Where do signed and professional bands practice/rehearse?

[rlm297]

Where do signed bands practice/rehearse? Are their amps and drums mic'ed on a "dummy stage" replicating the specs of a live environment in an area like an empty warehouse or factory?

 

I would like to know if this as streamlined and controlled as possible like a calculated SWAT Team or Green Beret training operation.

 

If anyone can offer any insight on how this is done/handled for the professionals, that would be great.

[germs]

All depends on where you live.

 

Some larger metro areas offer rehearsal spaces, which is little more than a climate-controlled soundproof room. Often called "rehearsal rooms" they're rented by the hour, and can be reserved ahead of time or rented by the week/month - it is what it sounds like.

 

Larger labels have rehearsal "halls" that allow touring artists to get the stage setup right for the show. It's all choreographed, after all...but they're large enough to fit the complete stage and PA rig, and enough overhead space to run it up to concert levels to work out the sounds. Now you have an idea why tickets cost so much.

 

By and large, most "pro" bands have a rehearsal space in their homes. Often, they have a large rec-style room, cage the drums, and play quietly to run through songs. Most often, it doubles as a recording suite to demo songs for the label.

 

Now you know. They ain't so different than us after all.

 

EDIT: On the large scale stuff, is it controlled and planned out? You bet. But it's also expensive to do. Often, the tour manager is in charge of making the magic happen - getting the sound, lights, and rigging to work together on time. Mostly, musicians just show up, stand around, and wait to soundcheck.

[rlm297]

It's one thing to run football plays in the backyard with your team and another to actually do it on a real football field.

 

I just can't fathom a signed, pro rock band practicing/rehearsing in anything other than the real thing.

 

I find it hard to believe that KISS (the Dallas Cowboys of arena rock music) would practice without a full stage, mic'ed amps and drums, monitors, etc.

 

That kind of powers down the idea of rock bands as "forces of nature," learning that they too practice in a basement or rec-room.

[bostonwal]

Oh I think U2 did the old rent a warehouse and have Brian Eno set up his mobile recording gear for Achtung Baby writing sessions. For the latest tour they posted daily videos of their live show rehearsal in a place that allowed them to set up a big stage - probably an arena somewhere in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe.

[pjrake]

there was this website that recorded band practices, but i can't find it now. i remember seeing hoobastank and army of anyone, and they had a huge rehearsal studio!

 

if anyone can find that site i think it's pretty cool to see how the major label bands practice.

 

-PJ

[soundwave106]

I just can't fathom a signed, pro rock band practicing/rehearsing in anything other than the real thing.

 

germs is right from my limited experience.

 

If they're big enough, the main difference is that they can afford to set up a nice practice space in their own home or elsewhere. Most renter halls have horrible equipment. Of course, a lot of us in the "part-time bands made of people with jobs" segment do the same sort of thing. (Our band rents a garage.)

 

I find it hard to believe that KISS (the Dallas Cowboys of arena rock music) would practice without a full stage, mic'ed amps and drums, monitors, etc.

 

Most bands don't have a KISS style show.

 

I imagine that a band with more theatrics does a full-scale dress rehearsal in a hall suitable for such, as germs implies.

 

But you don't need to do many of those rehearsals. For getting the band tight, why would you need the full stage?

[peckhart]

I haven't seen it, but my bass player (who is a huge KISS fan) says he saw a video once of KISS practicing in one of their houses using little 10 watt practice amps and a complete scaled down and sound dampened drum kit.

 

Not sure that is how they do their final preparation for a huge tour, but I don't doubt that is how they sometimes practice together.

[daddymack]

Arena rock is really just a scale up process. Here in LA, there are tons of rehearsal rooms, and they range in size from 12x12 to 40x20 (there are like some larger, that is about the biggest I have been to).

Lots of major guys don't want to leave home, so they build their own rehearsal/recording studios in their homes.

Some bands do rent entire warehouses, and some rent actual soundstages from the movie studios when they are doing final prep for a major tour.

Then again, bands like the Stones will show up at a club the night before an arena show and run through their sets....because they know if it doesn't work small, it won't work big.

[dantedayjob]

 

I find it hard to believe that KISS (the Dallas Cowboys of arena rock music) would practice without a full stage, mic'ed amps and drums, monitors, etc. That kind of powers down the idea of rock bands as "forces of nature," learning that they too practice in a basement or rec-room.

 

 

On the KISS Second Coming DVD, there is some footage of the band practicing in a small room; bass amp, 1/2 stack, drums, 1/2 stack, 4 vocal mics, monitors, sofa... that's it... room was about the size of a normal living room... probably in someone's basement since there were no windows

[S.L.B.]

http://soundchecknashville.com/main/home.php

 

 

A good number of country/Nashville based artists practice hear.

[Lunarsteps]

Just around the corner from us is a rehearsal joint that actually has a very nice faux venue in the place, for the purposes of bands/acts rehearsing there to get a more "realistic" feel.

 

Awesome lights, large stage, kickass PA and monitoring, wicked dancefloor with mirrored walls etc etc.

 

Big name acts around here rehearse there (purely for the better sound i'm sure) and smaller bands even shoot vids there.

 

 

Another band we know just bit the bullet and bought a small factory bay out in an industrial area ......they split the cost between them (5 piece) ....... now they can rehearse for days straight without being disturbed and they are loving it.

[tim_7string]

I had a band in 2001-2002 that used to rehearse in a former bar. It was a very small town, so the bar itself was pretty small too. We built a stage in there, so it kind of put us in the frame of mind that we were performing.

 

Some people would actually watch us rehearse too, which kind of bothered me. I don't like people seeing my band before we play, but then again, I enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes stuff, so I guess it's all good.

[J.Paul]

 

Where do signed bands practice/rehearse? Are their amps and drums mic'ed on a "dummy stage" replicating the specs of a live environment in an area like an empty warehouse or factory? I would like to know if this as streamlined and controlled as possible like a calculated SWAT Team or Green Beret training operation. If anyone can offer any insight on how this is done/handled for the professionals, that would be great.

 

 

Good thread

Everyone is covering all the bases in their responses

the only thing I would add:

 

P.A. (and monitors) is usually included along with a tech to run the mix.

Groups can opt to load in and use their own production.

 

High end backline (amps, drums, guitars) is available

which sounds ridiculous (why would you want to rehearse or play without your own gear??), but if it's a flydate or you're rehearsing in a town other than where your gear is , it can be a good service to have backline (the semi is on the way to the next town for tomorrow's show and you are running the set w/ a fill-in and will fly out to the venue when you're done).

 

They charge by the hour, usually in increments of 3.

 

Yes they have a soundstage that replicates an actual concert stage (some rooms are just a small flat room instead).

 

Auditions and showcases are also common at these venues.

 

Need guitar strings at 11:30pm??Walmart doesn't offer your gauge?If S.I.R. is still in session they might have your gauge and brand.

 

Our arena in Nashville (Sommet Center...or whatever they're calling it this year) has an area downstairs for full production rehersal that's a little bigger than Soundcheck. It's the size of an airplane hangar where production managers can have the actual staging lights, rigging,video...the entire show set up and rehearsed. The band isn't even there until the last week or so.

[Matximus]

Some of the big bands seem to set up their own comfy rehearsal spaces in their home towns. Some examples:

 

Pearl Jam has warehouse back home in Seattle that houses their rehearsal space, fan club offices. Well, they did as of 2006.

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/47587

 

Phish has the "barn" up in Burlington or wherever they're from. Although I think Anastasio is selling it.

 

http://www.trey.com/barn/history.html

 

Wilco has "the loft" in Chicago, which Jeff Tweedy owns, I think. They practice there, work on new material.

 

http://www.wilcoworld.net/loft/gigapan.php

[triestobeat]

some, like the foo fighters, and nickelback (boo!) have their own nifty studios in their homes where they rehearse and record.

[stopthebus]

Wilco also makes their records in the Loft, it's pretty much my dream to have a place like that.

[Opus Antics]

 

some, like the foo fighters, and nickelback (boo!) have their own nifty studios in their homes where they rehearse and record.

 

 

Van Halen does that in Eddie's 5150 studio.

[triestobeat]

 

Van Halen does that in Eddie's 5150 studio.

 

 

yeah, well what guitar related thing does the guy NOT have?

[ZERO HEROES]

I call it a sound stage. There is one here in Dallas that I use called Maximedia. They took over Robert Tilton's boardcasting studio and turned part of it into a record studio and the other part into a sound stage with thick concrete walls. From time to time, they also use it as a venue.

 

 

http://www.maximediastudios.com/venue.html

[Super Bass]

 

Oh I think U2 did the old rent a warehouse and have Brian Eno set up his mobile recording gear for Achtung Baby writing sessions. For the latest tour they posted daily videos of their live show rehearsal in a place that allowed them to set up a big stage - probably an arena somewhere in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe.

 

 

They had a warehouse in the Dublin docklands, I think it's gone now.. or going soon. This is due to developements in the area. They're getting a new studio built in the top floors of a tower going there.

[Karma1]

There's a reheasal place/recording studio near me called BASS (Bay Area Sound Studios) where I've gone to a number of events and rehearsed a few times with two different bands I'm in. About a month ago I went there and two semi trucks were outside and the entrance area and hallways were filled with road cases marked "Van Morrison". When I came back later they had set up in the largest rehearsal space, which is pretty huge, and the room was totally filled with gear, lighting, etc. I think he had about a 12 piece band and were rehearsing for a major gig in San Francisco that weekend. It was quite a sight to see. It was especially cool since the bass player in my group lives in a house that used to be owned by Van Morrison, where we sometimes practice and play live at parties.

[sharnrock]

metalica

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]