Paragraph Slam Night
Mrs. Magician - Photo by Molly Barrack
Mrs. Magician may have been blessed with a recent rush of fortune, but times have been tough for them this month. In a post on their Facebook page, the indie-rockers announced today that, due to an unfortunate turn of events, they're "screwed vehicle wise" for an upcoming West Coast tour.
In the post, the band related a sad tale of destruction and theft. First, their Ford E-350 tour van, a 12-seater nicknamed Big Blue, got smashed up by a Ford Ranger while the van was parked. Then, days later, their trailer got swiped from their "headquarters" in Golden Hill, and along with it some guitar and bass cabs, drums, hardware, cases and most of their merchandise.
Mrs. Magician's car-insurance company has declared Big Blue a "total loss," the band wrote in the post. Cory Stier, the band's drummer, tells CityBeat that they filed a police report about the stolen trailer, but they haven't heard anything about its whereabouts since the accident and theft occurred in early January.
"I've been trying to not think about the whole situation," Stier says. "I've just been kind of shocked by it."
Stier didn't have a list of the stolen items, but he estimated that the band lost at least $2,000 worth of merchandise. He says the band doesn't plan to have a fundraiser to help recover from the losses. They're just looking for a van they can rent for the tour, which starts on Feb. 16 with a stop at Slidebar in Fullerton, Calif.
Theft is an unfortunately common occurrence in the music world. In September, as we reported, someone swiped a bass from Pinback in the middle of their set, but the band ended up getting it back and finishing the show. In December, a duo of silver-haired musicians weren't so lucky: U-T San Diego reported that all their gear got stolen when they left it unattended for two days in a parked car.
Check out some tips on how to prevent your gear from getting stolen. And read Mrs. Magician's full Facebook post below:
I didn't necessarily want to make a post about the following but we're, for lack of a better word, screwed vehicle wise for our upcoming west coast tour dates in February. Here's the long and short of it...Our beloved Ford E350 12 passenger van (aka Big Blue) was hit by a Ford Ranger while it was parked. Just days ago it was deemed a "total loss" by our insurance company due to the back frame being bent down six inches or so...ugh. Mrs Magician, Cults, Boomsnake, among others used Big Blue for multiple tours, she'll be missed. RIP Big Blue.
Days after our van was struck, our trailer (aka Lil Silver) was stolen from outside our headquarters in Golden Hill. Lucky, our A list equipment was not stored inside Lil Silver at the time, but various other gear (guitar/bass cabs, drums, hardware, cases) and most all of our merchandise was being stored...UGH.
The point is, if you own a van that we could rent for our west coast tour dates (Feb 16-24), please get in touch.
XOXO. SORRY FOR VENTING. GOOD VIBES, BETTER DAYS.
Also, watch the video for their song "Dead 80's":
