February 18, 2010
2nd Fugimundi adventure to North America and Canada
2nd Fugimundi adventure to North America and Canada
In October 2008 my new manager Susanna von Canon organized a tour in the USA with my acoustic trio Fugimundi (with Harmen Fraanje on piano and Anton Goudsmit on guitar). It turned out to be a very nice two weeks with a live recording in the famous jazz club Yoshi’s in Oakland, California. The cd “LIve at Yoshi’s” is already a big success back in Holland. More than 5000 copies have been sold which is not too bad for our speeldmetaljazzpopera music. Ha ha !
Our previous album “Summersault” was re-discovered by the late, very popular, columnist Martin Bril. He had written an essay about the album three years after it was released, totally out of the blue. I was astonished and touched that he had written with such sensitivity about the music from the vantage point of someone who had, until that moment, not been confronted with either me or my playing. His writing meant so much to me because it was about life, life connected with music – this while he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. That made it all very special, and very unexpected. I asked him to write the liner notes for the Yoshi’s recording which he did beautifully. He was already very ill and on the night of our cd presentation, which was of course party time for us, he died.
We’re back now in the USA and Canada. Susanna again organized a splendid tour for us. It wasn’t very easy this time. By the time she had most of the dates down, she heard that the immigration service (the INS) changed the law, or rather, was implementing the old law with some ferocity. Poor Susanna, she almost got a heart attack. Now it was not possible anymore to have one club as sponsor and to arrange a working permit via that one sponsor. No, each of the clubs would have to apply individually for their one gig (can you imagine?) or....you needed to have a ‘recognized’ agent in the USA. Susanna is an American but not a resident. So that was not OK. Luckily Susanna has a friend, Alison Loerke, who has a world music agency in Seattle, and Alison was willing to help us. A little info about the rigmarole : it costs € 15 per person just to make an appointment at the US Consulate, it costs an extra $ 1000 to have ‘expedited’ service with INS and the Musicians’ Union (which has to approve the visa petition), and less than 4 months in advance of your tour means you have to ‘expedite’. Plus the costs of the intermediary, which is another $ 1000, and the bank costs for the wire transfer, plus the extra costs of the Consulate, which is $ 130 each – we ended up having to pay $ 2500 just for the privilege of performing in the USA (with government support). That’s the way it is. On the other hand, US musicians can come to Europe with no work permit, play for months at a time for serious money and there are no questions asked at the border. Come on over ! I’m happy it’s like that for them because I’ve learned quite a bit about the music from going to performances by American musicians. But give me a break ! Can’t we make this easier for international musicians to perform in your country ? What are you scared of ? Isn’t music the universal language ?
It also seems to be that student visas for studying in the USA have gotten much harder to obtain – what is the danger ? This xenophobia is going to result in a limitation of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of other cultures, other world views and possibilities that the country will be poorer for it. There is no win-win situation in such a context.
Besides that, the situation in Holland with government grants is getting more and more difficult. Because I am not (yet, ha ha) a world star in the US, you need some money, a little support. The organisation NFPK which decides about travel support is getting more bureaucratic and seems to be unconnected from the real working field.
Questions like: So you are going to Vancouver while the Olympics are there ? The flights are more expensive, so why don’t you go some other time? Not realizing that the Olympics might also have a positive influence on the audience and that the Winterruption Festival is the presenter of the Cultural Olympiad. The festival IS in this period. So do you want the festival to move to some other time ? Another one is: The distances between cities in the USA and Canada are too wide, why don’t you just play venues closer together so you don’t have to fly... wow....have you seen the map of this continent and do you know how big these countries are ? Compared to the Netherlands where you can drive (unless there are traffic jams) from border to border in two hours ? AAAARGGGHHH!!!!!!!
But......financially everything was finally settled more or less and the negative impules changed into positive ones. Forces are bonded and from now on I have an official agent, Alia Productions, in the USA. Life is laughing with me, ha ha !
2nd Fugimundi adventure to North America and Canada
In October 2008 my new manager Susanna von Canon organized a tour in the USA with my acoustic trio Fugimundi (with Harmen Fraanje on piano and Anton Goudsmit on guitar). It turned out to be a very nice two weeks with a live recording in the famous jazz club Yoshi’s in Oakland, California. The cd “LIve at Yoshi’s” is already a big success back in Holland. More than 5000 copies have been sold which is not too bad for our speeldmetaljazzpopera music. Ha ha !
Our previous album “Summersault” was re-discovered by the late, very popular, columnist Martin Bril. He had written an essay about the album three years after it was released, totally out of the blue. I was astonished and touched that he had written with such sensitivity about the music from the vantage point of someone who had, until that moment, not been confronted with either me or my playing. His writing meant so much to me because it was about life, life connected with music – this while he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. That made it all very special, and very unexpected. I asked him to write the liner notes for the Yoshi’s recording which he did beautifully. He was already very ill and on the night of our cd presentation, which was of course party time for us, he died.
We’re back now in the USA and Canada. Susanna again organized a splendid tour for us. It wasn’t very easy this time. By the time she had most of the dates down, she heard that the immigration service (the INS) changed the law, or rather, was implementing the old law with some ferocity. Poor Susanna, she almost got a heart attack. Now it was not possible anymore to have one club as sponsor and to arrange a working permit via that one sponsor. No, each of the clubs would have to apply individually for their one gig (can you imagine?) or....you needed to have a ‘recognized’ agent in the USA. Susanna is an American but not a resident. So that was not OK. Luckily Susanna has a friend, Alison Loerke, who has a world music agency in Seattle, and Alison was willing to help us. A little info about the rigmarole : it costs € 15 per person just to make an appointment at the US Consulate, it costs an extra $ 1000 to have ‘expedited’ service with INS and the Musicians’ Union (which has to approve the visa petition), and less than 4 months in advance of your tour means you have to ‘expedite’. Plus the costs of the intermediary, which is another $ 1000, and the bank costs for the wire transfer, plus the extra costs of the Consulate, which is $ 130 each – we ended up having to pay $ 2500 just for the privilege of performing in the USA (with government support). That’s the way it is. On the other hand, US musicians can come to Europe with no work permit, play for months at a time for serious money and there are no questions asked at the border. Come on over ! I’m happy it’s like that for them because I’ve learned quite a bit about the music from going to performances by American musicians. But give me a break ! Can’t we make this easier for international musicians to perform in your country ? What are you scared of ? Isn’t music the universal language ?
It also seems to be that student visas for studying in the USA have gotten much harder to obtain – what is the danger ? This xenophobia is going to result in a limitation of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of other cultures, other world views and possibilities that the country will be poorer for it. There is no win-win situation in such a context.
Besides that, the situation in Holland with government grants is getting more and more difficult. Because I am not (yet, ha ha) a world star in the US, you need some money, a little support. The organisation NFPK which decides about travel support is getting more bureaucratic and seems to be unconnected from the real working field.
Questions like: So you are going to Vancouver while the Olympics are there ? The flights are more expensive, so why don’t you go some other time? Not realizing that the Olympics might also have a positive influence on the audience and that the Winterruption Festival is the presenter of the Cultural Olympiad. The festival IS in this period. So do you want the festival to move to some other time ? Another one is: The distances between cities in the USA and Canada are too wide, why don’t you just play venues closer together so you don’t have to fly... wow....have you seen the map of this continent and do you know how big these countries are ? Compared to the Netherlands where you can drive (unless there are traffic jams) from border to border in two hours ? AAAARGGGHHH!!!!!!!
But......financially everything was finally settled more or less and the negative impules changed into positive ones. Forces are bonded and from now on I have an official agent, Alia Productions, in the USA. Life is laughing with me, ha ha !
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read more 09.02.12
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| 11-02: | Combattimento Consort Amsterdam | Rotterdam |
| Rotterdamse Schouwburg | ||
| 11-02: | Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet | Basel |
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| 12-02: | Bart Wirtz | |
| With Loet v/d Lee Quartet @ 2 spieghels, Leiden | ||
| 12-02: | Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet | Vienna |
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| 12-02: | Ronald Brautigam | Antwerpen |
| Amuz/ CP | ||
| 13-02: | Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet | Baden |
| Isebähnli, Baden, Switserland | ||
| 13-02: | Liza Ferschtman | Dalarna |
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| 14-02: | Eric Vloeimans | Brussel |
| Musée Charlier | ||
| 14-02: | Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet | Fürth |
| Blue note, Fürth, Germany | ||
| 14-02: | Ronald Brautigam | Marseille |
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