Members of Japanese-American action comic punk band Peelander-Z are recovering in hospital after their tour van was rear-ended by a semi-truck on a New Mexico highway, leaving the three members with serious injuries. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help cover their medical costs, and a benefit concert is planned for May 29th in Albuquerque.
The crash happened on the afternoon of May 18th along Interstate 40, around 50 miles east of Albuquerque, as the band travelled westbound towards a show at downtown venue InsideOut. They were less than an hour from the city when the collision occurred, on only the second day of their spring tour, having played Dallas days earlier.
A deputy sheriff at the scene was reportedly able to identify the band after spotting Peelander-Z merchandise scattered along the highway, and contacted a local concert promoter. Authorities are still investigating the cause, which the band say none of them can recall.
All three members, known by their stage names Yellow, Pink, and Tiger, were taken to hospital with serious injuries including fractures and broken bones. Yellow was briefly placed on a ventilator before regaining some alertness, while Pink has undergone multiple surgeries and is said to be responding positively to treatment. Tiger, the band’s newest bassist, was thrown from the vehicle and is under observation for a possible head injury, but is alert and may be discharged within days.
The band’s touring van was destroyed in the crash. That same vehicle had been stolen from an Austin parking lot in February, only weeks before the band were due to play South by Southwest, and was recovered the following month. Speaking to local station KVUE after the theft, Yellow said he had driven it across the US for 10 years. “I had good memories with my sweet van”, he said.
Guitar Wolf, Otoboke Beaver, and former Peelander-Z bassist Aki “EAT MAN” Ito (now of Jigokuguruma) have all shared messages of support and pointed fans towards the fundraiser. In his post, Ito noted the additional burden facing the band given the absence of a national health insurance system in the United States, with costs spanning surgery, rehabilitation, medication, and the logistics of getting the members home.
The GoFundMe campaign, organised by Austin arts supporter Dan Redman, has raised more than $134,000 of its $140,000 goal from over 1,600 donations at the time of writing. A benefit show takes place this Friday, May 29th at InsideOut in Albuquerque, with all proceeds going towards the band’s medical bills.
You can donate to the band’s recovery fund via GoFundMe.
About Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z formed in 1998 and are based in Austin, Texas, billing themselves as a “Japanese Action Comic Punk band” hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander. Known for their colour-coordinated costumes, which they insist are not costumes but their skin, and for chaotic, participation-heavy live shows featuring stunts such as human bowling, they have played major festivals including Bonnaroo, Riot Fest, and the Vans Warped Tour, and have become a fixture of South by Southwest and the wider US touring scene. The band were also the subject of the 2016 documentary MAD TIGER. Their most recent album, ‘P-Party! Z-Party!’, arrived in 2023 for their 25th anniversary.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source electricbloomwebzine.com ’
