PRESS RELEASE: 8/21/13 Pere Ubu Visa Petition Rejected. Ubu Projex, the art and business directorate of the American band Pere Ubu, can confirm that notice has been received this weekend from the United States Customs & Immigration Service (USCIS) rejecting the visa petition for British band members Keith Moliné and Graham Dowdall (aka Gagarin). The sole grounds for rejection is the band’s refusal to seek approval from the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). “The AFM are the antagonists in this affair,” band leader David Thomas said. “They have no business telling me who can and who cannot be in the band.” Details can be found in previous press releases, ubuprojex.net/press/ubuvisa.pdf. Cleveland guitarist Dave Cintron will join the band for the September US tour and provisions are in place for Moliné and Dowdall to link remotely for one of the songs in the set. There has been much disbelief and incredulity about this not-uncommon example of the obstacles international bands now face when seeking to tour the US. “The whole process has been going on since May, with several delays and absurd complexities,” Thomas said. “The Cintron version will be magnificent, I have no doubt. If I cannot put a band together without government interference and without a pat on the head from the AFM, like a grateful dog, then so be it. I have no interest in frittering my life away with campaigning. “We will proceed with our music. Nothing will be announced from the stage. We won’t be writing ‘protest’ songs or haranguing audiences. “There are visions and ideas to pursue. There’s too little time to waste it on fighting stupidity. In the words of the MGM lion, ‘Ars longa, vita brevis.’” [Yes, we know it was Hippocrates.]
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 12:59:22 +0000
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