Some of my gigs are one to two hours away and I end up driving home that same evening. Usually, if the gig is further away than that, then accommodations are provided. Personally, I want to arrive about one hour ahead of time. If there’s a sound check involved, I may end up getting there even earlier. This gives me plenty of time to set up and even get my drum cases out of the way of the other musicians so that they can set up. If I’m hungry, I’ll have time to eat after setting up. If the gig is 9:00pm to 1:00am or something similar, here’s how it goes:
If it takes me 90 minutes to get to the venue, then I end up leaving my house around 6:30pm so that I can arrive by 8:00pm. This means I need to have drums in the car, enough gas, etc. before that. If I need to stop along the way for gas or food, then I allow the extra time for this. Quite often, I change clothes before driving and this takes a few minutes as well. I build this time into my schedule. So, it’s possible that I’ll start getting ready to go around 6:00pm for a 9:00pm “hit” (start time).
We’ll play the gig and have big fun. After that, I need to pack up, get paid and then get back on the road. If the gig ends at 1:00am, then I hope to be on my way by 1:30am and back home by 3:00am. (That’s nine hours from door-to-door!) It doesn’t always go this smoothly, but that’s my goal. Sometimes, the gig goes later than planned for various reasons. The one thing I try to do is to pack my drums up immediately after playing. I don’t take time to hang out until after the drums are in their cases. I do this for a few reasons, but mainly because sometimes I know that my day has been long and my energy will be needed for the drive home. I want the drums all ready to go sooner, rather than later. If my energy is good, I can then decide to stick around a bit later. If not, I get the drums in the car and get going.
I’m not in hurry when driving. I know how long it should take unless I hit some unexpected weather. This happened just last night. I was coming home and hit blizzard-like snow conditions on April 15. OK, so I live in Denver and this can happen, but it took me by surprise. Part of my drive home was at 25-30 miles per hour, instead of 75mph! I was thankful for a reliable car and for my patience. This was a drive home that will be remembered!
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