VANISHING ACT
Austin prank-rockers Awesome Cool Dudes had high hopes for their summer tour, with several dates booked in their native Midwest and, says guitarist Cory Plump, “a good amount of money coming our way.” But 10 shows in, after a show at the Milestone in Charlotte, N.C., they loaded their van and went inside to settle up. When they came back out, 10 short minutes later, the van was gone. “There was just a pile of glass where they smashed the window,” Plump says. “All we came out of it with was a laptop and our band fund, because we always keep that on us.” Police recovered the van the next day, minus all their equipment, merchandise, and personal effects (although the thieves courteously left the band’s adult literature). The window, ignition, and muffler/exhaust were damaged (“They backed it into something”), but they were able to drive it back to Austin, scuttling the remaining 19 dates of the tour. “We’re obviously pretty crushed,” Plump laments. “It had the markings of a pretty successful tour.” The Dudes hope to make up some of the dates on their way to this fall’s Pop Montreal festival. A friend started the donation-accepting Web site SaveTheAwesomeCoolDudes.com, and Daniel Francis Doyle and many others play a benefit at Beerland, Aug. 12.
This article appears in August 4 • 2006.