Chicago metal band Pelican was robbed in Italy this week while on their European tour with Torche. The band issued a statement on their myspace blog which can be seen after the jump:
Hey Everyone,
Our otherwise excellent tour of Europe hit a severe stroke of bad luck
this week. Two days ago we had a spare half hour to spend in Rome
before heading to the venue, so we decided to go see the Coliseum. We
parked nearby and went to take a brief twenty minute walk around the
area. When we returned to our van we found that it had been broken
into, despite being parked on a major street in broad daylight. Four
bags were stolen, the contents including computers, passports,
wallets, ipods, our soundguy’s microphone collection, and, most
devastatingly, a number of personal journals and two portable
recording devices containing hours of song ideas that are now lost
forever.The calculated loss of this theft is several thousands of dollars.
Unfortunately our band only earns us a very meager living and some of
us are already in the hole from years of trying to make a living as
musicians. This incident therefore poses a devastating loss and puts
us in a very compromised financial position. Although we realize that
there is a worldwide financial crisis going on, if there are those of
you who have the means and desire to help out our gratitude would run
deeper than words could express. We’ve set up a Paypal account at the
address pelicanrobbed@gmail.com. Anything you can offer, even simple
condolences, would go a long way. Thanks so much for reading.Edit: This is Laurent from Pelican. First, I wanted to thank EVERYONE who has responded with such warmth and kindness. We are immensely grateful. Beyond that, I wanted to append this blog entry to shed some light on the difficulties I AM personally facing as a result …
in doing this, I am looking to do no more than essentially respond to the ONE comment from someone that seems to suggest we should’ve expected this somehow, are unseasoned travelers, or should just get over it?!? During this robbery, I lost my passport and greencard and had ALL my credit cards used immediately by the thieves.
The endless hours on the phone I’ve spent already to contest charges, on top of the stress of now being an identity-less French citizen simply trying to return home to the states, is so so difficult.
I have traveled my whole life; this has NEVER happened to me. I lost hours of music that I wrote for Pelican, and there is no backup for this… my tour diary is gone, too. Countless moments of creativity and recollection at how hard we’ve worked and all we’ve been lucky to experience …
those moments are lost forever. I am pen and paper in hand all day trying to remember songs, memories, etc. just piecing my life together. We will persevere, and the kindness of our community is a huge help … thank you for all your gestures of support.
Via Myspace
-Rob G.
