Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band Crash Bus in Colorado
(This story has been updated, see below)
Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band crashed their shuttle-sized tour bus nicknamed “Eagle Hawk” Sunday night (1-12) while traversing the snowy Colorado roads in the midst of a 6 week Winter tour. Nobody was seriously injured, but members of the band suffered bumps & bruises and the bus was totaled. “We are all okay but I crashed the bus and it’s totaled,” says upright bass player Jared McGovern. “The roads were super icy and I slid and crashed into a truck parked on the highway…It was scary as all hell but aside from some bumps and bruises everyone is ok. Liz (fiddle player) is gonna have a nice shiner.”
Apparently a large truck had come to a complete stop in a lane on the highway because it didn’t have chains for the snowy conditions, and when McGovern came up behind it, he couldn’t stop fast enough to avoid it. The truck driver, not McGovern, was cited in the accident and it was determined to be the truck driver’s fault. The accident happened on I-70 near Silverthorne.
The band played at The Lions Lair in Denver on Saturday night (1-11), and was trying to make it to a show at The Black Nugget in Carbondale, CO when the accident occurred. “Were running way behind tonight. I-70 is extremely scary right now but we got snow chains on and are taking it easy on our way to Carbondale,” the band had posted on their Facebook page earlier in the evening. Carbondale is west through the Rocky Mountains on I-70 from Denver, and the area had been experiencing snow. Along with Jayke Orvis, the tour also consisted of James Hunnicutt, and the Urban Pioneers that include Jared McGovern and fiddle player Liz Sloan.
The band is looking for a new vehicle to finish up the rest of their tour with. The tour started on January 3rd in Ohio, and the next scheduled date is January 14th at The Celt in Salt Lake City. The tour is scheduled to head through Montana and down the West Coast, through Texas and the South and end up in New York State in late February. They are planning to play a makeup show at The Black Nugget in Carbondale on Monday (1-13).
Anyone willing to sell, loan, barter, or otherwise procure a touring vehicle for the band should contact them through Facebook. They are working with the truck driver’s insurance company to attempt to procure a rental or replacement vehicle to continue the tour.
UPDATE (1-13-14 2:35 PM CST): “We are currently hanging out in a hotel in Silverthorne, CO trying to figure out the best to cancel the fewest amount of shows and get back on the road. The insurance company is working our claim but it could be 3 days before we know anything. We hope that we will be handsomely reimbursed but we have no guarantees and we don’t have a whole bunch of money on hand. We have a busted van full of records though so we’re gonna try and sell em. For a $50 donation we will send you a copy of the new Bless This Mess record hand signed by all the members of the Broken Band. We really hate to beg but we hate cancelling shows even more. Please send donations via paypal to brokenbandllc at gmail dot com. Thank you all for your ongoing support. We seriously couldn’t do this without you.”
January 13, 2014 @ 9:34 am
Our bus was t-boned a few years ago by a drunk drive. the lady smacked a 40ft rig goin 75mph. guitars and cd’s went everywhere! it was a damn mess. I feel their pain. getting rentals is a pain in the ass. at least they’re all in good shape.
January 13, 2014 @ 9:35 am
drunk driver*
January 13, 2014 @ 9:42 am
Glad y’all are okay. Get back to Pittsburgh in one piece, okay??
January 13, 2014 @ 10:56 am
Montana and Wyoming roads are a solid sheet of ice…rain, then snow and freezing temps. You need to slow down to a crawl if you’re unfamiliar with snow and ice.
Learning to pull out of a skid is a skill. There’s a Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Well worth it for anyone who has everyone’s life in their hands.
When roads are slippery, use all of the grip (traction) available for one action at a time. Brake only in a straight line prior to the curve when the car is traveling straight. Taking your foot off of the brake before you steer into the curve allows you to use all of the available grip for steering. Accelerate only when you are able to straighten the steering wheel at the exit of the turn. This safety technique will allow you to be 100% effective at each maneuver- braking, steering and acceleration. This is especially important if you wish to drive safely in the ice and snow.
January 14, 2014 @ 2:15 am
sent $50 their way. good on SCM for helping them out
January 14, 2014 @ 1:29 pm
Way to go Dingo!!! Really a cool thing for you to do. Seriously. For better or worse, money talks loudest in these stituations.
January 14, 2014 @ 8:49 am
WHOAAaaaa!, this is starting to be a pattern I think. Who was driving (not counting the drunkin snow plow driver) in Chicago last year…hmmmm? Hope all works out for’em, too good of music to be holed up in a Hotel Room.
January 14, 2014 @ 9:28 am
First of all, thank you to everyone that has helped in this whole ordeal. It really means so much to me and the rest of the band. Rachel, thanks for the tips on driving. OJAIOAN, thanks for noticing a pattern. I was driving when the drunk snow plow driver hit us last year and Jared was driving this year. Considering we are on the road as much as a truck driver is I think the probability of us crashing is a little higher than an average person. I am just happy none of us are hurt badly and we have so much support from our fans and family to pull out of this and invest the money donated to us for something safer and more reliable. All we want to do is travel and play music but sometimes that comes with risks. So again thank you guys for your concerns and help, like I have said many times before, we can’t do this with out ya’ll.
January 14, 2014 @ 8:50 pm
Dont by be shy to ask us for any more help if you need it Miss Liz. We all look to yalls well being.
January 15, 2014 @ 5:38 am
Glad to hear you are all okay. Looking forward to hearing ya’ll again this year.
January 14, 2014 @ 10:47 am
I really do care about your band, Willie Nelson’s band….all of you who are making those long hauls crosscountry in a bus.
I have grown up in serious snow country and still live here. We received another foot last night. I didn’t mean to sound like snowapedia but if you’re headed for Montana, you’re going to run into snowpacked roads and ice. There were winds of 100 mph in Choteau and winds hitting a steady 60-70 mph all across western Montana and Wyoming.
You won’t hear anything about it on the weather channel. We are repeatedly left out of the nation’s forecast. It’s like the lowest populated states don’t deserve an honorable mention. Driving here is not for sissies, if you want to survive….you’d better have some skills.
Can I say one more thing? Please….my father taught me this at an early age…
In good weather or bad, don’t ever follow behind a semi/tractor trailer. Don’t let yourself run up behind them. When there are major multi-car pile ups, as my father says, “It’s because people are sheeple”. They get behind a semi or a slower moving vehicle and stay there like a herd of sheep. It is the most dangerous thing you can do on a snowy road.
It would be better to pull over into a pullout and let everyone pass. If you want to survive, you’re better off having great distances between yourself and every other car on the road. Never let yourself get caught in a string of cars, that’s Rule #1. Rule #2, if someone’s on your tail…let them pass or pull over.
It is the sheeple mentality that causes wrecks, people get highway hypnosis.
Stay safe. I care.
January 14, 2014 @ 11:42 am
Being a musician that tours is dangerous. And any musician that has toured, even a little bit, has some stories of accidents, near accidents, and dangerous situations. Not necessarily on the road. Could be unruly patrons wanting to beat the crap out of you. Someone stealing your gear. etc etc.
Can’t afford a decent vehicle, have to drive long hours, then play, then pack up, and leave for the next gig, have to drive at night, have to drive in snow, ice, rain wind, on little sleep and bad food.
Maybe throw in a few drinks here and there.
It is a dangerous job.
January 15, 2014 @ 10:24 am
Glad everyone is OK!