Cattle Decapitation have been forced to cancel their upcoming Canadian dates with Job For A Cowboy and Whitechapel. Vocalist Travis Ryan commented:
“Here’s the deal guys, I made a big mistake in June of 2001. I went out driving after a few drinks and the cops pulled me over. I blew just UNDER THE LEGAL LIMIT on the roadway (.06 – very much under the legal limit), but since I was swerving while looking in the rearview at the cop racing up behind me, they took me in and I got charged with a DUI. I fought it in court and got it reduced to a reckless driving conviction. Just to clarify, this all happened in San Marcos, California, not Canada.”
“NOW, the Canadian border only cares about what I was charged with – a DUI, which they take very seriously and have threatened me with possible jail time if I try to come back up to Canada without getting it pardoned at the Canadian/US consolate. I paid $250 out of my own pocket for a “temporary residents permit” each of the 3 times we’ve been there since 2007. They said if I do not get a “Pardon” or successfully complete an “application for rehabilitation” before the next time I try to cross into Canada, I will be going to jail. They keep this info in their systems for 10 years. In July 2011, this will all be behind me and I will not have to worry about crossing into Canada anymore.”
“Blackenedfest was completely out of our control. That whole tour imploded, luckily most everyone knows that. I had all the appropriate paperwork on me that I got from the courts to show them that I had completed all programs, fines and classes that the court made me attend in hopes that they would take that and let me in for the Blackenedfest shows. I’m glad now that we didn’t make it that far because I hear that this would have been inadmissable evidence and would have been denied entry or detained, possibly JAILED.”
“As you can see, its really out of my control at this point. I’m going to go start the process but it takes over 6 months to complete. I have hesitated on getting it taken care of sooner because it involves everything from getting a history report from the FBI to having to pay a ton of money to a HUGE list of stuff that I don’t even know if I can complete and you won’t know if it went through until AFTER you’ve paid a ton of money and submitted a ridiculously long checklist that is mandatory to complete in its entirety. Alot of bands go through this and get alot of shit from the fans over there. You guys need to realize the Canadian border is very strict and keep alot of good people from coming over there to say hi and play for you all, but at the same time, I completely understand rules are rules. At the same time, it sucks because this happened 9 years ago. I have not driven drunk, been convicted or committed one crime since. It seems like complete bullshit and it sickens me because Canada, especially Toronto and Montreal, have been some of our best shows. Ever. Please spread this word and know that we will be back as soon as possible, we ARE NOT flakes – which is obvious as we have 20+ US tours under our belt. We hope you guys will wait for us! We’ll be back as soon as we can to decapitate you all!!!”
“That said, we’d like to announce a couple US shows that will be taking the place of the shows we’re supposed to be playing in Canada on this upcoming tour:”
4/30 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club – EARLY MATINEE SHOW!!! 5:00PM
5/1 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s