While they are sexy bastards, their looks only take them so far.  A band starting out doesn't make crap for money.  And, if you haven't noticed, the music industry is not the place to go to make oodles of cash.  These guys work multiple jobs just to pay their day to day bills, much less any of the money they need to fund their musical careers, (equipment, touring, and recording.)  So, the simple answer to your question is "no."   They don't have a spare grand kicking around to fund this trip.  I'm not going to say what it is, but their show guarantee won't even cover one of their airline tickets, not to mention any other trip related expenses.  While I can understand that you don't want to or maybe don't have the means to contribute to this fund, to insinuate that something underhanded is going on, is totally out of line.     

P.S. You think YOU pay a lot at the pump - consider what energy prices are doing to touring musicians.