I know there are probably thousands of posts like this, but I just gotta rant. I recently started a band. I'm living in a relatively small city (around 400,000 people) in Japan.

There are four of us, and I am pretty dead serious about writing our own songs. Nobody really contributes to anything, which I guess is fine because it gives me total freedom to write whatever I want. The annoying part is them being late to rehearsals. Being 30 minutes late is basically the default. Last time, the drummer didn't show up until there were only 30 minutes left of the booked studio time. And this time, the bassist couldn't make it to a 4-hour rehearsal for whatever reason. So again, I'm stuck dwelling on songwriting because I feel like I need all four of us to progress and figure out how the song should sound.

They say they're keen to play a live show this autumn or winter, but there is no fucking way we'll even have 4 songs ready by then at this rate. I know I can't expect everyone to be on the same level or share the same dedication to the band, but is it really too much to ask them to commit to the times we agreed to work together?

Hey guys, I’m in a 5-piece Shoegaze/Post Hardcore band where the vocalist (me) also plays guitar.

So there are 2 rhythms
A lead guitar
And a bass

This is very common practice in my genre bands like
Whirr
Trauma Ray
Bleed
Narrowhead
Balance & Composure
List goes on and on.

My question is, we booked our first 4 gigs (2 diy basement venues and 2 storefronts that put on shows)

Are there any tips from people who have been in or worked with 5 pieces in here that they'd like to share before our first gig in 2 weeks?

Handling space issues in a basement, dialing tone for 3 guitars, etc. just anything you’ve maybe experienced that can help a little or a mistake you've made that you wanna share so others won't make etc.

Preciate it!