November 12th, 2009
What’s With All The Band Robberies At The Holiday Inn?
Chicago emo-goths Kill Hannah were forced to cancel their opening slot for Papa Roach and Jet last night at Electric Factory, but not because one of its members came down with the swine flu or anything. No, it turns out that early yesterday morning (sometime between 4 a.m. and 11 a.m.) the band’s 15-passenger van and 14-foot trailer were stolen from the front of the Holiday Inn at 900 Packer Ave. (i.e. the one right by the stadiums). Gone is $120,000 in band gear and merchandise, including lots of custom and vintage stuff.
This happened barely a week after the Virginia band Mae had the exact same thing happen to them — their van and trailer were swiped from the Holiday Inn parking lot. And R5’s Sean Agnew says that “at least 10 bands have been robbed there.”
Says Kill Hannah frontman Mat Devine, “We’re devastated and speechless. We’ve been touring so hard around the world for the past seven years and this is the most evil thing we’ve witnessed. Special Crimes say this was a coordinated heist.”
Posted Mae on their website last week: “Needless to say, this was an absolutely devastating discovery! All of our instruments, equipment, merchandise, and many personal items are gone. This misfortune has fallen among many of our friends in the past and we suppose that after touring for 8 years this sort of thing is bound to happen.”
Clearly, we suggest bands coming through Philadelphia steer clear of the Holiday Inn by the stadiums, and we hope Philly police can figure out what’s going on and recover the stolen items. We’re no Columbo, but it sounds like something extremely fishy is going on at that hotel.
Here’s some of what Kill Hannah had swiped:
* Epiphone Elitist Riviera Custom Shop SN#T301722
* 1992 Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray Bass
* Pair of matching vintage 1968 Fender Bassman Heads Custom Shop
* Gibson ES-135 Red
* 2003 Gibson Firebird White
* Marshall Triple Lead Stack
If you happen to come across any of this stuff, contact Bethany Watson/DAVIS ARTIST MANAGEMENT (bethany@davisartistmanagement.com).
[Kill Hannah photo by Michael Alan Goldberg.]
