shadoe42
58 posts
Aug 31, 2011
11:55 AM
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Not sure how many here get Adam's newletter but a comment in the current one sparked a question in my mind. How far do you drive for your gigs or rehearsels?
For instance I actually live 4 hours from the rest of my band so even when we rehearse I am on the road.
We just got back from Minnesota which for me is a 12 hour drive. Before that we did Battle Creek Michigan which is 15 hours. that is the longest.
But 4 to 6 is pretty regular.
I am talking about one way here. not total road time.
And I am also talking about those of us who are not 'touring' but going home to a day job thru the week.
So out of curiousity how far is the farthest you have done for a gig?
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The Musical Blades
Last Edited by on Aug 31, 2011 11:58 AM
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HawkeyeKane
137 posts
Aug 31, 2011
12:18 PM
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Farthest I have gone is 120 miles. About 2 1/12 hours or so. We seldom venture beyond a fifty mile radius of Springfield.
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Hawkeye Kane
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harmonicanick
1289 posts
Aug 31, 2011
3:03 PM
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You people in the USofA have a different view of travel for gigs than us here in Uk or Europe.
Traveling 12 hours is just not on for us, in fact travelling 1 hour is a pain due to the traffic conditions in our overpopulated country and MOST OF ALL the price of fuel!! I just filled my car up for £80!!!..thats over $100++
Times are very hard..:)
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bharper
47 posts
Aug 31, 2011
3:25 PM
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I live in a large American city, and most of our gigs are fairly nearby. Last weekend we drove 2.5 hours to play a festival. That was the farthest gig this year.
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Ant138
1084 posts
Aug 31, 2011
11:21 PM
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I dont play in a band and it probably because i would never travel 4+hrs to a band rehersal:o)
I live in North wales and the nearest big town(its actually classed as a city is 10mins away)i used to jam with a guitar buddy who lived there which was cool but i couldnt bring myself to drive 4+hrs to meet people to jam with.
I could probably get to wherever i wanted in the U.K.(except the far reaches of Scotland)in 4.5hrs but like harmonicanick says fuel prices are crazy here. I put £30 of fuel in a week and only drive 4 miles a day to work, and thats usually all my petrol(gas) spent for the week.
I take my hat off to ya shadoe42 , you have dedication:o)
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http://www.youtube.com/user/fiendant?feature=mhum
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boris_plotnikov
588 posts
Sep 01, 2011
12:57 AM
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I hate to drive longer than 1 hour. The longest trip I have was abot 4 hours. I prefer to be a passanger.
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Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
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Jim Rumbaugh
560 posts
Sep 01, 2011
5:24 AM
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2-3 hours is the longest drive I have done for a PAYING gig, 30 minutes for a non-paying gig, 15 -30 minutes for a practice. That's what it's worth to me.
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The WV State Harmonica Championship at The Diamond Teeth Mary Blues Festival Aug 26th & 27th 2011, Huntington,WV
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toddlgreene
3266 posts
Sep 01, 2011
5:54 AM
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The furthest I've travelled for a gig was 5 hours away from New Orleans(Shreveport, LA).
Before I moved back into town, I spent a year driving 60+ miles each way to band practice and gigs in New Orleans and the surrounding area.
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Todd L. Greene
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kudzurunner
2672 posts
Sep 01, 2011
6:06 AM
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Back in the mid-1990s, our agent got Satan & Adam a gig at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in the quad cities (Moline, Rock Island, Davenport, Bettendorf). It's more than 900 miles from NYC. We drove it in two days, stayed overnight at a motel on the way, played a one hour set for $2000 (the agency took $500 of that, so we each cleared $750), and drove home the next day. With gas and food, we probably netted $500 each, which is about $650 in today's $$$. For one hour's work, plus all that driving.
But yes: the furthest I've ever driven for one gig is about 600 miles, when I drove to Huntington WV this past weekend to play and teach for Jim's harmonica club. That's my limit, I've decided, and I'd only do that for a special gig. The 600 mile circle from where I live would include Tulsa (490) and Dallas (about 560 or so). Kansas City is in the 500s. Huntington was 605 on the way up and 570 on the way back, because I took a different way back. NOLA is only 360 miles from me, I believe. But driving distances are strange things. Chicago is about 620, but it would seem crazy to drive to Chicago for the weekend.
These sorts of long drives are not unusual--or at least they WEREN'T unusual. Back in the 1990s, a club called Chicago Blues regularly brought Chicago bands in for the weekend, and they drove the 800 miles from Chicago pretty much for that gig alone. They might have had a routing date on the way back, but maybe not. I talked with a few of them backstage. Often they left VERY early in the morning, or drove through the night, then arove early Friday evening, set up, ate, grabbed a drink--if they hadn't been drinking the whole way--and played. Same thing on Saturday. They'd drive home on Sunday, late into the night. They might even go back to work on Monday.
It was easier to do that sort of thing when gas prices were lower.
The key thing about doable long drives: they need to be about DRIVING, not traffic. Traffic will kill you. Atlanta will kill you. Rush hour in the vicinity of Nashville or Knoxville will cramp your style. I can't imagine doing 500 miles up the eastern seaboard of the US for one gig. That would be insanity. But out here where I am: it's just about getting on the road and driving 70 mph for a lot of hours.
A word to those who use Google maps (which I find superior to MapQuest): for long drives on your way to gigs, always add one full hour to the time they give you. That builds in a margin for pit stops (gas & bathroom breaks), a quick meal (although I often just grab fast food and eat at the wheel) and the occasional unexpected traffic jam. Don't even think about NOT adding an extra hour. On east/west drives, you've also got to remember the time zone changes.
Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2011 6:17 AM
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HawkeyeKane
144 posts
Sep 01, 2011
6:50 AM
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Adam, when you get your Gulfstream one day, can my boys and I just borrow it once a month or so? ;-)
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Hawkeye Kane
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earlounge
350 posts
Sep 01, 2011
7:42 AM
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I drive 30 minutes to 1 hour for rehearsal. Sometimes we jam at my place which is heavenly.
Gigs are usually within an hour. We will travel as far as it's worth for a paying gig. Sometimes we travel to upstate New York, Long Island, or down the Jersey Shore which can be 3 or 5 hours.
I've learned my lesson with regards to long travel time for rehearsal. That crap is too taxing, and I start to get bitter. I've been in many bands that rehearse in NYC, and the commute is costly and annoying.
My rule is less than 1 hour. It's kind of like dating; it just doesn't work unless you are close or it's a one night fling!
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shadoe42
59 posts
Sep 01, 2011
12:46 PM
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Lord you are right about traffic Adam.. i always seem to end up in a major city at 5ish... Chicago, KC... all point in between. The more I try to plan around it the more I seem to fail :)
And the add hour thing is a must as well. The directions you get from mapquest/googlemaps are pure drive time sans traffic/contruction(another killer)
I can't count the number of times I have been brought to a dead stop because of construction.
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The Musical Blades
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HarpNinja
1622 posts
Sep 01, 2011
1:04 PM
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Where in MN did you play! You should have told me!!!
My entire band lives an hour away. I have never played with a band that was withing 45min of my house for rehearsals. :(
For gigs, standard is 1.5hrs. I used to go up to 3hrs from home, but now I will only do about 2hrs from home. Generally, I try to get the club to pay for a hotel room if the drive is more than 2hrs or I won't play. I always take the family with me on over night trips.
Ideally, I would find a band near my home, carpool, rehearse all the time, and then play withing 3hrs of home.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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shadoe42
60 posts
Sep 01, 2011
4:58 PM
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We were at the Minnesota Renassaince Festival over the weekend. Will be back next year it looks like for 4 weekends.
being a piratical band we do a lot of that sort of thing. :) the web page has all our dates. I think the closest we will get to back there is Nebraska on new years eve until next year.
heh maybe we should start an advice topic for new musicians.. stuff like.. add an hour to googlemaps directions. Practical things that people never seem to think of when they want to get into this crazy biz
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The Musical Blades
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Jehosaphat
90 posts
Sep 01, 2011
11:12 PM
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Well perhaps its because i live in a small country(NZ) i can't comprehend the distances you guys will travel..even for rehearsals!
That to me has gotta be around 40 minutes max..but Gigs are different in that if the money and /or the location is right,well the worlds very small these days.
But to play a bar gig (at bar gig rates)in another city 1Hour max.
Of course when young and foolish i (we) would drive for 3 hours for a bar tab,a burger and lust...
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honeydawg
42 posts
Sep 02, 2011
6:21 AM
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Rehearsals are 30-40 min away; gigs are usually 1-2 hours away... BUT, as Adam says, it's all relative. Washington, DC has some of the worst traffic in the country, according to AAA. Most of my driving time is not exactly what you'd call mellow.
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