In demand producer or in demand touring musician?

[beats me]

grooverider is rotting in a dubai prison cell for four years.

in-demand producer FTW.

Every time I have to pass through some uncivilised shit-hole with draconian drug laws I dread them getting the little Hoover out and sniffing my laptop.

I've never got anything on me but I guarantee its little cooling fan has sucked up a fair bit of other DJ's weed in its time. I tell all promoters not to transit me through Dubai ever.

Singapore and Hong Kong give me the willies too.

Last time I went to Canada customs gave my suitcase the full cloth rub down and when they stuck it on the machine that goes bing! it went off. It tested positive for traces of coke on the OUTSIDE of the suitcase, a suitcase I barrowed from my 65-year-old God fearing mother the night before. They started grilling me about the last time I used. Then they gave me shit about using a small travel sized bottle of tylenal I put an other over the counter pain killer in because the size of the bottle was convenient. They were about to do a strip search.

Good times.

[Pitch Black]

Coming off a 12 hour flight San Francisco - Sydney recently, I was stopped by the customs man (prolly cos I got orange hair and headphones round my neck):

Man: "Are you a DJ"

Me: "Musician"

Man: "What sort of music?"

Me: "Electronic/Dance Music"

Man: "Yeah? Any contact with narcotics while you've been away?

Me: "No"

Man: "Really? [He gives me a long stare] Your pupils are quite dilated, mate. Come with me."

FFS! as if I've been e-ing my tits off on the plane...

[popslut]

Last time I went to Canada...

In my experience, Canadian immigration are the worst. I've spent hours trying to look relaxed at Canadian customs.

Japan is pretty heavy and in Australia they always give my luggage a going over on the way in and on the way out.

They seem to be more concerned about illicit foodstuffs than any drugs.

Paradoxically, Israel is a breeze.

In the USA they're happy once you've told them you're coming to spend some money.

[gjm]

Last time I went to Canada...

In my experience, Canadian immigration are the worst. I've spent hours trying to look relaxed at Canadian customs.

Funny eh, I have always found Canada to be the easiest and smoothest. I was just there in Jan and was amazed at how slack the whole Van.I.A was. I am convinced that its about how you look. I look very oridinary.

[popslut]

I look very oridinary.

I looked like a bog-standard pudgy middle-aged bloke in a brown cardy and jeans but with a huge laptop, an Oxygen 8, a BCR2000, 200 CDs, a Firewire 410, a 110v - 240v transformer and all requisite cables in his luggage.

What i didn't realise was that, because I was playing at an open air festival with no bar or alchohol on sale [Shambhala in Salmo, BC], I was pefectly legal and didn't need a work visa, and therefore had no need to try to convince the deeply sceptical immigration officer that I was there to "visit friends and do a bit of shopping".


After an hour of me playing it totally straight, he let me go with a scowl and told me to "have a good gig."

[gjm]

I look very oridinary.

I looked like a bog-standard pudgy middle-aged bloke in a brown cardy and jeans but with a huge laptop, an Oxygen 8, a BCR2000, 200 CDs, a Firewire 410, a 110v - 240v transformer and all requisite cables in his luggage.

What i didn't realise was that, because I was playing at an open air festival with no bar or alchohol on sale [Shambhala in Salmo, BC], I was pefectly legal and didn't need a work visa, and therefore had no need to try to convince the deeply sceptical immigration officer that I was there to "visit friends and do a bit of shopping".


After an hour of me playing it totally straight, he let me go with a scowl and told me to "have a good gig."

Right. I had a laptop but no instruments. Just kids. Maybe that is the difference.

I was once stopped coming back to New Zealand in the early 90's with a big green garbage bag full of disposable diapers (unused). They were all neatly packaged into a nice big rectangle. I was travelling alone, had a skin head and wore sunnies through the airport ( had jeans and a suit jacket on). When asked by the customs officers what was in the bag... an hour later, and a search through everything revealed nothing but a jar of blackberry jam. The wife thought that I just didn't get on the plane. I walked through to see my 3 yr old waving a small flag saying 'daddy'. "Sorry honey... I left the diapers behind."

[popslut]

...a big green garbage bag full of disposable diapers (unused).

Mercifully.