US TOUR CANCELLED AGAIN

[mveneck]

Figure this... and someone else in on previous post did the math too:

Figure round numbers...(disclaimer I'm making this all up):

10 venues. 300 people. $20 tickets. 3 bands.
Figure Saxon's opening.
So thats 50% for the venue....
If you think I'm exagerating then fill in your own math or open your own venue.
Venue supplies sound, speakers, showers for the guys, washing machine,
clean counch for a few hours, sandwiches, a place to dump the RV toilet, etc, etc..
35% for Saxon
figure 10% for Band #2
Band #3 pays to play 10% for publicity
The rest goes under the table.

Figure a sellout and 300 people show up.
Make your own spreadsheet if you want to! This one is mine!

$20 a ticket times 300 people times 10 venues times (.35 for Saxon) = $21,000

Now figure 5 guys in the band and 4 roadies support guys.
Figure $10000 for airfare (two-way international coach $800 ea for 9 people
plus extra for equipment.)
Figure $$$ each for visa/application fees etc.
Figure $$$ for American lawyers.
Figure $$$ for American insurance (Remember Rhode Island..The bands gotta front it).
Figure $$$ for rental of 2 tour buses one for Saxon 5 guys and one for 4 roades
each getting 10 mpg at $2.79 accross America (Thank you very much W)..+$25 per state in tolls times 8 states=$400.
Figure $300 per day just to eat. (A diner is $8 per plate per day figureing the venue gives you one meal.
so thats 9 guys. 9x8=72 figuring you eat at the venues. Dont forget all the coffees anf Starbuks and thruway stops add another $$$.....
Bal bla bla..




You all get the idea???

NOW HEAR THIS!!!
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS. PLEASE LISTEN UP!
ANY EVENT OF Saxon coming to America is a GIFT from the band!
There is no way that they can make any kind of money in america.
Sorry to say,
I love Saxon. I buy all of their albums. I own Cds LPs, Casettes.
I have seen tours in NYC and NJ in 1984 (P+G), 1988 (Destiny), 1994 (Dogs),
1998(UTB), 2001(Metalhead), 2003 (KG) and still waiting for Lionheart tour.

I wish them well in all of their businesses.
After all, it is a business. We all gotta eat.

I love your music and I wish you can come to play in America.
I also request your music on WSOU 89.5NJ and WSOS Chicago when I can.
Please make your money where you can and where it is influential becuse even though
the American mass market has not been kind to Saxon, international album sales have been.
Lets face it Biff..if you were 17 in 79 then you are too young. Go more.
Stones and Aerosmith are still going. Nevermind big bands, how about Grannys Girlschols, Joan Jett,
gramps, Motorhead, Waysyed.

Come to USA Saxon!

 

[devilridesout]

Figure this... and someone else in on previous post did the math too:

Figure round numbers...(disclaimer I'm making this all up):

10 venues. 300 people. $20 tickets. 3 bands.
Figure Saxon's opening.
So thats 50% for the venue....
If you think I'm exagerating then fill in your own math or open your own venue.
Venue supplies sound, speakers, showers for the guys, washing machine,
clean counch for a few hours, sandwiches, a place to dump the RV toilet, etc, etc..
35% for Saxon
figure 10% for Band #2
Band #3 pays to play 10% for publicity
The rest goes under the table.

Figure a sellout and 300 people show up.
Make your own spreadsheet if you want to! This one is mine!

$20 a ticket times 300 people times 10 venues times (.35 for Saxon) = $21,000

Now figure 5 guys in the band and 4 roadies support guys.
Figure $10000 for airfare (two-way international coach $800 ea for 9 people
plus extra for equipment.)
Figure $$$ each for visa/application fees etc.
Figure $$$ for American lawyers.
Figure $$$ for American insurance (Remember Rhode Island..The bands gotta front it).
Figure $$$ for rental of 2 tour buses one for Saxon 5 guys and one for 4 roades
each getting 10 mpg at $2.79 accross America (Thank you very much W)..+$25 per state in tolls times 8 states=$400.
Figure $300 per day just to eat. (A diner is $8 per plate per day figureing the venue gives you one meal.
so thats 9 guys. 9x8=72 figuring you eat at the venues. Dont forget all the coffees anf Starbuks and thruway stops add another $$$.....
Bal bla bla..




You all get the idea???

NOW HEAR THIS!!!
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS. PLEASE LISTEN UP!
ANY EVENT OF Saxon coming to America is a GIFT from the band!
There is no way that they can make any kind of money in america.
Sorry to say,
I love Saxon. I buy all of their albums. I own Cds LPs, Casettes.
I have seen tours in NYC and NJ in 1984 (P+G), 1988 (Destiny), 1994 (Dogs),
1998(UTB), 2001(Metalhead), 2003 (KG) and still waiting for Lionheart tour.

I wish them well in all of their businesses.
After all, it is a business. We all gotta eat.

I love your music and I wish you can come to play in America.
I also request your music on WSOU 89.5NJ and WSOS Chicago when I can.
Please make your money where you can and where it is influential becuse even though
the American mass market has not been kind to Saxon, international album sales have been.
Lets face it Biff..if you were 17 in 79 then you are too young. Go more.
Stones and Aerosmith are still going. Nevermind big bands, how about Grannys Girlschols, Joan Jett,
gramps, Motorhead, Waysyed.

Come to USA Saxon!

That touches my heart (yeah right) that their tours are a so-called GIFT from the band, but if they dont wanna tour here then dont! They haven't released anything decent since 1997's UTB, so I am not that Gung-Ho on seeing them as I was like 7 years ago (or through the 80's). But hopefully they'll make it it here in 2006.

 

[EarthSkynSea]

touring the US is a gift from the band?

that is one of the more ridiculous posts ive read, and i visit blabbermouth, so that says alot

 

[liama]

Touring the US is a gift from the band???? WTF

I agree with Earth that statement is utterly ridiculous.

So I guess my gift to the band is all the CD's/Merch I have purchased over the years? What is this fucking Christmas? Mveneck you seem to be missing the point ENTIRELY!

The plain fact of the matter is we got screwed with our being taken out to diner or and or kissed first. Not by the cancellations themselves…but by the way the cancellations were handled by both the band and there representatives.

The situation was handled very poorly and as a result many of out SIGNIGICANT amounts of time and money. The band and those in their employ WERE AWARE OF THIS.

This is Biff’s band (their tour rider refers to the group as P. Byford pp. Saxon) and he owes (yes owes!) the people that screwed an apology. I mean how long does a paragraph take to post on the site?

Again the problem here is not that they cancelled….it is how the cancellations were dealt with. There was no information given on the site that they were canceling and therefore, we all went on out merry way spending our hard earned time and money.

I personally, along with many others on this board, e-mailed the following people several times with requests for an update:

Saxons webmaster
Nigel Glockler's webmaster
Mark Hyman of Paradise Artists
Thomas Jensen – Saxon’s Manager

You think maybe, maybe just maybe one them knew that the thing was not going to come off. I mean how long would an e-mail or a quick site update have taken?

I am still shocked that the band has said nothing. One has to wonder what their fans in the so-called money making countries think of this. I think you can get an idea by looking at some of the posts on this board.

Do un to others.....

 

[princess_of_the_night2112]

I feel really gutted for all the American fans having had Saxon cancel on you at such short notice. Its just total crap. Things like visas should have been sorted out well in advance and even a week or two before the concert, they should have known that there was a problem with the visas. I dont really know who is to blame for this fiasco but a personal apology from Biff is the least Saxon could do. It'll take a while for you all to get over the shock of having the Saxon tour pulled at the last minute - 3 months later I'm still reeling at the shock of going to a Blackfoot concert, only to be told at the BLOODY DOOR of the venue that it was cancelled. What a complete bag o shite that was.

Anyway, whoever it was suggested that Saxon should get a few bands together and do quite a few gigs in the States, I think that would be the best idea. Saxon, Girlschool and Diamond Head - hellsbells that would be amazing - and I for one would travel to America to see those 3 bands and I'm no joking.

 

[EarthSkynSea]

I AGREE LIAMA,


and no offence, i could care less about an explanation or apology from Thomas Jensen?? which instrument does he play?

 

[liama]

He is the back up skin flute player....

 

[spaster]

Hey Bert,I never said I was a most loyal fan of the band.I did say it was a shame people lost money on airline tickets,hotel rooms,and took time off from work for no reason.As for being a Schenker backer, my point was he has made it to Upstate New York twice in the last year which is two times more than Saxon has.I saw UFO in July the day after the London subway bombings.I asked Phil Mogg how they could perform and he told me the show goes on and a terrorist act in England was more likely than not anyway.How can you blame Bush for being more cautious about who gets into the country.Why dont you blame the people who fly planes into buildings and blow up school children at bus stops.Wakeup arsehole

 

[liama]

spaster is my new best friend...

 

[timothy sykes]

it really is bad when a band cancels a tour i know , i was living in spain and got flights back to the uk for the shows in march only to find they were cancelled due to the fire in france, but hey life goes on.
if the tour was cancelled as some of you are intimating that it is down to poor ticket sales then ask yourself this question
are the venues that saxon were due to play to 20,000 seater stadiums in major citys or just your local rock venue holding about 300 people, i would think its the later, and having seen them 2 weeks ago in similar venues i cannot believe its down to poor ticket sales
in the uk alot of people pay on the door and not through advanced ticket sales as the prices of the tickets are inflated by tossers who make nearly 30% on the price by adding a handling fee........ blah blah blah to get to my point
saxon played 4 dates in the uk and couldnt have known in advance how many were going to turn up, but they still played......
We Brits have given you Iron Maiden for the last 10 years please be happy with that ( Christ we are.... please keep em) and stop having a go at Biff and the Boys or better still Jump on a plane and go on a tour with them through Europe maybe while your here you could see some of the other great bands that we have on our shores.....dragonforce,thunderstone etc

 

[spaster]

Beast,thanks for your support.I joined this forum as a fan of Saxon music,not to argue or cause trouble.We all have experienced last minute cancellations or no shows.It happens.But in this age of rapid communication notices can be given in time and should have been.Anyway maybe we could talk about how bands can come to this country and be successfull.I try to see as many shows as possible,not easy considering I have three small kids,a 50 hour a week job and my own band.We have many venues here from a 19,000 seat arena(sold out by bands like Kiss,ACDC,Aerosmith)a 2,000 seat theatre,and many smaller bars/halls holding 200-500 people.I was sick to my stomach when in the last year I went to see UFO,KROKUS,MSG,ULI ROTH and their were only 100 people at each show.These shows were all midweek,promoted vary poorly with no radio or print and I wondered who the fuck was doing the promotion work.In my opinion a package of three or more bands at the 2,000 seat hall would sell out and that is excactly what happened when the Rock Never Stops tour was here in Sept.That show sold out at 35 bucks a ticket.

 

[Badlad]

he should`ve taken care of the drunken disorderly charge instead of running away from it. It`s only money the law enforcement wants. Pay the fines and everything is ok after that.

You miss the point, it is not the fact that he didn't pay the fines, it will be the fact he has a criminal record. Anyone trying to enter the US who has ANY criminal conviction flags up as an "undesirable", as does anyone HIV+, or registered drug addicts (I believe they have only just relaxed the ban on anyone who has taken an HIV test, since increased routine use by certain professions. It used to be that if you had taken a test, regardless of result, no entry!).
It should be remembered that since Sept 11th visa conditions have tightened considerably. Last time I went to USA (2000), I filled out a form on the plane, was stamped through at Customs,no sweat. Now, we Brits have a lengthy wait whilst we are processed. And that is just for tourists. For work permits, especially if you could be an "undesirable", the process is painfully slow, there is no speeding it up, and no way of finding out the progress. It could be argued that perhaps some jobsworth desk-jockeys enjoy their moment of power and work at snail's pace, despite knowing there's a deadline and tour in the balance.
Who knows what insignificant things lie on the files of the band and crew? Any kind of discrepancy could grind things to a halt on visa applications.

When certain people travelled to the USA to start their flying lessons (no need to learn how to land), some of them came via the UK. US Immigration feels the need to screen all of us veeeeeeeeeery carefully in view of the fact we give out UK passports to all and sundry.
It is the world we live in, I'm afraid, not the band's fault.

 

[devilridesout]

No matter if it's the International fans or the US fans, the band needs to take a SERIOUS look on how it handles it's website. I mean this isn't 1987 where we would have to call a venue to see if a show is still on...We DEFINITELY should have received some word from Saxon on this via the website at least 4-5 days before, not ONE DAY BEFORE!!!

 

[Fingers]

he should`ve taken care of the drunken disorderly charge instead of running away from it. It`s only money the law enforcement wants. Pay the fines and everything is ok after that.

Excuse me Ray but he did pay his fine and didn't run away from it, but even though its not "Officially" a criminal record the US still used it to bar him !

 

[Fingers]

How many times are you going to wake up with a wet head on a sunny day before you realize you are being pissed on.Your blind devotion to the band has clouded the fact that the most loyal fans were hurt by this nonsense.The ones that bought airline tickets,hotel rooms,show tickets and arranged to take time off from work.If Saxon band members gave a shit about any of their American fans there would already be a message from somebody on the website.I am only out 23 bucks and I dont have time to cry about it because in the next month or two Pat Travers,Michael Schenker,George Lynch,Aerosmith,Yngwie,Blue Oyster Cult and the Outlaws will all be heading to Upstate New York and I will be busy enjoying myself.My Saxon discs are now stacked behind my KC and the Sunshine Band albums and thats a long way away from my cd player.Steve

KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND ALBUMS SCARY, 1 Album I may have been able to live with !

 

[EarthSkynSea]

no doubt Saxons website is crappy overall, i like the blue though

 

[EarthSkynSea]

PS - and i dont even blame the webmaster, if the band cant even care enough to keep fans updated, most likely the webmaster's resources are in a simular situation

 

[bert]

Hey Bert,I never said I was a most loyal fan of the band.I did say it was a shame people lost money on airline tickets,hotel rooms,and took time off from work for no reason.As for being a Schenker backer, my point was he has made it to Upstate New York twice in the last year which is two times more than Saxon has.I saw UFO in July the day after the London subway bombings.I asked Phil Mogg how they could perform and he told me the show goes on and a terrorist act in England was more likely than not anyway.How can you blame Bush for being more cautious about who gets into the country.Why dont you blame the people who fly planes into buildings and blow up school children at bus stops.Wakeup arsehole

And all this relates to Saxon how? Why did you ask Mr Mogg such a question? If everything comes to a halt because of these atrocities then you've let them win! Well done! Why don't YOU blame the aforementioned people and not the band? I won't resort to name-calling as that shows no class!

 

[EarthSkynSea]

Saxons cancelled tour gets blamed on osama bin laden


gotta love it

 

[EarthSkynSea]

whhoo hooo