THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO EMAILED, CALLED OR HELPED IN ANY WAY. WE ARE ALL HOME SAFE AND ARE RESTING UP. SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN NEWS, IT HAS BEEN A ROUGH MONTH. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. -CHRIS
The Willamette Week Online music column "Hiss & Vinegar" put it best so here you go:
THE STANDARD STEPS UP BIG-TIME
The life of a touring musician is never an easy one--and that's before the van tips over.
Every road warrior's worst nightmare unfolded for Austin singer/songwriter Chris McFarland and his band last Wednesday, as they rolled their van on I-205 while en route to Seattle. McFarland and company are in the Northwest to support As If To Lay To Rest, his new album on Portland label In Music We Trust.
No one died. The damage was bad enough, though. McFarland sustained a concussion and was rushed to an emergency room from the scene of the crash. Also bound for Clooneyland was drummer Jonathan Ribble, who spent a day and a half hooked to a respirator with a collapsed lung.
Meanwhile, though weak, in pain and disoriented by the concussion, Valium and anti-swelling meds, McFarland displayed the guts of a true performer and carried on. He and bassist Josh Bandy, who sustained only minor injuries in the smash-up, played their gig scheduled for that Friday at Dante's.
The group's van was totaled in the wreck, leaving Bandy and McFarland no way to return to Austin. So the duo and IMWT prez Alex Steininger decided to take up a collection at the show. Enter The Standard, the buzz-heavy Portland indie band that shared the bill with McFarland's truncated outfit. The quartet ponied up its entire share of the club's cover charge to help out their stranded brethren. Unable to fly because of his respiratory injury, Ribble must return to Texas via Amtrak.
In other news:
Delusions of Adequacy online music zine posts interview with Chris.
Chris spoke with interviewer Jeff while on the ill-fated tour. They discuss on-the-road therapy, performing live, how a song is born and more...