As if it wasn’t hard enough for an up-and-coming Aussie band to make a living, Melbourne’s King Parrot went ahead and decided to be one of the most abrasive and in-your-face metal exponents Australia has seen in years.

And as if it wasn’t hard enough for an in-your-face Aussie metal band to make a living, some jerk went ahead and decided to break into the band’s van during their current American tour and steal a week’s worth of “show and merch payments”.

Naturally, the band was devastated by the loss, which occurred as they were busy rocking Chicago venue Subterranean as part of their tour supporting Wilmington favourites Weedeater. Without any other recourse, the band turned to their fans.

The support was overwhelming, the band was soon forced to ask their fans to stop sending donations as they had almost fully recovered their losses. “Your generosity has blown us away and we will be in touch with every person who has donated after our current tour is finished,” they wrote on Facebook.

Speaking to Tone Deaf via email as they continue their US tour, vocalist Matt Young explained how the band recovered from disaster thanks to their fans, how the robbery came about in the first place, and how the band plans on repaying their supporters.

Tone Deaf: What do you know about the break-in at the moment? Do you know when it would have happened?

Matt Young: We were at the Chicago venue Subterranean. It was a busy night and we had to load in, then park about a mile away, then run straight back to the venue to get setup for the show. The break in occurred while we were playing.

Tone Deaf: How did you discover your van had been broken into?

Matt Young: When we got back to the van we realised that the window had been smashed. We then saw that they had stolen the safe and a few other personal items.

Tone Deaf: Has the robbery affected the rest of the tour?

Matt Young: It looked like it was going to because our overheads are so high to tour in the US, having a large amount of cash stolen obviously affects our ability to pay the bills and keep moving on the road.

Without making any excuses, we were really tired, we’ve been on tour for almost two months straight. We’d pulled several overnight drives leading up to that show.

We obviously overlooked leaving our safe in the van as it was stashed under one of the seats. We know we shouldn’t have left it there. It was a mistake.

Tone Deaf: Have you been in contact with local Chicago authorities?

Matt Young: Yeah, we reported it to the Chicago Police, they informed us there is not much they can do, and it happens all the time.

We are currently touring with US band Weedeater and they had a similar break in at the San Francisco show two weeks earlier and lost a Bass amp and a few other things. Its a pretty common theme over here in the US.

Tone Deaf: Who raised the idea of going to the fans for help? Were there any reservations about doing so?

Matt Young: We discussed with our management that we were afraid that we were not going to be able to cover some of our bills. We came up with the idea to ask our friends and fans, we really didn’t know what else to do or how we would be able to recover it.

We were overwhelmed with the amount of support we got in such a short time. As we approached making back the money that was stolen, we put out posts on social media for fans to stop donating.

We’re going make sure that everyone who helped us is given an advance digital copy of the new album ‘Dead Set’, and we will also be sending out exclusive gifts too. To everyone that helped us out, thanks so much.

It’s obviously a shit feeling to have anything stolen, but our faith was restored within 24 hours. It was incredible, so thanks again and we will see you all on the ‘Dead Set’ Album launch tour in May and June.

King Parrot will unveil their new full-length album, ‘Dead Set’, on Friday, 15th May. They will support the album with a national tour kicking off this may – see details below.

King Parrot National Tour Dates

Thursday, 14th May 2015
The Loft, Warrnambool, VIC
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Friday, 15th May 2015
Fowlers, Adelaide, SA (LIC/AA)
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Saturday, 16th May 2015
The Corner, Richmond, VIC
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Sunday, 17th May 2015
Wrangler, Footscray, VIC (AA)
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Thursday, 21st May 2015
Magpies, Canberra, ACT (LIC/AA)
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Friday, 22nd May 2015
Corrimal Hotel, Wollongong, NSW
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Saturday, 23rd May 2015
Newtown Social Club, Sydney, NSW
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Sunday, 24th May 2015
Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Thursday, 28th May 2015
Tatt’s Hotel, Lismore, NSW
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Friday, 29th May 2015
Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, QLD
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Saturday, 30th May 2015
Crowbar, Brisbane, QLD (U18)
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Saturday, 30th May 2015
Crowbar, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Friday, 5th June 2015
Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, WA
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Saturday, 6th June 2015
Amplifier, Perth, WA
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

Sunday, 7th June 2015
HQ, Perth, WA (AA)
Tickets: Nerve Gas | Oztix

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