Hopesfall, the Charlotte-based melodic hardcore band, will not be performing as scheduled Saturday evening at the Cruise Inn.
For fans of the band, whose two latest releases "No Wings To Speak Of" and "The Satellite Years" have been remarkably successful, the obvious question as is "why?" The answer can be found in the events of the preceding weeks.
On Sept. 23, the members of Hopesfall awoke from their stay at a Motel 6 in Dallas to find that their van and trailer that contained all their instruments, amps, merchandise and personal items had been stolen. In addition to their equipment, the car thieves made off with computers, televisions and clothing.
That's quite a setback for a band whose members, when not on tour, "go back to Charlotte and sell pizza," according to guitarist Joshua Brigham.
Adding insult to injury, the Dallas incident was the second time in 30 days Hopesfall had been robbed.
About a month earlier, days before they were to leave for their present tour, a perpetrator ransacked 17 storage facilities, one of which happened to hold the band's drum kit, guitars and amps. At the time, the band was recording a demo with half of their equipment, so only half of their equipment was in the space.
"We were like 'we can scrounge together the rest of it, and still go on tour,'" said Brigham.
A couple weeks into that very tour, the band had another night of terror in Dallas.
"We woke up and every f***ing thing we owned was gone."
Tour headliners The Juliana Theory offered to help Hopesfall and allowed them to use their instruments and equipment in order to continue the tour. Others were also there for support.
"The drummer from Copeland prints T-shirts in his basement and our label (Trustkill Records) sent us records, so we were able to go back out with a little bit of merchandise," said Brigham.
After receiving a report on Wednesday that the Dallas police impounded their van only a day and half after the robbery, Hopesfall decided to take one day from the tour, send two band members to Dallas, and three to Charlotte to see what is going on and if they can recover their belongings.
"The reports on what happened to the van were all varied. First they told us the van was burned down, but the trailer was still attached. Then they told us the van was fine, but the trailer was gone," said Brigham. " ... The most recent story is that the trailer is there and the van is there, but half of the lock system on trailer was ripped off."
Brigham said he hopes to recover the remainder of the equipment or merchandise, assuming it is still in tact. Questions remain as to why it took so long for the Dallas police to ascertain that the impounded van was indeed Hopesfall's and why so many different explanations arose.
The band was forced to cancel its last scheduled date in Buffalo in the spring with Coheed and Cambria, Thursday and Jonah's onelinedrawing after a snowstorm made the trip to town perilous.
"This is the second time we've had to cancel Buffalo, so we're definitely going to come back and make it up at some point," said Brigham.
Barring another criminal atrocity, Hopesfall will return to Buffalo for a long-awaited appearance on Nov. 21 at the Cruise Inn in Lackawanna with Planes Mistaken For Stars and clearmotive. It is unclear whether those holding tickets for Saturday's show will have their original tickets honored or will have to exchange them.
Donations to help Hopesfall are being accepted at their label's website, www.trustkill.com as well as their homepage, www.hopesfall.com.
[Editor's Note: Sr. Arts & Life editor Nicholas Mendola is a member of the band clearmotive, which will be appearing in November with Hopesfall.]
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
