by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Some bad news to report this week. On Friday, Nov. 4, Japan’s DMBQ were en route to Brooklyn from a show in Baltimore when their tour van was clipped by another vehicle. Their van rolled on the I-95 in southern New Jersey, tragically taking the life of DMBQ drummer and Shonen Knife member Mana “China” Nishiura. Thankfully, the remaining members of the band have been treated for their injuries and hopefully should be back in Japan by the time you read this. My thoughts go out to them for the loss of their band member, and also to Nishiura’s family and friends.

Tour promoter and road manager Michelle Cable is still in the hospital as a result of the accident, and is currently recovering from brain surgery. Full recovery is expected over the course of six months, but Cable was unable to afford health insurance and her medical bills are expected to reach well beyond $100,000. She has already been through the loss of a friend and an obviously traumatic event, has received CAT scans, brain surgery, pins implanted to repair her broken spine and neck, and is expected to wear a brace for an undetermined amount of time—but the financial recovery seems almost impossible. Cable, like an alarmingly large percentage of Americans, could not afford the rising costs of personal medical insurance due to the fact that she’s self-employed and earns a very modest living booking bands like Get Hussle and the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower.

While Bush continues to pump billions of dollars into his misguided foreign policies, health care remains a luxury instead of a right and reform remains on the back burner. Remember when he made health care a major re-election platform? Of course, this is not a time for political tub-thumping, and I pray that I have not trivialized Cable’s ordeal, not to mention the loss of a life that resulted from this accident, but watching Bush’s continued dehumanization of not just the poor but the middle class from my Canadian perspective is just unbearable. Cable’s situation is hardly an isolated one in the U.S.

Thankfully, you can help. Many promoters across North America are being urged to raise funds through benefit shows to help curb the exorbitant medical costs from this tragedy. Mandatory Moustache are doing their part and will be holding a benefit at Zoobizzare on Saturday, Nov. 19, with AIDS Wolf, Dead Messenger and special secret guests. If you are unable to make the show but would still like to help, there has been a Pay Pal account set up, to be reached via dmbqpanache@gmail.com, or you can send a cheque to Lovepump United, P.O. Box 3241, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12603, USA.

GIVE, PEOPLE. jonathan.cummins@gmail.com

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