, and you don't want to own a car? Fine! Don't go into the profession of being a gigging musician.
 

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