Former Shonen Knife drummer killed in accident

[thaite]

damn!



November 5, 2005: It is with a deep sadness in my heart, that I must announce the passing of Mana "China" Nishiura. She was tragically killed in a three-vehicle accident near the Delaware Memorial Bridge yesterday (November 4) shortly before 1 p.m., after the Econoline van carrying her band, DMBQ, had crossed the bridge from New Jersey near Carneys Point in Salem County. A Mitsubishi Eclipse clipped the van's left rear fender. The van spun out of control, and careened over a barrier on the ramp to Route 40. The van - carrying the four band members and their tour manager Michelle Cable, from San Francisco - then rolled several times down an embankment and into the path of a Ford pickup truck. Mana was ejected from the van and she died at the scene. The other passengers were being treated last night for non-life-threatening, but serious, injuries. Her family was notified by the Japanese Embassy of the tragedy.

[robotic]

oh my god!!!!!
mana ;_;!!!

[hooligan]

no : ( please no

damnit, i love the carpenters cover they did. RIP

[kimpossible]

holy smokes!

[TB4000]

That sucks, man. They did that one crazy ass song about the Powerpuff Girls.

[DragonKnight]

Omg...no...! :frown:

[SunWuKong]

oh no! :frown:

[Irezumi Kiss]

Damn. Knife was one of my favorite groups from back in the day. I also heard of DMBQ coming thru here but never saw them perform. R.I.P., Mana.

[haplesshobo]

no : ( please no

damnit, i love the carpenters cover they did. RIP

Dude, I love that album, I wish I were a Carpenter. Its got so many great bands covering some great songs. Much better than other cover albums I've heard.

[raacluse]

The accident happened the day after they (DMBQ) played in Baltimore. I almost went to see them.

I regret not making their gig. I had seen them last spring, and they had this psychedelic/butoh/funk vibe. The drummer, Nishiura, was quite skilled and an integral part of their act (persona?).

I remember watching her prepare herself, before the band launched into their first song. She was flexing and twisting her wrists and arms sorta like an athlete warming up for competition.

It's so tragic...

[sageb1]

That's tragic: a kick-ass drummer who was drummer for Shonen Knife dies in a car accident outside of Baltimore. :'(



BTW I'm a newby regarding modern music out of Japan.

When first listening to samples of their music from their website, DMBQ sounds like heavy metal, punk with a subtle Japanese flavor to it.

On repeated listening, though, DMBQ has its own sound.

http://www.dmbq.net/

[Faithless]

It's hard finding news articles in any of the Jersey papers.
Found a slightly different piece from Spin.

Shonen Knife Drummer Killed in Van Crash (http://www.spin.com/features/news/2005/11/051107_shonen_knife/)

November 7, 2005

Shonen Knife drummer Mana "China" Nishiura, on tour with Japanese noise rockers DMBQ, was killed Friday when her band's van flipped over on I-95 in Delaware en route from Baltimore to Brooklyn. According to the website Freewilliamsburg.com, DMBQ's tour manager, Michelle Cable, suffered a major head injury and the rest of the band was hospitalized. DMBQ lead singer Shinji Masuko is still hospitalized but in stable condition, and guitarist Toru Matsui and bassist Ryuichi Watanabe have been released from the hospital. DMBQ's Friday show at Club Exit with USAisamonster and Bad Wizard was cancelled because of the tragedy.

Donations to help cover DMBQ/Michelle Cable's medical expenses can be sent via PayPal to dmbqpanache@lovepumpunited.com

[abc!]

I've never heard their music but will check them out. Wow, this is really tragic though. My question is what happened to the driver of the Mitsubishi Eclipse that clipped the van. Did he/she drive off or is that person in custody?