Local band A City Serene deals with aftermath of bus crash

A few days into their first tour, a young San Diego band met with tragedy, leaving two members in comas four days after the incident. In the aftermath, families are dealing with the consequences as a community rallies to support the victims.

The band, A City Serene, was traveling north on Interstate 5 near Bakersfield when a Ford truck lost control and smashed into the band’s tour bus.  Due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained, most of the band members don’t remember the accident. But “two remember really scary stuff,” said band manager Billy Candler.

“They remember seeing the truck about to hit them,” said Candler. “They both blacked out. But they both remember waking up outside the bus and holding hands and praying, not knowing who was going to make it.”

All six band members — singers Xander Bourgeois and Carly Baker, guitarists Kris Renfro and Michael Sherman, bassist Marc Koch and drummer Mike Buxbaum - were airlifted to three different hospitals in the Central Valley.

The accident has impacted all of the band member’s families, who are staying in the Central Valley to be closer to their kids: “All of their families are living in hotels, eating out, driving back and forth to San Diego to get stuff. It’s been really tough on them. It’s also been really tough on the kids. They really want to see the other guys and they can’t because they’re stuck in the hospital.”

For privacy reasons, Candler didn’t want to include the band members’ names with his updates. But he did break down the injuries and status of each individual without including the names.

–  “One of them just suffered a pretty bad concussion. He had a broken bone in his hand and a broken bone in his face. He had surgery yesterday to repair the bone in his face. He is recovering right now and hopefully will be discharged either today or tomorrow.”

–  “Another member of the band had a severe head concussion but no trauma. He broke almost every bone in his face, and a massive amount of plastic surgery will be the result. He lost most of his teeth as well. He had surgery today to fix a few things, but he’s probably going to have to have a few more surgeries. But he’s doing well and expected to make a full recovery.”

– “The next band member broke both his legs, two shattered ankles and a broken pelvis. He’s had two surgeries and he’s recovering in ICU (intensive care unit). I don’t know the implications down the road as far as physical therapy and stuff like that.”

– “(For) another member, … there’s no real head trauma, but they put him under ’cause he’s been in and out of surgery since Monday. He had major bodily injuries: broken leg, broken collarbone, broken elbow, broken jaw. Major, major body injuries, but he’s been cleared of any spinal injuries.”

– “The other two are still in a coma. One has signs of responsiveness. But we’re definitely not even close to being out of the water at all for either of them. Right now it’s kind of a waiting game with them. They are the two we are obviously the most worried about. (The doctors) said it was a good sign they’ve made it this far.”

Related: A City Serene singer, guitarist back in San Diego, four still in hospitals | A letter from the manager after local band involved in major bus crash

The cause of the crash is still hazy, but Candler is hoping to have more details as the authorities complete their investigation.

“One of the members said he remembers having to break a window to get out of the bus, and then he blacked out again. It’s really kind of a blur for everyone in the band. But they’re doing the investigation on the accident so hopefully there will be more concrete stuff in a few days,” said Candler.

Previous to the crash, A City Serene was just starting to gain buzz via the Internet and a bevy of local shows. With the release of their first recording “The Art of Deceiving Perception,” the band planned on travelling for large parts of October, November and December to try and attract label interest.

“The band hasn’t been around that long, but they are probably the most talented group of kids I’ve ever come across,” said Candler, who also works as the talent buyer for the all-ages San Diego venue The Epicentre. “My job is to watch bands play every night and book bands, book shows. And these are definitely the most talented kids I ever come across.”

An Oct. 3 benefit concert was originally going to be A City Serene’s CD release show for the band’s EP “The Art of Deceiving Perception.” In the wake of the crash, it’s morphed into a benefit for the families of the band members to help offset the huge medical bills. Adestria, Casino Madrid, I Am The Heart Attack, Thy Kingdom Come, The Subtle Way and Welcome Seraph will play the benefit. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.somasandiego.com.

“There’s been so much support for these guys,” said Candler. “It’s been really overwhelming. Everytime I go on MySpace or Twitter, I see comments or promises to donate money. People are sending thought and prayers, so the support has been amazing. That’s the happy part of all of this.”

Follow updates @ACitySerene on Twitter and the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/acityserene. Candler has set up a PayPal donation to help benefit the families of A City Serene. Details are available at the MySpace page. Also, check back with SDNN.com with updates on the band.

Chris Nixon is SDNN’s music editor. He can be reached at chris.nixon(at)sdnn.com.

Tags: A City Serene, Billy Candler, Carly Baker, Kris Renfro, Michael Koch, Michael Sherman, Mike Buxbaum, San Diego band, SDNN, SOMA, Xander Bourgeois

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.