Sad news

Kevin Lightner · Post by **Kevin Lightner** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:40 pm

From Nick Montoya...

Hello All,

We lost our house and almost all our belongings in Santa Barbara's recent
"Tea Fire". Almost all homes in our area are gone, 200 + all together..

We are all safe. My mom and daughter Eva were there and they got out in plenty of time. Anna and I were out of town to play a benefit and record tracks with Bernie Worrell (PFunk) in northern California for the new album.

So we still have all of our Moogs and other regular gig equipment. Thank goodness for that. We also of course had my Mac Book, with our entire next album on it.. Hooray.

But we still lost tons of other music gear including :

Korg Polysix
Roland Juno 6
Crumar T1
Baldwin Synthasound
10 pc.
Roger Drum Set
Electric Guitar
Bass Guitar
Stand up Bass (string bass)
Moog MP 201
Moog MF 107

+ Much more - like, the rest of our lives basically...

But of course, thats all just material goods.. We are all safe, as well as our neighbors -which is all that really matters..

We will go back for the first time tomorrow afternoon to see the disaster area...

Wish us luck.

- Nick Montoya

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:47 pm

Nick,
Damn man that really really sucks.

I thought the worst when I saw the SAD NEWS headline but Im realld glad that you all are safe. It didn't even occur to me that you might have been affected by th california fires.

I wish that I was in a position to donate some money to a fellow Mooger to help you guys out in your time of need.

Maybe we regulars here at the forum need to start a fund or something.

I will definately keep you guys in my thoughts and please keep us updated.

THanks Kevin for the news.

Most Respectfully,
Eric

Trigger · Post by **Trigger** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:21 pm

Nick:

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully there is some kind of insurance involved. The Poly & Juno are great enough losses, but the Rogers drums are an extra whammy--I've owned a half-dozen set of Rogers over the eons, and since they've been out of business more than 20 years, their rarity is an extra loss.
Glad to hear everyone's OK, though...based on the reports I'm reading, people are coming back to some ugly sights. Hope yours will be manageable.

T

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:48 pm

Wow...Nick, I will pray for you and your family in this great time of need. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope all goes well for you, and that the transition into your new lives goes as smoothly as possible. Good luck, man!

And thank you Kevin for this tragic news. I was so overcome with emotion before that I forgot to thank you.

DeFrag · Post by **DeFrag** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:43 am

Damn! Sorry dude. Chinup

magnet · Post by **magnet** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:35 am

Thank you Kevin for posting this.

Nick- As I watched the news from here in Maine, my thoughts went out to all those losing so much. As the numbers rose, I started to think of the people on the web, wondering if anyone I 'knew' would be touched by this terrible fire.

My prayers go out to you and your family. I hope that there will be a way for you to rebuild, if you choose. Wishing you the best of fortune from here on in.
-m-

tyrocks00 · Post by **tyrocks00** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:58 pm

omg im so sorry to hear that! ive been watching them on the news and i cant even imagine the feeling. i hope you get all the help you need

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:08 pm

Hi all,

We here at Moog Music are very sad to hear that our good family members Nick and Anna have suffered this loss. We'd like to do whatever we can to help, and we encourage all of you to help out in any way you can as well.

We are accepting any donations you can offer; you can send money for Nick to Moog Music (attn: Linda Lafferty) and we will forward it to his family.
update: We can also accept PayPal donations sent to

. Any donations we receive will be sent directly to Nick, Anna and Eva, along with a care package from their friends here at Moog Music.

I hope that the Moog online community can pull together to offer some help here to one of our own. This is a tough break for these kids, and your support could make a real difference.

Feel free to call us for more info; 800-948-1990. Thanks for your help!

-Amos Gaynes

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:33 pm

Amos wrote:Hi all,

We here at Moog Music are very sad to hear that our good family members Nick and Anna have suffered this loss. We'd like to do whatever we can to help, and we encourage all of you to help out in any way you can as well.

We are accepting any donations you can offer; you can send money for Nick to Moog Music (attn: Linda Lafferty) and we will forward it to his family.
I don't know if we can accept funds via payPal also, but I'll look into this. Any donations we receive will be sent directly to Nick, Anna and Eva, along with a care package from their friends here at Moog Music.

I hope that the Moog online community can pull together to offer some help here to one of our own. This is a tough break for these kids, and your support could make a real difference.

Feel free to call us for more info; 800-948-1990. Thanks for your help!

-Amos Gaynes

Amos, thank you for setting this up. I will be more than happy to donate to this cause.

Nick Montoya · Post by **Nick Montoya** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:01 pm

Wow..

Thank you all sooooooo much.. Yes, this is tragic but could have been WAY worse..

We were outta town, so we couldnt save what we didn't bring with us.. Luckily we were outta town doing a gig and recording session with Bernie (coincidence that he played keys on Talking Heads "Burning down the house") ... Not funny, but i have to try to laugh to keep from cryin'..

So we had all our most important stuff, but all our sentimental crap, along with furniture, beds, socks, appliances, all that bleep is gone!

There were rumors around town that we lost ALL our equipment and some crazy fans said that emailed moog to try and replace our gear!!

BUT - we had alot with us... Things we DIDNT lose in terms of equipment:

Moog Minimoog Model D
Moog Voyager
Moog Little Phatty TE "#14"
Moog MG1 (Concermate)
Moog Etherwave Standard
Korg Microkorg
Korg Electribe ES1
Hohner Melodica
Alesis 16ch Firewire mixer
Mac Book (with our entire new unreleased album)
M audio BX5A (pair of studio monitors)

So thats the good news..

We got back here to SB last night and went and saw the property. The house is leveled, other than the chimney.... We went back this morning and dug through some rubble.. Nothing at all to salvage..

I found a few pieces of the Baldwin Synthsound (VERY RARE).. Totally un recognizable!

The most important thing is that we are all safe.. Things are looking up.. Now I just gotta find a place to rent here in SB for the good price I had on the rental that burned down...

Thank you all so much for your kind words, prayers, and support! WE love you Moogies, and once we release this album - you will understand that EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE GREAT! So excited!

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:27 pm

That's the spirit, Nick! I am so glad that you and your family are OK.
They may not be making Baldwin Synthasounds any more, but they are not as unique and special as you humans are.

UPDATE: we have set up a paypal account to accept online donations for Nick and his family. You can send money to heidi âτ moogmusic∙com and we will gladly pass it along.

All the best,

Amos

YMK · Post by **YMK** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:32 pm

Sorry for your lost, i hope that everything gets ok!

earsmack · Post by **earsmack** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 11:22 pm

Nick and family - very sorry to hear about this. Take care and be safe. I can only imagine...

till · Post by **till** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:23 am

This is a hard time for you.
Loosing old pictures, love letters, personal things you got from friends or relatives.
I think one will notice this later, once the basic things like where to sleep and what to dress are solved.

I wish you and your little family all the best for a new start !

And thanks to Kevin for letting us know the trouble you are in.

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:40 am

Sorry if this is inappropriate, but it kind of reminds me of Deep Purple. The song "Smoke on the Water" is partly about the venue they were about to record in burning down "They burned down the gambling house". Thankfully, their gear was still on the truck.

My thoughts go out to you all.