Exclusive: Hundredth's Chadwick Johnson talks Warped Tour bus fire
Hundredth singer/guitarist Chadwick Johnson and his bandmates were asleep on their tour bus early Tuesday when a fire broke out onboard. The band, sharing the bus with fellow rockers Being As An Ocean, were en route from Denver to Nashville, where both acts are currently playing on the 2017 Warped Tour. Thanksfully, no one was injured in the blaze thanks to a quick evacuation from bus driver Brian Roehl.
“The fire happened at about 4:30 or 5 in the morning in St. Louis,” Johnson tells AP. “We were making that last little bit of the drive to Nashville. Our driver, Brian, he’s one of our close friends who just happened to start driving buses, so we got him to drive us this time. We all just woke up to him running down the aisle saying, ‘We gotta get off the bus! We gotta get off the bus!’ We’re like, ‘Why?’ He’s going, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’ We all just got off and didn’t grab anything.”
Our bus caught fire…we’re all alive & well. Love these boys @beingasanocean @HUNDREDTH pic.twitter.com/zNZVDouvYW
— Anthony Ghazel (@AnthonyGhazel) June 27, 2017
“We’re all still half-asleep, and we call 911,” Johnson continues. “By this time, we could see the fire and smoke coming from the back of the bus. It was surreal. We’re all standing out there barefoot in just our underwear watching it burn. One of the front windshields blew out. But the fire trucks showed up and they went to work pretty fast. We salvaged some things afterward but everything smelled insanely smoky.”
“It was surreal. We’re all standing out there barefoot in just our underwear watching it burn.”
Both bands have been in surprisingly good spirits following the fire, thankful that no one was hurt—or worse—in the blaze. “We are all alive and it’s just ‘stuff,'” Johnson tweeted. Hundredth and Being As An Ocean shared photos and videos of the destroyed bus and charred personal items online. Late Tuesday, Hundredth confirmed that they would not be starting a crowdfunding campaign, and the bands are continuing the tour despite the setback.
“I have one pair of shoes, and they’re burnt,” Johnson says, “but they work. We’ve been touring for long enough, and stuff like this has happened, though nothing quite as catastrophic as this. But none of our gear’s gone, it’s all just personal stuff.”
“Shit happens. If people wanna help, just come out to the shows and make us not feel weird playing all these new songs.”
Hundredth & BAAO 2017 tour dates
06/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
06/30 – Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
07/01 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Park
07/02 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
07/04 – Wilmington, NC @ Legion Stadium
07/06 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte
07/07 – Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
07/08 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health At Jones Beach Theater
07/09 – Hartford, CT @ Xfinity Theatre
07/10 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion At Montage Mountain
07/11 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
07/12 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/13 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake PAC
07/14 – Burgettstown, PA @ Keybank Pavilion
07/15 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
07/16 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/18 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
07/19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
07/20 – Noblesville, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
07/21 – Auburn Hills, MI @ The Palace Of Auburn Hills
07/22 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
07/23 – Shakopee, MN @ Canterbury Park
07/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ Henry Maier Festival Park
07/26 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
07/27 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
07/28 – Dallas, TX @ Starplex Pavilion
07/29 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
07/30 – Houston, TX @ NRG Park
08/01 – Las Cruces, NM @ New Mexico State University Intramural Field
08/04 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
08/05 – San Diego, CA @ Qualcomm Stadium
08/06 – Pomona, CA @ Fairplex Pomona
