Courtesy Harvested
Audio By Carbonatix
Buying a van is a big milestone for any band. That first set of wheels offers newfound freedom and possibilities beyond hometown city limits.
Denver death-metal crew Harvested saved up the scratch from playing local shows over the past eight months and recently purchased its very own DIY tour machine. But before the new plates were slapped on the van, the catalytic converter was stolen.
“On the morning of February 12, I walked out to Harvested’s recently purchased tour van, about to put the newly registered plates on it. When I got to the van, I was greeted with the sight of our muffler laying on the ground, only attached at one end,” explains Ethan Cullis, the band’s drummer. “At some point during the night prior, our catalytic converter was cut out from under the van, leaving a $2,500 bill along with it. This is a huge blow to the band, considering that we never even took it to a show before this happened.”
That’s a lot of dough, especially for a young band.
“We are a DIY band that puts all the money we make straight back into the project. This van was the result of saving the last eight months of our show money. We were prepared to tackle the general TLC and repairs a used van needs,” Cullis says. “However, with this new addition, our repair costs have skyrocketed, costing as much as we spent on the van alone. Three-quarters of the members of this band are full-time college students, making it incredibly hard for us to raise the necessary funds.”
The four musicians — Cullis as well as bassist Charlie Crichton, guitarist Nick Sandoval and vocalist Justin Heggemeier — formed Harvested in 2020. After dropping a couple of singles and EPs, the band put out its official debut, Corrupted Sense of Survival, last year. Groovy and gory, the nine tracks on the album are for fans of OG Six Feet Under and the more recent resurrection of old-school death metal, with songs like “Tent Pole Lobotomy” and “Red Bull Sponsored Suicide.”
The van vandalism could definitely put the brakes on not just any new releases, but Harvested’s plans for hitting the road this summer. So the musicians reached out to the local metal community.
Courtesy Harvested
On February 16, the band launched a GoFundMe and Cullis shared the news on Instagram: “Good news: We finally got a van! Bad news: Before i could even post about it (or even put the newly registered plates on it), the catalytic converter was stolen out from under it. I hate having to make this kind of post, and i pride myself on being able to handle issues on my own.”
Sometimes asking for help is the most metal thing you can do. As of the afternoon of February 18, Harvested had exceeded its $2,500 goal, raising $,2,557 through 26 donations, including an anonymous contribution of $1,000. And the band still has a fundraiser scheduled for February 21 at D3 Arts.
So that nicked catalytic converter isn’t going to stop Harvested from ripping heads off anytime soon, thanks to the legion that is the local metal underground. Horns!
Harvested is playing D3 Arts, 3632 Morrison Road, 6 p.m. Saturday, February 21, with fellow brutal barbarians Human Paint, Release the Gimp and Bogbody. $10 suggested donation at the door.
