Showing posts with label flying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flying. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Here we go....
I landed back in Florida today after a whirlwind trip to Anaheim, California for the NAMM Show and then a stopover in Stroudsburg, Pennsyvlvania for the Winter Dulcimer Fest. Now, the runway is pointing towards the next big event, which is The Key West Dulcimer Fest (but not before a quick couple of nights at Dicey Reilly's Irish Pub in St. Cloud, Florida.)
NAMM was amazing as usual - spent time at Downtown Disney on Wednesday, shopping and meeting up with a dear friend from my post-high school life, then a nice meal with Richard and Nick from Folkcraft Instruments before launching into the first full day on the convention floor on Thursday. When standing in the booth, playing dulcimer, the time seems to fly and during that time, a few breaks were taken to catch some of the sights and sounds, which included lots of new gear, a sighting of Bootsy Collins and Cowboy Troy, many visitations and encounters at the booth and a meet-up with the V-Picks gang, who laid yet another amazing pick on me.
Stephen Seifert was handling booth demos for the rest of the show and he came out about midday. After a dinner at El Torito, we repaired back to the hotel and jammed in the lobby, much to the delight of staff and some other folks who were staying there.
Friday morning came way too early (about 4 am PT) as I headed off to John Wayne airport and began the long journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Winter Dulcimer Fest in the Poconos. Christie Burns picked me up from the airport along with her niece, Devin, and we enjoyed some teppanyaki before joining others for a jam at the festival site. Saturday brought a full day of workshops and an evening concert, where Christie and I jammed together for the first time. Afterwards, I hung out with my friend Kristy Sproul and stayed at the house she shares with her husband, Kevin and their two children Kyle and Katie. I awoke this morning to the smell of breakfast and had a lovely visit before heading out, once more, to the airport for the return trip home.
Needless to say, I'm flat sick of airports already for the year 2010 and am glad to be home and focused for the upcoming festival in Key West. There will be pics and videos from the past weekend, but right now, I'm just checking in, sitting in the backyard hammock, trying not to launch directly into frenzied work mode.
Life is good. Busy, hectic, crazy, but definitely good.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
"We're Done" says Northwest
Kristine Brown, Assistant Manager of Luggage Service for Northwest/Delta, said "we're done" in regards to my compensation claim for the mountain dulcimer damaged on June 14th, 2009.
"The transport of musical instruments (as checked baggage) is at the customers' own risk, as our tariffs (the rules governing Luggage handling and claims) excludes liability for this type of property. As much as we wish we could guarantee that any fragile items can be transported without incident as checked luggage, our systems and the vastly differing aircraft types used to support our routes preclude this kind of guarantee."
United broke policy in offering compensation for Dave Carroll's guitar, she said, because there was evidence of mishandling (i.e. the eyewitnesses throwing guitar cases around.) My problem here is not so much the mishandling which caused the damage, but the fact that the carry-on bag had to be gate-checked when there was obviously room on board the plane for it.
In my history of flying Northwest, I've either encountered flight attendants who expressed doubt that the bag would fit, only to watch me slide it easily into the overhead compartment, or they've put up resistance, only to give in after I've politely told them that gate-checking was a dangerous proposition for an acoustic instrument in a soft case. Brown argues that their policy states there is no guarantee that carry-on luggage won't be subject to gate-checking should room become scarce on board the airplane.
I argue back that policy wasn't an issue with any of the numerous flight attendants on previous Northwest flights who allowed me to find available space for the dulcimer. A lack of consistency in their approach to policy gave me the knowledge that as long as I could find space on board a plane, I was good to go. So I've made a point to book seats in the rear of the aircraft, knowing that there is always overhead bin space back there. It's never been a problem; until now. With a flight attendant who clearly saw that there was space towards the front of the aircraft, I feel that it was whim, rather than policy, that dictated the fate of my instrument.
On behalf of Delta/Northwest, Brown said "we are concerned about your perception of this experience and as a gesture of our concern, I have issued you an Electronic Credit Voucher in the amount of $200." I suppose, in the corporate scheme of things, that meeting in the middle is as sure a victory for the little guy as anything, eh?
"The transport of musical instruments (as checked baggage) is at the customers' own risk, as our tariffs (the rules governing Luggage handling and claims) excludes liability for this type of property. As much as we wish we could guarantee that any fragile items can be transported without incident as checked luggage, our systems and the vastly differing aircraft types used to support our routes preclude this kind of guarantee."
United broke policy in offering compensation for Dave Carroll's guitar, she said, because there was evidence of mishandling (i.e. the eyewitnesses throwing guitar cases around.) My problem here is not so much the mishandling which caused the damage, but the fact that the carry-on bag had to be gate-checked when there was obviously room on board the plane for it.
In my history of flying Northwest, I've either encountered flight attendants who expressed doubt that the bag would fit, only to watch me slide it easily into the overhead compartment, or they've put up resistance, only to give in after I've politely told them that gate-checking was a dangerous proposition for an acoustic instrument in a soft case. Brown argues that their policy states there is no guarantee that carry-on luggage won't be subject to gate-checking should room become scarce on board the airplane.
I argue back that policy wasn't an issue with any of the numerous flight attendants on previous Northwest flights who allowed me to find available space for the dulcimer. A lack of consistency in their approach to policy gave me the knowledge that as long as I could find space on board a plane, I was good to go. So I've made a point to book seats in the rear of the aircraft, knowing that there is always overhead bin space back there. It's never been a problem; until now. With a flight attendant who clearly saw that there was space towards the front of the aircraft, I feel that it was whim, rather than policy, that dictated the fate of my instrument.
On behalf of Delta/Northwest, Brown said "we are concerned about your perception of this experience and as a gesture of our concern, I have issued you an Electronic Credit Voucher in the amount of $200." I suppose, in the corporate scheme of things, that meeting in the middle is as sure a victory for the little guy as anything, eh?
Northwest Breaks Dulcimers - the story continues
Dave Carroll shows online gripes can get results -- chicagotribune.com
The excerpt above is from the story published in today's Chicago Tribune. There were a couple of surprises included. One, I wasn't aware that Delta had acquired Northwest. Another surprise in the article was the paragraph beginning with "That changed quickly.." Shortly after my phone interview with Julie Johnsson, I received another phone call from Kristine Brown of Northwest Airlines. After talking through the situation, she did indeed make an offer of compensation. Since this situation is still developing, I'll leave it at that.
The article makes it appear as though I willy-nilly offered up my dulcimer as a sacrifice to the baggage handling gods. Suffice it to say that, even by Northwest/Delta's own carry-on allowances, my soft carry-on dulcimer bag was intended to go inside the plane and not in the cargo hold. Though there was space for the bag in a closet near the front of the plane, I was told to gate-check it by a Northwest flight attendant who ignored my protestations that it was an acoustic instrument in a soft case unfit for cargo transportation.
Notice that even Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott stated that damage was sustained, "in part", due to the softness of the case. The part left unstated had to do with the actions of the flight attendant.
Only one time before have I been forced to gate-check an instrument and that was a Delta flight. Delta has a notorious history, known for their intolerance regarding musical instruments as carry-ons, to the point of a boycott against the airline instituted by the American Federation of Musicians.
The pressure worked and the boycott was called off, according to a press release dated April 26, 2007:
While "Only A Northwest Song" hasn't gotten nearly the quantity of hits that "United Breaks Guitars" did, the rate of views has picked up considerably over the past 24 hours. In all of the 179 videos posted on my YouTube page, it is absolutely the fastest racker of hits.
Stay tuned.
Inspired by Carroll, Bing Futch said he wrote a song and crafted a video Friday about a dulcimer splintered by Northwest Airlines workers because he wanted to avoid a lengthy battle to be reimbursed.
Futch said he filed an online claim after the June 14 incident, but not within the 24 hours specified by the airline. "Since then I've gotten crickets," the Orlando-based musician said.
That changed quickly when Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest last fall, learned of his video, "Northwest Breaks Dulcimers," on Monday. "We've reached out to the customer and offered our apologies and compensation," said Susan Elliott, a Delta spokeswoman. She said his dulcimer was damaged, in part, because it was packaged in a soft-shell case. She urged passengers to carefully pack musical instruments.
The excerpt above is from the story published in today's Chicago Tribune. There were a couple of surprises included. One, I wasn't aware that Delta had acquired Northwest. Another surprise in the article was the paragraph beginning with "That changed quickly.." Shortly after my phone interview with Julie Johnsson, I received another phone call from Kristine Brown of Northwest Airlines. After talking through the situation, she did indeed make an offer of compensation. Since this situation is still developing, I'll leave it at that.
The article makes it appear as though I willy-nilly offered up my dulcimer as a sacrifice to the baggage handling gods. Suffice it to say that, even by Northwest/Delta's own carry-on allowances, my soft carry-on dulcimer bag was intended to go inside the plane and not in the cargo hold. Though there was space for the bag in a closet near the front of the plane, I was told to gate-check it by a Northwest flight attendant who ignored my protestations that it was an acoustic instrument in a soft case unfit for cargo transportation.
Notice that even Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott stated that damage was sustained, "in part", due to the softness of the case. The part left unstated had to do with the actions of the flight attendant.
Only one time before have I been forced to gate-check an instrument and that was a Delta flight. Delta has a notorious history, known for their intolerance regarding musical instruments as carry-ons, to the point of a boycott against the airline instituted by the American Federation of Musicians.
The AFM also has been working with the airline industry to institute uniform carry on and storage policies in respect to instruments. While most airlines have shown sympathy toward musicians, Delta Airlines remains uncooperative and has created numerous problems for AFM members. In response, the AFM issued a boycott of Delta. Recently, the AFM has been informed that Delta is reviewing its policies.
The pressure worked and the boycott was called off, according to a press release dated April 26, 2007:
In addition to its carry-on policy, Delta also improved its checked baggage policy. Previously, Delta only accepted checked baggage that measured 80 linear inches or less with a weight limit of 80 pounds. Checked items can now measure up to 120 linear inches and weigh up to 100 pounds, good news for musicians traveling with large instruments.
While "Only A Northwest Song" hasn't gotten nearly the quantity of hits that "United Breaks Guitars" did, the rate of views has picked up considerably over the past 24 hours. In all of the 179 videos posted on my YouTube page, it is absolutely the fastest racker of hits.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
United Breaks Guitars - Northwest Breaks Dulcimers (Song Only)
Here's the short form of the video with just "Only A Northwest Song."
Dulcimerica 125 - "Only A Northwest Song"
On June 14th, 2009 - Northwest Airlines baggage handlers damaged Bing's Folkcraft double-neck dulcimer on flight 2363 from Detroit, MI to Ft. Wayne, IN. Many people requested that Bing write a song about the situation, much like Tom Paxton did in his tune "Thank You Republic Airlines."
When Dave Carroll released the video for "United Breaks Guitars", Bing saw an opportunity for even more awareness in the area of baggage handling guidelines for airlines, not to mention perhaps an opportunity to have Northwest finally hear his story out and pay for the damages inflicted by their ground crew. "Only A Northwest Song" was written and recorded on Friday, July 10th. The video was partially shot on the day of and after the incident with editing taking place also on July 10th.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Only A Northwest Song
[UPDATE] The song got a remix, plus a few extra touches, now that I've had a little time.
[UPDATE] Welcome everyone from Facebook, Twitter and other networks - traffic has definitely picked up around here. For the whole story on Annie's June 14th crushing at the hands of Northwest Airlines, see this blog entry.
Wrote the lyrics and music this morning (July 10th), recorded this arrangement in the afternoon. It's an odd little tune.
• The title is a play on the George Harrison-penned Beatles tune "Only A Northern Song." Why, I don't know.
• I listened to both "United Breaks Guitars" and "Thank You Republic Airlines" to make sure I didn't go in either of those directions. 'Twas easy with the Tom Paxton tune. A little more difficult with Dave Carroll's song, because he plays it in the international key of dulcimer - D. Anything I did in D sounded pretty close to this tune, so I went with the key of G instead. A little high in my range, but a good stretching exercise.
• Originally, I was going to rock this one out, but decided to go with a mixture of techno drum loops and dulcimer. The bass is synthesized and played live.
• Except for the male chorus under the bridge, all voices are mine.
It definitely needs some polish, but I'm happy to post it as a demo and see what y'all think. [UPDATE] Thanks to everyone on Blip.FM who has blipped this tune!
Only A Northwest Song
music and lyrics by Bing Futch
Copyright © 2009 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.
you may have heard the song about the guy from Nova Scotia
how United Airlines busted his guitar
Tom Paxton hit that barrier with Republic as a carrier
and he wrote a tune to serve as a memoir
my heart goes out to both these gents in their respective incidents
and with these words I'm joining the protest
for I had just one expenditure in the shape of a mountain dulcimer
and that instrument got splintered by Northwest
NORTHWEST
Where the baggage handlers roam
NORTHWEST
You'll be taking pieces home
NORTHWEST
You've killed many guitars, for sure
add to that: one mangled mountain dulcimer
"gate check that piece"
"no," I said - "it fits right in the overhead
as easy as a cord fits in a plug"
but in Motor City, my connection had the bins all sliced into little sections
the whole plane looked just like a Volkswagen bug
I've had my share of heart-thumpers, flying these puddle-jumpers
my dulcimer in the belly of the beast
the case was strong, I said a prayer as we lifted up into the air
with Ft. Wayne as my next stop in the east
bridge
The two girls on the ground crew seemed afraid
And watched me from afar, grabbing the last bag on the cart
If I had looked inside, they would have paid
three hours later, I saw the mess
and shouted "curses to you, Northwest!"
So, listen up, American, Delta, Frontier , Air Tran
Continental, PSA , Jet Blue
US Airways, Allegiant Air, Southwest, Compass, Martinaire
Virgin Atlantic, yeah I'm talkin' to you
and all you other commercial flights, your passengers have all got rights
to baggage that is never treated wrong
and if you slip, then so will we, along comes Dave or Tom or ME
to tell the world that you suck, in a song
[UPDATE] Welcome everyone from Facebook, Twitter and other networks - traffic has definitely picked up around here. For the whole story on Annie's June 14th crushing at the hands of Northwest Airlines, see this blog entry.
Wrote the lyrics and music this morning (July 10th), recorded this arrangement in the afternoon. It's an odd little tune.
• The title is a play on the George Harrison-penned Beatles tune "Only A Northern Song." Why, I don't know.
• I listened to both "United Breaks Guitars" and "Thank You Republic Airlines" to make sure I didn't go in either of those directions. 'Twas easy with the Tom Paxton tune. A little more difficult with Dave Carroll's song, because he plays it in the international key of dulcimer - D. Anything I did in D sounded pretty close to this tune, so I went with the key of G instead. A little high in my range, but a good stretching exercise.
• Originally, I was going to rock this one out, but decided to go with a mixture of techno drum loops and dulcimer. The bass is synthesized and played live.
• Except for the male chorus under the bridge, all voices are mine.
It definitely needs some polish, but I'm happy to post it as a demo and see what y'all think. [UPDATE] Thanks to everyone on Blip.FM who has blipped this tune!
Only A Northwest Song
music and lyrics by Bing Futch
Copyright © 2009 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.
you may have heard the song about the guy from Nova Scotia
how United Airlines busted his guitar
Tom Paxton hit that barrier with Republic as a carrier
and he wrote a tune to serve as a memoir
my heart goes out to both these gents in their respective incidents
and with these words I'm joining the protest
for I had just one expenditure in the shape of a mountain dulcimer
and that instrument got splintered by Northwest
NORTHWEST
Where the baggage handlers roam
NORTHWEST
You'll be taking pieces home
NORTHWEST
You've killed many guitars, for sure
add to that: one mangled mountain dulcimer
"gate check that piece"
"no," I said - "it fits right in the overhead
as easy as a cord fits in a plug"
but in Motor City, my connection had the bins all sliced into little sections
the whole plane looked just like a Volkswagen bug
I've had my share of heart-thumpers, flying these puddle-jumpers
my dulcimer in the belly of the beast
the case was strong, I said a prayer as we lifted up into the air
with Ft. Wayne as my next stop in the east
bridge
The two girls on the ground crew seemed afraid
And watched me from afar, grabbing the last bag on the cart
If I had looked inside, they would have paid
three hours later, I saw the mess
and shouted "curses to you, Northwest!"
So, listen up, American, Delta, Frontier , Air Tran
Continental, PSA , Jet Blue
US Airways, Allegiant Air, Southwest, Compass, Martinaire
Virgin Atlantic, yeah I'm talkin' to you
and all you other commercial flights, your passengers have all got rights
to baggage that is never treated wrong
and if you slip, then so will we, along comes Dave or Tom or ME
to tell the world that you suck, in a song
Of Returns and Powwows and Planes and Things
I hit the ground running upon returning to Orlando; logging the video from Townsend, Tennessee and reflecting on the great time up there. Between the workshops and concert at The Pickin' Porch, sightseeing around Cade's Cove and attending my first powwow, there was a lot to absorb. That video will be coming in a little while.
We head off to NAMM show next week, so I'm working hard on some other video projects along with kicking off some of the musical productions I've been looking forward to starting. "Dulcimerica: Volume 2" and "Mountain Dulcimer In The Band: Book Three" are in that list, along with DVDs from Kentucky Music Week 2008 and 2009.
Annie arrived home on the same day, it's been good to have her back. They folks at Folkcraft did a fantastic job restoring her to showroom shape and I wasted no time doing some writing this week. One tune came leaping out yesterday and is basically dulcimer, drums and a basic structure with no lyrics or other parts.
The other song, brand new today, is actually a long time coming. Many people suggested I write a tune about Annie getting busted up by Northwest Airlines this summer, in the same vein as "Thank You Republic Airlines" by Tom Paxton. Well, after hearing and seeing "United Breaks Guitars" by Dave Carroll, I decided to go for it. There's nothing terribly unique about musicians having their gear ruined by airlines, but Dave's YouTube success and subsequent media attention is all very good news for traveling artists. Perhaps the airlines, attempting to deflect some of this unwanted attention, will actually do something about its baggage handling policies.
Dave's got a great voice and band, not to mention a deft touch with a tune - so I made every effort to steer my tune in a different direction. I took me of a rock tack, though the chorus is more Sons of the Pioneers than Son House. Here are the words - I'm working on the arrangement right now and will have a demo up sometime this weekend. It's a pretty fun little tune - many of you have asked for it, and if nothing else, maybe Northwest will hear it and decide to pay for the repairs to my dulcimer.
In the light of two well-known songs of this nature floating around out there, I took the approach of acknowledging them and making this sort of a call to arms for all musicians, as well as telling my own story. Not many dulcimer-got-broke tunes out there, I 'spect.
Only A Northwest Song
music and lyrics by Bing Futch
Copyright © 2009 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.
you may have heard the song about the guy from Nova Scotia
how United Airlines broke his guitar
Tom Paxton hit that barrier with Republic as a carrier
and he wrote a tune to serve as a memoir
my heart goes out to both these gents in their respective incidents
and with these words I'm joining the protest
for I had just one expenditure in the shape of a mountain dulcimer
and that instrument got splintered by Northwest
NORTHWEST
Where the baggage handlers roam
NORTHWEST
You'll be taking pieces home
NORTHWEST
You've killed many guitars, for sure
add to that: one mangled mountain dulcimer
"gate check that piece"
"no," I said - "it fits right in the overhead
as easy as a cord fits in a plug"
but in Motor City, my connection had the bins all sliced into little sections
the whole plane looked just like a Volkswagen bug
I've had my share of heart-thumpers, flying these puddle-jumpers
my dulcimer in the belly of the beast
the case was strong, I said a prayer as we lifted up into the air
with Ft. Wayne as my next stop in the east
bridge
The two girls on the ground crew seemed afraid
And watched me from afar, grabbing the last bag on the cart
If I had looked inside, they would have paid
three hours later, I saw the mess
and shouted "curses to you, Northwest!"
So, listen up, American, Delta, Frontier , Air Tran
Continental, PSA , Jet Blue
US Airways, Allegiant Air, Southwest, Compass, Martinaire
Virgin Atlantic, yeah I'm talkin' to you
and all you other commercial flights, your passengers have all got rights
to baggage that is never treated wrong
and if you slip, then so will we, along comes Dave or Tom or ME
to tell the world that you suck, in a song
We head off to NAMM show next week, so I'm working hard on some other video projects along with kicking off some of the musical productions I've been looking forward to starting. "Dulcimerica: Volume 2" and "Mountain Dulcimer In The Band: Book Three" are in that list, along with DVDs from Kentucky Music Week 2008 and 2009.
Annie arrived home on the same day, it's been good to have her back. They folks at Folkcraft did a fantastic job restoring her to showroom shape and I wasted no time doing some writing this week. One tune came leaping out yesterday and is basically dulcimer, drums and a basic structure with no lyrics or other parts.
The other song, brand new today, is actually a long time coming. Many people suggested I write a tune about Annie getting busted up by Northwest Airlines this summer, in the same vein as "Thank You Republic Airlines" by Tom Paxton. Well, after hearing and seeing "United Breaks Guitars" by Dave Carroll, I decided to go for it. There's nothing terribly unique about musicians having their gear ruined by airlines, but Dave's YouTube success and subsequent media attention is all very good news for traveling artists. Perhaps the airlines, attempting to deflect some of this unwanted attention, will actually do something about its baggage handling policies.
Dave's got a great voice and band, not to mention a deft touch with a tune - so I made every effort to steer my tune in a different direction. I took me of a rock tack, though the chorus is more Sons of the Pioneers than Son House. Here are the words - I'm working on the arrangement right now and will have a demo up sometime this weekend. It's a pretty fun little tune - many of you have asked for it, and if nothing else, maybe Northwest will hear it and decide to pay for the repairs to my dulcimer.
In the light of two well-known songs of this nature floating around out there, I took the approach of acknowledging them and making this sort of a call to arms for all musicians, as well as telling my own story. Not many dulcimer-got-broke tunes out there, I 'spect.
Only A Northwest Song
music and lyrics by Bing Futch
Copyright © 2009 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.
you may have heard the song about the guy from Nova Scotia
how United Airlines broke his guitar
Tom Paxton hit that barrier with Republic as a carrier
and he wrote a tune to serve as a memoir
my heart goes out to both these gents in their respective incidents
and with these words I'm joining the protest
for I had just one expenditure in the shape of a mountain dulcimer
and that instrument got splintered by Northwest
NORTHWEST
Where the baggage handlers roam
NORTHWEST
You'll be taking pieces home
NORTHWEST
You've killed many guitars, for sure
add to that: one mangled mountain dulcimer
"gate check that piece"
"no," I said - "it fits right in the overhead
as easy as a cord fits in a plug"
but in Motor City, my connection had the bins all sliced into little sections
the whole plane looked just like a Volkswagen bug
I've had my share of heart-thumpers, flying these puddle-jumpers
my dulcimer in the belly of the beast
the case was strong, I said a prayer as we lifted up into the air
with Ft. Wayne as my next stop in the east
bridge
The two girls on the ground crew seemed afraid
And watched me from afar, grabbing the last bag on the cart
If I had looked inside, they would have paid
three hours later, I saw the mess
and shouted "curses to you, Northwest!"
So, listen up, American, Delta, Frontier , Air Tran
Continental, PSA , Jet Blue
US Airways, Allegiant Air, Southwest, Compass, Martinaire
Virgin Atlantic, yeah I'm talkin' to you
and all you other commercial flights, your passengers have all got rights
to baggage that is never treated wrong
and if you slip, then so will we, along comes Dave or Tom or ME
to tell the world that you suck, in a song
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