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Scandi Blip is soon and it's my first time to play a live set somewhere that is not Finland.
Many of you have much experience playing abroad, would you like to share them?
Do i need to explain my gear at customs?
Should i take all possible gear with me on the plane?
Is there any good beers in Denmark?
I think i should at least leave my guns and bombs at home..
I think i should at least leave my guns and bombs at home..
this is a common beginner's mistake. What most people don't realize is that while going abroad, and especially on planes, you will be in need of guns, bombs, and sharp cutting utensils even more so than in the standard suburban home.
KeFF wrote:I think i should at least leave my guns and bombs at home..
this is a common beginner's mistake. What most people don't realize is that while going abroad, and especially on planes, you will be in need of guns, bombs, and sharp cutting utensils even more so than in the standard suburban home.
Don't forget the giant killer bees. Can't go wrong with a box of big arse bees.
Not massively experienced at this but a few observations which might come in handy.
- Rent a phone/SIM, preferably with data. If you don't have one, getting in contact with people and more importantly, people getting in contact with you, is likely to be difficult.
- Print out maps of the venue and your hostel BEFORE you go, doing in an unfamiliar country will be difficult.
- Check your gear will work with whatever power they have in Danemark, buy converters BEFORE you go, it is likely to be difficult to find them at short notice.
- Get to your sound/visual checks on time, even if it means you have to arrive early. Avoid causing difficulty for the organizers.
- Check you have extra connectors/weird connectors. If you can connect your gear to practically anything you can imagine it will help you out of some difficult situations. a BNC to Composite connector may save a gig.
- Buddy up, if you can find a hostel or a hotel with other people, it's less difficult to get around.
- You will have a less difficult time at customs if you have the address of your hotel/hostel and itinerary printed out to show the officials.
- Also, and this is sad but true, if you are worried about having a difficult time at customs, shave, use deoderant, wear nice clothes, a suit if you can.
Probably a bunch more ideas somewhere.
Consume lots of fruit and veg/take lots of multivitamins leading up to the event - you will be going from hot to cold, hot to cold (the venue, to outside) all the time, and lots of people will be flying from around the world to spread their germs in the hot sweaty venue - get vitamin`d up so you don't end up catching the blip flu, or even worse, a chest infection!
edit - I'd say put the music stuff in your luggage - Josstin Timberlake had a few minor problems going from UK > France as he had his C64s in his hand luggage, but at the same time, he does look like a massive hippie/druggie! : P I think Europe > Europe flights are a lot less hysterical than going to the USA though, so you're more than likely going to be OK!
Last edited by calmdownkidder (Sep 13, 2010 7:56 am)
Oh, also, don't touch anyone. You will almost certainly get sick.
ive never had any real problems.
one time i did a gig in belgum near the dutch border and some double denim tin tin fan/plain clothes customs officer stopped me on the eurostar. He kept asking me about smoking in lots of different ways, so I guess they thought i was carring weed. i got searched he seemed vagely intersted that i was just doing a gig, then they let me go.
- Also, and this is sad but true, if you are worried about having a difficult time at customs, shave, use deoderant, wear nice clothes, a suit if you can.
On this point, a psychologist friend of mine said that it's a good idea to keep your eyebrows raised as you go through any customs checkpoints, for reasons he didn't really explain it makes people less likely to want to perform any baggage checks. In general not looking like a backpacker or you just came from Amsterdam will help too.
Also if you ever go through Dubai, make sure you tell them you've never done drugs even if it's a bold faced lie, trust me on this one.
For any travel : make sure you take an extra set of clothes in your cabin bag. My aunt found the hard way that people don't wear undies in Bangladesh, but rather some sort of diaper-like cloth they wrap around their crotch. (OK, that won't happen to you in Denmark, but you get my point, and I love that story.)
RE : customs, if both countries are in the Euro zone it doesn't apply (I know they don't use Euros there, but check what are Finland & Denmark's laws/agreement/etc and/or if they are "Euro zone" regarding workers and customs) If they are not, they might have some sort of special arrangement like Canada and the U.S. have. OK my whole point here is this : if you are getting paid anything, you might be working illegally if you don't have a work permit/visa. Now, you might want to lie at customs, but if you get caught, you most definitely face jail time and being banned from entering said country for a very long period of time. If you tell the truth, you might be denied entry in the country. In most countries you are allowed to work for 3 to 6 months without a visa, but better safe than sorry, right? You probably want to get in touch with the organizers regarding those issues. Apart from that, you shouldn't have to "explain your gear" at customs, but I have seen some zealous custom officers, so you never know. Wear nice clothes, don't booze up too much on the plane, and be ready to explain whatever you do for a living/over there in Denmark in simple words your grandmother would easily understand, and keep your return ticket in an easily accessible place and be ready to show it. If you take prescription medication, keep them in the original containers, and if possible get a copy of the prescription from your pharmacist or better yet, a letter from your doctor listing all your medication and medical reasons for them (it saved my ass in a major way at U.S. customs once). If you are bringing non-prescription medication, make sure it's non-prescription over there too.
One last thing : if you've never been there, always count twice the transit time for everything. For instance, if people tell you it's "a 30 minutes metro trip", plan an hour. If it's a 5 minutes walk, plan 10, etc... You'll always be sure to arrive on time even if a metro line is suddenly not running or if you get lost and need to ask for directions. You don't want to get stressed with transit on your big night. Oh, and keep "trying that weird smelling typical regional dish with surprise-meat" for the next day, too.
i've only been through customs for one tour, and just to be safe i figured out how to program my usb game pad as a midi controller so i wouldn't be lugging a keyboard around with me. it was a safety precaution, because i think if you're getting paid for a gig, it can be considered working in their country, and you'd have to get some kind of working visa to do it (i think, i could be completely wrong)
also i agree with
- Also, and this is sad but true, if you are worried about having a difficult time at customs, shave, use deoderant, wear nice clothes, a suit if you can.
i was one of about three people from my entire flight that had to have their shit searched upon returning to the u.s. because i was rocking the grim morrison look at the time
Oh and one important thing RE : Blip festivals in general :
There is usually an outburst of "Blip Flu", it may sound cute like that, but it's VICIOUS and should be renamed "Blip Terminal AIDS".
Never EVER drink out of Bit Shifter's glass. He will deny it, but he's Patient Zero. No exceptions. :3
Last edited by George (Sep 13, 2010 11:50 am)
i've only been through customs for one tour, and just to be safe i figured out how to program my usb game pad as a midi controller so i wouldn't be lugging a keyboard around with me. it was a safety precaution, because i think if you're getting paid for a gig, it can be considered working in their country, and you'd have to get some kind of working visa to do it (i think, i could be completely wrong)
this is definitely true for americans playing shows in canada.
but most of my gear would pass as video game equipment, so it makes lying a lot easier.
Thanks for all the answers!
Many good points i did not even think about 
Oh and one important thing RE : Blip festivals in general :
There is usually an outburst of "Blip Flu", it may sound cute like that, but it's VICIOUS and should be renamed "Blip Terminal AIDS".
Never EVER drink out of Bit Shifter's glass. He will deny it, but he's Patient Zero. No exceptions. :3
Protip: bit shifter is always sick. always.
agreed, i have worked in a few countries in the and was stopped every time in and out, even at ferry crossings, as shorts, sunglasses and long hair gets you pulled over, get a haircut and a shave, dont wear camo combats, :-P they profile for a job, so check your self out in a mirror befor e u leave
As I toured an extensive amount of Kms, I will share my knowledge with you, my good friend.
Do i need to explain my gear at customs?
Only if they ask about it. Say you like to make music and that's it. Usually they enjoy it. I always get the "wow I used this when I was a kid" or "oh cool so you are a producer, I am into techno myself".
They might ask in Security checkpoints more than in customs about anything you might have that looks particularly odd, but since you are traveling from Finland to Denmark, just forget about anything, you will barely be scanned, questioned or anything. Traveling in Europe is so, so easy.
Should i take all possible gear with me on the plane?
For peace of mind, yes, take whatever you consider most important with you as carry-on (for example: game boy cartridges with data). but if you travel with a cheap airline, carry-on baggage restrictions may apply that leave you with a problem at the airport if you have too much stuff. We once had to split a carry-on in two and take one Atari ST and one A1200 on our hands when reaching the airport with Stu. Check with your airline regarding weight and size restrictions on checked and carry-on luggage.
Then again, I had gear sent to the vault with no problems, just never send your notebook or something really fragile. Gameboys, PSPs, controllers, keyboards, they all can take a beating.
Lazerbeat makes some good points, let's analyze:
Rent a phone/SIM, preferably with data. If you don't have one, getting in contact with people and more importantly, people getting in contact with you, is likely to be difficult.
Phone is a necessity (learned this very well in Tokyo) but every european phone works all across Europe so you will NOT need another SIM, your current plan will DEFINITELY work. Scandinavian phones usually work in the most number of countries too, goto80s swedish phone DID work in Japan for example.
Print out maps of the venue and your hostel BEFORE you go, doing in an unfamiliar country will be difficult.
A MUST. I always do this.
Also put on the map as many notes as possible that might help you get there.
If you have a phone with data capability, google maps or the like will be your best friend.
Another option to printing: make a screencap in good resolution and load this on your phone or other portable device to check it on the road. I always used to do this with my PSP (before it got stolen)
Check your gear will work with whatever power they have in Danemark, buy converters BEFORE you go, it is likely to be difficult to find them at short notice.
Power is the same across Europe but each country have their stupid different plug. Why can't everyone use Shucko or something? anyway, check for the type of plugs used in Denmark and get the proper adapter. Cheap places like CONRAD will have them a-plenty. Never buy one of those expensive, black "multi adapters", they are not worth their price and usually don't have EVERYTHING you need. It's best to have different adapters.
Check you have extra connectors/weird connectors.
I add: take EVERY CABLE you will need and then some more. You should NOT depend on the venue or organizers to provide you with this, even if it is common. Also you can be sure your stuff works before hand. A lot of my luggage space is filled with cables. Invest in good cables, don't use those 2mm thick A/V cables, buy good stuff and keep it forever.
Also, and this is sad but true, if you are worried about having a difficult time at customs, shave, use deoderant, wear nice clothes, a suit if you can.
True, never approach border or custom officials wearing hats, sunglasses or shit like that, and be as nice as you can with them. Also, lie. Never said you come to play a gig, you are just visiting friends. But don't get a haircut or stuff like that, the world just doens't work that way anymore, and I am one you would look at and profile right away, so don't worry about that. Just be polite and don't look "suspicious" or nervous.
However, as I said, if you happen to find anyone at the border in Denmark it will be a feat 
Usually on european airport borders, specially those reached by cheap airlines, there is this one guy that sees you pulling out your passport and as soon as he sees it is european he makes a hand gesture to let you pass. They are not even sealed anymore. Also since you are all part of Shengen or a compatible treaty, you can even say you go to play a gig because you need no special permit to work in the country you arrive.
Welcome to the wonders of the european community
Have a great one my friend!
Last edited by akira^8GB (Sep 14, 2010 3:09 pm)