Rant

[moncur]

Hey folks, need to vent my steam for a moment.

As everyone knows, a lot of bands struggle to find rehearsal space where they can remain setup. Also, cost being a large factor.

My band are in the very lucky position to have a member with a garage where we can leave our gear safely locked up and setup.

Sunday afternoon about 1pm, we started to jam for the first time since August last year. An hour later, the local police pop their heads in to say that folk had complained. So obviously we packed up for the day. The policeman was very friendly and understanding and as he said, we were not breaking any laws but if more complaints occurred then it would go to the council and we could potentially get an ASBO slapped on us.

The loud noise is not exactly intentional and by that I mean the reason we are so loud is mainly to hear ourselves over the drumkit. Otherwise we would be as quiet as we want to be.

We have used that garage for about the last two years to jam with zero complaints from the neighbours and now this happens? The only measures we can take at the moment are to contact all the neighbours requesting that we play only at certain times (but between 1 and 2 on a sunday afternoon aint exactly an unreasonable time IMHO)

What I would like to know is......... Why on earth couldn't the neighbours pop in themselves and just ask to keep the noise down? Fair enough we are not the best looking boyband in town (well, we're a bunch of lads who play in a band) but are we that scary that folk cant pop in and speak to us first before getting on the phone to the police?

Rant over, thanks for reading

[Metalattakk]

http://www.chamberlainmusic.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=RB221

Problem solved!

Personally though, I'd just warn the neighbours before the next jam (when you'll start, how loud it'll be and when you plan to stop etc.) and carry on as normal.

[joxville]

Where I live there is woods about 1/2 mile away from my house and every Sat/Sun between 10am and 4pm all I can hear is shotguns being blasted at clay pigeons. We've asked for them to miss out maybe 1 weekend in 4 or 5 to no avail-so much for a quiet weekend relaxing in the garden.

I can see both sides to your rant however I think your neighbours are being unreasonable considering it's only couple of hours once a week. Maybe I can arrange for the shooter's near me to visit your neighbours some weekend!

[loganbiffy]

Where I live there is woods about 1/2 mile away from my house and every Sat/Sun between 10am and 4pm all I can hear is shotguns being blasted at clay pigeons. We've asked for them to miss out maybe 1 weekend in 4 or 5 to no avail-so much for a quiet weekend relaxing in the garden.

I can see both sides to your rant however I think your neighbours are being unreasonable considering it's only couple of hours once a week. Maybe I can arrange for the shooter's near me to visit your neighbours some weekend!

I see your point there but things like this never get solved really.

By law they are not doing anything wrong and are free to do as they please any given sunday.

I also see Moncurs point, it really is annoying for bands up here trying to hold down a regular practice pad where we can store our gear.

If its during the week or weekend at a reasonable time, E.G. before 7pm these shotgun blasts can be heard then its not such a big problem.

So many people up here complain about bands practicing too loud but lets be honest, we aint exactly doing any harm are we?
What else are we meant to do?

[foreveruntitled]

Hey folks, need to vent my steam for a moment.

As everyone knows, a lot of bands struggle to find rehearsal space where they can remain setup. Also, cost being a large factor.

My band are in the very lucky position to have a member with a garage where we can leave our gear safely locked up and setup.

Sunday afternoon about 1pm, we started to jam for the first time since August last year. An hour later, the local police pop their heads in to say that folk had complained. So obviously we packed up for the day. The policeman was very friendly and understanding and as he said, we were not breaking any laws but if more complaints occurred then it would go to the council and we could potentially get an ASBO slapped on us.

The loud noise is not exactly intentional and by that I mean the reason we are so loud is mainly to hear ourselves over the drumkit. Otherwise we would be as quiet as we want to be.

We have used that garage for about the last two years to jam with zero complaints from the neighbours and now this happens? The only measures we can take at the moment are to contact all the neighbours requesting that we play only at certain times (but between 1 and 2 on a sunday afternoon aint exactly an unreasonable time IMHO)

What I would like to know is......... Why on earth couldn't the neighbours pop in themselves and just ask to keep the noise down? Fair enough we are not the best looking boyband in town (well, we're a bunch of lads who play in a band) but are we that scary that folk cant pop in and speak to us first before getting on the phone to the police?

Rant over, thanks for reading

Yeah i agree, much easier to just pop round and ask, no need to get police involved over such a little thing. Just think though it could be worse, we had our stuff tucked away nicely in my garage til the garage collapsed and broke it all lol.

[Torvaig]

Would it be feasible to soundproof your practice space using baffle boards etc.? If you don't do something to appease your neighbours they may well succeed in closing down your practice sessions which will not do.

I am all for live music but you do have to consider the feelings (justified or not) of others in close proximity to your studio; it's just a pity they don't appreciate that they are hearing your music for free; good luck! :)

[guitarzan]

i am still in mourning for the loss of the gear and the garage :(

i say you just do a quick round of your neighbours homes and offer them the option of:-

a) going out
b) putting in earplugs
c) turning up their telly

or d) don't complain or your windows are gettin it.

nah but seriously - i'm sure you can come to some arrangement by havin a word...

[Camra]

Get your hands on an electronic drum kit / pads and you can practise at non complaint levels no probs.

[moncur]

Get your hands on an electronic drum kit / pads and you can practise at non complaint levels no probs.

Funnily enough, just bought masel a roland td3 yesterday. mainly for using masel in ma flat but its gonna be a saviour for band practices

[slightly_funked]

yeah we had the same problems down here in snecky
practiced in mates spare room full pa band etc for about 8 years then a new neighbour moves in and it stops.

lucky though we struck a deal with one of the pubs who allow us to practice 2 - 4 days during the week

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Hey folks, need to vent my steam for a moment.

As everyone knows, a lot of bands struggle to find rehearsal space where they can remain setup. Also, cost being a large factor.

My band are in the very lucky position to have a member with a garage where we can leave our gear safely locked up and setup.

Sunday afternoon about 1pm, we started to jam for the first time since August last year. An hour later, the local police pop their heads in to say that folk had complained. So obviously we packed up for the day. The policeman was very friendly and understanding and as he said, we were not breaking any laws but if more complaints occurred then it would go to the council and we could potentially get an ASBO slapped on us.

The loud noise is not exactly intentional and by that I mean the reason we are so loud is mainly to hear ourselves over the drumkit. Otherwise we would be as quiet as we want to be.

We have used that garage for about the last two years to jam with zero complaints from the neighbours and now this happens? The only measures we can take at the moment are to contact all the neighbours requesting that we play only at certain times (but between 1 and 2 on a sunday afternoon aint exactly an unreasonable time IMHO)

What I would like to know is......... Why on earth couldn't the neighbours pop in themselves and just ask to keep the noise down? Fair enough we are not the best looking boyband in town (well, we're a bunch of lads who play in a band) but are we that scary that folk cant pop in and speak to us first before getting on the phone to the police?

Rant over, thanks for reading

Use yer freedom of rights.Yer freedom is to play loud music between 8am and 11pm.Whether through radio or yer personal use.ASBO for loud music,only after or before these times.:lol::lol:

[moncur]

Use yer freedom of rights.Yer freedom is to play loud music between 8am and 11pm.Whether through radio or yer personal use.ASBO for loud music,only after or before these times.:lol::lol:

As the policeman said to us on the day, we were not actually breaking any laws. However, if complaints persist, it goes to the Council who send over Enviromental Health, who come along with a decibel meter to measure noise levels and if its deemed excessive then my band member gets slapped with an ASBO. I can see where you are coming from but I'm more likely to heed the word of a bobby having a polite word in our ear.

Im pretty sure I said before that we wouldnt be as loud as what we are if we had complete control over the natural level of the drums. In my opinion we have taken considerable measures to keep annoyance to a minimum, both in sense of informing neighbours and buying electric drums. A lot of the neighbours have been supportive though which is a good sign.