For those who plays in bands

[Vladimir]

Please, tell, does it often happen that the members of your band are late for rehearsal? How do you solve this problem?

[evilB]

When it becomes too much, the tough discussion happens.
Something like: We count on you and your input BUT if you are not here when we are here then you are not being a part of the band. The band is only as good as the weakest player and if you aren't here then you are limiting our ability to maintain our level of playing let alone progressing.
If they fix it they stay if they don't they are gone.

[SteveO]

The only thing I ever belonged to that vaguely resembled a band was at my workplace. We would play popular songs during our lunch hour. It was a lot of fun, never had to worry about members arriving late!...lol...it would be a royal pain if it happened continuously within a real band !

[jazzboCR]

How late is he on average? Do the rehearsals start at the same time? Or you could spoof him--tell him the do is at time X and everybody else shows up at X + 1/2 hour. You might be then all simultaneous,or he gets a dose of his own medicine? How important is this guy to the consensus band sound? Does he ever have a good reason for being late, or is he just coming in with a rueful or cocky smile and,"Here I am--the party doesn't start til I get there."? Questions to be debated by the whole band, including His Lateness.
I've never been in a band but these are generally useful in a variety of situations...meetings between partners for example.

[IzzyFonzarelle]

My band meets up at my house before every show to get the gear together, pack up, smoke a bowl and unload at the place as a band. Meeting up at a spot will ensure people to show up late.
Arrive as a band

[Gibsom Street]

Our drummer is usually late due to a work schedule and we work around that by finding the ideal candidate to hold down a beat so we can produce results prior to our drummer's arrival. Gigs are between 2 and 3 times a week and the band is booked past March of 2015...so rehearsal is difficult to squeeze in, but we do it with tired faces that later in the rehearsal become smiling faces. I have 2 female vocalists fronting the band and that has gained us a following due to the diversity in the material ..which keeps the audience coming back. I worry about musicians who party too much at the gig. Especially if they are not naturally hyper-active. If they are naturally hyper active like me, a toke on a bowl or a few drinks will only bring their level of awareness to a happy medium...where in the worse situations a musician or vocalist will stumble , forget words, forget parts and even make some ridiculous mistakes. We are always making each other aware of mistakes made the night before. Some musicians in the past have stated that it is not cool to point out any player's mistakes at a gig or during live transmission. This is a rule which is deadly wrong to follow and deadly wrong to apply in order to make yourself as a team player who appears to be giving everyone slack. When I traveled with "Show bands" on celebrity circuits/theatres, it was simply not tolerated in any sense of the word. As a rule, you were addressed for your issues and given only 1 chance to clean up or the corporation would fire you on the spot and have your replacement ready to go in timely fashion.