How to Leave Your Rehearsal Space
by T. Perry Bowers
The other day I walked into a rehearsal space on the first of the month. It had been rented by a new band and the old tenant was supposed to have been moved out. I found cases of empty beer cans and trash. The rugs that I had put in there for the band to use had been trashed. But, worst of all. they left two couches. Obviously, having been in the rehearsal space business for almost twenty years, this is not something I haven’t seen before. But it always gets to me.
This blog isn’t meant to be a “poor me” piece. I have been very blessed in my life and I don’t want to complain. Part of my job is to clean up after musicians. I get paid to do that. I understand.
(Just to be clear, the band has broken a contract with me by leaving their room a mess. The couches are a big pain because it costs me money to get rid of them).
It’s funny too because right before I came to the studio that day I had been at a physical therapy session for some lower back pain. I had thrown my back into spasm a few days earlier by lifting some furniture at my house. I told my physical therapist that I was hoping not to find couches in the rehearsal space. I just knew they were there even though I had explicitly told the band to move them out before the first of the month.
My Physical Therapist told me not to move the couches if they were in the room. My back was in no condition.
When I got to the room, of course there they were. I had another band moving into the room in about a half hour. Luckily I found another tenant who was willing to help me push the couches into the hall.
So, I did my job. I cleaned up the room. I got the couches out and I moved the next band into the space.
Now, what about the couches? More than one week later, they are still in my hallway.
Of course I texted the “leader” of the band and I told him I was unhappy about the state of the room and that he had to remove the couches ASAP. I didn’t hear back from him right away, but finally he texted me telling me that it was somebody else in his band’s fault.
This other band member was the one that wanted the couches brought into the room. They didn’t have a car to transport the couches from the space. It was the drummer who was living in the space. He trashed it. This kid wanted to do the right thing, but he really wasn’t willing to do the right thing. He was going to pass the buck and blame it on his band.
On my eyes, he was on the contract. This was on him.
Regardless of his unwillingness to help, I must remove the couches from my hallway. So I keep texting this kid for the next couple of days. I even told him that I would let him use my truck to get the couches moved. So, this week, that’s what I’ll be spending my time doing. Moving couches.
It’s not as if I have five children. It’s not as if I have a business to run. It’s not as is I have a father with dementia. I don’t have enough to do. I should be be cleaning up some punk band’s mess. Right?
The other thing to consider is that I talk to a lot of people. I see bands every day. I see producers, videographers, managers, agents, etc. I’m part of the music industry here in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
I don’t make it a practice to talk about people negatively. Something may slip out here or there. I’m not a saint, but you know what I do on a regular basis? I speak positively about bands and musicians.
If I hear a band down the hall that I think has a great sound, I will recommend them to a club or I will put them on a bill myself if I have the opportunity. I know people who have gear hookups. Sometimes I will offer free studio time or time in the video studio if I think your band has potential.
Do you think I will ever talk nicely about the band that trashed their room and left me to deal with two couches? No. I will never say another nice word about them. In fact in a weak moment you might hear me recount the whole story of how they left me with a big hot mess to deal with.
As for the young man who stepped up to the plate and made an effort to deal with his band’s disfunction, I really do appreciate it. I hope he finds band mates who have his level of accountability.
The truth is that no matter how much talent you have, nothing will replace being self aware. Nothing will replace selflessness. Selfishness always has the same end. Being alone, without a band, without true friends and without self respect.
So, how do you leave your rehearsal space? Clean, without any residue of your emotional baggage. Pristine, without any sign of your own dysfunctional behavior. Spotless, without the need for your landlord to heal your psychological damage. Leave it just a little better than you found it.
If you can’t do that, why are you a musician at all? Isn’t your goal to make the world a better place?
