Q to non drivers ie rehearsals

[FretsOnFire]

As someone that doesn't drive I'm finding this is hampering my ability to find jam buddies/dept gigs and I'll be honest it's disheartening as I can't afford a car or even lessons

 

I can't be the only one that's faced this situation though surely? So for those who have dealt with this how did/do you get around it and get to rehearsals/gigs?

[Dad3353]

Our Eldest held down the role of Principal Guitar in a successful Rock/Ska/Punk band (Kiemsa...) for a few years, and has never held a car licence. It fell upon his conciliatory father (myself...) to fulfil taxi duties, to such a point that I ended up carting most of the whole band to gigs, all over France, in the 7-seater Renault Espace I had at the time. I hired a horse-box-sized trailer for the hardware (PA, lights, all the back-line and stage props...), and operated the FOH and lights for them during the gigs. Do you have a conciliatory father/neighbour/partner/buddy willing and able to do likewise..? 

Edited Friday at 23:00 by Dad3353

[Downunderwonder]

Bass players tend to be the ones giving drummers and guitards rides.

 

These days it's a lot easier to be a motorcycling bassist with the lightweight stuff available. I used to go to jams on my bike with a 210 on the rack and a Ubass.

[fretmeister]

Host rehearsal at your house.

 

For gigging though, the only people I know who have managed it have lived where public transport has been good enough to get home after a gig, and there’s not much of that outside of London.

[Mrbigstuff]

7 hours ago, FretsOnFire said:

As someone that doesn't drive I'm finding this is hampering my ability to find jam buddies/dept gigs and I'll be honest it's disheartening as I can't afford a car or even lessons

 

I can't be the only one that's faced this situation though surely? So for those who have dealt with this how did/do you get around it and get to rehearsals/gigs?

Moved to central London. But even then I only lasted a couple of years of trawling my amp on a little trolley before I gave up and bought a car again. 

[neepheid]

Sax player in the 'Spoons doesn't drive (but bless him, he's learning) - I just give him a lift to rehearsals, I'm going anyway. He gets the biscuits in, it's all good.

[Steve Browning]

Essentially, you need to be good enough to be worth the hassle. The drummer in my band doesn't drive, but is both less than 10 minutes away, and ridiculously good so I have no issue at all. 

 

Similarly, I'm in a van so no chance of wrecking the interior. 

 

You're expecting someone to add considerably to their evening. 

 

Jam nights and rehearsals should be ok as amps would be there. Gigging is another matter entirely. 

[Uncle Rodney]

In my last band, I just happen to pass (sorta) a car-less band member's house enroute to the rehearsal room. I couldn't bring myself just to drive past.. It worked most of the time. I was driving a very long way, he was just crossing town and sometimes got "itchy" when I got stuck in traffic and not on his doorstep at the agreed time. 🙄

When it came to gigs, it would depend where it was, if I was passing I would pick the guy up, if not he would ask another band member. He would always offer ££, I tended not to take the £ as "I was going that way anyway".

 

My current band, just at the last weekend I picked up our car-less singer. Again a long drive for me with an insane journey 2 miles across town after picking the guy up. He helped with town knowledge getting around the many "road closed" signs.

 

And a band years ago, I would pick up the drummer as he had drink driving ban. Sadly, although being a nice chap, once the ban was over he got a car and no surprises for what happened next. 🤡

 

Maybe foolishly, I tend to see it as part of the team effort being in a band. It can go wrong, being mindful what is being said in the car matters. For me it was, be respectful and courteous. As in, don't make demands on the lift driver, be ready when the lift arrives. No smoking, drugs, faffing about, farting, politics in the car.. etc.  ..and don't sit on my driving spex. Before -> 🤓... after->🧐

Edited Saturday at 17:17 by Uncle Rodney

[chris_b]

The singer in one of my bands doesn't drive. She gets the bus to my house and we go together, and I drop her at her place afterwards.

 

I usually give the drummer a lift when I'm playing on another band. He's local, gets me gigs and is very good so that's OK by me.

 

In another band, we only gig in London so the keys player gets an Uber to the gig and I give him a lift (about 2 miles) home after.

 

Everyone else drives.

Edited Saturday at 17:39 by chris_b

[Russ]

In the last band I was in in the UK, about 9 years ago, the band’s main guy (guitarist/songwriter) didn’t drive and relied on his long-suffering girlfriend to drive him everywhere, including to gigs a long way from home! It’s not because he couldn’t, or that he had a driving ban or anything like that, he had a valid, clean licence, but he just didn’t own a car and didn’t want one. 

 

Back in the dim and distant past, I was in a band where three of us, including myself, didn’t drive, and the only one who had a vehicle (drummer, natch) had a van. We also had a semi-permanent rehearsal space where we could leave amps and other gear safely. When we had gigs, we just piled the stuff in the back of the drummer’s van and made sure to chip in for petrol money. 

[BigRedX]

I've been able to be in bands for almost 50 years now without owning a car and for much of that time without being able to drive.

 

Technically I can drive, but I didn't start leaning until I was in my 30s, there was no point before as I couldn't afford lessons let alone the cost of owning and running a car, and it took me 2 years of intensive lessons before I passed my test on the 3rd attempt. TBH I'm a terrible driver and the roads are safer for everyone without me behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, so I don't drive.

 

As others have said, it very much depends on where you live and the sorts of bands you want to be in and the sorts of gigs you want to do. It may also depend on what other skills and resources you can bring to your musical ventures.

 

I have chosen to live in a fairly large city with good public transport and taxi services which is more than adequate for getting to rehearsals and local gigs. In fact for local gigs getting a taxi to and from the venue is far more convenient and often cheaper than driving myself would be. Taxi drivers have zero problem stopping in the middle of the road directly outside the venue for me to load in and out. I don't have the hassle of trying to find somewhere to park that isn't going to cost the earth and if the  gig goes on past midnight there is a very good chance that two taxi fares will be less than the cost of parking anywhere close to where we are playing. Any band I have been in that regularly does gigs in other parts of the country has had dedicated band transport, often with a driver/roadie, and IME it makes more sense if travelling any distance for the whole band to travel together. Remember that you can't finish setting up and doing your sound check until all the band are there and invariably if you are travelling in multiple vehicles, at least one will get caught in traffic or some other incident.

 

Otherwise what else can you bring to the band or musical venture other than yourself and your bass? For about 20 years I lived somewhere where it was possible for any band I was in to rehearse for free. I also had what started as a simple 4-track recording setup that eventually grew to become a fully-fledged home recording studio where we could record everything except an acoustic drum kit. All available to whatever band I was in at no charge. Also in my day job I am involved with graphic design and can produce imagery for all the band's visual identity - posters, flyers, CD and record covers, T-shirts and on-line graphics - for free and able to get the print at discount prices or for free too.

 

Do you have any other musical skills? Can you sing backing vocals? I currently play in a Goth/post-punk influenced band as well as playing bass I do all the drum programming and much of the sound design for our songs. I also provide all the hardware for the playback of the drums and second synth parts when we gig.

 

All these things mean that the bands I played with since I first started gigging have been more than happy to help me with transport where I can't sort it out for myself.

[Dan Dare]

Big Red hits the nail on the head above. What can you offer a band in return for lifts everywhere? As you acknowledge, owning and running a vehicle is not cheap. If you need the continued favour of being collected, driven to gig/rehearsals and home again, you have to contribute in other ways to make it worth their while to choose you over people who don't require transport.

[Russ]

The other part of this equation is that more and more bands are going down the ampless route these days, using modellers and IEMs. So their entire rig can fit in a gig bag and a backpack, and is therefore easy to take on public transport. Maybe not if you're a drummer, but for the rest of us? Definitely an option. 

 

I'm not a convert, personally (vocals - yes, bass - no!) but it does seem to be the way things are going, and if a fringe benefit is that it means less cars on the road, including mine, then that's a good thing. Plus not having to faff about with parking, etc is always a bonus. 

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

The other part of this equation is that more and more bands are going down the ampless route these days, using modellers and IEMs. So their entire rig can fit in a gig bag and a backpack, and is therefore easy to take on public transport. Maybe not if you're a drummer, but for the rest of us? Definitely an option. 

 

I'm not a convert, personally (vocals - yes, bass - no!) but it does seem to be the way things are going, and if a fringe benefit is that it means less cars on the road, including mine, then that's a good thing. Plus not having to faff about with parking, etc is always a bonus. 

 

Going to gigs by bus or train only really works if you live in a larger town or city, where public transport is frequent, extensive and runs until reasonably late at night.