Next week.
Members of the heavy metal rock band The Esoteric said that's when they had been planning to buy renter's insurance for their "House of Metal" at 820 Ohio.
Members of the band The Esoteric, from left, Steve Cruz, Marshall Kilpatric and Eric Graves, were chased from their home at 820 Ohio by a fierce fire early Tuesday morning. The band members lost all of their personal belongings and musical equipment.
But an early morning house fire Tuesday beat the band to the punch, leaving burnt remains of guitars and amps floating in the basement that had been a practice space and recording studio.
"We're very thankful to be standing here right now because it was close," said Marshall Kilpatrick, who fled the house with fellow band member Steve Cruz about 3 a.m.
Cruz said he was watching the director's cut of "Donnie Darko" in his room when he first smelled "something horrible."
He discovered flames and thick smoke creeping from the basement into the kitchen and alerted housemate Kilpatrick.
"I was in bed, and I just remember Steve yelling, 'There's a fire! Get up! Run!'" Kilpatrick said. "The minute I step out my door this flame just comes barreling though. ... I just ducked and ran."
The fire, the cause of which remains unknown, was extinguished about 5:40 a.m. by a crew of 17 firefighters. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Deputy Chief Mark Bradford estimated damage to the dwelling at $175,000.
"I doubt seriously that it can be reconstructed," Bradford said of the house. "We'll continue our investigation, and once it is concluded the scene will be turned back over to the homeowner."
Lawrence firefighters respond to a two-alarm blaze at 820 Ohio around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. The residents of the house were members of the heavy metal band The Esoteric.
Other band members are Eric Graves and Cory White. Though the band was still tallying its losses, Graves estimated about $20,000 worth of equipment was irreparably damaged in the fire, including nearly a dozen guitars and an Apple G3 computer.
"We still have a van," Graves said, referring to the unscathed tour vehicle parked in a driveway adjacent to the house.
The band also lost a large catalog of recordings housed on hard drives of damaged computers.
6News video: Fire ruins rock band's equipmentIn addition to band equipment, the tenants lost all of their personal belongings.
"We luckily have a lot of friends here that are always supportive and helpful anyway, but now it's really going to be important," Kilpatrick said. "We are all starting over together with nothing, and whatever we build we all build together."
| The Esoteric benefit show ¢ When: Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 8 p.m. ¢ Where: The Granada Theatre, 1020 Mass., Lawrence ¢ Cost: Not available ¢ Age limit: All ages Full event details "1336" MP3s ¢ "His Eternal Enemy" ¢ "The Curse of Greyface" ¢ "Until the Grave Gives Up the Ghost" ¢ More on The Esoteric |
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