You Say Party! We Say Die! Plot U.S. Return

11/06/09 6:12pm

by Sheena Lyonnais (CHARTattack)

You Say Party! We Say Die! are working with lawyers in hopes of returning to the United States in time to play Austin, Texas' South By Southwest Music Festival in March.

Why is this important? Well, bassist Stephen O'Shea is banned from entering the country until 2011.

"We're putting all of our hopes into that right now and trying to prove our Stephen is the super-awesome, honest fellow which he is," frontwoman Becky Ninkovic says.

In October 2006, YSP!WSD! attempted to cross the border to record and play shows in the U.S, but didn't have the proper visas. They made the mistake of leaving their show plans out, instead telling border patrol only about their recording time in L.A. Their van was searched and their itinerary was found. Meanwhile, O'Shea had been kept in a room by himself where he was interrogated for five hours.

The band had applied for visas, but they didn't go through in time. They had played shows in the U.S. earlier that year, including SXSW.

"It can be very frustrating because we've worked so hard with our lawyer to try to get it fixed and it's just such a long, grueling process and it's just too bad because Stephen is such an honest guy," Ninkovic says. "It's the one time where things went wrong and now he has to pay for it, we all have to pay for it. It's just this thing hanging over our heads."

The band's third release, XXXX, continues to hold at #1 on Canadian campus charts, with their success in the U.S. being relatively untapped. The band grew up in Abbotsford, B.C. and used to cross into the U.S. frequently since the town borders Whatcom County in Washington state.

"We didn't realize I guess just how much the security had changed since our last time crossing. It really got out of proportion due to the security being way more intense," Ninkovic says. "When they say they want you to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, don't leave anything out of that."

Until then, the band will continue to tour Canada until the end of November and will then tour Europe, the U.K., Asia and Canada again in the spring.

You can see You Say Party! We Say Die! here:

Nov. 6 Laval, QC @ Le Trac w/ Think About Life
Nov. 7 Montreal, QC @ Phonopolis Records (in-store)
Nov. 7 Montreal, QC @ Il Motore w/ Think About Life
Nov. 9 Hamilton, ON @ Dr. Disc (in-store)
Nov. 9 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
Nov. 11 London, ON @ Black Shire Pub w/ Think About Life
Nov. 12 Guelph, ON @ E-Bar w/ Think About Life
Nov. 13 Kingston, ON @ The Grad Club w/ Think About Life
Nov. 14 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon w/ Think About Life
Nov. 18 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge w/ Little Girls
Nov. 19 Montreal, QC @ M For Montreal
Nov. 20 Toronto, ON @ Criminal Records (in-store)
Nov. 20 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre w/ Think About it and Little Girls
Nov. 21 Sudbury, ON @ The Townhouse Tavern w/ Little Girls
Nov. 25 Winnipeg, MN @ Royal Albert Arms w/ Little Girls
Nov. 26 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/ Little Girls
Nov. 27 Edmonton, AB @ Megatunes (in-store)
Nov. 27 Edmonton, AB @ New City w/ Little Girls
Nov. 28 Calgary, AB @ Hi-Fi w/ Little Girls