Technically speaking, I'm not sure if it really qualifies as encouraging... In the beginning, they were just encouraging me to go up there, but after a while it turned into group-pressure, something I'm in no way a fan of... Too bad I couldn't get the nerves to calm down. Maybe next time...

50$ sounds incredibly cheap for a fully equipped practice space. Especially for a full band. If you're 5 people in the band, that's 10$ per member. That's roughly the same as what a new set of strings costs around here (if we're not talking expensive strings like Elixir or Martin Lifetime strings)... Anyone should be able to afford that!