Washington, DC Practice Space Ideas?

[tmcw]

So, I've got a band in DC. And my housemate's got a band. And my friend from across the street. We're all improvising practice space, and that's going okay, but the questionable looks from housemates and the smiles of neighbors may not last long.

So, if anyone is in the same situation, or has some awesome abandoned factory / soundproofed office / field that they practice in, let me know - because we've found an apartment ($2000/month) which might be perfect practice space if we can split it evenly and keep things in order with a few bands.

Thanks!

[ivanovich]

yeah...DC...spaces. i've been living here for a while. almost everyone i know practices in basements, livingrooms, attics, sheds, etc OR at clubs where guys work at. it is what it is i suppose. there's a space in brookland by catholic university that have practice spaces, but it's by the hour and ridiculously hard to do--bring all yer s#*t, set it up, get everything going, THEN get to practice....not recomended. nothing like baltimore or other cities where there's actually "practice space" that you pay on a month to month basis.

i've been looking for a little space to put a mixing room in. whats up with that space you mentioned?

i.

[cgarges]

There's that place Barco Rebar in Falls Church, but it's not a month-by-month place. It's an hourly space. It's not great, but it's OK and there's equipment there, so in a pinch, you don't really need to bring anything to practice except guitars, cymbals, and drumsticks. The drumkit hardware is all kind of shot and there are no cymbals, but if you know that ahead of time, you can at least save a bit of time setting up an entire band. The guy who runs it it sort of unreliable if you have to make any scheduling adjustments and I have no idea what the rate is there, but it's one option for a space that I know about up there. Seems like there aren't too many (kind of like the recording studio situation in that area).

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[dino]

The DC area will always present a special set of problems for musicians looking for a place to practice and record. Even with the downturn of real estate values, this is still a prohibitively expensive area to rent, lease, or buy a space. As an example, my little, tiny house would only fetch $40 to 50K at the very most, in Detroit or Raleigh, or almost anywhere else. At the peak of the real estate bubble, my little shack was valued, and taxed at $486,000. Even now, after the bubble burst, they?re saying this place is still worth over $350K! Believe me when I say it isn?t. Not having a proper recording space is the only reason I?m not recording much these days. There?s the better part of $20K in instruments and equipment sitting idle until I can find a suitable place to set it up. Yup? You better have deep pockets if you want a space here near the nations capitol.
dino

[weatherbox]

Brookline studios are closing this month unfortunately. If you just need something short term or sporadic, I let out my live room for rehearsal space now and again.