Seth Frightening was supposed to be supporting Portland’s “Peace poet and activist” David Rovics in Wellington next Thursday (ed. Monday!), however David has been denied access to the country for failing to get a work visa before entry… Already he has released a song about it! (above)

NB: The show will be going ahead with guests singing David’s songs in his absence.

D.R: “Nobody tours New Zealand to make money, as far as I know. The people there who make the laws issuing work permits seem to know this – a work permit for New Zealand is free. The only charge involved is the permission you need to get from the musician’s union. Which, last time I got one, was also free – they waived it since they heard I was singing at a labor rally in Dunedin.”

… “Do you have a work permit?” She obviously also knew the answer to this question – she’s an immigration agent, for Pete’s sake. “No,” I replied, “I was hoping I could get one when I arrived. I was under the impression it was a formality that could easily be taken care of when I got there.”

“Which is true. Although I sure was wishing I had taken care of this formality a long time before. Which is what I had done before my three previous tours of Aotearoa, aka New Zealand. The problem is, unless you live near a city with a New Zealand consulate in it, which I don’t, you have to mail your passport in to their embassy in Washington, DC, and be without a passport for several weeks, which is a logistical challenge for someone who tours as much as me. ”

Read the full rant on David’s blog > here