Pere Ubu Denied American Tour; Dave Thomas "Quits Music"

According to:

Pere Ubu's Twitter thingie

No details yet, but I'm assuming it's because Thomas lives in the UK. Maybe it's a misunderstanding that will be sorted out, and Dave's getting a little melodramatic. Or a hoax to promote their tour..?

Wasn't he recently coming to your house and playing a set for $1000? Now he's quitting? Which is it, Dave?

I hope this is some sort of media hoax. I was counting on seeing them at the Hopscotch Festival in September!



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Looking like it's not a hoax after all - I didn't know this, but Ubu has other Brits in the band now, inc. former members of TP bands Diagram Brothers and Dislocation Dance. Even as government bureaucracy goes, this sounds pretty absurd: "they regard it as a requirement for us to have permission and accreditation from the musicians union that Pere Ubu are world class musicians. We have rejected this requirement."

Keepin' it punk!



Post Edited (08-13-13 14:10)

I have to wonder about that - "world class musicians" is way too broad a term to be any kind of standard, and there are plenty of British/non-American musicians who are crap and tour the States all the time. I suspect a misunderstanding on both sides.

You do need to get a work permit to tour in foreign countries, and in the States, there is a quota for permits given to artists. In order to obtain one, you have to demonstrate professional proficiency, so that the visas are not all taken by bar bands and the like. I guess from the above that the U.S. immigration service asks the musicians' union to certify that the particular applicants meet those standards, since their own officers are not trained musicologists. I don't see how Pere Ubu would fail to meet the minimum standards. However, the process is likely highly bureaucratic, the sort of thing a label normally handles, and since I doubt the band has a label to do the leg work for them anymore, they just don't want to be bothered.

Caveat: I am not a visa officer and U.S. immigration law is particularly abstruse, so don't take this as any kind of legal advice.

Visa problems happens to lots of smaller bands; tour management is tough for the self-managed.

Though I'm thinking more about the younger bands that try to go it nationally or abroad for the first couple times, sounds like at least something like this is going on with the 'ube.

How do you advance the show if it's just four guys in a van?

It's tough to be the kind of person that thinks like an artistbrain, with no business sense (or social skills), and then discover these details make up 96% of touring (4% being playing).

In the gig/venue scene there are people that will answer to a tour manager but tell a band member to fuck off. At least a manager is paid to be the shit-taker in the middle. If you get shit on and then have to play it really stinks.



Post Edited (07-25-13 21:48)

"Sit, Ubu. Sit!"

From their "official" facebook page yesterday at the end of the of the latest status posting, there was this:

"DT is in the studio, likely to stay there til the dust settles. The letter is in the mail.

Be assured that Pere Ubu will be in the US touring in September in whatever form the US Government deems permissible."

A bit confusing, if it doesn't work out, will there be a Peru Ubu in the US minus DT and the two Brits? or just the two Brits? or will Allen Ravenstine fly the original members to each tour date? (admittedly this will only happen in Heffworld).

Well, this looks promising:

Ubu Projex ‏@ubuprojex 23 Jul
@BLCKDGRD the tour is going ahead with DT at the helm.

So I just bought 3-day passes for the Hopscotch Festival.



Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

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