Okay, so I have nerdy tendencies. Today just happens to be one of those days when it benefits you, too! A member of an online forum I frequent asked if anybody had a copy of the Don Caballero tour diary that appeared in Chunklet 16. After rifling through my hard drive for what felt like hours (it was maybe five minutes), I uncovered the folder where I had originally stored the article when it was available on Don Fanallero. As I was struggling with a topic for today’s entry I thought, “Why not share it with everyone?” Chunklet is apparently down to their final five copies of the magazine, which are available on their website’s store for $60. Hopefully Mr. Owings and crew won’t be angered by my sharing this historic journalistic endeavor.

So here it is, Fred Weaver’s account of Don Caballero’s final days in all its scanned glory. It’s been hailed by a many as one of the finest slices of rock journalism ever written. My own history with the story is actually quite surreal. When I first came across the article, I was home from school for winter break (2004). I was drawn in by the excellent writing, especially the climactic van wreck. Maybe an hour or two after I finished reading, a friend called me and asked if I wanted to grab some burritos. As I got into her car, she reminded me to put on my seat belt, and I joked about what I’d just read. Maybe fifteen minutes later, one block away from our destination, we were forced to stop short when an aged woman driver missed her turn. The car behind us plowed into the rear of our car, sandwiching us between it and the car in front of us. Luckily, no one was hurt. It remains the strangest confluence of events I’ve ever encountered.

Enjoy:

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PS – Remember tonight is White Hills performing live in-studio tonight on WFMU during The Evan “Funk” Davies Show from 11pm – 2am. If you don’t know about White Hills, search the archives here for song samples, a show review, and other information. They’re one of the best current space/psych bands in the area (along with The Psychic Paramount, Titan, La Otracina et al.), and their self-released Glitter Galmour Atrocity is still my favorite album of this young year. Please listen-in tonight.