? of ? & the Mysterians Loses House, Valuables to Fire
Four Yorkies, cockatoo, "96 Tears" gold record perish in Michigan blaze

We suspect he cried a few more than 96 tears: the man known only as ?, of influential 1960s garage rock troupe ? & the Mysterians, lost his home and most of his possessions in a fire last week, according to several reports.

The blaze overcame the Clio, Michigan house-- where ? dwells along with manager Luverne Thompson and Mysterians background vocalist Joy-- overnight, claiming most of ?'s possessions, four of his seven Yorkshire Terriers, and a cockatoo. Also lost was a considerable amount of the band's history, in the form of memorabilia-- including the gold record ? and his band received for their 1966 hit "96 Tears".

Still active to this day, ? & the Mysterians are perhaps best known for that song, "96 Tears" (which carved a nice niche at #120 on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s), as well as "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" (not, in fact, a Smash Mouth original).

? (whose birth name is believed to be Rudy Martinez) did not have insurance, prompting an outpouring of support from fans near and far, according to a writeup in The Flint Journal. "The phone's been ringing off the hook," ? said to the paper.

Plans for a benefit concert are already underway, and as ? told the Journal, he has high hopes: "Maybe we can get Bob [Seger] to take a break from his [tour] and have Mark [Farner] come in, Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker, Eminem, whoever's available."

According to The Flint Journal, ? & the Mysterians are already scheduled to play Detroit's Winter Blast festival on February 9.

If you'd like to help, please get in touch with the band via its MySpace page.