Robben Ford Discussion

[Buffaloe]

Be cautious here. Even though that's a nice looking document and may work on some occasions, the fact is that the TSA has no jurisdiction over what carriers allow on board. The TSA's function is to provide security screening of baggage and people, and that's it. The ultimate authority of what gets on the plane is the Pilot In Command.
_________________
Ham Fisted Bloozer

[frank0936]

Nobody is disputing the fact that the airlines have the final say, but the letter has worked for one of our members. It is one more card to have to try to hang on to your axe on a flight. TSA is the 500lb canary right now, and what they say does carry weight. It beats walking up with nothing in your hand but your guitar, don't you think?
Frank

[Buffaloe]

[ThinkTwice]

I'll be there as well (Im Roger from NY). I attended last May's clinic . Its time for my wife, 7 year old daughter and my annual trip to Ojai to visit friends. Taking in the Robben clinic works for me as well!
After last May's clinic, my daughter Elizabeth, who loves Robben's music, was too starstruck at age 6 to say anything to him. We'll see how she does this time.
Agree on the points above--the arilines are getting more particular and less predictable on the guitar front.
See you all at the Women's Center on Saturday.
R

[bluejack]

So i've a copy of that letter, never had to use it yet though. One thing is that it's kinda old by now. The rules are changing faster than one can keep up with them. But i know it's helped in some cases. I guess esp .if you're a union member. The airlines can be a mess. Saw two reports just today;one about the smaller low fare airlines causing more delays and the other where now the TSA is fining people for bringing restricted items into the airport(knives and guns mostly,not guitars).
Like to offer an alternative that i haven't seen discussed before-Travel guitars. If you're going to a clinic or just visiting and want to stay loose and in shape they are fine. I have an Erlwine Chiquita and a baby Taylor that i carry all over. They are easy to carry and never a problem carry on. And you can pull 'em out and get some practice done in the airport while between flights.
Best of luck and enjoy the weekend in Ojai,
J

[frank0936]

Maybe one of our forum members who is also a member of AFM could check the sight for updates. There are several articles on the site but you must be a member to read them.
Frank

[bluejack]

So i checked the AFM site and was gonna try and hit the highlights for you guys but then i found practically the same article on The National Assoc for Music Ed site. www.menc.org goto the 'info,please' section, it's the last article.
Also, for the political activists among us, there is 'The Coalition in Support of Musical Instruments as Carry On Baggage' Try a google search. They are petitioning congress to address this issue.
J

[maxima]

"bluenote" is in LA , eating lunch at my favorite LA restaurant "The Tam "
on los feliz blvd.
wish i was there
he did get a flightcase -
better safe then sorry

maxima

[BlueRunner]

JohnnyZ! I was hoping you'd get around to a review of the earlier clinic. Really enjoyed your comments.

As for the airlines, I'm thinking about buying a Squier Tele just so I can loan it out to folks who decide to heck with the whole mess and fly out here without an axe.

The weather in Ojai will be warm this weekend, but the whole area's in great shape, with wildflowers and green grass galore from our winter rains. Queens of the Stone Age are at the Ventura Theatre Monday night; there's live music tonight and tomorrow night at Movino Wine Bar in Ojai; Robert Cray's at the Lobero in Santa Barbara tonight; there's live jazz all weekend at Cafe des Artistes in Ventura, including guitarist Stephen Geyer at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, featuring his 13-year-old son Devon, a young blues monster who placed well nationally in Guitar Center's Guitarmageddon contest; and lots of other fun stuff.
_________________
- BlueRunner

[Buffaloe]

I saw Steve Geyer on one of my trips to Ojai. He is a monster chord/melody player and worth your time to hear.
_________________
Ham Fisted Bloozer

[Red Suede]

Go United if you can. I just got in from a gig in Hawaii with Dewayne Pate,
and they didn't even blink an eye at either of our gig bags.

[Ron S]

Don't think anyone's mentioned this so far.
I travelled to the USA from the UK a couple of years ago. I was at University (BA Mus) and had an important performance the day I was due to arrive home and didn't want to lose my callouses etc. It never occured to me to try and take it in a gig bag as the airlines state how big your hand luggage can be.
So picking a good but replaceable strat I took off the neck and put it in my hand luggage. No problems whatsoever (apart from convincing the airline I wasn't in the US to work!)
Putting it back together took roughly 8-10 minutes including tuning.
Ron

[jconstant]

I'm back from yesterday's clinic so I thought I'd give a little report of my experience.

This is the third time I've attended one of Robben's Ojai clinics and, as expected, it was a different experience than the other two in many ways.

I arrived about 50 minutes before the clinic started and to my surprise nobody was sitting at the door ahead of me. Being Memorial Day weekend I had expect traffic from LA to be much worse.

Anne showed up at around 9:30 to set up the place. Brian and I helped her move tables and chairs out of the way to get the place ready and Robben arrived while we were doing this. Robben seemed exceptionally relaxed and in a jovial mood yesterday. It made for a really time full of laughter and jokes. A couple of guys even took pictures while Robben was playing - with flash!!! - and Robben didn't say anything. I know that bugs the shit out of him but he didn't even seem to care.

As for equipment (see link to pictures below), the 355, a new LP that Robben bought just a few days ago, and two Fender Deluxe Reverbs.

Robben is clearly getting this clinic thing down. There were more materials for us than any previous clinic which was very nice. Robben just seemed in such a good mood because you could tell he was having a good time. He was really open and funny and talked about many personal things I haven't heard him talk about before. He seemed very, very comfortable - even more so than he's been in the past.

We skipped the individual introductions this time and dove right into the material. There were four guys (including myself) who had attended the clinic before. The other 21 were first timers. Robben started off this time by playing a Paul Butterfield CD called The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshow. It had Butterfield, Elvin Bishop, a young David Sanborn - man it was great! It will soon be part of my collection. Robben then spent a few minutes going over the basics of the keyboard layout and basic theory.

We went over the new materials which covered several cool chord progressions and related scales. Very simple stuff that will get you a long, long way. Can't wait to review it more today.

He spoke at length about songwriting and how he made a conscious decision several years ago to work hard at becoming a good songwriter. He strongly recommended a book about songwriting by Jimmy Web called Tunesmith. He talked a lot about several songs he's written and how he went about writing them. He even played several of them for us live including Hey Brother and Good to Love.

We took a break for lunch and a few of us went next door to a restaurant called Azu. Robben said he thought it was about the best place in town. I have to agree - not that I've tried everything but it really was good. If you go to another clinic I highly recommend it. Great menu, the food is fantastic, and its reasonably priced.

After lunch Robben invited the brave ones to stand up and play with him. I'm embarrassed to say that I still don't have the balls to do that. I'm determined to get up there next time.

Three guys had the balls and I admire them for it. I don't know their names but guy #1 played two tunes - All Blues and something else that I didn't catch the name of. He sounded really good and Robben was very complementary.

Guy #2 got up, told Robben he was a beginner, and they just jammed to a basic blues. For a beginner he did a really good job and I give him a huge thumbs up for getting up there. After he finished he gave Robben a hug!

Guy #3 got up, played a straight ahead blues jam, and also played pretty darn well. After he finished - another hug for Robben! It was a day full of big love.

We quicly reviewed more of the handouts which included some lessons from Robben's Rythym Blues book and also Moonchild Blues.

The day ended at 4:00 which, of course, was far too soon. Robben had his picture taken with several guys, including yours truly. He signed some guitars and chatted with a few of us.

If any of you have been on the fence about going to one of these clinics, I've got three words for you - just do it. You will not be disappointed. I'm still amazed that Robben gives so much of himself by making this time available to his fans and sharing his love of music with us.

Jim

[JohnnyZ]

Excellent review there, jconstant!

[Ian Hurtt]

Great review Jim! I really want to make at least one of these clinics. Sounds like it was incredibly educational musically and also a boatload of fun!