Florida guitar-rock band Surfer Blood have been on tour recently, playing shows to support new record 1000 Palms while also raising money for founding guitarist Thomas Fekete, who revealed in April that he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. The band has been accepting donations to aid Fekete’s medical costs at their merch table over the past several shows, but now that money is gone after Surfer Blood’s tour van was broken into in a town outside of Chicago.
Yesterday, Surfer Blood relayed the shitty news via Facebook, and you can read their message below.
In addition to the money fans have donated to Fekete, the band also lost cash settlements from the past eight shows and a few customized pieces of gear. It has not been revealed how much money was stolen from their van.
Dear Fans,
We deeply regret having to inform you this, but our van was broken into today in Schaumburg, Il just outside of Chicago. Not only did we lose thousands of dollars in personal items and show settlements, but we also lost all cash donations we collected for Thomas over the last 8 shows at our merch table. This last detail is perhaps the most heartbreaking of all in that so much positivity and amazing generosity could be ruined by one bad person(s).
Most of our large musical gear was not stolen and the shows will still go on as planned.
There are a few one-of-a kind guitar pedals to please keep an eye out for — not for their specific value, but for the fact that these are unique and recognizable items. If they are found at a pawn shop or private seller, everything else including the more serious items are likely there or somewhere nearby.
Thank you for all of your support. You help us all stay positive in the midst of something so discouraging.
Much love,
SB
As Stereogum notes, Fekete’s GoFundMe page is still active, and is open to donations. Created April 18, it has raised nearly $85,000.
Here’s a photo of the Surfer Blood van. To quote one of the top comments on the band’s online post: “Ugh. People are awful.”
Sums it up.
