Veteran road hogs the Burning Hell have encountered some terrible luck while on tour in Europe and were robbed of 1,500 euros last night (July 11). The folksy Ontario rock outfit had one show left on a 60-date tour behind their new album Flux Capacitor when thieves in Lodz, Poland smashed in their van window overnight, stealing all of their earnings from the trek.
The band have set up a PayPal account and are accepting donations to help alleviate the loss, but they are clearly shaken up by the incident.
"When we got up in the morning to drive to Berlin for the last show, we found the driver side window smashed out and the van had been rooted through," band member Nick Ferrio explained via Facebook this morning. "None of our gear was stolen, but they stole a couple of bags, a computer and a camera. We made a total rookie mistake by leaving one of the bags that had all of the money we've generated from this tour in the van. And of course, that was one of the bags they took."
Authorities in Poland believe that someone observed the band park the van and waited until members had settled in for the night before breaking in. The investigation is still ongoing, but the Burning Hell can't hang out in Poland to monitor its progress.
"We have this show in Berlin -- the last show of the tour -- and then we have to get to Vancouver for Friday and the Vancouver Folk Festival," Ferrio said. "It's been kind of a crazy morning and a bad end for the tour."
To donate funds to the Burning Hell, please click here to be redirected to a PayPal account set up by the band.
UPDATE: Well, here's an awesome ending. Thanks to generous donations from fans and friends, Burning Hell have made back all their lost touring money.
In an email to Exclaim!, the band's Nick Ferrio tells us, "Yes! It's unbelievable. We've received so many donations, so much love and support from people all over the world. So many bands from all over Canada pitched in -- bands like the Weather Station, Bruce Peninsula, Evening Hymns, Ohbijou, Jim Guthrie, Evan and Geordie Gordon, just to name a few -- as well as many friends, fans and kind strangers have sent us donations, kind messages and well wishes. We're so overwhelmed with joy over here."
UPDATE 2: The band's Mathias Kom also got in touch about his thanks for the donations, writing, "I'm still stupefied by how weird it all is. Did you hear about the second theft last night at our last show in Berlin? A girl stole Ariel's clarinet, along with a bunch of mics from the venue, but then we tracked her down to another club and Ariel punched her in the face. Then we came home and I saw the hundreds of messages of support and donations from people all over Europe and Canada and it made me cry. What a crazy day. Sometimes when shit happens it happens all over, all at once. But it's incredible to know how many people care about us."
Tour dates:
7/12 Berlin, DE - Antje Øklesund
7/15 Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Folk Festival
7/20 Edmonton, AB - Haven Social Club *
7/21 Saskatoon, SK - Amigos *
7/22 Brandon, MB - The Brandon Folk Festival
7/26 Regina, SK - The Exchange (The Club) *
7/27 Calgary, AB - The Marquee Room *
7/29 Toronto, ON - The Tranzac ^
7/30 Sackville, NB - Sappyfest
* with Wax Mannequin
^ with Tony Dekker
The band have set up a PayPal account and are accepting donations to help alleviate the loss, but they are clearly shaken up by the incident.
"When we got up in the morning to drive to Berlin for the last show, we found the driver side window smashed out and the van had been rooted through," band member Nick Ferrio explained via Facebook this morning. "None of our gear was stolen, but they stole a couple of bags, a computer and a camera. We made a total rookie mistake by leaving one of the bags that had all of the money we've generated from this tour in the van. And of course, that was one of the bags they took."
Authorities in Poland believe that someone observed the band park the van and waited until members had settled in for the night before breaking in. The investigation is still ongoing, but the Burning Hell can't hang out in Poland to monitor its progress.
"We have this show in Berlin -- the last show of the tour -- and then we have to get to Vancouver for Friday and the Vancouver Folk Festival," Ferrio said. "It's been kind of a crazy morning and a bad end for the tour."
To donate funds to the Burning Hell, please click here to be redirected to a PayPal account set up by the band.
UPDATE: Well, here's an awesome ending. Thanks to generous donations from fans and friends, Burning Hell have made back all their lost touring money.
In an email to Exclaim!, the band's Nick Ferrio tells us, "Yes! It's unbelievable. We've received so many donations, so much love and support from people all over the world. So many bands from all over Canada pitched in -- bands like the Weather Station, Bruce Peninsula, Evening Hymns, Ohbijou, Jim Guthrie, Evan and Geordie Gordon, just to name a few -- as well as many friends, fans and kind strangers have sent us donations, kind messages and well wishes. We're so overwhelmed with joy over here."
UPDATE 2: The band's Mathias Kom also got in touch about his thanks for the donations, writing, "I'm still stupefied by how weird it all is. Did you hear about the second theft last night at our last show in Berlin? A girl stole Ariel's clarinet, along with a bunch of mics from the venue, but then we tracked her down to another club and Ariel punched her in the face. Then we came home and I saw the hundreds of messages of support and donations from people all over Europe and Canada and it made me cry. What a crazy day. Sometimes when shit happens it happens all over, all at once. But it's incredible to know how many people care about us."
Tour dates:
7/12 Berlin, DE - Antje Øklesund
7/15 Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Folk Festival
7/20 Edmonton, AB - Haven Social Club *
7/21 Saskatoon, SK - Amigos *
7/22 Brandon, MB - The Brandon Folk Festival
7/26 Regina, SK - The Exchange (The Club) *
7/27 Calgary, AB - The Marquee Room *
7/29 Toronto, ON - The Tranzac ^
7/30 Sackville, NB - Sappyfest
* with Wax Mannequin
^ with Tony Dekker
