General Music Chat

dang well im glad now that we have the meetings we do. my wallet may end up a few bucks lighter but we have a good time and get 20% of what we wwanted done.

My bands are like my brothers, we hang out all the time and we're all good friends. I guess its not the same way for everyone.

Air I think there is age differences here.

When I was younger and in heavy metal bands we used to go hang out whereever we wanted to play and see the other bands like ours. I call that networking. I dont know how you would you can have a meeting in this envirement. My band talks when we have the occasional practice and if issues come up about anything I think I ussually get in touch with each meember and see what the group a s a whole wants to do.

If you play for a lot of years, you probably wont go hang out asl much as you do now.

Good Luck

Its great that you are playing with guys you feel good hanging out with. If you ever go on a tour of any sort you will want folks you can stand to be in close quarters with.

Air I think there is age differences here.

When I was younger and in heavy metal bands we used to go hang out whereever we wanted to play and see the other bands like ours. I call that networking. I dont know how you would you can have a meeting in this envirement. My band talks when we have the occasional practice and if issues come up about anything I think I ussually get in touch with each meember and see what the group a s a whole wants to do.

If you play for a lot of years, you probably wont go hang out asl much as you do now.

Good Luck

Its great that you are playing with guys you feel good hanging out with. If you ever go on a tour of any sort you will want folks you can stand to be in close quarters with.

i cant agree enough with that

For meetings, we go to the rehearsal area. Everyone brings what they're gonna drink. We may share a pizza. We go over new issues, like possible venues, new material. & then we have a drink or two & start rehearsing. If someone needs to be gone, we talk it out over the phone, then eject the errant person over the phone as well, or just never tell him when we're getting together again...LOL

so wait... am i being told that no one else has meetings about sales, demos what tracks are going to be played, band merch, posters, publicity, etc?

we use these meetings to set up the business and structure of what comes next, and how things are going to change for us in the short run. Am i being told that no one else does this?

We have practice, dont get me wrong, its were we write, play, practice, sow off etc, but business in a playing enviroment would turn that place sour for me.

Cart before the horse...?


I mean - if you're at the stage where that stuff is relevant and necessary - go for it. Have those meetings and put that stuff together. Discuss posters and publicity - whatever is necessary.

My question is - is that stuff even relevant right now for your band? If it is - great.

We have our band meetings during our practices. We rent a monthly rehearsal studio at http://www.superiorst.com/ (Superior Street Studios). In this complex, there are at least 100 bands practicing every day and there is a full service recording studio that is 24 hour access. It is the same practice complex where Disturbed, Ministry, Chevelle and other midwest bands rehearse at. This is great because we can network with other bands just by knocking on their practice space's door. We keep Band Meetings separate from "hanging out" because we participate in our project better when we are sober, focused and in an environment with the least distraction. When we do go out at bars and stuff, we just hang and talk about things other than music. Going out after every band practice get too $$$. Chicago is not a cheap place as a lite beer goes for $5 and cigarettes are up to $10 a pack.

Our practices basically are just hanging out while we play. Usually when it costs us money to do stuff, it's because we get hungry after playing all day. But yeah, we talk about logistics and stuff during practice, because we usually devote the entire day to practicing and we don't play the entire time.

Face to face band meetings are for the most part like business meetings - a waste of time. Thanks to the technology options available these days most meetings can be done faster, cheaper and more efficiently when done electronically. The problem with most tech stuff is that it's a "cold" medium, and very easy to misinterpret someone's intentions or meaning. Good old phone calls are still the best method - when you can actually get ahold of someone. Face to face meetings are still preferred for brainstorming and for crisis situations.

Face to face band meetings are for the most part like business meetings - a waste of time. Face to face meetings are still preferred for brainstorming and for crisis situations.

Which is it?

What I don't like about electronically exchanging messages is that people can chose to ignore it, lose it or never get it. It can take a long time for a response.

Yea like leaving a message for your singer that youve scheduled a practice. Of course he doesnt get that message til the day after the practice.

To add to Jimmys response a lot of the business things Im involved with. I prefer emails, at the live meetings of one thing Im in there are a couple of family members, not mine, but family members involved and they can get into some weird comments or I should say gossip when discussing business. Voting on a single issue can take a long time to cut thru all the crap.

I dont like band members that will not get back in touch. I guess Im lucky that the guys I deal with now are pretty tight knit. I ussually get a call back within a wk or two.

We have our band meetings during our practices. We rent a monthly rehearsal studio at http://www.superiorst.com/ (Superior Street Studios). In this complex, there are at least 100 bands practicing every day and there is a full service recording studio that is 24 hour access. It is the same practice complex where Disturbed, Ministry, Chevelle and other midwest bands rehearse at. This is great because we can network with other bands just by knocking on their practice space's door. We keep Band Meetings separate from "hanging out" because we participate in our project better when we are sober, focused and in an environment with the least distraction. When we do go out at bars and stuff, we just hang and talk about things other than music. Going out after every band practice get too $$$. Chicago is not a cheap place as a lite beer goes for $5 and cigarettes are up to $10 a pack.

Whoa, you have to let us know MORE DETAILS about this Superior Street Studios deal. How much do you pay? By the month? Can you just pay for a few sessions per week? Who gets access to the studio? Studio rates? This sounds almost like a band factory. Maybe I need to look into starting something like this in Kansas City. You've got my entreprenurial mind working overtime.

Whoa, you have to let us know MORE DETAILS about this Superior Street Studios deal. How much do you pay? By the month? Can you just pay for a few sessions per week? Who gets access to the studio? Studio rates? This sounds almost like a band factory. Maybe I need to look into starting something like this in Kansas City. You've got my entreprenurial mind working overtime.

Sure bob, The practice spaces vary in size. They charge by the size of the room. Ive seen smaller rooms that go for $400, about the size of 8' X 12'. The room we have now is about $700 per month and is one of the larger ones that can fit a band of 5 people and have room for a couch and stuff. . 24 hour access, high security, and there is a fully functioning studio for recording on the first floor. Hourly rooms are available. Here is the link:

http://www.superiorst.com/

OOhh, Ritzy!

...Chicago is not a cheap place as... cigarettes are up to $10 a pack.

This is the type of thing that is going to drive cigarrette runners akin to the Prohibition laws in the early 1900's...

We have a few places around town with space like that called U-haul storage. 700.00 a month and Ill build the whole studio. Were lucky around here as practice space is plentifull.
Band meetings ? I cant remember ever having one in any of the bands Ive played with. Probably something to try with the next one.


And its another day in Paradise !!!