The Gauntlet: I hear you had a bit of an incident at the border?

Denis : It was a fun event at the border for sure.

The Gauntlet: Have you ever played in the US before?

Denis: We played in Los Angeles and San Diego in the past. We have been there before. We are based in Vancouver and far from the big cities in Canada. We have Seattle which is basically 90 minutes away. Earlier in our career, it was an issue of having promoter and booking contacts. We had them for Southern California, that's why we have played there. When you apply for a P2 musicians work visa, it is difficult to do unless you are Nickleback or Celion Dion which makes it difficult for us. Zimmer’s Hole just had to cancel their US tour as they had problems getting work visas.

The Gauntlet: So what happened?

Denis: Sometimes you go there and it is the nicest guys [border patrol] possible. Other times, like this time, they ask why I have an accent. I explained I was French Canadian. They say they still don’t understand why I have an accent. They asked if I am from France and I explain I am from Quebec, Canada. Sometimes you get guys that aren’t as friendly as other people.

The Gauntlet: Is there anything on your record that might have prevented you from gaining entry into the US?

Denis: I have a criminal record in Canada but it was pardoned. It happened 18 years ago and doesn’t even show up in Canadian records as it has been erased. However in the States, it is there. I pay $545 each year for a waiver so that this isn’t a problem in the US. In the last year, they changed the way this is handled. They now have a separate office called the Admissions & Reviews or something like that. This year I sent my money order in along with the waiver forms and a couple months later they sent it all back stating they don’t handle that anymore and that I need to do this. So I did that, sent to the new place and got a letter back stating they no longer take money orders. So I had to go to the border to take care of it. I told the border officer I needed to go into the office and pay for it. He told me I wasn’t allowed into the office or across the border. I explained to him that I understood and wanted to just pay for my waiver so that I could enter the US legally. He asked why I wanted to do that. I told him I had a band and wanted to tour and that I also have family. It is always harassment, even when we are trying to be legit.

The Gauntlet: What steps did you take to make the crossing easier?

Denis: To get a work Visa, I need to submit it 4 months early along with $320. Or for $1000, I can get it turned around in 3 weeks. We had a show that was supposed to be in San Diego, CA and got changed to Santa Monica, CA. When you submit your P2 forms, they want to know the exact dates and locations of each show and won’t allow changes. Because we had this change, it raised red flags. We had all the proper documents, but some of the dates changed. When you book shows four months in advance, a million things can happen; venues shut down, shows get canceled, dates get changed. You don’t have the flexibility to change anything unless you pay a couple thousand dollars more. This wasn’t a money thing to go make money. We all took time off work and just wanted to get some exposure for the album and see some friends, nothing else. Canada and the US aren’t much different. My dad is from Connecticut. I lived in Florida for seven years. We all watch NFL. There aren’t many differences from American’s and Canadians. It just makes it really strange. It is the biggest unprotected border in the world and you can’t even get through it. I understand why they don’t want another 9/11 thing to happen again. But guys with guitars and drums aren’t going to do the next 9/11. We could have gone through on a recording pass. If you have a recording session in the US, they will allow that and most bands just go and play shows. We just want to be legit about it. There should be an easier and faster way.

The US doesn’t want us stealing work from them. But the truth is we are going to play at midnight in Santa Monica at some small bar on a Thursday. I always try to make it as easy for the band to get across the border. We could just say we are tourists but we want to be legit and get our band to the next level. For me it is about the music and the fans. I have a blast doing it and playing metal.

The Gauntlet: When did you first know something was wrong?

Denis: At first they made me get out of my vehicle and go wait in the room with all the people. My girlfriend was beside me. Then 5 guys came to me with guns and made me go down to my knees, then lay on the floor and stay all spread out. They cuffed me and then threw me through a door. I only wish they opened the door before they threw me through it. I am a big guy, 6’3” so maybe they decided they needed 5 guys to contain me. The only thing I had on me was my wallet, what were they expecting me to do?

The Gauntlet: I can’t believe they treated you that way when you haven’t done anything and actually had all the paperwork.

Denis: They threw me in a room and it was all Muslim and Indians in there just looking at me. They must have been thinking that I must have done something terrible as I was the only white dude in there. I was just trying to get them to understand that we did everything we were supposed to do. I told them I had all the papers, paid all the money required. They said I had some show dates that were incorrect. It was pretty much in their hands. It says on the wall that they can send me to a US jail for as much time as they want; as long as they decide it takes to charge me with something. They just ask stupid questions like where is Quebec, why do I have a French Canadian accent. This whole event lasted about 5 hours.

The Gauntlet: How were you treated?

Denis: They put my head on the table. It is a common reflex when someone talks to you to look at them. But every time I lifted my head, they would hit my head back down into the table. And ofcourse they strip searched me for fun I guess. There is a line on our MySpace that they didn’t like, “Our only remaining friends are whores, liars, criminals and Satanists.” On our van we had the URL to our website and that takes you to our MySpace.

The Gauntlet: Do you think they read your MySpace page and held that against you?

Denis: The way they were talking, they obviously read that [MySpace]. I don’t know what was said to the other guys, just what was said to me. We had CD’s in the van from GG Alin, Darkthrone, Celtic Frost and Pantera.

The Gauntlet: Wow, so what happens now?

Denis: Our booking agent wanted to salvage the tour for the Thurs, Fri, and Sat dates but for that to happen we’d have to submit our paperwork all over again. We could probably get across the border with a different crew working there, you never know until you get there.

The Gauntlet: Have you thought about jumping the border?

Denis: I’m too old to do the jumping the border thing. The border is 15 minutes from my house, I can try to cross every day. Jeff Beccera from Possessed called me up and said ‘dude, I’m Mexican, we jump the border all the time!’ Now we are trying to reschedule everything. We might get down there in December or January or something. My only goal right now is to get back into the US and play shows. I am going to take precautions even if I need lawyers involved. I am done being tossed around to just be able to play a show.

The Gauntlet: Quite a story. I heard you have been working on the follow up to Texas Medicine?

Denis: Devin Townsend will be producing our next record. We already have the songs written, we are just working on the demos for him. The guy is so good, he makes us sound a lot better than we are. The first thing we are going to do is go into a studio and work on the demos for him so he can see what he wants to work on and change. Once we are done re-working it we will book time with him and record it.