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Topic: Proposed visit to the USA |
Eric Dunlop
From:
Hampshire, UK
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Posted 25 Mar 2009 12:56 am |
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Hello everyone,
The following item was posted by me on what was possibly the Index Area.
I will try to explain.
I have been playing the standard 6 string guitar for many years until my left hand began to lose it's dexterity and I became a very slow player. I then at the age of 69 decided that the Pedal Steel was the instrument for me. My right hand is fine and the left can handle the tone bar reasonably well.
I have progressed to playing very simple tunes on the PSG and have found that the various instruction manuals available here in the UK are in short supply, but never the less I have acquired the more well known publications.
I live in the south of England in a little town named Whitchurch located in the north of Hampshire.
Just to the north of me is the village of Burclere and living there is Gerry Hogan a well known player.
In looking for a tutor he would naturally be my first choice, but unfortunately he is on tour and a very busy man.
So tuition is one of my main hurdles. Another shortfall I have found is that the Pedal Steel is not included as a choice instrument in our musical education system hence the high age range of most of our accomplished players.
I have a scheme that I hope will go some way to redress the balance. There is an organisation over here called "The Churchill Fellowship". If your presentation to them is accepted, they will provide the funding to assist you on your chosen quest.
I intend to make a presentation on the grounds of promoting the Pedal Steel here in the English Educational System (I am a school governor). I will need to visit the USA first hand to gain the information that I seek. For this I need guidance as to where to visit and where to stay and some idea as to the cost of hotel and boarding houses. All of this basic information will be required for me to prepare my presentation.
Is anyone prepared to assist me in this?
I am open to any guidance on travel, I do drive a motor car here in the UK but know nothing of the American driving laws so that is an area that I need educating in. Possibly at my age it might be better to use taxi cabs, if so there is another item that needs costing.
If this comes off, it could be a great deal of fun for all concerned. Especially as the farthest that I have travelled has been just across the Channel to the North of France.
I look forward to your comments and thank you for reading this introduction.
Best wishes
Eric Dunlop |
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T. C. Furlong
From:
Lake County, Illinois, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2009 4:50 am
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Hello Eric and welcome to the forum.
I would suggest attending a steel guitar show to learn a lot in a short period of time. The next major show in the US is in St. Louis in September. It's called The International Steel Guitar Convention. Here is the link: http://www.scottysmusic.com/isgc2009.htm
Scotty is a great host and THE international ambassador for the steel guitar. I'll bet if you contact him, he will help you to get the most out of your trip. Hotel rates are posted on the above link page and the cab ride from the airport should be affordable.
If you decide that an extended trip to study the instrument would be in order, Nashville might be a consideration. I'd guess that there are more steel guitar players per capita than anywhere. All time great player Doug Jernigan has a school of music near Nashville.
Good luck with your endeavor.
TC |
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Tom Quinn
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Posted 25 Mar 2009 5:31 am
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That is an excellent idea. If you came to the USA in September for the convention, not only would you get a great amount of information about steel guitar, but you would see a lot of stuff that you would not find in your country.
It's the end of our baseball season, the start of NFL football (trust me, once you understand the rules it most definitely isn't the "snoozer" your British soccer/football fnas make it out to be :- ) ), autumn is just around the corner, public schools are back in business and etc.
Good luck from a guy who taught for many years!
Tq |
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Eric Dunlop
From:
Hampshire, UK
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Posted 25 Mar 2009 1:53 pm
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Thank you for the encouragement.
I think that September might not be a possibility, I have to make my costed presentation to the Churchill Trust and by the time I receive a reply it could be nearer Christmas, so the proposed visit would probably be for next year.
In the mean time I will have to produce an itinery of the places I need to visit. 
The cost of the flight to the USA can be obtained quite easily, it is the detailing of the internal transport together with costings that will take up the time.
This if it comes off, is a chance in a lifetime. |
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Eric Dunlop
From:
Hampshire, UK
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Posted 28 Mar 2009 11:34 pm
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I attended a Fellowship meeting last Friday. I listened to other Fellows who had been granted their Fellowship and the necessary funding to allow them to complete their projects.
I was advised not to be too specific in my timescale regarding the duration of my visit to any particular place and to consider staying in Motels or Youth Hostels, although at my age this seemed a little out of place. As regards travel, I was advised to use the "Greyhound" as this would allow me to see more of the country.
Would you agree with the above?
The time scale for my intended visit would certainly be in the first 6 months of the new year and probably be for a period of 12 weeks duration. |
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Ken Byng
From:
Southampton, England
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Posted 29 Mar 2009 8:09 am
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Eric
I am off to the States next month for three weeks. Everybody I met last year when I went were just fantastic. In fact, apart from one idiot on this Forum who fired off banal personal emails to me when I wrote a piece on a post about Jimi Hendrix, the US guys here are really supportive and helpful.
I just use the internet to compare accommodation prices and car hire charges. It's just a pity that the Pound/Dollar exchange rate is not so good at the moment for those of us from the UK.
Tuition-wise, check out what is available on this forum on http://pedalsteelmusic.com/instruction.html
In addition, Bobbe Seymour, DeWitt Scott, Doug Jernigan, John Hughey, Buddy Emmons and many others have tuition available on their web sites or by third parties.
_________________
Show Pro D10 - amber (8+6), MSA D10 Legend XL Signature - redburst (9+6), Sho-Bud Pro 111 Custom (8+6), Emmons black Push-Pull D10 (8+5), Zum D10 (8x8), Hudson pedal resonator. Telonics TCA-500, Webb 614-E, |
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John Davis
From:
Cambridge, U.K.
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 1:40 pm
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Eric, you have so many good players in your area I am sure you could get some tuition from some of them.
I would forget about the Greyhound as regards getting around the USA, I tried it on my first visit to the states just to get from Atlanta to Nashville it was pure frustration it pulled off the interstate at every little village.. I thought I was never going to get there!... By the time it got to Chatanoga I had had enough! I got off and stuck out my thumb....had some strange experiences but got there a lot quicker!!!
Last time I went I hired a car in Toronto and drove around quite a few of the northern states covering over 4000 miles visiting Steel meetings, that was an education, I met some great people but the distances are vast and the travel does wear you down I did`ent get to half the places I wanted to see.
I have a steel players meeting up here in Cambridgeshire once or twice a year my last one was about a month ago and there was at least 20 Brit steel players there, also one from Scotland,one from North Wales,one from deepest Kent and one from Germany....!! so steel guitar is alive and well up here.. If I can be of any help please call me ...01480393900  |
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Darrell Criswell
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 3:57 pm
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Eric:
I would recommend visiting the Fort Worth Dallas Area. First it is easy to fly into. Pearls Dance Hall in Fort Worth always has steel players on the weekend, some of the best. Several prominent steel makers are there such as Rains, GFI, MSA and others. Also some of the US's best steel players live there and you could take lessons from more than five world class steel players (David Wright, Gary Carpenter, Maurice Anderson, Junior Knight, to name just a few). In addition you could travel to Austin by car (4 hours) cheaply where there are great steel player also. You could go to see Cindy Cashdollar who often plays at the Contiental Club. San Antonio is also home to some great steel players and its an hour from Austin. Bobby Flores has a music store there, is a classically trained musician, and is a great fiddle player as well as steel player. Randy Rheinhart (sp?) teaches lessons at Bobby's store and is as good as they come.
I don't think you will find nearly as much around Nashville. With a little planning you won't be able to take it all in. Also these areas are relatively cheap and have tons of budget hotels. Getting around isn't very difficult either except in rush hour. |
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Tom Quinn
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 4:27 pm
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You could visit Jimi's grave up in Seattle... -L-
Last edited by Tom Quinn on 30 Mar 2009 6:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 5:40 pm
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| Ken Byng wrote: |
...It's just a pity that the Pound/Dollar exchange rate is not so good at the moment for those of us from the UK.
... |
Too right, mate... the pound, which stood at $2.04 this time last year, is currently at $1.26 
This isn't a good time to visit, economically.
Eric: Driving on the right is no big deal. You don't forget which side to drive because the fact that the steering wheel is on the left is a perpetual reminder. 
Coming from Birmingham, I'd driven on the left for 15 years before I moved to California, since when I've driven for 29 years on the right. I picked it up straight away. When I go home about once a year it takes me no time at all to get back into driving on the left again. The big difference over here is distances. People think nothing of driving nonstop for 12 hours at 70 m.p.h.
Generally speaking, though, the traffic is slower than in England. I can remember being in a 90 m.p.h traffic jam on the M5. Over here the speed limit was 55 m.p.h. over the entire country until they eased it to 65 m.p.h. a few years back.
The worst traffic I've ever driven in is:
[1] London in the rush hour. 
[2] Paris at any time. (They have rules of the road; they just don't follow them.) 
[3] Antwerp, Belgium, on a Friday night, in a right-hand drive British car. 
The best way to tour the U.S.A. is by Amtrak. (That's the National Rail Network.) You can sit back and relax and see the scenery. If you're driving your eyes are fixed on the road ahead. On a train you can get up and stretch your legs and talk to people. I toured the country in 1976 that way. I bought a 6 wks. Rover ticket and spent most nights sleeping on trains, which cut the price of the trip right down. |
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Tom Quinn
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 7:01 pm
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| A few miscnceptions. I usually keep my Hayabusa between 85 -- 100 mph in the number-one lane on the freeways. Most people don't keep their eyes on the road -- they are usually texting on their cell phone or eating a sandwich and looking at their privates... |
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Ken Byng
From:
Southampton, England
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Posted 31 Mar 2009 4:53 am
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| John Davis wrote: |
| I got off and stuck out my thumb....had some strange experiences but got there a lot quicker!!! |
John - please enlighten us.
Ken 
_________________
Show Pro D10 - amber (8+6), MSA D10 Legend XL Signature - redburst (9+6), Sho-Bud Pro 111 Custom (8+6), Emmons black Push-Pull D10 (8+5), Zum D10 (8x8), Hudson pedal resonator. Telonics TCA-500, Webb 614-E, |
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John Davis
From:
Cambridge, U.K.
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Posted 31 Mar 2009 10:43 pm
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Ken, trust me you don`t wanna know 
All I will say is my orientation has never been in doubt......... |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 1 Apr 2009 6:43 am
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| John Davis wrote: |
| ...I got off and stuck out my thumb....had some strange experiences... |
That reminds me of the two Irishmen chatting in a pub.
Says the first: "Now Texas, there's a place. Where else would a complete stranger pick you up in sports car, take you out for a meal, take you to a show, give you a bed for the night, and not ask for a penny ?"
Says the second: "Did that happen to you ?"
Says the first: "No, but it happened to my sister." |
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Tom Quinn
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Posted 2 Apr 2009 5:08 am
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| Good one! |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 2 Apr 2009 8:56 am Entering the US on a Visa Waiver (green form) has changed
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May seem a little off topic, but since two posters seem to come from the UK and thus may be British citizens planing to enter the US without applying for a visa on the Visa Waiver program, be reminded that the program has recently been changed in that since February 2009 you'd need to pre-register on this page:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/
You can do so before even having made definite travel arrangements (just leave the trip info blank) and it's good for up to 2 years.
... J-D. |
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Ken Byng
From:
Southampton, England
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Posted 3 Apr 2009 3:39 am
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JD
I did this a while ago. A fairly painless process and hopefully resulting in a smoother entry into the US in a week's time.
_________________
Show Pro D10 - amber (8+6), MSA D10 Legend XL Signature - redburst (9+6), Sho-Bud Pro 111 Custom (8+6), Emmons black Push-Pull D10 (8+5), Zum D10 (8x8), Hudson pedal resonator. Telonics TCA-500, Webb 614-E, |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 3 Apr 2009 5:57 am
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| Have a good trip, Ken. |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 3 Apr 2009 6:25 am
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| Ken Byng wrote: |
JD
I did this a while ago. A fairly painless process and hopefully resulting in a smoother entry into the US in a week's time. |
Well, it hasn't changed much anything at the immigration checkpoints. One still hast to fill out the green slip (best during flight) and wait in lanes, which can be long when several Int'l flights overwhelm a terminal at once. Same questions, plus full finger prints and a picture.
Anyways, I think the ESTA process is more a tool to help them reduce entry attempts by people they would not let in under that particular program or whom intend to present documentation which may be questionable. I have never witnessed somebody being turned away at an immigration check point, but given the at times huge number of people at some Int'l airports terminals, I could imagine that this can disrupt the whole handling of such crowds for a little while, depending on the case.
All understandable, at the end of all days, it's them idiot terrorists who make our lives so much more complicated at all ends.
Have a safe trip and a good time there.
... J-D. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 3 Apr 2009 1:17 pm
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| I find it saves a lot of time if you use the lesser-used airports. For instance, if I fly from San Francisco to Heathrow I encounter awful traffic at both ends, and still have a trip into London and then by train on to Birmingham. Instead I fly from Oakland International (which is actually closer to downtown San Francisco than SFO is !) to Seattle, to Amsterdam, to Birmingham. When I arrive at Birmingham I'm usually the only non-EEC passenger arriving, and I walk straight through with no queue whatsover. |
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Ken Byng
From:
Southampton, England
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Posted 4 Apr 2009 3:48 am
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Hi Alan
For practical reasons (living in Southampton) the only real options for me are Heathrow or Gatwick. American Airlines - my preferred airline - no longer fly out of Gatwick to Dallas Fort Worth, so its Heathrow unfortunately which although is only an hour's drive away is a busy airport to say the least.
I will be travelling through Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee in a three week period. Hoping to meet and see as many forumites as I can who are gigging en route.
I would like to do the west coast some time one day to meet up with the likes of Tom Bradshaw and yourself for an hour's chat about steel guitar.
_________________
Show Pro D10 - amber (8+6), MSA D10 Legend XL Signature - redburst (9+6), Sho-Bud Pro 111 Custom (8+6), Emmons black Push-Pull D10 (8+5), Zum D10 (8x8), Hudson pedal resonator. Telonics TCA-500, Webb 614-E, |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 4 Apr 2009 7:25 pm
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| Ken Byng wrote: |
| ...I would like to do the west coast some time one day to meet up with the likes of Tom Bradshaw and yourself for an hour's chat about steel guitar. |
I usually come over to the U.K. about once a year. I've postponed my spring trip because of the economy, but I'm hoping to come over sometime in the autumn. Southampton is a bit remote for me from Birmingham, but if London is only an hour's drive away maybe we could meet there sometime. |
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Eric Dunlop
From:
Hampshire, UK
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Posted 5 Apr 2009 7:19 pm
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Thank you all for your advice, it would seem that the most practical journey is from Heathrow to Fort Worth. Then to hire a car and travel to other destinations. My only hurdle then is to aquaint myself fully with the driving regulations.
I understand John's frustration with the "Greyhound", that would give me some problems also. At least with the car one can stop at will and view the sites.
Alan has given me just a little confidence in driving on the other side of the road. The fact that the steering wheel is on the left will be a constant reminder.
The information on the "Visa" is very welcome and I will be taking advantage of that advice, thank you J.D. Sauser.
Well I have received some very helpful emails and made some new friends. I now have a much better idea as to where to visit. I shall soon be writing up my presentation for the Churchill Trust.
If all goes well the intended visit will be July / August of 2010 finishing up in St. Louis for the steel guitar convention. |
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Eric Dunlop
From:
Hampshire, UK
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Posted 10 Apr 2009 3:39 pm
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The application has now been sent to the Churchill Trust. Fingers crossed.
Thank you all for your encouragement and advice, it has been most welcome.
Now I had better get down to some solid practice, I must, by next year, be able to play a few tunes that are recognizable. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 19 Apr 2009 11:23 am
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| Eric Dunlop wrote: |
| ...Now I had better get down to some solid practice, I must, by next year, be able to play a few tunes that are recognizable. |
On the other hand, if you made up some instrumentals no-one could say you were playing them wrong...   |
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