Monthly Archives: July 2008

The Prids were in a pretty nasty accident last evening just outside of Fresno.

http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Blog?blog=808763&oid=847598

I’m notorious for worrying about everybody I know who’s out there touring, and this is exactly why. It brings back too many memories of the Exploding Hearts.

They’re in Fresno at the hospital, have no money, and mounting medical bills from serious injuries. If you’ve got even a few dollars laying around, please help them out.

Donate to The Prids via PayPal here

Here’s the post directly from The Prids blog: http://www.theprids.com/

07/21/08 ♥ Please help – terrible accident! ♥

Our dear friends The Prids – David, Mistina, Joey and Maile – and two of their significant others – Kristin and Chris – were in a serious accident early Sunday evening while en route to Los Angeles on tour.

A tire blew and they lost control of the van and it rolled several times. David was airlifted from the scene of the crash, he suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and has 6 staples in his head. Chris broke his arm, and they are waiting for MRI results to determine if he’s sustained a spinal injury. Maile has a broken vertebra and toe and a severe cut with stitches on her knee. Joey broke ribs, Mistina suffered a concussion, and as far as I know Kristin is in similar shape. As of late last night, everyone but Chris had been released from the hospital, and they are staying at a hotel in Fresno.

A special paypal account has been set up to help out and donate directly to The Prids. They need help getting home and paying their hospital bills. If you can’t help out monetarily, please repost this info on your blogs, etc. Thanks!

Donate to The Prids via PayPal here

If you have problems with the link, you can send money by logging into your PayPal account directly and sending funds to “donate@theprids.com”.

As many of you know, Beaker is one of my favorite gentlemen EVER. Polite, thoughtful, plain-spoken, concerned with the welfare of others, he’s a man of science with a mathematical mind, excellent hair, and he’s one hell of a musician, to boot.

Apparently, he’s decided to join the Internet Age, and has started his own YouTube channel — which proves that he is really is a Renaissance man for our time. While he has showcased his proclivities for his nightclub singing and dancing in the past, he’s now moved on to the classical music realm, with mixed results, I fear. I will say that he is fearless, willing to give his all for the enjoyment of his audience.

Anyhoo, do go visit him online, and check out his first home video. Dude is smoking hot. Literally.

Some surprising and incredibly sad news just arrived here, that I’m having a very hard time grasping. I wanted to drop a quick post out here, though, as I know a lot of folks who read this are fans who should know.

Natasha Shneider, co-founder of Eleven, one-time keyboardist for Queens of the Stone Age, collaborator on the Desert Sessions, inspirer of many and co-conspirator of Alain Johannes, passed away late this morning of cancer.

Update, July 3: A site has been set up to honor Natasha and to help Alain cover the medical bills from her sickness. Stop by http://natashashneider.org/ and donate whatever you can, please.

I still can’t believe it, don’t know that I ever will. It seems completely unnatural and impossible that vibrancy like hers could ever end.

Many thanks to Serrina, who passed along the news here, and who also suggests that you post your condolences to the Eleven page here.

I can’t really come up with adequate words right now, but will say this:

About ten years ago, not long after I moved to Seattle and was struggling to find my footing, I got the chance to see Eleven play an in-store at Easy Street. The place was packed with what felt like the entire Seattle music scene, and it was intimidating for a girl who adored music more than almost anything else, but who’d just arrived from a place where live music of any sort was a rare treat. Seeing Natasha, Alain and Jack that day introduced my mind to all sorts of possibilities, sounds, people that I would grow to adore very shortly thereafter. When I somehow worked up the courage to say a few words to Natasha later, she was so immediately engaging and encouraging that I felt a little less alone, as I’d found one more female musician that loved and understood rock and music as a whole, and the power it holds.

Thank you, Natasha. From that day on, I was fan of the music, which hit my ears at just the right moment I needed it, and a fan of yours, for giving me that first glimpse at the possibilities ahead.