The unfolding story here in the new world of instant access and gratification, not to mention transparency, must be a publicists nightmare; a band member’s illness and the resulting tour cancelation creates a PR problem in many ways. First up privacy – clearly there is a significant health issue if entire touring schedules have been scrapped, but a line has to be drawn and one that should not be breached when it comes to personal information – whoever is ill and from what cause is none of our business. But we will nag. I think the Decemberists’ organization must be a little more forthcoming with information. We do not need to name names but some more specifics would be useful. Clearly a band member has suffered a debilitating illness and it must not be forgotten that the bands’ fans would most likely want to be involved in supporting this person in any way than can. News travels fast these days and it reaches people in different ways. Decemberists fans are surely wondering who, what and why?
