Alcohol? Drugs? Suicide? That’s so passe. The latest hazard to the rock and roll lifestyle is the road. In the past week, there have been three automobile accidents involving musicians, two of them by metal bands. The first reported accident was the most serious, as Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo cracked three ribs, suffered internal injuries and sustained a lower leg injury after their tour bus skidded off a road in Albany on December 6. Cuomo is recuperating, and the band has postponed the rest of their winter tour.
The following day, Underoath’s van carrying all their equipment was totalled en route to their December 8 Omaha show. Fortunately, the band was traveling in a bus, but the van’s driver was injured. “Our van carrying all our gear got into a very bad accident,” a blog post says. “The driver has some injuries, but is stable. However there is no possible way we can make the show tonight. Please pray for our friend Zack that was driving. He’s in pain but he survived which is honestly a miracle if you would have seen the van. If there were any way we could make the show work, we would but it’s not possible. Our sincerest apologies to all who are braving the weather to get to the show. Please drive safely back home. There have been way too many accidents lately. We love you all and will keep you updated.”
Every Time I Die’s name could have been prophetic, had their accident been more serious. the same day as Underoath’s accident, ETID’s bus got into an accident in Germany. Everyone came out ok in that one, and Keith Buckley was calm enough to tweet: “bus is totalled. everyone is ok. we even managed to salvage some beers. see you tomorrow, munich. we’ll post pics of the wreck soon.”
It’s been a rough week for touring musicians, but travel is definitely always hazardous. The attached picture is from Candiria’s 2004 album What Doesn’t Kill You… They got rear-ended by a tractor trailer, the band was seriously injured, and it almost ended their career. And no one needs to be reminded about the loss of Cliff Burton after their bus flipped. So be careful out there.
