Young Rival's Van Stolen

06/19/09 11:51am

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Young Rival bassist John Smith returned home from the studio at 2:30 on Wednesday morning in a good mood, since his band had just finished 14 bed tracks on their second day of recording their debut album at Toronto's HallaMusic Recording Studios. But his day became "frustrating" when Young Rival's van was stolen just before he went to sleep.

Smith originally thought the noise was just his dog thumping his tail against the floor in the middle of a dream, but then he realized that wasn't the case.

"But then I heard it again and suddenly realized it was coming from outside," Smith wrote on Young Rival's blog on Wednesday. "I had that super sudden gut-sinking feeling... knowing right away that someone was trying to break into a car, so I ran to my window as quickly as i could, and pulled up my blinds only to see our beloved Winston Vanimal peeling down the street.

"Luckily (I suppose) we didn't have too much gear in it - but we did loose Noah's [Fralick] drum hardware and Kyle's [Kuchmey, guitar] equipment bag - and our 'YOUNG RIVAL' Neon letter sign that you see at the top of this blog.

"Such a frustrating ending to an otherwise great 2 days of recording...."

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a band's method of transportation has been stolen this year. The Dears' tour bus went missing on the day their North American tour was to start at the end of April.

Young Rival will play these shows:

June 20 Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo (NXNE)
July 1 Hamilton, ON @ Bayfront Park
Aug. 12 Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ Arcadia House
Aug. 14 Winnipeg, MB @ Lo Pub & Gallery
Aug. 15 Regina, SK @ The Distrikt
Aug. 19 Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice
Aug. 20 Calgary, AB @ Broken City Social Club
Aug. 21 Canmore, AB @ Canmore Hotel
Aug. 24 Kelowna, BC @ Blue Gator
Aug. 26 Duncan, BC @ Duncan Garage Showroom
Aug. 27 Victoria, BC @ Logan's
Aug. 28 Vancouver, BC @ TBA
Aug. 29 Nelson, BC @ Finley's
Aug. 31 Banff, AB @ Rose And Crown
Sept. 2 Edmonton, AB @ The Black Dog
Sept. 3 Saskatoon, SK @ Lydia's
Sept. 5 Thunder Bay, ON @ The Apollo