Last month, Surfer Blood announced that it would be collecting donations to help pay for guitarist Thomas Fekete’s medical bills after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Unfortunately, it looks like a some of those donations have been lost. In a Facebook post yesterday, the band said that their van had been broken into in Illinois, and that all of the cash donations that were collected at the merch table for the past few shows had been taken. The GoFundMe page that was set up is still active so if you want to help out, that’s the way to do it. Here’s the band’s message:

Dear Fans,

We deeply regret having to inform you this, but our van was broken into today in Schaumburg, Il just outside of Chicago. Not only did we lose thousands of dollars in personal items and show settlements, but we also lost all cash donations we collected for Thomas over the last 8 shows at our merch table. This last detail is perhaps the most heartbreaking of all in that so much positivity and amazing generosity could be ruined by one bad person(s).

Most of our large musical gear was not stolen and the shows will still go on as planned.

There are a few one-of-a kind guitar pedals to please keep an eye out for– not for their specific value, but for the fact that these are unique and recognizable items. If they are found at a pawn shop or private seller, everything else including the more serious items are likely there or somewhere nearby.

Thank you for all of your support. You help us all stay positive in the midst of something so discouraging.

Much love,
SB