After the announcement that the SUNNO ))) October tour of Australia has been cancelled by promoter Heathen Skulls, a statement from the band has surfaced regarding the cancellation and was written two days prior to the official announcement.
The reasons given for the cancellation by Heathen Skulls was basically that it was going to cost the too much. The following statement from SUNN O ))) indicates that there was a lot more going on than divulged by Heathen Skulls in their tour cancellation press release.
We apologize to our great and loyal fans in Australia and New Zealand. We have had 2 amazing tours of Australia in the past and were looking forward to going back for a third. We have never had the chance to travel to New Zealand to date, and it pains us to cancel those concerts, but alas the travel is tied together and we can not afford to do NZ alone at this time. This is the first time in the history of the band where we have had to cancel a tour. Here is the explanation behind our decision. Our friends in the band Pelican are facing the same situation as outlined below. We want to say that the New Zealand promoter Gareth Craze / RW was a stand up guy and did his best to accommodate us on all levels. The Australian promoter Robert Macmanus / Heathenskulls has shown complete inconsideration towards the basic requirements of our agreement together; in regards to preproduction, planning and structure of business at a professionally unreliable level. SUNN O))) and our agent have done all we can to make this agreement work, including giving three extensions on the proposed deadlines over the last 4 months. We arrive at the point of a third (final) missed deadline where the choice becomes related to dignity and self-respect toward ourselves as artists. Simply: we cannot proceed in that manner. SUNN O))) is a difficult band to tour, and the way it does work is through accuracy in planning and the structure of the tour. The way things have proceeded with Robert Macmanus / Heathenskulls has eroded trust we need to have in order to fly across the planet. We have done several hundred concerts of all types, door deal tours in Australia, huge festivals with amazing conditions, museums, medieval cathedrals with impossible production, and a lot in between. With all kinds of conditions and promoters. Through this we have learned to identify signs and to proceed carefully and progressively more than ever. We have been fortunate. However, the fragility of the group demands a level of trust and expectation to what we plan. It can't work any other way. These concerts were not officially acknowledged or announced by the band at any point, and Robert Macmanus / Heathenskulls prematurely put tickets on sale without our agreement. However, fans are entitled a full refund for tickets at the point of purchase. We will try to reschedule our Australian and NZ (with Gareth Craze / RW ) actions as soon as possible. Thank you for the support and understanding. And once again we apologize to any fans who may be let down by this. Believe us, we are as well. Stephen O'Malley & Greg Anderson / SUNN O))) 31st August 2012
