I think if you have a severe fear of flying, that you choose a career that doesn’t have you on an airplane regularly? In the case of The Ataris, the vocalist, Kristopher Roe, has a fear of flying. He was supposed to fly out to Australia from LAX to meet up with the rest of the band so they could play their upcoming tour dates. His plane was turned around because of engine problems, and even though everything went smoothly, he decided he couldn’t get on the new plane.

Because of this, the band has been forced to cancel all of their upcoming Australian tour dates. The rest of the members of the group are trying to make their way back to the states. You can read an email by the band’s tour manager by taking a look below.

re: The Ataris in Australia

I don’t particularly feel comfortable speaking for the band right now, but someones gotta say something. Point blank. The Ataris will not be performing on any dates of the Hits & Pits Festival 2.0 in Australia. I realize the rumors will start to swirl so here are the simple facts. Fact #1. It’s very known amongst Ataris fans that Kristopher Roe of The Ataris has an extreme fear of flying. Fact #2. On Sunday night, his original flight out of LAX had engine failure and needed to return to LAX- everyone was safe. Fact #3. I have three members of The Ataris that are in Australia right now and we’re working to get them home. Fact #4. Kristopher did not get on another plane to Australia.

Rumors are gonna fly, but at least above are things we can’t debate right now. Here’s the thing, and I wanted to be 100% clear, this has nothing to do with The Hits & Pits Festival… or their staff. In fact, I’m shocked at how calm Ben Neilson has been in trying to help us resolve this situation and also in regards to keeping the other three guys comfortable out there. For those that don’t know, when touring Australia you fly show to show. Hits & Pits had arranged a way where Kris and the guys could travel show to show w/o getting on planes. Just unfortunately, now it’s not happening. I realize fans are gonna be upset… but we’re not taking this lightly. Lets all get home– we’ll have our conversations– and then we’ll figure out the best way to move forward.

That’s it.

Thanks,

Tom
-the guy that books the shows

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Kriston McConnell

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