Fly Me to the Moon!

But don't make me put my guitar in cargo! So many of the anxieties in the career of a performer simply have to do with getting to the gig on time and with your instrument, strings and, in the case of guitar-players, nails, intact. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, many was the time that I would literally smuggle my guitar on board the plane. The possibility of doing this has now, with the added security and, frankly, the sheer disregard of the passengers' needs by the staff, become impossible.

Norman Lebrecht has some of the latest outrages here. Sure, you can take your violin onboard, just remove it from it's protective case! Or pay €300 for an extra seat for an instrument that is easily small enough to go in the overhead. Why are airlines (and customs officers) so difficult to deal with? After reading the second comment to Norman's post, I would definitely try to fly El Al. But since I am retired as a performer, I no longer have to worry about this. Thank St. Cecilia!

My guitar and I have been together for over thirty years. The thought of endangering her by allowing some gorilla to throw her in the cargo hold is just, uh, deeply worrying...

Guitar by Robert Holroyd, Vancouver, 1983

UPDATE: So you can hear what that guitar sounds like, here is my recording of Serões by Isaias Savio: