Okay, this is a therapeutic excersize to help relieve the tension of the last day!

I had a wedding performance last night in Montreal. I do quite a lot of out-of-NY weddings, so this is not new to me. And I've performed in Montreal five or six times before. So considering I had another performance in Minneapolis the night before, I wasn't too worried about my flight arriving at 1:30pm in Montreal, even though the wedding was due to start at 6.

Everything went according to plan. I arrived in Montreal, there was a one hour customs wait, but I wasn't worried -- I still had time to get to the hall, and I know that my PA guy is reliable.

After exiting customs, I got to the luggage carosel. No Tyros. Well, I know from much experience that my keyboard with its wierd shape is either the first or the last thing to come off plane. So I waited a little longer, until the carosel finally stopped. Uh oh. I always knew this could happen, but always avoided the possibility that it would!

It was 3:00, and my keyboard obviously hadn't made it. This wasn't a matter of just getting another keyboard -- I need my Tyros 2 -- anybody who has listened to my samples would understand that without it I'm dead in the water! I don't have files or styles for any other keyboard!

I went to baggage claim and made a big fuss. Apparantly I wasn't the only one on my flight who lost luggage, but I deffinitely put on the biggest show! To add to the exasperation, the mother of the bride just passed away three weeks ago, and it was my job to keep the feet dancing, and not the tears flowing!

They finally took interest in my case, only to inform me a few minutes later that my keyboard was in, wait for it, Texas! There was no way I would have it for the wedding.

I ran outside flaged a taxi and got on the phone to a friend back in NY and told him to find me a store in Montreal that sells or rents a Tyros 2. He called me back twenty minutes later with the address of one such store. We went straight there, but they only had a floor model. I bought it. For FULL PRICE - $5500 Canadian (around $US5000.) They wouldn't negotiate. I asked about their return policy - and they said they would take an $800 restocking fee if I returned it tomorrow. So I took it.

I went straight to the hall, set up the keyboard, hooked it up to my computer, plugged in my USB flash drive, loaded all my styles and files, and just as the clock hit 6, I was ready to go. I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank G-d I'd managed to keep a straight head, and everything was in order! I deffinitely wasn't going to be making money tonight, but at least the wedding would go on!

The event started with an outdoor ceremony for which I just needed to provide the PA system - not the music. The main event was to start at 7.

At ten to seven, as I sat down by my new keyboard, to prepare, a courier runs in with my T2. They "found" it - whatever that means.

I have to admit, that the whole day, I didn't feel bad. But when my keyboard arrived - I couldn't help but feel that I was on the wrong end of a cruel joke! At least they could have delivered in a half hour later after I got some money's worth out of the new one!

Anyway, today on the way to the airport I returned it, lost $800 in the process, and here I am in NY reflecting on the days events!

Chony

WHAT A STORY!

Seems like the airline should be responsible for your $800 loss...but that is probably wishful thinking.

Did anyone in the wedding party know about your situation?

Despite the loss of $$$s...you did the right thing. That is professionalism.

Eddie

I agree with Eddie: you were a real professional and showed a lot of cold blood too.

Chony, sounds like you had a 'real-life' NIGHTMARE! Under the circumstances, I commend you for the way you handled it so cooly. I don't know if I'd been able to handle it as well as you did. Hope you were able to enjoy a good drink after all that.

Scott

Chony,

YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL, period.
Theodore

actually, i thing is good you shared your story with us because that might happen to anyone, at one point, one way or another! unexpected things happen all the time! but the solution you found was indeed very professional!

Respect. You lost $800 but you didn't lose your reputation.

George

Chony, There are few that would have played the game the way you did – thinking of the people and their wedding instead of yourself.

In the end, all is returned to the guy who gives.

Cheers to you, John C.

A true professional who kept his cool and even knowing he would lose out on some money, still made sure he arrived for the booking with a Tyros 2 - talk about dedication
I think the airline should give you the money for loss of earnings. It's their responsibility to make sure your equipment leaves somewhere and arrives at the destination in one piece and on time. They've failed to live up to this so surely you could persue it further?
Good luck if you do.

I have had something like this happen to me, where I was without my Keyboard I just performed without the keyboard utilizing my Laptop/PA Sound System & a Mic to Sing....
I always have Back Up custom tracks of all my songs & more & the LT never leaves my side even when traveling......the show must go on! Glad to hear you worked out your problem.

cbony,

This is every musicians WORST nightmare. Kudos for quick thinking and purchasing a replacement so quickly. You lucked out on many fronts with this episode.



------------------
Al Giordano
www.al-giordano.com

Tyros 2, Yamaha P-250, Korg Triton Extreme 76, Roland VK8-M, DW Collectors Series Drums

Chony,

Hats off to you. You've exibited a professional and selfless attitude. My respect and admiration to you. You deserve the "Entertainer of the Week" award!

Tim

Wow! I wasn't expecting any tribute for this! I honestly didn't see an alternative!

Thank you all very much for your gracious comments. I have to tell you that I really felt a little irritated that I didn't even have to use the new keyboard. But upon reflection, I did what was right based on the information I had, and I would do it again. I've flown to at least 20 performances - arriving the morning of - and I guess a story like this was inevitable.

The airline is not going to reimburse unfortunately...

A few lessons learned:
- Always carry a back up with you! This was the real life saver.
- When flying to a performance, find out the address of a local music store! You don't neglect to book your flight or your reserve your car - don't neglect this either!
- Money cannot be an object - unless you're retiring. Besides the $800, I probably made $100 worth of international phone calls (calling from Canada to the US on a US cell phone), and paid more than that to a cab driver! But this is the price of self-insurance! In addition, I would lose much more than this had I not been able to do the job. News like this spreads!
- Another thing I'm going to do, is save my presets and styles from other keyboards onto my USB drive. My other keyboards include a PSR 2000, 8000 and Tyros, and in a last resort scenario, at least I could perform with these!

Thank you all,
Chony

Chony, amazing story. You definitely made the best of the situation. Have you ever considered shipping your equipment with UPS/FedEx etc. ahead of time to someone who lives in the destination area? (Maybe the bride's house or the like.) The cost is probably higher (perhaps much higher) but it may provide better piece of mind.

Yessir! A true pro.

If I may relate, I had a somewhat similar incident at a USAF base in Iraklion, Crete in 1969.

The scenario was that my old Hammond M102 was made for the UK market and ran on 220V, 50 cycles. So you can imagine my horror that the USAF base ran on 'American' power at 110V, 60 cycles (we had taken it for granted, obviously mistakenly, that the power supply would have been 'Greek', same as UK). The upshot of all this was that the generator drive shaft in the Hammond was now rotating at a different speed and in so doing, lowered the key of every song by four whole tones.

The solution? In those pre-transpose days?

I played a beat-up upright piano for the duration of the gig - four months.

The good old days, I suppose.

chony - An AMAZING story ... you are truly a PRO - Professionally Right On !!! ...
I congratulate and commend you, friend ...
t.

Hi Chony,

When I got my Yamaha PSR3000, I asked my family to get me a 1 Gig Flash Drive for Christmas. I ended up getting two 1 Gigs, a 512MB and a 256MB. I have enough styles saved on the 1 Gig which would fill over 50 floppies, and I also have the registrations and midifiles of all the songs I've played saved on it...about 100. I use the second 1 Gig as a backup and duplicate all that's on the first flash drive. I still don't need the other two smaller flash drives after 6 months because the 1 Gig Flash Drives are less than half full.

When I went to Florida to be with some KB friends at a reunion, all I took was my 1 Gig Flash drive and used it in another PSR3000 another member had taken there. In your case, you had to rent the KB you needed.

I'm just an amateur who plays by ear; but would like to give you a suggestion that might be worthwhile. Why not get an external USB Floppy Drive for your TYROS-2 and hook it to the back of your TYROS-2 using a simple 4 Slot USB Hub to use as a backup too? I have both the 1 Gig Flash Drive and the USB Floppy plugged into the hub and can access whatever is on both at will just by accessing them in my KB.

If what happened to you happened again,and you had both the Flash Drive and USB Floppy Drive, you could transfer stuff from your Flash Drive onto a blank Floppy using any computer and then have the option of using any other Yamaha KB that has a Floppy Drive...for example, a PSR740, PSR2000,or TYROS-1. Finding another TYROS-2 might be very hard to find in some areas.

For a gig, you need only transfer the styles and registrations you need for the songs you planned to play onto a blank floppy and put it into an appropriate Yamaha KB with a floppy drive. Certain instruments might not work on the lesser KB's; but at least you would have something to work with.

I like the above because I can still use all my floppies from the PSR740 and put them into my PSR3000 or copy or cut and paste stuff either way directly using only the PSR3000 instead of needing a computer.

You may already know all this; but thought I'd advise in case anyone else might like the idea.

A few years ago, I played an Organ for a relative's wedding and had it break down about an hour after starting to play. So, I can relate to your horrible experience.

BTW, the way you dealt with your situation was very impressive; and it's great to know that you would pull out all the stops to make sure your client got what was requested.I hope they realize what you did for them. Congratulations.

Del