Backhoe Hit Van, Then Building
Smart Studios, the recording home of the band Garbage, had a little unexpected remodeling Wednesday when a backhoe crashed into the building.
The accident happened about 7:30 a.m. when the driver of the backhoe, traveling on East Washington Avenue, ran a red light at Baldwin Street and rammed a van, said Lt. Pat Malloy of the Madison Police Department.
The backhoe, owned by Homburg Contractors, careened off the van and rammed the studio, located at 1254 E. Washington Ave.
The driver of the backhoe, Paul Goodman, 45, of Cottage Grove, was ticket for running a red light, Malloy said.
The driver of the van, which spun and struck a car, suffered minor injuries in the crash, Malloy said.
Smart Studios manager Mike Zirkel said no one was in the building at the time of the crash.
"It went pretty far," he said. "The wheels didn't actually go into the building but it's got that crane sticking out of the front. It probably went in a good 15 feet."
Some guitar amps and microphones were destroyed, but the crane missed a piano that was in the same studio, Zirkel said.
"The biggest concern is the acoustical structure on the inside. Apparently the building's structure is sound," he added.
Smart Studios is owned by Butch Vig and Steve Marker, two members of Garbage. The band primarily uses the upstairs portion of the building, which was not damaged, but other bands use the downstairs studio.
Zirkel said the accident will definitely affect the recording schedule for the studio, including for Garbage, which is in the midst of recording its fourth album. He added that a car towing a boat also hit the building earlier this year, but the building sustained no real damage.
Butch Vig is thinking about an addition to his Madison recording studio but it has little to do with making music with his band Garbage.
It's more about trying to avoid the traffic.
A 15-ton backhoe collided with a minivan and plowed into the corner of the building, damaging a first floor recording studio at Smart Studios, at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Baldwin Street around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
No one was in the building.
It's the third time the inconspicuous brick building -- which has hosted such rock
notables as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins -- has been hit by a vehicle since Vig moved his
studios from across the street in 1987.
Vig, along with co-owner and band-mate Steve Marker, also endured a 1996 flood that damaged equipment in the basement.
"We're still here. We persevere," a sleepy Vig said Wednesday morning. "I'm really thankful no one was in here."
The driver of the backhoe, Paul Goodman, 46, of Cottage Grove, who works for Homburg Construction, was cited by Madison police for running a red light. Officer Kirby Harless said a Toyota Sienna minivan, driven by Dan Johnston, 61, of Madison, was outbound on East Washington Avenue and trying to turn left onto Baldwin Street when it was hit by the inbound backhoe.
"He spun me pretty good," Johnston said. "I'm only in slight shock."
The crash forced the backhoe into the building. Johnston had minor injuries. His Australian shepherd, Bonni Lass, was not injured.
Vig has been working on his band's fourth album since March and didn't get to bed Wednesday until 5 a.m.
The album, scheduled for release in October or November, is being recorded in a second floor studio that wasn't damaged by the crash. However, album work could be delayed for a few days due to construction noise, said Vig, the band's drummer.
Had the recording session for Madison-based rock band Paris, Texas, gone on for a few more hours Wednesday in the first-floor studio, the band's drummer would have been right in the path of the backhoe, said Smart Studios manager Mike Zirkel.
"We've just got to rebuild it," Zirkel said of the trashed isolation booth used to separate musicians during recordings. "It may take some time to build the shell back and fix the acoustics inside."
Guitar amplifiers and cases, microphones and microphone stands were among the casualties.
Vig is thinking about adding cement posts - like those found in front of department stores - to provide a barrier between his building and the street, located just a sidewalk width away.
