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
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