Municipal Waste’s Tony Foresta On Potential Visa Price Increase: ‘It’s Like You’re Punishing Poor People’

Stefan Bollmann, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
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The ongoing financial struggles associated with touring are having major impacts on bands right now, and per Municipal Waste frontman Tony Foresta, he feels that a potential visa update would be “punishing poor people.”

Per a recent conversation with Chaoszine, the Municipal Waste singer talked about a potential price hike for visas (which are essential for bands touring overseas). This conversation pertaining to the potential price hike is up to the US Department of Homeland Security.

This potential hike would make visas cost hundreds of more dollars, and per Foresta, he sees such an act to be absolute “bullshit.” Per the Municipal Waste frontman, this is what he had to say about the matter (as transcribed by Metal Injection):

“It’s scary. It’s still scary. We don’t know if we’re gonna come home with money or whatever. I mean, if it covers itself and we’re out here or whatever, we’ll do this and that’s great. We’ve always been kind of a frugal band.

“We cut corners as much as we can you, but it’s harder and harder as the years go on to tour over here.”

Foresta adds:

“It sucks for bands to tour America, too. They’re hitting bands with visas so hard now. It’s bullshit. It’s fucking lame, man. I don’t understand. It’s like, you’re punishing poor people. We don’t fucking make a lot of money. So it sucks that there’s so many… the costs just keep going up and it’s just harder and harder. But we’re gonna keep doing it until the wheels fall off.”

If such a price hike is to take place, it could be a major hit to a lot of bands (especially relatively smaller/underground bands who don’t have the financial backing of a band like Metallica).

Considering inflation and the overall impact that COVID-19 has had on the music industry, what can be done to help smaller bands?

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