Crystal Stilts's van was stolen

that's strange. a band called crystal antlers had their van stolen with ALL their gear inside in long beach, ca last week. weird!

and lame.

off topic, but every time i hear the name of this band i think of Crystal Shit, my favorite Doors cover band... a la the Dead Milkmen's "Bitchin' Camaro."

yeah the crystal antlers were supposed to play sxsw and they have simular gear i.e acetone combo organs and other vintage gear. FUCK thieves!

the crystal antlers should be the prime suspects in the 2nd theft then . . .

why do bands keep parking their vans with all their equipment inside in unsafe places?
I don't even leave a pack of gum in my car ANYWHERE.
not trying to be mean, but wake up.

welcome to nyc. talk to j mascis and anton newcombe and many others.

think about the amount of time it would take to unload a van full of heavy musical equipment every time you park. then what happens if your hotel room gets robbed?

this happens far too often now for bands not to take the necessary precautions. i hate to say it, especially because i almost never agree with this attitude, but you really have no one else to blame but yourself.

park your van in a secured location, unload the expensive equipment, install a tracking device, buy the insurance. these things relative to the theft, are not that expensive.to not do anything, other crying foul after the fact, is just plain...stupid.

These thefts are disgusting. Beyond robbing people of the gear itself it robs the artists of their ability to make a living. Some cities are particularly bad for this (Philly, Seattle, among others) and it's not uncommon for bands to be targeted from the moment they leave a venue in a van filled with gear until they pull into the unlit parking lots of inexpensive hotels on the outskirts of town. Insurance is not the huge pain in the ass or expense you expect it to be. You can likely insure all your band's gear for around $600 a year. I use this: http://musicproinsurance.com
Premiums are low, and if you blow out a pedal or leave a mixer behind it'll be covered. You'll likely find a reason to use it, even if the worst case scenario doesn't present itself. I don't work for the insurance company, I work with bands. Look into it, it's worth it.

my band had our car broken into in philly like 20 feet from the club in december and our gps and video camera stolen...fucked up shit. like all our tour footage was lost.

This sucks, but I wonder, Is this the most publicity this band's ever gotten?

That's such a lame comment! This has nothing to do with publicity! Get your cynical little head out of your ass! I saw them open for The Clean a few months back and they ruled! I walked away from that show completely enamored with how awesomely genuine and unpretentious they were. Definitely not your run of the mill band obsessed with trying to get publicity or whatever! They're just a bunch of awkward kids making interesting music.

They may not be obsessed with getting publicity and may make interesting music and be okay people, but any band that leaves all their gear in their van and parks it on the street is just dumb dumb dumb.

who is the clean?

Anon. 6:15, I didn't mean to imply that the e-mail/blog post/whatnot BV posted above was sent out with an intent to get publicity for the band themselves. I was simply wondering if this is the most publicity that they've ever received, since I hadn't heard of them before.

The internet:
Great for making a controversy out of anything.

@ Anon 12:02/Mat - Thanks for the tip! Unfortunately, it's getting to be pretty rare when somebody actually posts positive, useful info in BV comments.

The Crystal Stilts are an amazing band! Very talented! Sorry to hear about the van!!!

did they check the crystal castles? too bad, bc now they are crystal lite.