Rehearsal Spaces

[ak47]

I am guessing that this is the best place to start this thread as it is an extension of the 'rig'...

Rehearsal space... some of us have it in our houses / basements with our own gear, some of us rent a room by the month and some probably just book a few hours here and there in a room already outfitted with a backline of PA, drums and amps...

So what makes a good rehersal space? Some things to consider - price, size, proximity, security, carpet or wood floor, sound baffles, coke machine nearby :mrgreen: what else is included etc... etc...

Please post your comments and any rehearsal room photos are much appreciated!

 

[fishyfishfish]

Someplace where you can play as loud and nasty as you want without getting the cops called on you. Where I live it is next to impossible to rent rehearsal space even with this jacked up economy. Land lords just say NO! Down the street theres a huge industrial complex that sits vacant, and still wont rent to any band.

 

[jaquetapus]

Come October, it's gonna be my living room! A buddy and I are getting a whole house and couldn't figure out what to do with the living room. Then it dawned on us...Guitar Room!! Pictures to follow! 8)

-dave

 

[Bob A.]

Someplace where you can play as loud and nasty as you want without getting the cops called on you. Where I live it is next to impossible to rent rehearsal space even with this jacked up economy. Land lords just say NO! Down the street theres a huge industrial complex that sits vacant, and still wont rent to any band.

We have a similar problem in my area, though I'm fortunate enough to have a rehearsal space that is secure and cheap. I think a lot of landlords are reluctant to rent to bands because many times, it just invites trouble. A vacant school was used for rehearsal space here for years, and the landlord finally pulled the plug recently. Too many people used it as a party spot. Lots of property damage, very shady characters coming around at all hours, underage drinking etc. There was even a band that basically just sold drugs out of ther rehearsal space. They always had all sorts of lowlives coming around, and the only actual music you would hear them play were half-assed attempts at Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Smoke On The Water". There was another building on the other side of town, same story. Even the building I rent space in won't rent to bands anymore because every band they have had aside from my own has just caused trouble. We get to stay, but they won't take anyone new.

Unfortunately, I think landlords just want to avoid the headaches and the losers ruin it for those of us who truly just want a place to play music.

 

[ak47]

Hmm... good points... sounds like there is a need for purpose built locations with onsite management... not 'the jazz police' or anything - just someone to keep the place fully booked, clean, and balance things on that precarious knife edge of hard partying and having a good time making your music... you know... 'rehearsing' :wink:

I guess that landlords who are also musicians would be more understanding... if only there were more of them and the economy was good enough to encourage this!

Congratulations jaquetapus... If you are fortunate enough to rehearse in your own house you literally have it all at your doorstep...!

 

[MesaENGR412]

My old band first practiced in our other guitarist's "bonus room" and then he ended up leaving the band, so we had to look elsewhere and found a storage facility close by that rented some of their spaces out to bands (ones that had electricity and lights in them). So we practiced there for about a year and a half, then myself and another member left that band and joined another band, and we're back to practicing in a house. Our Drummer's living room. We have a small PA with monitors that we set up for vox. It's fun, at least it's air-conditioned, the storage facility wasn't, just a giant industrial fan that we got from somewhere.

-AJH

 

[CoG]

The problem isn't the landlords or people who run spaces, it's musicians. If you have ten bands come into a space over a day:

a) three bands will try to toke up in the space or the parking lot;
b) two bands will insist on playing so loud that everyone else trying to use the space gets blown out, no matter how much soundproofing you have;
c) two bands will have at least six people come in and out all through their time slot to check up on their boyfriends, buy drugs, sell drugs, find out where the party is etc.;
d) two bands will be Serious Musicians who will bitch to you endlessly about a), b), and c) and will take an extra half hour at both the beginning and end of their slot to load in and out;
e) two bands will be 16-year-old ******* who will break at least one piece of the venue's gear; and
f) half the bands will be behind on the money they owe you.

Running a rehearsal venue sucks. No one EVER does it twice.

 

[brungio]

If you can find a place that is a rehearsal space, then there are certainly things to look for.

1) Does the landlord or his employees spend time at the place? If so they are more involved and can spot problems like trash, vandalism and other signs that the renters are up to no good.
2) Is it in a decent location? If the space is in a vacant, industrial area chances are good that some bad things are likely to happen in the form of drug business and theft
3) Are there security cameras or other systems?
4) Do the cops check the area out?

Always check with other people who rent there to find out the deal.

 

[MesaGod666]

The rehearsal spaces in Minneapolis are far better than anything I've seen. I dig on City Sound. They have a full on security system and toilet paper in the, for all intensive purposes, clean bathrooms. The spaces are pretty affordable as well.

 

[mrd]

I've never owned/rented a rehearsal space, always just used what's available in my house. I recently bought a house with a 26'x26' garage in the backyard, which the previous owner used as a car shop. He ran a small repair business. After I moved in, he kindly left me with about 3-industrial sized disposal bins worth of garbage, as well as tons of useless old furniture and stuff. I removed all that crap on my dime, and did some renovations to the outside of the building (new siding, some new framing and beefing up of existing framing) and installed a solid metal fire-door with a heavy-duty deadbolt to protect all my gear. Also, I covered up all the windows, so essentially my garage is a dungeon now. Just the way I like it. Next I want to rebuild the attic floor/ceiling and do some decent sound proofing so the neighbours don't complain. Also it'd be nice to get some drywall in here so it looks a bit more inviting.

 

[blacksmithjones]

My last band rented a space in the basement of a small business building. It was alarmed, heated and air conditioned and we could play anytime after 8pm until the sun rose for $200/mo. It didn't have very good ventilation however and most of the band smoked in there. The other problem we had was a laundry mat was above us and when the machines broke we had water coming in thru the ceiling and it got pretty gross after a while. Since then I finished the basment in my house and dedicated one room to music. Fully insulated, double layer of drywall and a heavy solid core door. Its not sound proof but it is sound deadend and I know all my gear is okay all the time and covered under my insurance if anything should happen.