Why can't you people keep an eye on your instruments?
August 25, 2001 9:11 AM   Subscribe

Why can't you people keep an eye on your instruments? Vintage violin left in a cab. A different, rare, $40,000 violin left in cab. A $4 million, 1673 Stradivarius cello left in a cab. A $35,000 violin bow left in a cab. And of course, Yo-Yo Ma's $2.5 million, 266-year-old cello, left in a cab.
posted by Mo Nickels (10 comments total)
 
Did anyone see the PBS documentary on NY cab drivers? What was your reaction? These guys are amazing.
posted by bloggboy at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2001


Fear for one's safety takes up all of one's consciousness and leads to such incidents. The less than fresh smelling air is frequently another factor.
posted by ParisParamus at 9:27 AM on August 25, 2001


My wife, the musician, says this happens because for some reason orchestra players don't get roadies. Why does Yo Yo Ma have to carry his own gear hoime from a gig?
posted by housepox at 10:48 AM on August 25, 2001


what's funny is - the last time i was in new york there was a recorded message from yo yo ma reminding us to check to make sure we had all of our stuff before exiting our taxi cabs!
posted by centrs at 12:02 PM on August 25, 2001


Yo Yo Ma could probably afford a roadie. Other musicians, probably not so much.
posted by shylock at 4:17 PM on August 25, 2001


i did see the documentary on cab drivers. and i did like it. after a driving for while, most get bitter as hell, though. who wouldn't.

this is not a generalization: all good fiddles are vintage. 2,000 is about as low as you can go for a decent violin, and as the size of the said fiddle increases (violas, cellos, and double bases) the price multiplies. there's a limited quantity of good instruments in the world. there's a need to shop for an instrument that sounds good to you when you want to buy, a lot depends on who's selling at a particular time and if you encounter it when it. kind of like finding a lover. and the musician would have to develop a relationship with that instrument.

these musicians also only have pretty much one thing to carry, they certainly don't need to bring their own amps and stands and crap. so it's understandable that they don't get roadies.
posted by elle at 6:55 PM on August 25, 2001


who the hell wants a roadie? carry your own instruments. be self serving... and put up your damn books next time you go to Borders..... im sick of cleaning up your shit.
posted by Satapher at 9:43 PM on August 25, 2001


When I think of all the well-paid concert musicians I've known I ... just a minute, still thinking ... I'll have one in a moment.

Having recently dropped a cell phone in a restaurant without noticing (it fell off my belt, which had happened before, except this time I didn't realize it until too late), I can't criticize.
posted by dhartung at 10:14 PM on August 25, 2001


Heh, yeah, I can see that. No one can handle a $4 million cello like a half-stoned out-of-his-gourd roadie...

"Where's my cello?"

"Dude, sorry, I didn't have anything else to sit on in the back of the truck..."
posted by fooljay at 10:47 PM on August 25, 2001


Man, those muso's sure can party. I've been so wasted that I've left stuff in a cab before to. Mind you, it was a six-pack and a pizza (pre-consumed).
posted by Option1 at 12:53 AM on August 26, 2001


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