Originally Posted by: Mark PavJoin a club than owns a hall, or a church, and use the premises when they're not being used.

Yup, that's what we always used to do.
Churches, schools, auditoriums, arena's, other peoples houses... anywhere we could scam a few hours.
You kinda need somebody in the band who can get out and schmooze.
If all else fails, it's your parents basement or if they're really nice they'll let you build a soundproofed room in the garage.

If you pay to rent a place though, either take your equipment home every night or be sure the place has decent security and you have insurance.

Try places like the Lions club or Optimist halls. They generally aren't booked on Sundays so you can either get it all day for cheap or barter something like play a free dance.
The bigger the place the better cause you can work on your stage act and get used to playing in a large room on a stage.