And for those of who who can't view the page, I am reposting the original. DaveS is a mod at TGP and also happens to be a left-handed guitarist.
Hello TGPers
I hope this message finds all of you well.
Normally I do not do this, but I want reach out to all of you fellow musicians and gearheads, and ask something of you. This is going to be a long post but please bear with me read through it.
The band I have been playing with for the last 3 yrs has been getting a bit of traction. We have had some local radio station airplay, some on air interviews, a CD in a couple of local record stores and regular gigs around the SF bay area. Our lead singer and founder has been a strong force in getting us out there. Recently, we were contacted by The Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood Ca and asked if we wanted to perform there as the opening act. Naturally, our band said “ heck yeah!”. For our humble little band, playing a venue like the legendary Whisky was a big deal for us, so we were really excited. We arranged for time off work, etc and got ourselves and our gear to Hollywood on this past Monday night for the gig. The show went really well with lots of friends showing up, and a fairly good crowd of music lovers. Even the sound and lighting guys were positive about our performance. This was a great moment for the band and we felt we had really done something special.
However, things took an unfortunate turn for the worse later than night. Our singer stayed at the Whisky to watch the rest of the bands with his girlfriend and some old friends. I went down to the Viper Room (about ½ block down from the Whisky) with my wife, cousin and a couple of friends to watch catch some local bands. I was just a few feet down the street coming back from the Viper room with everyone I heard what sounded like a car accident and then some screaming. Then I saw a car dart out from a side street next to the Whisky, turn right up Sunset Blvd, and take off up the street with the bumper hanging off the car …. smoke everywhere. A police car going the opposite direction made a quick U turn and took off after the car.
I heard people yelling and screaming on the side street and by this time I was running towards the scene. When I came around the corner, I saw two people lying in the street. One of these people was the singer of my band. His girlfriend was screaming and looked to be going into shock. My wife ran to her side to console her. I ran to my band mate and he was unresponsive face down. He had been struck by the car and thrown into a telephone pole. I checked his pulse and noticed he was breathing. I shouted to some people to call 911. I made it a point to keep him still as I didn’t know the extent of his injuries. I stayed with my friend/bandmate until the paramedics arrived. The medics and police questioned me about what I saw and took some information about my bandmate, and then rushed him and the other person off to the hospital. The other person that was struck down had been attacked and beaten by people who sped off in the car. Apparently, my friend and his girlfriend were walking to their car to leave when they approached attack. The attackers got into the car and fled, hitting my friend (who was on the sidewalk) as they sped away. The police caught the people who drove off in the car and arrested them.
As for my friend/bandmate, he is still in the in the hospital in the ICU in Los Angeles. He is being treated for head trauma and is being kept somewhat sedated so that he can recover. They are not offering up a lot of information to non-family members. We are simply praying, thinking and waiting.
My friend/bandmate has also been weathering the downturn in the economy like many of us. The timing of this incident follows him recently starting a new job. My concern is that the cost of medical care for him is going to be pretty high. I am not sure of the disposition of his medical insurance coverage, but just being familiar with medical costs, I’m concerned about this high cost associated with covering the extent of his treatments. I have no idea what the fiscal impact will be to him let alone the physical and mental impact. I feel helpless and so far all I have been able to do is hang onto his gear for him (including a beloved vintage amp of his) and keep him in my thoughts and prayers. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet who just loves playing music. He has done some non-profit benefit work himself for folks in need, and I know that he would reach out and try to help if something like this happened to someone else. My other band mates and I are just trying to get our hands around this situation and help in any way we can. Our bass player runs a local open mic on Monday nights and he is going to see if he can rally for peoples support there.
I’ve talked with a few friends about how I and/or our band could rally support for him to help him financially. One of the vehicles I thought of was The Gear Page. I have been a member of the The Gear Page for so long…even back when it was the PRS forum. This is the greatest group of online folks I have come across and I have made several friends here. I approached Scott and Brian about doing this and they were very supportive of it.
So, I am approaching you guys and gals to ask for your donation to help offset some costs of this senseless tragedy that happened to my friend. Any amount of donation you can contribute would help.
The best way to donate is paypal CLICK HERE TO SEND PAYPAL or my paypal address is [leftyguitar66 at hotmail dot com]
If you do not have Paypal, please PM me or email me at [leftyguitar66 at hotmail dot com] and we can make other arrangements for payment/donations.
I am also open to gear donations which can be sold or auctioned off on behalf of my bandmate, with the proceeds going towards his recovery. Again, please PM or email me at [leftyguitar66 at hotmail dot com] and we’ll work something out.
The best way to reach me is email [leftyguitar66 at hotmail dot com]
Our band’s name is feebBach.
http://www.reverbnation.com/feedbachHere is the Los Angeles Times article about this unfortunate crime.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...nightclub.htmlAnything you can do to help is greatly apprecitated ! Also, if you have any fundraising ideas or know of any organizations that can help my bandmate, please chime in and send them my way !
Thank you so much in advance !
Peace
-Dave
