Lock-up...

I spent some time yesterday searching around for a lock-up in Brum. They're out there but few and far between.

We're looking at an outlay of around £50 per week which isn't too bad. The rooms are empty so we'll have to supply all of our own equipment. Hmmm.. that's gonna take some time. I know G needs a new guitar, I obviously need a drum kit, we need a PA, mic etc etc...

I'm not in a financial position at present to do this but... lets at least discuss it and make some decisions.

Alex suggested yesterday that we instead hire a rehearsal studio (fully kit out) for the time being.

Thoughts?

I'd like to get a lock up and fully kit it out (including a PC for recording). I think it's essential to create a personal space for the band that can be visited by any of its members at any time. It might also need a beer fridge. And a sofa. And an XBox360.

But seriously, I'd like to have a place to practise/write not during the three nights a week we'll be doing band work where I can crank my amp up to 11. I'd think that applies to Michelle too.

And actually it *would* be nice to gather there to play Rock Band (if we're suffering writers block, or are just so good we don't need any more practise ^^). I've got a spare Widescreen telly, and I don't mind taking my XBox360 down. It does, of course, mean we'd need to find a place with an internet connection (preferably wired for the X360 & PC so that we don't have to buy new hardware) but I don't think we've come across one yet.

My favourite lock-up was at Muthers on Rea Street on the top floor of an old mill. We carpeted the walls and floor (in black) and painted the arched ceiling and windows (in black). Sadly no security and no internet make it a poor choice now.

I also wondered for a minute about the possibility of getting a large room in a secure building (like a converted warehouse or factory) that could be used for the same purpose. Perhaps look around for "Studios"? It just needs to be noise-tolerant (and we could do that ourselves).

Whaddaya think?

For that half of the band with jobs, it probably doesn't seem like such a financial commitment. I'd like to see how we gel playing together first before any definite plans are set in motion regarding such a long term commitment - especially in light of certain recent developments.

Other than that, it's a good plan that would surely be worth persuing.

Yeah, lets jam first before planning the artwork for the first album.

Alex and I head into town today. We popped into PMT and Alex purchased a drum kit Quite a bargain it was too. We've left it at the shop for now, they're happy to keep it there until we sort out the lock-up... speaking of which...

We firstly visited Hockley Street Studio and took a look at the 2 different size rooms that they have available. The smaller of the two is approx 14ft sq and costs £53pw. The larger was about twice the size and costs £72pw. Both rooms are on the third floor and smell quite damp but... they 'are' available immediately (well, as of Monday 1st Sept).

We then popped into a couple of music shops to pick the brains of the staff and scour the notice boards... not exceptionally fruitful.

Although we knew that Robannas didn't have any available lock-ups we popped in to see Rob and look to see how a £50 room compared to those at Hockley Street. Bigger and better is the answer to that so AF have been put on the waiting list. They are expecting a band to move into a £60 room on Monday (1st Sept)... should this not happen for whatever reason we will be contacted.

So... thinking... for now we should go with the Hockley Street Studio room until a room at Robannas becomes available.

Opening hours of Hockley Street:
Mon - Thurs 2pm - 11pm
Friday - 2pm - 9pm
Sat - 12pm - 9pm
Sun - 12pm -10pm

Opening hours of Robannas:
Mon - Thurs 10am - 11pm
Friday - 10am - 10pm
Sat & Sun - 10am - 8pm

To be honest I really thought the opening hours would be longer (later!) than that... but hey.

I'm gonna spend a little while searching the internet again this evening in search of other lock-up venues and hopefully go check them out tomoz or Thursday before we come to any decisions. However, the lock-ups at Hockley Street won't be available forever so if we're going to go with it we'll need to come to a decision (maybe wait until Monday and wait to hear about the room at Robannas, however unlikely).

[url=http://www.multimap.com/s/ceGhHbUB ]Muthers
Muthers Map

[/url]http://www.hockleystreetstudios.co.uk/
Hockley St Map

http://www.robannas-studios.co.uk/
Robannas Map