Musicians Ability

[brock]

I didnt realise the USA immigration were so strict, I cannot understand them one little bit.What do you think ?.Britney spears comes over to the UK and just mimes.Artist has to prove ability to enter USLittle-known British artist Withered Hand has been told that he can't enter the US because officials deemed him ‘not of extraordinary ability'. Withered Hand is the musical project of Edinburgh-based artist Dan Willson, who has recently been booked to play a series of dates in the US, including the highly revered South By South West (SXSW) festival. However, complications surrounding his entry to the States have plagued the solo artist since the tour was announced.As a solo performer you have to apply for a different type of visa than if you are in a group and the criteria are much more rigid. As there is no category for solo musicians, they are simply lumped into a category normally reserved for famous scientists, athletes and actors. In order to apply for a visa, Withered Hand was forced to submit a demo of his music and all the press attention he had received to date. US officials deemed his skills as ‘not of extraordinary ability' and his press portfolio not up to scratch. They decided that he could not prove that he had "major commercial or critically acclaimed success" and cited Academy Awards, Emmys and Grammys as benchmarks to indicate such success. Sensible reasoning. I mean, who hasn't won a Grammy?! (Scoff!). US immigration officials have stated that they require more evidence of his 'extraordinary ability' plus proof that he has achieved 'significant recognition' and has either performed or will perform at 'events that have a distinguished reputation'. It seems strange to suggest that SXSW lacks a 'distinguished reputation', but who are we to argue? Dan Willson spoke to Yahoo! Music explaining his visa problems. "They admitted I was an ‘up-and-coming musician' but not ‘someone of distinction'. They basically picked holes in my press and testimonials. They even questioned the fees I command and the level of my advance from my US label Absolutely Kosher!"Withered Hand was officially invited to perform by the festival's organisers as an important part of the Scottish Arts Council's national showcase. With reports of other artists experiencing the same problems, it could have a disastrous knock-on effect on the festival with acts failing to show up for performances.Willson expressed his concern surrounding the festival line-up by adding, "I am not alone in being in this situation, scores of SXSW artists found out the same thing a week before the festival!"Dan is an accomplished musician who has been performing as Withered Hand since around 2006. His debut record, ‘Good News', was released in late 2009 and received rave reviews. He has had extensive airplay on BBC radio, toured throughout the UK, played major music festivals and been championed by Jarvis Cocker, Frightened Rabbit, The Dodos and Malcolm Middleton. In another soul-crushing twist, Dan's music is being featured in a film set to premiere at the SXSW festival, so it may indeed result in his music being there, but the man himself forced to watch it on DVD in Edinburgh. Listen to him here........

Edited March 11, 2011 by Jake
Moved this topic to general chat from members introduction