Three Hun-dred Six-ty Five De-grees

By Sarah Dahnke in Arts & Entertainment on May 3, 2007 5:15PM

When we received a Myspace bulletin from one of our favorite local bands, The Fake Fictions, we hoped it included news about an upcoming show, a new tour, an appearance on Conan ... Not news about a massive fire at their practice space.

The Fake Fictions, as well as several other local bands, practice at CPE Sound near Damen and Grand. On Saturday night, a building nearby caught on fire, and the fire spread to CPE. The building is still standing, but it suffered quite a bit of fire and water damage.

Nick writes in his message:

Nothing, as far as we can tell, is salvageable. Everything was either burnt or waterlogged. I pulled the plug out of my guitar and water poured out of the jack. There was insulation and fiberboard from the ceiling covering all of our stuff. We spent about two hours pulling our amps and drums out of the space, but ended up leaving a bunch of stuff behind as a lost cause. The guys from CPE Sound lost most of their stuff too, as well as the other bands that have monthly spaces there.

Miles Raymer from the Reader wrote about similar damage in his band's practice space, including the loss of an inherited Yamaha organ and Gibson Melody Maker.

However, The Fake Fictions have already been offered borrowed equipment, and they have found a few places to practice on a short-term basis, ensuring they won't have to cancel any of their upcoming shows. Chicagoist can only hope the other bands that practice at CPE have been as fortunate.

Our hearts go out to all of the musicians that lost gear in the fire, especially because we know much of it was irreplaceable and sentimental. No amount of renter's insurance can bring that back.

CPE Sound posted a message to its website that said they will begin operations at a new location as soon as possible.

Fire truck photo via T Fish.