Huntley band seeks donations to replace lost equipment
A Huntley pop-rock band is trying to raise $4,000 to replace its musical equipment that was destroyed when the band's van crashed in May.
Fundraising efforts include a dinner next month at Culver's in Carpentersville and a gofundme page that so far has raised little more than $1,200 toward a $5,000 goal.
The five-member band, First Impression, which mostly plays suburban venues, includes lead guitarist Bodie Anthony of Huntley and drummer Josh Rivera of Lake in the Hills, both 21 and graduates of Huntley High School.
Anthony and Rivera have been playing music together since their freshman year in high school and in college met fellow band members, singer Gordon Miller, 21, of Homewood, bassist Alex Ramirez, 18, of Munster, Indiana, and rhythm guitarist Erik Neidlinger, 21, of Grant Park. In January, the band signed with the nonprofit record label, Green Kite Records of Tempe, Arizona.
Anthony said band members and two other passengers survived the May 1 crash with few injuries, none life-threatening. They were driving back to Chicago from an outdoor show in Tempe, Arizona. Around 3 a.m., the van driver lost control, veered off the road and flipped six or seven times in a deserted area about 30 minutes west of Winslow, Arizona.
"It was our first tour out-of-state and going national," said Anthony, now a marketing major at Illinois State University. "The show went well. The accident, obviously, was a bad turn of events. Our guitarist, his eyes were pretty beat up. He couldn't open his left eye and back was also fractured."
A female passenger could not move her neck, he said, and the band lost roughly $4,000 worth of equipment and had to give up its tour.
"Right now, we are borrowing equipment just from bands that we know," Anthony said.
The date for the July fundraiser is being finalized. The band will be playing at Culver's, 8000 Miller Road in Carpentersville, and selling T-shirts and other merchandise to raise roughly $4,000 still needed to purchase equipment.
First Impression has booked a few local shows, including a July 17 performance at the Wire in Berwyn. The band has filmed a few music videos, available on the band's Facebook page and YouTube.