So you think that you and your fledgling band can practice on some kind of a street corner or maybe in a park or on a bus or rooftop? Untrue! Your band is required to convene in a small room of some sort. But where to find such a room?

I spoke with Josh Vega, veteran member of the Tacoma music scene, about the ins and outs of finding such a space. There are a lot of things to consider. Price, location, acoustics, freedom of usage - these are all things you need to look for when seeking a practice space.

"Well, there's Maxi-Space on 72nd, which is pretty deep," suggests Vega. "That's one where you can just go in and say. ‘Here's my money. Give me a practice space.' And it's clean, and it's expensive, and it's kind of square."

Maxi-Space, chiefly a storage facility, is recently in the business of supplying bands with practice spaces. They boast clean facilities with professionally soundproofed walls. They have stringent rules about only allowing members of the band into the rooms, and they don't tolerate the presence of alcohol on the premises. But let's face it: you're in a band. You're going to be drinking.

"As far as I know there are only about three places to find a for-pay practice space," says Vega. He refers to the aforementioned Maxi-Space; a practice space on Sixth Avenue located behind a computer repair store; and the "Court C" practice spaces hidden below Sharp & Sons USA of Yesterday Motors, where Vega himself resides. Unfortunately, with the exception of Maxi-Space, most practice spaces are highly sought after, and vacant spots are typically snatched up immediately. This is especially true for the Court C spaces.

"You kind of have to be grandfathered in, almost," says Vega. "There's rarely vacancy. You're gonna get the biggest room for your money, that's for sure. But by the time someone is getting kicked out of their room, someone else is usually lined up."

If you can manage to befriend the people at Court C and happen upon a vacant room, you will definitely get your money's worth. Vega, with the third largest room in the building, pays $400 a month, which is a fairly good price for what you're getting.

But Vega makes sure to caution me that this is a whole mess of work. Finding a suitable space, paying a large amount of money for something you can't live in - it's ultimately not worth it.

"If I could, I would play in my mom's basement," Vega says. "It's the biggest pain in the ass every month for the band as a whole, especially when half the band usually can't come up with any money. You want to exhaust every option for a free practice space you can."

The moral here is to find a band house. People had it right when they played in their garages. But you need to be careful to scope out the perfect house. Find a place in a low-rent neighborhood with as few neighbors as possible, and communicate with them beforehand to make sure they're cool with loud music. You'd be surprised how many don't care, but don't make assumptions. If you can find the freedom to make music at home, you're golden.