The challenges of getting the band together

With musicians and bands dotted about the region, where do they go to rehearse?

BRODIE Glen has been making music for about 20 years and said the question of where to practice has been a familiar one throughout his decade in Ballarat.

“From when I’ve first shown up, it’s always been front rooms and bungalows, single studios and people saying there’s no space to rehearse,” he said.

“I’ve been very lucky. I’ve always had the gear and we’ve got some cool neighbours that have never complained.

“We never go past 7pm, and I know another band that doesn’t go past 9pm.”

Although the home setup has worked for Glen, he said he knows of many in Ballarat who’ve faced the challenges of practicing in residential areas.

“I know equipment can be really annoying and time consuming with setting up and packing down without a permanent space,” he said.

“I know of a few who’ve had trouble with noise complaints. There were a few kids’ bands I’d teach where they’ve taken their amp to their friend’s house and the neighbours were on them to stop.

“They probably got a bit disheartened about it and not having a space. There’s some options for the older brigade but for kids especially there’s a need for a permanent place.

“I have my Hootenanny music workshop with kids. Term one’s just finished and I had two of the bands get back to me asking ‘where can we rehearse?’.”

With few multi-room setups in Ballarat, some creatives have taken it upon themselves to build more intimate single-room spaces geared towards rehearsals and recordings.

One of those people is Jeff Pope, who after spending about a year cultivating his space called Croajingalong above a cafe in the CBD, is preparing to open it up for bands.

He said even a single-space has been a big endeavour.

“It’s still not cheap to do this, so things like government grants would go a long way,” he said. “I’m just lucky I had all this stuff already.

“At the moment, there’s my band and two to three others coming through. This will be available any night of the week.

“I think you could only really do a dedicated space in town or in industrial areas. Coming from Sydney, a lot of the spaces were in industrial areas.

“It’d be doable to set up here. It’d just be about getting the right people together, and the timing needs to be there.”

A larger rehearsal space was run out of Crossroads Music for about two years during the late 1990s when the store was located at Bridge Mall.

Owner, Kevin Thompson, said the capacity to provide a space was down to timing and convenience.

“There were a lot of our customers there looking to rehearse, so it was a great setup for them,” he said.

“I had two buildings back then and at the back was a huge warehouse so we soundproofed the walls, put in carpet and cubicles and all the equipment there.

“I think the thing that puts people off starting another space up is the amount of rent you’ve got to pay for it and all the outgoings.

“We had to pay the rent on that part of the building regardless so it was easy. We only charged $30 or $40 for a five-hour session.”

When Mr Thompson moved the store to its current spot at Skipton Street, he was unable to continue the rehearsal offerings due to their location within a residential area.

Crossroads Music is set to relocate once again, and Mr Thompson said he’s been looking at different options with a view to potentially revive the rehearsal space.

With venues dormant throughout the CBD, Mick Trembath, musician and former board member of Ballarat Evolve, said there’d be a lot of potential reinvention.

Ballarat Evolve pairs creatives with vacant spaces throughout Ballarat, with Pope’s Croajingalong studio being one of them.

Trembath said they could offer a sort of solution though it likely wouldn’t cater for everyone.

“We’ve set up rehearsal spaces for people like Freya Hollick and Sarah Barclay working on projects,” he said.

“There’s sort of two camps with career musicians looking to book spaces to focus on a project, and there’s the other of let’s have a jam and get ready for a gig.

“They’re not so keen on making the commitment for a long-term space, so for that more casual setting it’s a different story.

“But we have spaces, and there’s initiatives like the Be Hear Now conference looking at solving these sorts of problems, looking at things through a collective representation which there isn’t any of here at the moment.”