sad story (until Guiny makes fun of it):
Exploding Hearts Lose Three Members in Crash
Matt LeMay & Nicholas B. Sylvester report:
At approximately six in the morning yesterday, Matthew "Matt Lock" Fitzgerald, Adam "Baby" Cox, and Jeremy "Kid Killer" Gage of the Pacific Northwest pop band The Exploding Hearts were killed when their van flipped over near Eugene, Oregon. The band was on their way home to Portland after a performance at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill venue. They had also reportedly been in talks with Lookout! Records while in town about the possibility of a record deal.
Also in the van were Hearts guitarist Terry Six and manager Ratch Aronica, both of whom were treated for minor injuries. Ratch, who was kind enough to return our call while recovering from the accident, told us, "Terry and I don't know why we got out [alive]. I was sleeping, most of us were asleep when it happened. Matt was driving and when I woke up Adam was yelling just 'stop, stop.' I opened my eyes and saw the van going back and forth. I could just see him trying to steer back onto the road. We were told we hit the shoulder, the gravel area, and we just started slipping..."
The resilient manager of the Hearts, Ratch Aronica was in nearly every way the band's mother. She was its biggest fan, its go-to shoulder, and its guardian in a music industry that otherwise preys on the young and talented. Ratch was tireless. During the entirety of the band's recent visit to Cambridge, MA, she slept not at all, opting instead to help smooth out the slapdash planning of two admittedly uncertain concerts, the band's only East Coast appearances. Ratch was reportedly the only person in the van wearing a seatbelt.
We would like to extend our deepest condolences to Ratch, Terry, and all the friends and family of The Exploding Hearts.
