I’ve been intrigued by seeing the sorts of arrangements other folks share about the “jams” they attend because they look really different from what I attend. The ones I attend are held in generic community spaces (one is at a coffee shop most of the time and the other is held at a church) and they tend to not look anything like a band - they tend to just look like a bunch of people (mostly playing the same instruments) getting together and playing/singing. but it looks like a fair number folks here, especially those based in Europe, tend to wind up at specialized music rehearsal spaces that seem to have use fees involved, and they tend to play in a group that looks more like an actual band.
A new space opened up near me that looks exactly like this sort of space.
It’s in the same building as where I’ve gone for lessons. This space used to be a music store, even. Seems expensive if you need a solo rehearsal space. But if you’ve got multiple people to split the fees? Looks like a great option. No idea if they have any intention to offer “open” jam time slots or if such a thing will sorta happen organically (say, one person signs up for a regular slot and opens it up to friends or even whoever comes and helps them cover the cost).
The name of the place is really clever. It’s always been a real PITA to get in or out of the parking lot, so it’s fitting.
The music club I help run has weekly jams, most of them are at community centres where we charge a $5 per session fee which covers the hall hire (usually). We have one jam at an open area where usually we can use the covered space but if events are booked there we just jam under the nearest tree / grassy area. Mostly it’s people playing mostly the same instruments.
These are very common in London to my great positive surprise. Some of them run for 50+ years and are proper mini museums with history and some of the most famous bands/musicians on their clients lists. The fees are approx. half the price of what your place charges. If it is a new venue, this might change once they assess demand. Often you can find great last moment discounts if they have empty room left for specific time slot.
I couldn’t recommend this more - there is nothing like this. You should definitely try it. It should be easy to find another guitar, bass and singer in your school or community jams, but good luck with a drummer. That is a difficult part.
Good idea, you can ask them this. They could also run a board where people would sign up for different instruments and state availablity. They have incentive to make this work as business, so this might work.
The guitar club I belong to that plays in the church charges an annual membership fee that mostly covers the venue rental. We use it a few days each month for different jam groups. We also have community jams that don’t cost anything. One is at a pub, another at the library next door to the church. I occasionally jam with a ukulele group (as do a few other people who play other instruments) that meets in the coffee shop and that also does not have a venue rental fee. This venue is something very different from those things.
I don’t know that I’m necessarily ready to do something like this. It still takes me long enough to learn new songs that I’m not going to be able to play with other musicians in this way without lots of planning/lead time for what song(s) to learn and what parts to play and such. When I show up to a guitar “campfire jam” sort of thing, I’m listening to what the other guitarists are doing to decide how I’m going to play. I can usually find something to do unless the other people in the group go overboard with the complexity of what they’re playing, making it too hard for me to find the rhythm of the song. But if nobody else is playing the part I would play (or similar to it), I’m afraid I’m not good enough to just work it out on the fly. That said, there are definitely a lot of talented musicians in town and I’m sure that there are ppl who would be interested.
Funny enough, I actually know a couple of drummers who aren’t in a band, afaik. I don’t know any bass players who are likewise unattached.
I’m most likely to take advantage of an opportunity at a different spot in the building. And from what I understand, my skill level is not too far off from the other people who usually sign up. So the lesson space where I’ve taken lessons (which is on the back side/lower level of this same building) is connected to a “Rock Academy” that puts people together into groups with a mentor who helps prep them with some songs and lesson guidance and the whole process culminates months later with a performance at a local venue. It’s more popular with kids for obvious reasons, but they do occasionally get enough adult interest to put together an adult group. The last instructor I had was the mentor for an adult group that was coming together at about the time I stopped with those lessons.
TBH, I wonder if the people who run those spaces are also the owners of this new business. It seems like all 3 can work together. Such as, folks are taking private lessons and decide to jump into the “Rock Academy” path and get a band together. I’m sure they can only have limited rehearsals in the “Rock Academy” space since there are other groups. So if they want to rehearse more, where do they go? Most homes in my town are pretty small compared to the “typical” US home so I doubt many are able to have full band practice within them. So they open up a space like this for people who need space. So they’re effectively building their own client base in a way, while being open to reservations from others, too.
Space can be a problem. But even if you have a great space (i.e. event rooms in community centres), you will not have a drum set. The main convenience rehersal places provide is drum set. All others can carry their gear, but for drummers this is nightmare. This way they just bring their cymbals, drumsticks and sometimes kick pedals.
You are then good to go when you feel you are up for it.
I definitely see hauling gear as a major problem for drummers.
IIRC, both of the drummers I know now have e-kits at home, and while I’m sure those help with bulk, I have no doubt that they’re plenty complicated to set up/tear down. My boss is primarily a drummer has mentioned she’s interested in bass. So maybe I will eventually know an unattached bass player, too.
The one ukulele jam I attend sometimes in the coffee shop occasionally gets a drummer who shows up with just a snare. That particular jam is the most diverse one and it’s fun. It’s definitely mostly ukes but when the drummer is there and the uke bass player is there and maybe a banjo, mandolin, and I’m there with a guitar, it actually sounds close to a real band. One of the guys who shows up regularly to that one is in a couple of bands himself. He plays both drums and uke.
Some of them run for 50+ years and are proper mini museums with history and some of the most famous bands/musicians on their clients lists. The fees are approx. half the price of what your place charges. If it is a new venue, this might change once they assess demand. Often you can find great last moment discounts if they have empty room left for specific time slot.