Seattle's beloved TacocaT had a van debacle during their last tour and there's a plan to raise funds to replace it tomorrow night at Chop Suey. TacocaT will be playing along with Summer Lovers, Boat Party and Chastity Belt. The van that the band bought in haste to get them home from the rest of the tour will also be for sale at the event. I spoke to TacocaT drummer, Lelah Maupin, about the event specifics and what their idea touring van would be.

• derek erdman

What happened to your van?
The wonderful, beautiful Honda Odyssey? It was destroyed by Firestone.

What did they do?
They gave us an oil change and a day later we had no oil in our engine and it exploded as we were ascending into a blizzard.

And your mother tried to sue them?
My mom and my step-daddy tried to sue Firestone, but they didn't get very far.

• derek erdman

What did you guys do to get home?
We scraped together all of our money in the world to buy our rebound angel, as we call it. It got us home safely.

What can a person expect at the benefit show tomorrow night?
Well, they can expect fun, themes, prizes, parties...hold on, I'm getting another call. (I'm put on hold for three minutes) Are you there? I'm back.

In your opinion, what would be the ideal TacocaT touring van?
Ideally, we would have a brand new Honda Odyssey.

What amenities would be included?
We'd like an iPod jack so we don't have to use tape adapters because those break a lot. Plus enough room for all of our bags and equipment in the back. Maybe another seat so we can comfortably carry a friend or boyfriend or a husband or a roadie or anybody who wanted to come with us. Good gas mileage is essential. The new van doesn't have that.

That's not too much to ask.
Air conditioned and heated seats, but I guess we don't really need that. We were robbed of our van. I feel funny having a benefit show because other people need help, but we need help. A van is important!