OK folks, we are starting a new "Around the Campfire" series and it's going to be fun. We will be inviting guest musician/bloggers to take a seat around the campfire with us and share a little about themselves. In this weeks "Around the Campfire" we talk with Jamie Anderson.

Jamie Anderson writes a weekly blog that includes true stories gathered from 20 plus years of touring, how-to articles for musicians and profiles of performers. Also, she loves dark chocolate, can play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" behind her head, and twirls the baton badly.
You may find these articles by Jamie a fun read:

- Flying with instruments and mastering the fine art of Bambi eyes
- Winning the lottery, flaming skull tattoos and flying with guitars

1.) Do you check your guitar in at the airport?

Back when I had an anvil-style case I usually checked it in. That baby was made of 1/4 inch plywood and cushioned inside with a lot of foam. The only damage ever done was when the pick-up dislodged - easily fixed with some duct tape until I could get it to a luthier. You could tell that the case had been dropped and abused many times because it was covered in scrapes. The metal corners that were held on with grommets were knocked off one by one but still it protected the guitar.

As airline regulations changed it became harder to check it in without paying a lot of money. (The case was oversized.) Also, it was quite heavy.

Now I have a plastic molded SKB case with wheels. It's not a flight case per se but it's a lot lighter. I try to avoid checking it in but some airlines don't let me do anything but that. If I manage to slide past, I try to gate check it. It's rare that I can carry it on the plane with me because it's too big for most overhead compartments.

2.) Insurance, do you use it?

Yes. I have great insurance through my union, Local 1000, which is affiliated with the AFM. It doesn't cost very much and is well worth the investment.

3.) What's the worse Horror Story you've heard involving planes and guitars?

There are so many. It seems that when ever touring musicians get together, we all have at least one story. My favorite one was a musician who retrieved his instrument and found tire tracks over the case.

4.) What's the worse thing that has happened to your guitar while traveling?

See above. I consider myself very lucky.

One time it didn't show up until after the gig. I was told there wasn't room on the plane. I did the gig with a borrowed guitar.

5.) Has anyone, perhaps another passenger ever given you evil glares over your traveling companion guitar?

Sure. They look at me like I'm some broad who just over packed.

6.) What single piece of advice would you give a friend thinking about traveling with a expensive guitar?

Don't do it. If you're going to travel, get an inexpensive travel guitar. If you're performing, it's really all about the pick-up anyway. Jill Sobule does all her touring with a little travel guitar that sounds great.

If you really must travel with that vintage Martin, you might consider shipping it via UPS or FedEx. Put it in a hard shell case with padding under the head stock. Wrap bubble wrap around that, then put it in a box. Get insurance. It'll cost you a lot but given what the guitar cost you, it'll be worth it.

7.) Do you have a favorite story from the road?

Back when I was using the anvil-style case I flew from North Carolina to San Francisco. I checked the guitar with a sky cap and didn't have to pay any extra fees, probably because I gave the guy a good tip. I was to change planes in SF and head to Hawaii. The ticket agent there wanted to charge me $80 because my case was oversize.

My expenses were already so high I could barely afford a cup of lousy airport coffee so I knew the fee wasn't in my budget. I calmly reasoned with the employee and told her I hadn't paid anything for the flight there so I shouldn't be charged for the next one. Nothing could convince her.

I asked for the manager and got a pimply faced kid. I was old enough to be his mama. In his best big boy voice he admonished me about my big case. I crumpled my face into one of concern with tears just behind my Bambi eyes, amped up my Southern accent and told him I had no idea my little guitar would cost so much. Couldn't he waive the fee just this time? After a few minutes of pleading he sighed and said, "Okay but don't do it again." Sure, honey.

8.) What's your favorite campfire guitar song?

"Bamboo," an old Peter, Paul and Mary song. Great harmonies on that one. I'm also fond of "Brown Eyed Girl."

9.) Would you ever consider buying a travel guitar? If so which one?

I don't have the dough to buy another guitar. Even if I did, I would probably buy other things first since I'm really happy with my current (full sized) guitars. I do like the little Taylors, though. Don't know the model number but I played a friend's and liked it.

10.) Who is your favorite folk musician?

I have several - Cheryl Wheeler, Patty Larkin, Dave Nachmanoff, Chris Rosser, Catie Curtis and Cosy Sheridan.

Thanks Jamie

-Michael from Best Travel Guitar

Yup, I saw it ...haha.  I've always been a big Ani Difranco Fan and the other night while cruising youtube clips I saw the backpacker.  I did a double take, paused the video and sure enough it looks like a backpacker to me. What you think? You know anyone else who tours with a backpacker? Check out the clip below.

Best Travel Guitars has always been about guitars but it's also very much about travel.  That's the whole point, finding a guitar to fit your traveling lifestyle.  Now some of you are day trippers and some of you are tourist.  But who here is a trail blazer, a vagabond, a world traveler or a travel writer?  That's the ranks Gear Up and Play is assigning it's writing staff and you could join the ranks.  If you have ever wanted to create a travel blog then this is the time to grab your guitar and hit the road.

Gear Up and Play is a community driven Travel Blog which means you won't be carrying the load all by yourself.  It's simple shared platform offers travelers and outdoor adventure seekers the opportunity to share their experiences in a shared revenue setting.  The community provides a social networking atmosphere where travelers can interact and follow other members in a fashion similar to twitter.  Each member has a unique profile where they can share information about themselves, submit articles, travelogues, photos, and even bookmark links to interesting yet relevant content around the web with digg style member voting.

For us wana-be vagabond travelers that enjoy writing this is a good opportunity.  If you've ever tried to create a travel blog then you know how hard it can be if you want it to be successful.  I mean everything from setting it up, providing fresh content regularly and engaging an audience.  It's nice to be backed by a community effort.  The best part is they share 100% Google adsense revenue on our article submissions so you can't beat that.

I suggest anyone interested to go over to Gear Up and Play and create a account.  Next Step:  Pack your bags, get a notebook computer, grab your guitar and hit the road.

OK, it might be a little premature for that.  I don't mean to sound like this can replace your day job as I myself have been running adsense ads on this site and some others for a time now and I don't make near enough.  I do make a small amount that I save each month and over the course of a year it does amount into something I call a travel fund.

Bottom Line:  If you've ever thought about creating a travel blog this is a great opportunity.  Give it a try, see if it's something that keeps your interest.  The hardest part of a travel blog is continually providing fresh content and with multiple sources of content the commitment is null.

-thanks for listening to this nights rant around the campfire, hope to see you over at Gear Up and Play fueling the effort along side me to create a travel blog of great community proportions.

I hate to see a American Company producing such a great product go under but I guess it is so, Composite Acoustics has officially closed the doors. This leads one to speculate, what happened? Are they just victim of these difficult economic times?

Lots of speculation has surfaced but perhaps some answers as well. I remember when doing some research into the composite fiber travel guitar I looked at two in particular. The Composite Acoustics Cargo and the Blackbird Rider. I remember thinking, "why was there such a difference in price?" The Composite Acoustics Cargo sold for at least a couple hundred dollars less. Now I wonder if its possible that they simply under priced their guitars in a attempt to get a bigger share of the market.

This could stand to reason because carbon fiber is not cheap and the cost and time to manufacturer such guitars would ultimately lead to higher prices on the shelf. Still, for some reason they seemed able to eat the cost and offer prices that were somewhat reasonable to their wood counterparts.

I guess anything is possible and there is probably a combination of factors at work here that ultimately led to this fate. The only thing I am sure of is that it wasn't the quality of the product being produced that ultimately harmed them. More likely it was somewhere in the management of the company and overall business plan because composite acoustics made great guitars.

So where does that leave the consumer? I've heard that they are shipping all inventory out to the dealers so whats out there is whats left. Don't expect any barn burner deals either, in all likely hood the value of such guitars will probably go up. If you were thinking about investing in one now would be a good time if you can find one.

The future? Who knows, maybe some investor will come along and pick them up or something. For now, viable alternatives exist for those in the market for a carbon fiber guitar. Currently we are in the process of reviewing a Blackbird Rider Steel String and everyone I've shared it with has been very impressed including myself. Stay tuned for this complete review.

Warning! If you read this post and at the end don't leave your favorite campfire guitar song, well lets just say we will be disappointed in you!

Nobody is cooler then campfire guitar guy right?  Well, maybe just campfire guitar girl but that depends.  With a beer in hand and the night unfolding there's no better way to spend the night then rocking out around the fire.  It's even cooler if you have a few guitar players and a set of hand drums.  The more the merrier right.  With just these ten easy campfire songs you can be that cool guy or girl.  And lets face it,  everyone knows the cool guy never goes back to his tent alone, right?...

So what are some quick songs you can pickup and learn for the campfire?  Some are old songs, some are new, and well some just aren't anything you have listened to in a while.  Still for some reason, here at the campfire, with a beer in hand, everyone loves that song........

Ten Easy Campfire Guitar Songs in no particular Order

1. Society - Eddie Vedder
2. The Scientist - Coldplay
3. Ain't no Sunshine - Bill Withers
4. Time of your Life - Green Day
5. Hotel California - The Eagles
6. Throw your Arms Around me - Mark Seymour/Pearl Jam
7. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
8. Flake - Jack Johnson
9. What I got - Sumblime
10. Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Here's a few more I have heard around the fire, maybe not the easiest, maybe not traditional but they were fun.

1. Gangsters Paradise - Acoustic Coolio - yeah acoustic Coolio is funny!
2. I will Survive - Cake's Version, Everyone knows the words
3. Tribute - Tenacious D - Still Easy to Play- Fun Crazy song you can get as carried away as you want.  Rock it!

So- whats your favorites?

Don't see the Travel Guitar you're looking for?  Request a review!  Maybe you want to add a review of a guitar that you already own to help other members.  Maybe you sell a Travel Guitar that we have not given exposure to and you would like to see it added.   Whatever the case, this is the place.

Please mail all your submissions, requests, and related queries to besttravelguitars@gmail.com All travel guitar review submissions should be the authors original work and approximately 400-500 words.  Thank you for all your help in starting this "traveling with a guitar" community.

Thank you to all who have already responded!

-Best Travel Guitars Team