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What if you can�t drive?


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People have posted about doing it, so yeah. Depends on where you are, of course.

 

I would say it's easier now than it used to be, actually. Any lightweight keyboard can now get pretty much any sound you need if you add even just an iPhone/iPod Touch (of course, tablet/laptop is better). A keytar (i.e. AX-Edge) doesn't even need a stand and is as portable as a guitar. If you can manage more than that, very capable keyboards are lighter than ever (i.e. Kross 2, Juno DS 61/76, NumaCompact 2X).

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Ive not gigged for a year, I had to stop driving at night because I have too much eye damage with diabetes. It was no longer safe. It has taken away a fair bit of independence. Im ok on local roads I know really well but thats it.

 

I dont want to be a burden to others by needing lifts so have not bothered looking at anything and have accepted plodding about at home now.

 

Im desperate for tech to get us to self drive cars, it would be a revelation for those with health issues.

 

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They have Uber Eats. How about Uber Keys.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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Depends totally upon where you live. If you have good public transportation in your locale, it will depend upon what your venues have in terms of backline and what you are willing to compromise in terms of gear. I know keyboard players in Chicago that travel with laptop and Privias on the El (train).

 

If you don't have reliable or accessible public transportation, you can UberX, but it will add up, so it's either the cost of the rewarding experience of gigging, or you'll have to consider it when you ask for compensation from the client/venue. Again, you'll have to carefully consider your gear since scratching up someone's SUV with flight cases will get you a negative rating fairly quickly. Like the first example, I know a pianist here in Chicago that does low key corporate gigs, and she Ubers everywhere with a light 88 note controller a folding bench, a laptop, and a small Bose rig that is surprisingly loud.

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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I don't drive, because of vision issues. I have a rig that I can take on the bus & subway, and when I have to take the full monty I use Uber. Uber definitely adds up but I spend less on Uber and taxis per year than I would on a car with insurance, gas, parking, etc.

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I used to work in a rehearsal studio and one of the guys that worked part time now and then and rented a gear locker from the studio. He was a busy keyboard player and I was surprise to find out he didn't have a car that runs. One night I was covering an early shift and he came in to get his gear, he got his keyboard and small amp out of his locker and called a cab. He said cab drivers aren't always happy to see the gear, but he loads it in the trunk and they are okay with that since he does the lifting. So this guy worked and between cabs and friends in the bands got whenever he needed.

 

I then discovered a number of the working musicians around the rehearsal studio were homeless. They would rent a gear locker to store their equipment, had a cellphone or pager to get called for gigs, and had memberships at a gym a couple blocks away to have a place to shower and workout. You'd never know these guys were homeless.

 

As the old saying goes..... where there's a will, there's a way.

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Depends on where you are, of course.

Yes this is the key.

 

Where I live the public transport network simply isn't good enough to make it work. But I could see that if one was in a big city, it would be doable.

 

That said, the singer in one of my bands lives literally around the corner from me so I give him lifts everywhere. Not that I have to, he has his own car. Frankly I'm glad for the company - he's a great guy, helps me lug all my stuff and it helps me stay awake driving home at 2:00am.

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Unfortunately I live in a rural place where public transport isnt accessible. Checked Uber prices and the cost would take up more than an average pub gig. I wont play for nothing, so it looks like Ill just have to be content with working on music at home.
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The drummer in two bands I play in (same drummer) doesn't drive; but his wife does and when she can't drive him due to some conflict then he somehow finds rides to the gigs. He uses a standard kit so his drums take up a fair amount of space in a car. It can be managed but I, as an example, can't offer him rides as my car is packed to the max with my own equipment. He's never missed a show because of a lack of transportation.

 

p.s. he doesn't work either so he needs no rides to get to work.

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Reminds me of the joke, "What do you call a drummer that breaks up with his girlfriend? Homeless." Though in this case, carless.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Depends on where you are, of course.

 

And how old you are to some extent. When I was young and band was fam, someone would step up and get a member who couldn't drive to the gig - a friend, girlfriend, girlfriend of the guitar player, someone...

 

As I got older it would become more and more of an issue if it came up - to the point of being a deal breaker if it was too inconvenient.

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Can you realistically be a local gigging musician if you cant drive? Especially if your a keyboard player and cant get away with a guitar over the back and public transport. Do you find it tedious being in a band with a non-driver?

 

In Vegas the busses look like the airport in Nashville.

Everybody carries a Guitar or stringed instrument in a case.

In Vegas, a cheap Sweetwater plastic controller and a laptop is all you need.

Id walk a 1/4 mile each way at the top of the route then hit the strip.

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