"Smashed in my car window, didn't touch the stereo"

Sometimes it’s easy to still be a bit bitter over everything that happened.  Sometimes it’s hard to not still feel a bit burned.  But all of this aside, they are amazing musicians who deserve to witness their dreams come true.

I’m talking about The Lumineers.

Whether you know the past, the history involved or not, today it doesn’t matter.  Not one bit.

The Lumineers are back on the road and when they came to LA on Monday their van was broken into outside of the La Brea Tar Pits and a good chunk of their gear was stolen.  They were one show into their tour.  The good news is despite having lost the bass guitar, cello, the acoustic guitar and some money, the band pushed forward and found gear to borrow for their show later that night.  And for their show at Hotel Cafe Tuesday night.

Despite using someone else’s instruments, the band still sounded good.  They couldn’t be kicked down, but rather inconvenienced.  I talked to them about it before the show and they were in fairly good spirits.  They were (and still are) thankful for everyone who has offered up their support, their instruments and their kind words.

Last night was the first show of theirs I’ve paid to get in (aside from a few here or there in NYC where I pretended I was just a fan to up their numbers...you know you’d do it too).  And while it may have been a little slap in the face that I’m not a part of the band that I used to be, last night it was okay as I wanted to support the cause and the efforts to keep them on the road.

After the show, I hugged the boys goodbye and promised Wesley I would share their story and spread the word.  For the most part, all they lost was “stuff” but I also know there’s a bit of heartache for the stolen acoustic guitar.  It belonged to Wes’s mom and he’s written many songs on that thing.  It’s more than just “stuff” but there’s sentiment and a history.

If you haven’t, I still can’t recommend enough how you need to check out The Lumineers.  And if you want to help support the cause, buy a CD, attend a show or offer your instrument for them to borrow as they pass through your town.

Below is the band’s statement about the robbery in LA sent to their concerned fans:

"smashed in my car window, didn't touch the stereo" - lyrics from "Slow It Down" which is on our forthcoming album...
yes, i have been robbed before - that line was about Brooklyn.

yesterday, in broad daylight, The Lumineers van was broken into, this
time in LA.   most of our instruments were taken... some of the things
were worth something monetarily, some were invaluable like my mother's guitar.  wrote a lot of songs on that guitar.

but the lyrics up top are a lot less about what was stolen, and a lot more about what they can't take.  you cannot take the music.  that can't be stolen.  we proved that last night and will continue to do so.

so we'll be playing the rest of this tour with borrowed instruments - thank you to those who have lent a hand and thank you to those who have donated money to replace what was taken.  immediately following all this there has been a steady outpouring of support - and all we feel is gratitude.

thank you for helping us... because of your generosity we can press on. if you have not yet donated and wish to, you can do so here: www.thelumineers.com

We will keep updating the site as more info becomes available.

Thank you so much,

Wes, Jer, Neyla and Terry
The Lumineers
www.thelumineers.com

“Smashed in my car window, didn’t touch the stereo” - if I could find "Slow it Down," the above referenced song on Youtube to share, I would.  So instead I'll share one of their newer songs "The Dead Sea."

**UPDATE: The band set up a fundraising account with PledgeMusic today if you'd like to donate and get a 'thank you' gift in return.  You can access that page here: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/thelumineers **