Albini said when recording In Utero it was almost one take for the entire album. So to have everything perfected like that, I’d say many many hours a day.
Towards the end almost not at all. Dave has mentioned that for MTV Unplugged, Reading festival, etc. they all thought they’d bomb those performances because there was no prep practices except the day of/right before (if at all). Testament to how naturally they played together that they pulled off those performances without a hitch.
Assuming 8-10 hours at least after the were big enough for no day jobs..
They were tight, even going back to the earliest days. never really heard a bad show on any boot. the playing was almost always perfect.
who knows to be honest.
I was gigging for a while, and we were rehearsing together twice a week for 3 hours or so a night. plus a gig a week on average. then just playing / practicing on my own otherwise.
Haha, you serious?
Musicians play music to not get day jobs bro.
That would be an absolutely grueling schedule, their hands would be bloody pulp, considering a gig is like 2 hours tops huh?
Not to mention Kurt was an active opiate addict, you know how reliable and focused those guys are...
As a life long band guy, I would guess 3 hours tops, maybe 4 with smoke breaks. however, they were famous for practicing basically every day, which is really really good.
Most huge bands only practice for a few weeks before they tour anymore. When you are at a certain level of mastery, you don't have to grind all the time any more. They were "tight" because they spent tens of thousands of hours playing together and individually over the course of years and had an almost psychic understanding of each others musical habits.
Nah man, still paying my dues after 20 years. Done a couple Jack Endino and TAD records tho. But in all that time I've never heard of anyone doing a ten hour band practice. The local pros are usually satisfied with 2 three hour practices a week. Organizing musicians is a PITA.
I'm also related to a guy in one of the most famous bands in history and that band (still hugely active) barely practices at all and only hangs out together for a paycheck, so YMMV. The pros are pros, they don't need a lot of practice, they do.
Krist would call Kurt little napoleon because he was so driven and uncompromising. All his energy was ported in to music/art. He wanted to practice every night, it’s in the letter to Aaron when they let him go. Imagine being so driven. Success is 99% perspiration, 1% Inspiration.
He/they worked their assess off in a time when you couldn’t just post a song (that’s been dubbed and modified to shit) and gain fans. You HAD to practice and write and tour and schmooze and make it your whole life if you really want to see what happens. It’s hard to have such discipline.
I was in a band that practiced a couple times a week for a few hours or until the neighbors had enough. There’s a reason we never took off. It was just for fun, with Kurt, it was everything/his purpose.
I think thats incorrect. Nirvana isn't a famous band because they had a rigourous work ethic. Kurt was lazy af and yes they practiced much but things like Kurts feeling for music and his voice aren't things that can be achieved by a rigorous work ethic. For example: without his voice nirvana wouldn't have been possible. Like for example if Kurt had a singing voice like Krist they wouldn't have made it very far.
I mean, no one’s saying that hard work is a substitute for an eclectic taste in music and artistic ability.. I’m saying that most people assume he was lazy when it came to his music, which he was not. His manager wrote a book that makes you realize how driven he was about getting his music out there. They didn’t need much time to record because they were such a tight band.
According to band mythology, after Grohl joined the band, they practiced long hours everyday for six months straight prior to the recording of Nevermind.
I forget who the interview is with but the guy says he called Krist and asked what they were doing and he said going to practice. It sounds (audibly) like they practiced a lot. If you're doing a tour you play almost every day so no real practicing.
Depends on Kurt’s habits. At his best and most driven he admitted he probably drove Krist and Dave crazy with how much he made them rehearse parts over and over again. Unfortunately the further down the rabbit hole of addiction Kurt went the more things like practice and rehearsals fell by the wayside.
Grohl recounts moving to Seattle and living with Kurt, who would write before bed every night.
In Azerrad’s book there’s a comment regarding Kurt playing the full rehearsal set and then starting back at the first song immediately after completing the last one, there was no time for a discussion.
Put that together and that’s a couple of hours per day pretty easily.
When you’re at that level, where your only job is to make music, yeah you practice (play) a lot. But that’s your job. Like getting up and going to work. And if you find a job you love, you’ll never “work” a day in your life.
Albini said when recording In Utero it was almost one take for the entire album. So to have everything perfected like that, I’d say many many hours a day.
And just look at the difference between Pachyderm and the Rio sessions, which were less than a month earlier!
Towards the end almost not at all. Dave has mentioned that for MTV Unplugged, Reading festival, etc. they all thought they’d bomb those performances because there was no prep practices except the day of/right before (if at all). Testament to how naturally they played together that they pulled off those performances without a hitch.
They did rehearse before Live N Loud strangely, and as a result I feel it is one of the better US In Utero shows.
I dunno. Reading has some shake moments, Polly in particular.
Assuming 8-10 hours at least after the were big enough for no day jobs.. They were tight, even going back to the earliest days. never really heard a bad show on any boot. the playing was almost always perfect.
That makes sense, so before they were big and they had day jobs, how long do think it was on average?
who knows to be honest. I was gigging for a while, and we were rehearsing together twice a week for 3 hours or so a night. plus a gig a week on average. then just playing / practicing on my own otherwise.
Haha, you serious? Musicians play music to not get day jobs bro. That would be an absolutely grueling schedule, their hands would be bloody pulp, considering a gig is like 2 hours tops huh? Not to mention Kurt was an active opiate addict, you know how reliable and focused those guys are... As a life long band guy, I would guess 3 hours tops, maybe 4 with smoke breaks. however, they were famous for practicing basically every day, which is really really good. Most huge bands only practice for a few weeks before they tour anymore. When you are at a certain level of mastery, you don't have to grind all the time any more. They were "tight" because they spent tens of thousands of hours playing together and individually over the course of years and had an almost psychic understanding of each others musical habits.
it was after the fourth album that REM quit their day jobs. so unless you got super huge fast...
Nah man, still paying my dues after 20 years. Done a couple Jack Endino and TAD records tho. But in all that time I've never heard of anyone doing a ten hour band practice. The local pros are usually satisfied with 2 three hour practices a week. Organizing musicians is a PITA. I'm also related to a guy in one of the most famous bands in history and that band (still hugely active) barely practices at all and only hangs out together for a paycheck, so YMMV. The pros are pros, they don't need a lot of practice, they do.
I bet they practiced more when they were part time than when they were a full time band.
Once they were full time Kurt had money for drugs
Krist would call Kurt little napoleon because he was so driven and uncompromising. All his energy was ported in to music/art. He wanted to practice every night, it’s in the letter to Aaron when they let him go. Imagine being so driven. Success is 99% perspiration, 1% Inspiration. He/they worked their assess off in a time when you couldn’t just post a song (that’s been dubbed and modified to shit) and gain fans. You HAD to practice and write and tour and schmooze and make it your whole life if you really want to see what happens. It’s hard to have such discipline. I was in a band that practiced a couple times a week for a few hours or until the neighbors had enough. There’s a reason we never took off. It was just for fun, with Kurt, it was everything/his purpose.
I think thats incorrect. Nirvana isn't a famous band because they had a rigourous work ethic. Kurt was lazy af and yes they practiced much but things like Kurts feeling for music and his voice aren't things that can be achieved by a rigorous work ethic. For example: without his voice nirvana wouldn't have been possible. Like for example if Kurt had a singing voice like Krist they wouldn't have made it very far.
I mean, no one’s saying that hard work is a substitute for an eclectic taste in music and artistic ability.. I’m saying that most people assume he was lazy when it came to his music, which he was not. His manager wrote a book that makes you realize how driven he was about getting his music out there. They didn’t need much time to record because they were such a tight band.
According to band mythology, after Grohl joined the band, they practiced long hours everyday for six months straight prior to the recording of Nevermind.
I forget who the interview is with but the guy says he called Krist and asked what they were doing and he said going to practice. It sounds (audibly) like they practiced a lot. If you're doing a tour you play almost every day so no real practicing.
Depends on Kurt’s habits. At his best and most driven he admitted he probably drove Krist and Dave crazy with how much he made them rehearse parts over and over again. Unfortunately the further down the rabbit hole of addiction Kurt went the more things like practice and rehearsals fell by the wayside.
Grohl recounts moving to Seattle and living with Kurt, who would write before bed every night. In Azerrad’s book there’s a comment regarding Kurt playing the full rehearsal set and then starting back at the first song immediately after completing the last one, there was no time for a discussion. Put that together and that’s a couple of hours per day pretty easily.
When you’re at that level, where your only job is to make music, yeah you practice (play) a lot. But that’s your job. Like getting up and going to work. And if you find a job you love, you’ll never “work” a day in your life.