Pitchfork

[Posted Wednesday, October 15th, 2003 14:20:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

There have already been more than enough stories in Pitchfork this year about touring bands coming to some kind of grief with/in a bus, van or other large vehicle. You may remember that Grandaddy's Jim Fairchild was clipped by an 18-wheeler while disembarking from Pete Yorn's tourbus somewhere around Phoenix back in May, and that three members of Exploding Hearts were tragically killed this summer when their van flipped over on the way home to Portland, OR. Well, this weekend North Carolina's Kingsbury Manx added themselves to the list of road casualties when their van collided with a big fat Mercedes that had run a red light on the outskirts of Seattle. The driver of the Mercedes received a citation for the red light infraction. Luckily, nobody in either vehicle was hurt, although the band's van was badly damaged and they lost a bunch of equipment.

The Manx was on its way to a gig at the Crocodile Cafe as part of an ongoing tour opening for Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and in support of their new album Aztec Discipline, which came out just last week on the Overcoat label. They had only just resumed touring after a two-year hiatus, and had played some shows with both the Sea and Cake and the Pernice Brothers through the late summer and early fall.

This isn't the first time that the Kingsbury Manx has had some trouble while on the road. During their first-ever tour, their van broke down and they spent a week hanging around Houston waiting for the blessed machine to be repaired. On their third tour, guitarist Kenneth Stephenson was hospitalized with a heart condition and the band had to cancel the second half of the tour. And when they went on tour with Ugly Casanova, Isaac Brock got into a little bit of trouble with the authorities, as a result of which several shows had to be cancelled. You start to wonder if they shouldn't just make that hiatus kind of permanent and stay out of harm's way, or at the very least change their name to the Kingsbury Jinx!

In this case, the band managed to make it to the Seattle show on Sunday, but they're currently "holed up in a Motel 6 watching the baseball playoffs and writing some songs," according to our sources. Unfortunately, the Chicago gig scheduled for tonight has been cancelled, and their appearance at the Toronto show is looking doubtful unless they get a positive prognosis from the mechanic in Seattle. The band is pretty confident of making the Buffalo gig, but fans are advised to call ahead, just in case. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are expected to continue with all dates as scheduled with or without their roadmates. Remaining tour dates:

10-15 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub (cancelled)
10-17 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace (check with venue)
10-18 Buffalo, NY - Nietzche's (w/ Iron and Wine; check with venue)
10-20 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Underground
10-21 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
10-22 New York, NY - CMJ
10-23 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
10-23 Carrsboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

The Kingsbury Manx are expected to continue touring in December; we'll bring you the dates when we get them. Next month, the guys are expected to return to the studio in Asheville, NC to start work on the tentatively titled fourth album, 4-0, which promises to be mostly acoustic and-- from what we've heard-- "more Allman Brothers than American Analog Set." They hope to have this fourth album out by the spring of next year, coinciding with tour adventures and/or misadventures in Europe.

.: Pitchfork Review: Kingsbury Manx: Kingsbury Manx