Help TOB (Band) Recover From 3rd Van Tragedy

Thrown-Out Bones is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi! For those who don't know us, we're Thrown-Out Bones, an independent, full-time touring, swanky rock trio with terrible van luck.

The short story -

On Friday, Sept 15th, our van was stolen from our bassist Sam’s driveway in Redwood Shores, CA. It had all of our instruments and sound equipment we’ve built up over the past 15+ years, which estimates out to roughly $28,000 in replacement value. The van itself was $7,000. Luckily, everything was insured and we were able to file a police report, but we have shows/events coming up in the next two weeks, and thus need to purchase replacement gear and eventually a new van, and we have no idea when or how much insurance will help us.

For those who know our history with vans (you can read it below), this incident is particularly surreal and painful, not to mention the heartbreak of so much sentimentality lost. Liliana’s custom drum set was the first she ever got back in high school and has been her only kit since. Sam’s Ibanez bass was a present from his mom for his 18th birthday. And Nick had only just started making pick marks through the finish of his Les Paul. First guitar he’s done that with! But, the show must go on, and in response to so many asking if they can offer finically help, we’ve decided to accept this time around. We have no distinct goal—$35,000 is the estimated total of loss for just this theft—so really anything that feels right for you will help us buy back all we’ve lost over these next few weeks. We love you all, appreciate your kind words, and are continually blown away how brightly our community shines during these dark times. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The longer backstory of our last 3 vans -

In 2019, we decided to quit our jobs and pursue music full-time. This meant we needed a van that could handle countless cross-country adventures. We found our Ford Transit in Arizona, spent all our band’s savings to get her, and Nick flew out, picked her up, and drove her back. Just as we were preparing to set out on our first tour, the pandemic hit, and everything went on pause.

So, the Transit sat and we decided it was best to just keep minimal insurance on her since we weren’t driving her.

In 2021, we were finally able to take her on the road. However, halfway through our first cross-country tour, we were hit by an oncoming car making an unprotected left turn. They were found at fault, but our insurance (which we hadn’t updated when we set out) didn’t cover collision and the other driver didn’t have insurance at all. The instruments and people involved were all safe, but loses from the van estimated about $30,000 and we were unable to get any money.

Rather than end tour, we spent the next 4 days in a wild search for a new van. We found the Black Vanther, purchased it for $4000, and despite it having over quarter-million miles, it got us back to San Francisco from Milwaukee, WI and we didn’t miss a single show of tour! However, a few weeks after our return, in the midst of Nick trying to find a catalytic converter for the van so we could get it properly registered to his name in California, the van was stolen. Thankfully, our instruments and sound gear were in Nick’s garage, so we lost about $1000 worth of merch and a few other sentimental items.

Because we hadn’t been able to get the van registered, we didn’t get any money back from insurance for the Black Vanther, either.

After this loss, we decided to take some time before we sought out a new van. A few months later, we found our most recent van, The Marshmallow, and made sure to get it registered and fully insured immediately as well as insuring all of our gear. The Marshmallow saw us through two years, 5 cross-country tours, and slowly working our way out of debt. Which we are so proud to say we did.

There are so many reasons this recent theft is difficult, but with our already painful van history, this feels like a really hard punch to an already very bruised gut.

We honestly weren’t sure if we wanted to set this fundraiser up, but we’ve had so many people reach out asking how to support, we decided to consider it this time around.

Our ultimate decision was influenced impart by someone we met at the beginning of it all. After the first show of our first cross-country tour in Portland, ME, a woman named Beka let us crash at her place super last minute AND sent us money the next day for brunch. We told her she didn’t have to do that, and she said something that has really stuck with us, and feels particularly potent now.

She said, “I know you’ve probably accepted a lot of kindness on your journey. Keep accepting it.

Kindness is in motion.

Let it continue. It will keep moving.”

We feel how much our lifestyle and adventuring relies on the kindness of those we know and have met along the way. When people come to our shows and tell us how inspiring and infectious our energy and joy and drive is, we feel a lot like it’s us giving back. Music and performance and continuing to pursue this lifestyle despite countless setbacks keeps the love and passion of those who believe in us in motion.

That is why we have decided to set up a fundraiser this time around. To keep this dream in motion, not just for us, but all of you out there who believe in us. We love you so much and will see you soon.