(antiMusic) Velvet Revolver have been forced to pull the plug on their upcoming Japanese tour after the Japanese government refused to issue them visas. (There are some drug convictions in the band's past). The band's promoter in the region, Creativeman Productions, issued the following statement: Velvet Revolver were looking forward to their upcoming tour of Japan: a series of four concerts to promote their current album Libertad between November 26 and November 30, encompassing the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama. For the band, the upcoming trek was the opportunity to reconnect with their fans in Japan, where the band tour has toured before without incident back in 2005. But now it's a different story as Velvet Revolver 's request for visas has just been denied. The increasingly tough Japanese immigration officials are taking exception with the backgrounds of various band members, which have included arrests. The band is appealing the decision of the officials which is ironic given that Libertad is Spanish for "liberty" and "freedom" but this process will unfortunately take months to sort out.
"We want to apologize to our fans in Japan that we won't be able to perform our scheduled concerts," Velvet Revolver said in a group statement. "We don't understand why the authorities won't give us visas when they granted them for us in 2005 for what was a successful tour and a great experience. We love Japan and look forward to our return there."
Velvet Revolver will proceed with their Australian tour that begins on December 4 in Brisbane. Upon its return to the U.S., the band will headline Wednesday, December 12 at the Gibson Amphitheatre. This show with Alice In Chains was originally set for Friday, October 26 at the outdoor Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA but was postponed due to the devastating Southern California wildfires. See dates below and check out www.velvetrevolver.com.
Dec. 04 - Brisbane, Australia - Convention Centre
Dec. 05 - Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
Dec. 06 - Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
Dec. 08 - Melbourne, Australia - Festival Hall
Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
