Oh dear, Derek. That is what I had guessed. Unfortunately, I would suspect that this would lead to all sorts of other problems -- like diminished interest in the U.S. for music from Scotland, more control by the biggest corporations producing Celtic anythings, some performers moving to the U.S. (like Alasdair Frasier, William Jackson ...), intensified concerns on the parts of performers.
Since I am so quiet on Scots-l, I miss a lot of things. I'd be really interested in what instrument(s) you play, who you play with - that stuff, that I'm sure most others on this list already know. Come to think of it, I'd love to know that about some of the rest of the people here. I have a feeling that you are not the only one being affected by the visa problems. Thanks for your reply, and I'm sorry about this situation from this side of the ocean. We miss out too. Ellen Sinatra Derek Hoy wrote: > Ellen asked: > > First (and not very debatable)... Over the years, visas have been > > difficult > > for Scottish musicians to get to concertize in the U.S. With recent > > restrictions here due to 9/11 etc., do any of you know if visas are again > > a problem for musicians who wish to tour? And if so, is it affecting > > the music? > > Yes, and yes. It's now worse than ever. I was in the US last month, and the > INS application (done by a US agent) took over 4 months. You can > 'fast-track' an application on payment of around $1200- that's approx, I > can't remember the exact amount. The VISA fees payable to the London Embassy > have also risen substantially. > > This wasn't an application for a casual trip to just play- we had to apply > for a P3 VISA, which is for musical entertainment which is in some way > unique, ie not obtainable except by importing furreners. We had letters from > all sorts of organisations here to back up our claim to be National > Treasures of enormous cultural significance. > > The system seems designed to keep musicians out the country. So is it > affecting the music? I think so- there are now more and more US-based > 'celtic bands' and the need to import the real thing seems to have lessened. > All the celtic music I heard in the US was Irish-influenced, apart from the > pipe bands. If you want to be Scottish, it's enough to put on a kilt. In > 2000 we played at Epcot as part of a millennium thing- all the folks there > wearing kilts were Canadian :( > > Derek > Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To >subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
